The Swedish preschool-model interlaces care, nurturing and learning and is organised to solve twin functions; providing children a playbased learning-environment and enabling parents to combine parenthood with work. The model was developed within the social sector then incorporated into the educational system 1998. This shift and the model´s “unique characteristics” praised by OECD formed the point of departure for this study. The aim of the thesis is to describe and analyse the discussions and negotiations shaping the Swedish preschool-model during 1968-1998. The research questions address: discursive themes; actors involved; governmental intentions; claims about the preschool´s task, pedagogical content and the preschool´s institutional identity and relationship to the institutions: social service, school and family. The study utilized abductive textual analysis inspired by discourse analysis and narrative approaches. Main text sources are: official reports, bills, steering documents, the preschool teachers´ periodical 1968 -1998 and a media debate. The results illuminate preschool-teachers´ struggle for a pedagogical identity and the construction of the educareconcept as a flexible and pragmatic solution to several societal interests and values. Governmental intentions concerning equality, emancipation and democratization have had great influence on the process in combination with a recurring theme about a revised preschool pedagogy with a strengthened focus on children´s learning. Political efforts to foster a preschool for all in a future are identified and described as one of the main discursive themes. Different standpoints about earlier school start are analyzed.  The overall result is that the framework and core features of the model laid down by the National Commission on Child care still has a great impact on the launched syllabus (Lpfö) in the end of the period as on the curriculum in a broader sense.

The subject of this MA thesis is “The Relation between Learning Ability and Learning Motivation in 4th – Graders”. The thesis analyses an urgent educational issue of developing learning competence in primary school, in particular learning ability and learning motivation. Learning motivation is perceived here as a set of inner (knowledge prestige, communication, self – expression, future) and outer (learning for personal benefits, out of compulsion or fear) stimuli. The thesis discusses the structure of the ability to learn as that to raise learning objectives, to plan the learning process and to act purposefully in order to achieve the learning objectives (the ability to relate the new learning material or experience to what is know; the ability to clarify misconceptions and correct them accordingly; the ability to select and apply appropriate strategies; the ability to use sources of information; the ability to cope with learning difficulties; the ability to cooperate). With a view to measuring the 4th – graders‘ level of learning ability and expression of learning motivation, a questionnaire and a situational method were constructed. The reliability of the answers was tested at interviews and with the help of a questionnaire in which some teachers evaluated their pupils’ ability to learn. The computer programmes Excel and SPSS were used to process and correlate the data about the pupils’ learning ability and learning motivation. 305 4th – graders from Vilnius schools... [to full text]

<p>Comparative analysis of the CPD systems internationally and nationally revealed that CPD is mandatory for some whilst for other countries it is compulsory, but not mandatory for licensing purposes. Licensing occurs on a yearly basis, but CPD recognition is accredited over a time period with expiry deadlines and minimum requirements. A portfolio was a common method of recording and proof of evidence for CPD, and a continuous theme was that CPD is needed to ensure competency. The Nursing Act 33 of 2005 makes provision for CPD for nurses but to date the South African Nursing Council has not yet decided on a model of CPD for implementation for SA nurses.</p>

