Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology in Nursing, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / Background The Council for Higher Education and the South African Nursing Council accredit institutions with learning and assessment practices which aim to develop and prepare graduates to be critical thinkers. The undergraduate nursing programme at the Durban University of Technology introduced the writing of reflective journals by their students in 2011. Students submitted journals of poor quality which lacked reflection. Aim of the study The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of guided reflective journals by assessing the levels of reflection of the undergraduate nursing students during clinical learning and practice. Methodology An exploratory sequential mixed methods design, using quantitative and qualitative paradigm, was used for this study. A purposive sample of 40 participants was used to collect data. A perceptions questionnaire was administered to the 40 participants to determine their perceptions on how they experienced writing of the reflective journals. Content analysis was used to analyse the written content of the reflective journals. Descriptive statistics such a Chi-square goodness of fit and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test were used determine levels of reflections and the differences in the first and second journals. Lincoln and Guba’s 1985 criteria for trustworthiness were applied to the study. Results Analysis of the journals revealed lower levels of reflection in the first reflective journal compared to improved levels in the second journal. Furthermore, the participants generally expressed writing of reflective journals as a valuable tool in professional, personal development as well as clinical learning. Levels of reflection and development of reflective practice will be greatly enhanced if all involved in nurse education will actively participate in encouraging writing of reflective journals by student nurses.

Mentaliseringsförmåga handlar om att kunna begripliggöra egna och andras beteenden och sinnestillstånd i termer av bakomliggande mentala tillstånd. Enligt mentaliseringsteorin är brister i detta grundproblemet vid borderline personlighetssyndrom (BPS) men kan också tänkas vara en delförklaring till substansberoende, vilket är vanligt förekommande i patientgruppen. Mentaliseringsbaserad terapi skulle därför kunna vara en effektiv behandlingsform som tillägg till sedvanlig beroendevård för patienter med båda diagnoserna. Föreliggande studie har jämfört behandlingsutfall i termer av mentaliseringsförmåga, operationaliserat som reflective functioning (RF), efter behandling med mentaliseringsbaserad terapi (MBT) i tillägg till sedvanlig behandling för substansberoende (TAU) (N = 12) jämfört med enbart TAU (N = 10) för patienter med BPS och samtidigt substansberoende. En ANOVA visade inte på några skillnader avseende förändring i RF mellan grupperna och inte heller någon förändring i RF efter behandling. Patienter med dubbeldiagnos kan tänkas vara en population där MBT inte har önskad effekt på RF, men nollresultatet kan också tänkas bero på metodologiska tillkortakommanden.

The thesis numerically explores the use and behavior of Active Hydraulic Devices (AHDs), creating a new capability to simulate and control a pipe system’s transient performance. Automatic control valves are the first type of AHDs studied in this research. Due to the challenges inherent in the design of a pressure relief valve (PRV), the general principles of PRV use and selection are studied along with the system’s response to the PRV parameters. A new application of PID (proportional, integral and derivative) control valve is envisioned that combines a remote sensor at the upstream end of a pipeline to create a non- or semi- reflective boundary at the downstream end. Case studies show that, with such a boundary, the reflection and resonance of pressure waves within the pipeline are sometimes eliminated and invariably limited. The second type of AHDs studied in this research is the governed hydro turbine, the most complicated hydraulic component in terms of transient analysis and waterhammer control. A complete numerical model is developed for the turbine installations in either urban water networks or conventional hydropower generation systems. Using the model, transient simulations for several realistic hydro projects are presented along with various transient control measures.

This thesis reports a qualitative case study exploring the connotation and implementation of reflection as an educational concept in a PGCE (secondary) programme at a UK university in the light of the perceptions of university tutors and student teachers. Reflection has been an important concept in many teacher education programmes but it has consistently been intricate in terms of its connotation and implementation and despite a vast amount of research aimed at deconstructing its complexity, the matter does not seem to have been resolved. Despite its conceptual complexity it has often been taken in its common sense meaning by practitioners in educational programmes and is, at times, turned into a slogan. This study was, therefore, aimed at an exploration of the meaning and implementation of the concept and the various factors that influence it in the programme under study. The findings of the study reveal that, true to its reputation, the concept defies any agreed upon understanding. On a conceptual level there was recognition of its complexity among the university tutors, although this did not come out in the case of student teachers who predominantly defined it in its common sense meaning. At the implementation level the common sense practice-oriented connotation appeared to prevail among both groups. Factors influencing this orientation included the practical emphasis of the PGCE, the focus on response to the centralised QTS standards, the time-work balance and the under-appreciation for theory in its technical-rational conceptualisation in the predominantly skill-oriented and subject-teaching focused structure of the training. The study implies that for reflection to be appreciated and implemented at the deeper, conceptual and critical level, it should be put into practice more overtly with elaborate theoretical underpinnings. This would call for changes in this and similar programmes in terms of structure, content and aims.

In recent decades, reflective practice has taken a more central role in the construction of teachers’ knowledge and practice (Elliot, 1991; Roberts, 1998). Within reflective practice, action research has developed as an approach within which teachers can systematically question, challenge and improve their teaching and recently been introduced into teacher education programmes with the rationale of encouraging student teachers to critically engage with curriculum and practice (Mills, 2003). Recent years have additionally seen interest in how teachers’ knowledge is sociodiscursively constructed with a concomitant focus on the link between teacher identity and practice (e.g. Danielewicz, 2001; Miller Marsh, 2003; Norton 2000). However, few studies have attempted to explore the influence action research may have on the construction of student teacher practice and identity (Trent, 2010). This study explores the role of an undergraduate action research project in terms of the extent of its influence on the development of student practice in English Language classes and the trajectory of their emergent teacher identities. Informed by new theoretical directions in ethnography (Denzin, 1997), data was collected using naturally occurring texts integral to the student teachers’ studies, including weekly lesson observations, post-observation feedback discussions and three focus group discussions over the course of the research project. Analysis indicates that the undergraduate action research project differentially affects students’ practice and emergent identities, but that this relationship may be tangential and students’ agency may be overshadowed by methodological preoccupations and constraints of institutions. Both global and local discursive formations combine and interact to influence this process which occurs in a theoretical ‘interzone’ a third space, sociodiscursively constructed between institutions.

