There has been a noticeable swing towards school pupils being driven to and from school, and away from active modes like walking and cycling, in recent decades. This has had a number of side effects. Less reliance on active modes of transport has been a contributing factor in the reducing levels of physical activity for school children. Traffic volumes associated with school trips have also increased. This increased has tended to contribute to an increase in traffic congestion, adverse environmental effects and reductions in levels of sustainability. School trip traffic contributes specifically to congestion at school gates. Schools have been identified as having significant effects on the transportation system adjacent to them. Schools which seek Resource Consents for new or changed activities are often being required to take measures to mitigate their adverse effects The purpose of this study is to explore the factors contributing to primary school pupils' travel choices. This will help to identify travel choice patterns which may, in turn, be useful in developing policies and planning initiatives which contribute to achieving an efficient and sustainable transport system. A range of literature relevant to school and general commuting travel demand was reviewed. A case study involving the pupils of twenty two Christchurch primary schools was carried out. Pupils and their parents were surveyed to establish mode choices and the factors influencing those choices. The study found that between 55% and 60% of pupils surveyed travel to and from school by car. 30% to 35% walk or scooter, and 5% to 7% cycle. This compares with 34% travelling by car in the late 1980s. In addition, a greater proportion of those pupils who walk, scooter or cycle to school are accompanied by an adult than in the past. The results of the study also suggested that School Travel Plans, when combined with the energy and commitment to implement them can have a significant effect on school travel choices. As part of the case study, parents were asked to rank the importance of a number of factors which could influence choices regarding their children's school travel. The responses from parents identified safety concerns, regarding both road and personal safety, as the major factor behind decisions regarding their children's travel choices. Time constraints coupled with the complexity of travel requirements of many families were identified as significant factors. Multinomial Logit Models for both mode choice and pupils travel independence were then produced for both the journey to and from school. These models were based on the results of the case study. The models produced indicate that, at a school level, there is a correlation between increasing school roll and an increasing proportion of pupils travelling by car. A slight negative correlation between school decile and car usage was also indicated. This is contrary to the normally accepted understanding that in most transport situations there is a positive correlation between increasing affluence and car usage. Superior model results were obtained at a disaggregated individual level, using nine variables relating to the school, the neighbourhood, and the home, than the results obtained using the school based variables of. However, it is not considered that the effort required to obtain information on the additional variables is justified when estimating mode choices of pupils at an individual school. It is therefore recommended that a model using Decile, Average Age, and School Roll variables be used to estimate mode choices at an individual school. At a family level, there was a strong positive correlation between distance from school, age of the pupils, and the number of major roads between school and home, and car usage. It became apparent that the decisions made regarding children's school travel are very complex. Families juggle a number of factors, many of which are in conflict with one another. For example a desire to care for the environment may be in conflict with the demand to get the children to school, and get to work on time. This complex interrelationship between factors has resulted in some instances where normally accepted "Rules of Thumb", such as the understanding that increased car usage is generally associated with increasing wealth, do not appear to be applicable to school travel. The complexity of interrelationships has further meant that it has not been possible to quantify the impact of any one factor on its own.