Mokymosi visą gyvenimą samprata šiuolaikiniame jos raidos etape numato sisteminę dermę tarp skirtingų besimokantį individą supančių aplinkų: visuomenės, rinkos, valstybės. Siekiant sukurti mokymosi visą gyvenimą perspektyvą nacionaliniame kontekste, būtina nustatyti nuolatinio švietimo prioritetus (visuomenės, rinkos, valstybės atžvilgiu) ir strategijoje užtikrinti jų sisteminę dermę. Darbe analizuojama teorinė pedagogų kompetencijos ir kvalifikacijos kėlimo medžiaga: pateikiama kvalifikacinių kategorijų samprata, naujųjų mokytojų vaidmenų palyginimas su senaisiais, nagrinėjamos kompetencijos bei jų reikšmė mokytojų kvalifikacijos kėlimui. Pateikiama teisės aktų, reglamentuojančių mokytojų kvalifikacijos kėlimą bei su juo susijusių procesų apžvalga, institucinė struktūra, atsakinga už kvalifikacijos kėlimą bei jų indėlis į kvalifikacijos kėlimo procesą. Atkreipiamas dėmesys į naująjį 2007 metais rugpjūčio 3 dieną priimtą Europos Bendrijų Komisijos komunikatą Tarybai ir Europos Parlamentui „Dėl mokytojų rengimo kokybės gerinimo“. Praktiniu tyrimu nustatyta, kad pedagogai kvalifikacijos kėlimą traktuoja kaip labai svarbų ir rimtą savo profesijos sudėtinę dalį; mokytojai daugiausia informacijos apie kvalifikacijos kėlimą sulaukia iš mokyklos administracijos arba kolegų; ryški tendenciją į mokytojų gaunamą kvalifikaciją seminarų, metodinio darbo ir paskaitų formas; didesnė dalis mokytojų nurodė, kad savišvieta jie užsiima kartais, tas pats pasakytina ir apie darbą komandoje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The lifelong learning concept in the modern stage of its development provides a systematic conformity between the individual learners and the surrounding: society, market, state. In order to establish a lifelong learning perspective of the national context, it is necessary to set priorities for continuing education (public market, public relation), and the strategy to ensure their systematic conformity. Paper analyzes theoretical aspects of teachers’ education: content of qualifying category is given, comparing of new and old teachers certification system is discusses, competency and its meaning for teacher’s education is also presented. Legislative of teachers’ education is presented as well as institutional structure and its implication on the educational process. New Communication from the commission to the council and the European parliament „Improving the quality of teacher education” brought on 2007-08-03 is pointed out. Practical research pointed out that education is being handled as being very important part of profession by teachers; main information about education is released from school administration or colleagues; bigger part of teachers pointed out that self-education is not being used very often; teachers feels lack of possibilities to raise their qualification in foreign countries; among all of the respondents negative approach onto refresher courses preponderated. In order to change public attitudes from learning for life to lifelong learning is necessary... [to full text]

During the year 2007, when this thesis was completed, the European Union could look backat fifty years of collaboration, which began with the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957and which has developed from being mainly economic in character to incorporating a politicalas well as a social dimension at the European level. In 2007 the European Union alsocommemorated the twentieth anniversary of Erasmus, its higher education mobilityprogramme. It is this relatively new political dimension which I have been interested ininvestigating in this thesis. More precisely it is the political construction of a commonEuropean identity which is analysed using a critical discourse analysis approach.The majoraim of this thesis has been two-fold. The first aim has been to investigate how the European isconstructed in the discourse contained within the official European Union policy documents. Ihave been interested in analysing the various structures, in the form of ideas and norms whichare used in order to construct ‘the European’. The second aim has been to explore whether therole of higher education, as constructed in the official European Union discourse, is given asimilar identity-making role as education is argued to have in the nation-state according to thetheory on national identity. I argue that there are three version of European identityconstruction, i.e. cultural, civic, and neo-liberal, with their own relationship to highereducation, present in the empirical material analysed, consisting of official European Uniondocuments. Further, this thesis is also a study of the power of modern government. I arguethat there is an increase in normative soft power where ‘The Good European’ is notsomething ‘you’ are but something ‘you’ become by being a responsible active citizen.Through the use of critical discourse analysis I illuminate the power which resides in thelanguage in the discourse analysed. Thus, I have been interested in investigating how theofficial European Union discourse on European identity and higher education works to bothinclude and exclude individuals.