This qualitative research study explores the experience of graduating social workers making the transition from university training into work as qualified social work practitioners. Most studies in this area look at the practice readiness of the newly qualified professional. This study looks at the participants’ experience in the work place. How do participants experience this journey of transition? What skills, particularly reflective practice and supervision, learned in training, are important to them? Eight graduates were interviewed three times as they began to practice, after six months and at the end of year one. Four people worked in children’s services, four in adult services. The methodology adopted for this research was Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). These findings suggest there is a process of transition that has three strands, phased development, a professional strand and a psychological /emotional strand. These strands are unique and taken together give a holistic view of an individual’s journey of transition. Across the eight participants there were commonalities and divergences between transition experiences. However a model of transition did emerge which may be applicable to other professional spheres. Reflective practice and supervision appear to be key elements of a newly qualified social workers practice. All participants received supervision; for the majority supervision was focused on case discussions and the social workers decision making: Little place was given to reflection on practice this was seen as an activity that worker’s carried out on their own in their car following a home visit, or on the way home at the end of the working day. There was no clear model of reflective practice used. A further finding concerns the methodology IPA, particularly this researcher’s experience of bracketing and research journaling as part of the research process.

No description available.

This qualitative study explores how knowledge and concepts of knowledge are experienced in an undergraduate teacher education course that employs a community of enquiry pedagogy. As designer and facilitator of the course I engaged students in enquiries and enquiry-based activities to learn about art. Using an action-research approach I made changes to the course design in response to how it played out. The art of the Constitutional Court of South Africa was the focus of our study and students developed structured and logical ‘frameworks’ for analysing artworks as well as playing with laterally extending concepts such as art, justice, equality and humanity. The findings suggest that the dialogical and embodied practice of a community of enquiry pedagogy strongly influenced my students’ and my own awareness of knowledge as a creative and experiential opening up and as a companion to the equally valuable experience of not knowing. Teaching within this epistemological framework demands democratic and reflexive pedagogies such as the community of enquiry.

Neste trabalho é desenvolvido um estudo de natureza qualitativa que busca compreender em que a disciplina de didática se configurou no período de formação, assim como nos primeiros anos de exercício da profissão, de professores com até 10 anos de formação, vindos de diferentes cursos de licenciatura. Foram feitas entrevistas individuais com 11 professores que lecionavam entre os anos 2010 e 2011, nas cidades de Jundiaí e São Paulo, ambas localizadas no estado de São Paulo. Os dados das entrevistas foram organizados de tal forma que permitiram o estabelecimento de cinco categorias que se referem às formas como os professores percebem a sua formação pedagógica, dando ênfase à disciplina de didática. Eles revelam não haver clareza em relação à função da disciplina de didática na formação pedagógica. Verificamos, também, que as diversas facetas conceituais da didática extraídas dos depoimentos estão fortemente vinculadas à necessidade de um amparo mais palpável, ao qual seja possível recorrer para driblar a insegurança sentida nos momentos em que os professores se deparam com situações desafiadoras em sala de aula. Com base nisso é desenvolvida uma discussão buscando fundamentar a ideia de uma disciplina de didática mais voltada à abordagem das questões complexas que permeiam o cotidiano de trabalho docente na instituição escolar, tendo como pano de fundo a prática reflexiva. / In this study is developed a research of qualitative nature that aims to understand in which didactics discipline set up at formation period, as well as first years of profession, of teachers who count until 10 year of training and who have came from different teaching major courses. It has been done individual interviews with 11 teachers who used to teach between the years 2010 and 2011, at Jundiai and São Paulo cities, both located at São Paulo state. The interviews data was organized such as allows the establishment of five categories that refer itself to manners how teachers realize his teacher training, emphasizing didactic discipline. They reveal doesnt have clarity related to didactic discipline function at teacher training. We have verified too that several conceptual facets of didactic extracted of statements are strongly linked to need for more support, which is possible appeal to dribble insecurity felt at moments when the teachers face challenge situations inside classroom. Based on that its developed a discussion aiming substantiate the idea of a didactic discipline more directed to an approach of complex questions that permeate daily of teaching at school, having as background reflective practice.

Thesis advisor: Lauri Johnson / This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of teachers and leaders in one Massachusetts school district about the actions of school leaders that engaged teachers in the reflective process. Utilizing Lave and Wenger's (1991) "Communities of Practice" as a framework enabled the researcher to examine the extent to which a social process of learning existed and whether the district's current structures and conditions engaged teachers in the reflective process. The findings from this study drew upon interview, observation, and document data to explore teacher and leader views regarding specific leadership actions (or inactions) that supported and facilitated teacher engagement in the examination of their practice and whether teachers viewed those actions as impacting their ability to reflect. Results indicated that school leaders implemented anticipatory and ongoing actions to create necessary preconditions, which fostered teacher reflection. Data revealed a district belief that reflective dialogue in pairs (teacher to teacher or teacher to administrator) or in groups (faculty meetings, grade level or departmental meeting) was important to educator growth. Administrators' actions, which engaged teachers in a reflective process, were perceived to be those associated with being an instructional leader. Recommendations include helping district leaders understand the role and design of collaborative reflection as well as the role of the principal in order to plan and implement effective professional learning, which develops reflective practitioners. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.