Teachers report that there are an increased number of students engaging in persistent antisocial behaviour in their classrooms. Teachers need to identify these students early because if there is early identification then there is the potential for early intervention, which in turn may prevent negative long-term outcomes for these students as well as long-term costs to society. The aims of this study were (1) develop a psychometrically sound, cost effective, three-step multiple gating behaviour screening procedure that teachers could use in their kindergarten/classroom so that they could identify those students at-risk of antisocial development, (2) examine if the third gate of this procedure was necessary for the accurate identification of these students, and (3) could such a screening procedure be adapted for classroom teacher use in New Zealand kindergartens and schools. Forty eight teachers from three kindergartens and 10 primary/intermediate schools volunteered for the study, of which 34 teachers completed all three gates of the screening procedure. Results indicate the three gate screening procedure was easily adapted for kindergarten and classroom use with, at Gate 3, teachers’ self-recording 30 direct observations of a nominated and control student during their normal teaching lesson with good accuracy. All three gates were effective in identifying those students at-risk of antisocial development but Gates 1 and 2 were the most effective in terms of accuracy, time and resourcing. The teachers found the three gate procedure manageable, required very little training and did not interrupt classroom routine or schedules. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Previous research worldwide has shown that curriculum materials maintain a strong presence and constitute an important tool, artefact, in mathematics classrooms. Yet, there is a vast lack of research on the design and the characteristics of teacher guides. The thesis aims to: 1) investigate the features of the Finnish teacher guides for mathematics at primary school and 2) map the cultural specificities and norms for classroom practices as construed in Finnish teacher guides. The data consist of nine Finnish teacher guides in mathematics (belonging to three textbook series) for Grades 1-6 and comprise almost 90 percent of the teacher guides utilized in Finnish schools for 2008. These teacher guides are examined through three studies. In the first study, we developed an analytical tool based on Davis and Krajcik’s ideas about educative curriculum materials when analysing the teacher guides’ content. In the second study, we analysed a larger sample of the Finnish teacher guides using the same analytical tool, but extending the study to also analyse their form, i.e. their look, structure and voice. This study shows that there is a wide consensus on both the content and the form of the guides. While several educative aspects are weakly presented in the guides, the analysis shows that they offer rich and varied resources for teachers in their everyday work in designing and enacting mathematics teaching and hence, learning in practice. The third study delves more deeply into the characteristics of the support the guides offer to design mathematics classrooms. We characterize the cultural script of the reflected classroom practice by analysing the form and the function of the activities promoted in most of the guides. We found a relatively homogeneous script that promotes differentiation while keeping students in the same mathematical area, opportunities to participate in whole-class interaction that comprises a variety of activities, like mental calculation, games, problem-solving, individual and group work, and small piece of homework after every single lesson. The thesis contributes to the international research discourse on curriculum materials and in particular on teacher guides as resources for design of mathematics classroom in a specific educational context. The study is also of interest for teachers, and for text-book authors in developing teacher guides in line with research. / Tidigare forskning visar att läromedel, så som elevernas lärobok och lärarhandledningar är den resurs som används i huvudsak som grund för matematikundervisning. Finsk forskning visar dessutom att finländska lärare (åk 1-6) i stor utsträckning använder lärarhandledningar i själva undervisningen och även för att planera och organisera sin undervisning. Studiens övergripande syfte är att se vilken typ av resurs de finländska lärarhandledningar utgör för läraren, men också att belysa vilken typ av klassrum som dessa lärarhandledningar verkar främja, då lärarna använder de uppgifter och aktiviteter som presenteras i lärarhandledningarna. Studien är genomförd som en dokumentanalys av tre läroboksserier i matematik för grundskolans årskurser 1, 3 och 6. Det är totalt nio lärarhandledningar som har analyserats. Dessa tre läroboksserier täcker nästan 90 procent av de lärarhandledningar som användes i och på finska skolor under år 2008. Avhandlingen består av tre studier. I den första studien som också betraktas som pilotstudie, utvecklade vi ett fungerande analytiskt verktyg som bygger på Davis och Krajciks idéer om ”lärande läromedel”. I den andra studien fördjupar vi resultaten från pilotstudien genom att analysera ett större urval med samma ramverk. Denna studie visar att det finns en bred enighet om både innehåll och form i lärarhandledningarna och vi identifierade sex återkommande aktiviteter som är närvarande på varje tilltänkt lektion. Vidare visar analysen att egenskaperna hos de finländska lärarhandledningarna erbjuder rika och varierande resurser för lärare i det dagliga arbetet vid både planering och genomförande av matematikundervisning. Den tredje studien är en fördjupning i analysverktygets femte kategori för att finna vilket stöd de erbjuder för att designa undervisning. Där kartlägger och karakteriserar vi det kulturella skript utifrån de finska lärarhandledningarna genom att analysera både form och funktion av de gemensamt föreslagna återkommande aktiviteterna. Vi identifierade en relativt homogen klassrumspraktik som lyfter fram helklassinteraktion, variation med hjälp av olika typer av aktiviteter, möjlighet för alla elever att delta och läxor som en förlängning av lärande av lektionens innehåll. Avhandlingen mynnar ut i en diskussion av resultatens slutsatser och dess praktiska implikationer, vilket kan vara av intresse för forskare, läromedelsförfattare men även för lärare, rektorer och kommuner som vill utveckla och förbättra undervisningen i matematik. Avhandlingen bidrar till den internationella forskningsdiskursen om läromedel i stort och om lärarhandledningar i synnerhet.