This essay presents a literary study for adult students of English at English A level at Komvux (municipal adult education) and Vuxenskola (a study association for adult non-formal learning). It has its basis in the question whether reading Shakespeare in the original version is suitable for language learners as form, and is beneficial as content. The classic play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare features in the course book Read and Log on used by the English A group at Komvux in my chosen municipality. The primary aims of the study were to explore teachers’ attitude and views on teaching literature – the classics in general, and Shakespeare in particular – to adult language learners, and students’ reactions and opinions about a lesson on Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet in the original language with regards to content and usefulness.

The overall aim of this research was to enhance the understanding of what affects the social impact of ICT in lifelong learning on disadvantaged women. In contributing to the field of social informatics, this research employs behavioural theories as strategy and analytic possibilities. This research mainly used the Kenyan digital villages as CRCs as settings but did also look beyond such establishments to provide a more solid picture. The studies were located in Kenya with complementary studies in Bolivia, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, and Sweden. The main strategies and methods used were case study, comparative education approaches, and observations and interviewing techniques. The findings suggest that ICT and CRCs have the potential to support disadvantaged women and their lifelong learning. However, the positive social impacts are limited because the arrangement of them generally does not favour vernacular languages, illiterate users, female owners and users, or non-students. In general, the use of ICT was sometimes perceived as forced, which is both a barrier and a stressor in the use of ICT in lifelong learning. It also emerged from the comparative studies that discussions among the participants in the CRCs largely covered issues in respect to 1) family and reproduction and 2) self-esteem, i.e. what settles the matter of the social impact of ICT in lifelong learning depends on change attitude among men and women. With minimal if not zero self-esteem a change that would make the difference or break a woman’s “legendary status quo” in order for a woman to feel that she can reach her goal or ambitions in lifelong learning would be difficult. Hence the lack of self-esteem is a stressor in itself. This research is valuable for stakeholders delving into issues of development and learning using ICTs, not only in Kenya but in a broader, global perspective. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 6: Submitted.</p>

The thesis addresses the topic of motivation of older adults to study at the university level. The first part deals with the topic of adult education within the context of lifelong learning, defines the concept of older adulthood, and clarifies the concept of motivation as it relates to formal education for older adults. It presents an overview of research carried out in the field of older adults as related to university studies. The second part focuses on qualitative research that answers the following questions: what motivates older adults to study at the university level; how do they describe the motivating factors and other relevant circumstances of their decision to attend university; what criteria do older adults use to assess the benefits of study; and what motivates them to persevere in their studies.

Increasing the education of nursing staff is a society-wide issue, influenced by continuous development of medicine and medical technologies. The provision of nursing care is rightly demanding. The only way to keep up with new trends is lifelong nursing education. Nursing education in a particular workplace primarily aims at addressing current problems of the department and nurses? needs. The theoretical part deals with the influence of education on the quality of nursing care. We present a structure of education of paramedical professions. We define and clarify terms such as pedagogy, didactics, education and learning. We deal with the specifics of education, didactic principles and principles of adult education. In addition, we specify instructional strategies for nursing staff. For the purposes of this thesis, four objectives were set. In the first one we wanted to find out what the system and process of nursing education in the department looks like. The research showed that educational events are held in all departments. The organizing departments mostly report irregular or monthly frequency. The aim of the second objective was to obtain an opinion on the effectiveness of education in the department. We found disparity between the views of ordinary nurses and head nurses. The third objective was to answer the question of whether the organized educational events are initiated by the nurses? requests. Based on the answers of head nurses and ordinary nurses, we found out that this is not always the case. The last objective was to determine whether nurses implement the knowledge and skills gained to routine nursing care. The questionnaires showed that ordinary nurses try to incorporate the knowledge and skills to routine nursing care. For the purposes of this thesis, the combination of qualitative and quantitative research was selected. In order to carry out the qualitative part of the research, the method of questioning, using the technique of semi-structured interview with open questions was chosen. For the issue of quantitative research, the method of questioning, using the questionnaire technique with closed and semi-closed questions was used. For qualitative research, we set two research questions. In the first research question we wanted to find out what impetus the management uses when planning education in the hospital and the department. We found out that most often it is initiated by head nurses and ward nurses. In the second research question, we examined what obstacles the management sees to the effectiveness of education and implementation of the knowledge and skills gained into practice. Head nurses identify a problem in the actual participation in education in the department. For quantitative research, we set five hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 was: Nursing education in the workplace is an activity organized by the management regardless of the ordinary nurses? requests. The hypothesis was not confirmed. Hypothesis 2 was: Management, unlike ordinary nurses, sees the effectiveness of education in the workplace positively. The hypothesis was not confirmed either. The third hypothesis was: Education is seen as a necessary, routine activity, not as motivating factor for improving the quality of nursing care. The hypothesis was not confirmed. The last hypothesis was: Implementation of the knowledge gained from the educational events into nursing care is monitored by the management. The hypothesis was not confirmed, the implementation of knowledge is monitored, but not to the extent we expected. When evaluating the results we came across other very interesting facts, which we believe deserve more attention. Finally, it is surprising that the organization of educational events does not reflect nurses? shifts. One of the reasons for this might be the fact that some head nurses do not prepare the plan and time schedule for nursing education. We tried to propose the time schedule of nurses education in deparments.

The dissertation is divided into theoretical and practical parts. The theoretical part deals with the historical equipment of nursing and nursing education in the Czech Republic, further the legislation, the implementation of nursing education and a personality of a nurse. For the processing of the empirical part there was chosen the method of quantitative and qualitative research inquiry. For the quantitative inquiry there was chosen the method of asking by means the technique of a questionnaire and for the qualitative part of the research inquiry there was chosen the method of asking, namely the method of half-structured interview with opened questions. For the quantitative inquiry there were prepared two sorts of questionnaire, the first for the nurses, namely the universal nurses from experience and the second for patients, it means for the non ? professional public within the Southern Bohemia. There were set six surmises for this part of inquiry. The results of the inquiry were elaborated into diagrams and tables. In the quantitative part of the research inquiry were verified six hypothesis, that were set in advance: 1. The interest of nurses for the education follows more from the legislative aiming than from interest about more quality nursing care of a patient. The results show us that the need of credit is for the nurses more important than the need of more quality care for a patient. The first hypothesis was confirmed. 2. Choice of the courses of lifelong learning depends more on the amount of financial claims than on the orientation on care that provided. There follows from the research inquiry that for the nurses is more important the interestingness of an event than the amount of financial costs. The second hypothesis was disproved. 3. Motivation for the nurses for education is more the system of university education than the increasing of the quality of care. The results show that the nurses are more motivated by the need of a university education than by a better care of a patient. The third hypothesis was verified. 4. Implementation of an output of education isn´t incremental to its application in the real environment. The research inquiry showed us, there is no big possibility for the nurses to implement the results of their education in practice. The fourth hypothesis was verified. 5. The patient?s don´t distinguish, if the nursing care is provided by a qualified nurse or by another member of a nursing team. The fifth hypothesis was verified. 6. The patient?s don´t perceive nurses according to their education, but to a uniform. The results show, that the patients are not knowledgeable in the nursing staff neither according to their uniform nor their education. The sixth hypothesis was disproved. There were approached 12 respondents for the qualitative part of the research inquiry, within the Southern Bohemia again. The interviews were taken down, rewritten and analysed. The obtained data were categorized. There was set Research question for the qualitative part of the research inquiry: What is the meaning of nurses about the implementation of their education I the praxis? There was finding out by the research inquiry, that the nurses generally welcome the university education, mainly because of the reason, that the nurses come in praxis in a higher age. The lifelong learning should be also beneficial for them, but this has its shortcomings, namely in the financial part and it isn´t supported by the employers. They can also see the problem in implementation of their obtained knowledge from education in non ? interest of their employer and other members of nursing team.