Denna undersökning jämför hur inställning till NO-undervisningen i utemiljö ser ut och hur detta arbetssätt används av pedagoger i åk 1-3 och åk 4-6. Undersökningen har genomförts med hjälp av en enkät som skickats ut till verksamma pedagoger som undervisar i NO. Det visar sig att man i åk 1-3 använder sig av undervisning i utemiljö i större utsträckning än vad de gör i åk 4-6 och att det är pedagoger i åk 1-3 som anser sig ha mest kunskap och erfarenhet av detta arbetssätt. En positiv inställning till arbetssättet finns hos både pedagoger i åk 1-3 och åk 4-6. / This study compares how the attitude to science teaching in outdoor environment looks like and also how this approach is used by educators in grades 1-3 and 4-6. This study is based on a survey answered by active educators who teach science. The result shows that educators in grades 1-3 use more teaching in outdoor environment, compared to educators in grades 4-6. It also shows that educators in grades 1-3 believe they have more knowledge and experience of this approach, compared to educators in grades 4-6. Both educators in grades 1-3 and grades 4-6 have a positive attitude to science teaching in outdoor environment.

Denna undersökning tittar på hur ofta lärare i grundskolans årskurs 1-6 använder skogen som ett ”andra klassrum”. För att få en så bred uppfattning som möjligt har lärare som undervisar i årskurs 1-6 deltagit i en enkätundersökning. Undersökningen visar att avståndet till skogen har betydelse för hur många gånger/termin en lärare använder skogen som ett ”andra klassrum”. För de som har längst avstånd till skogen spelade vädret inte så stor roll för om man går till skogen och har undervisning. För lärare som hade skogen på kortast avstånd spelade vädrets betydelse en större roll. Få resurser, tidsbrist, avståndet till skogen och minskad koncentration hos eleverna är de största nackdelarna lärarna anger med att använda skogen som ett ”andra klassrum”. Fördelarna med att undervisa i skogen enligt lärarna, är att undervisningen sker både sinnligt och praktiskt. Eleverna visar ett större intresse när undervisningen blir konkret på grund av att de får en bättre förståelse för helheter och sammanhang. / This study is looking at how often the teachers in the primary school’s year 1-6 are using the forests as a “second classroom”. To get as wide a view as possible, teachers who teach years 1-6 have participated in a survey. The results of the survey show that the distance to the forest is significant for how many times/term a teacher use it as a “second classroom”. The weather conditions have a greater influence when teaching in the forest for those who are nearer to the forest than those who are at a further distance. A lack of resources and time as well as the distance to the forest and decreased concentration of students are the main disadvantages teachers give to using the forest as a “second classroom”. The benefits according to the teachers are that the tuition is both sensuous and practical. The students show a greater interest when teaching becomes concrete as it gives a better understanding of entirety and contexts.

Pagrindinis darbo tikslas buvo atskleisti 3-4 klasių vaikų sveikos gyvensenos nuostatas ir įpročius bei jų ryšį su fizinio laisvalaikio aktyvumu. Tyrime dalyvavo 180 vaikų, iš kurių 51 proc. buvo berniukai, 49 proc. – mergaitės, besimokantys 3 – 4 klasėse. Darbe buvo iškelti trys uždaviniai: • pateikti sveikatos ir sveikatos ugdymo sampratą; • išnagrinėti pradinių klasių mokinių sveikos gyvensenos nuostatas bei įpročius; • ištirti kaip mokinių sveikos gyvensenos nuostatos ir įpročiai koreliuoja su jų laisvalaikio praleidimo formų aktyvumu. Tyrimo metu naudojami metodai: • anoniminė anketinė 3-4 klasių apklausa. • anketinių duomenų analizė naudojant Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programą. Svarbiausios empirinio tyrimo išvados: • Apibendrinus anketų duomenis galima teigti, kad laisvalaikis, fizinis aktyvumas, asmens higiena bei sveikas maitinimasis užima svarbią vietą vaikų gyvenime, suteikia galimybę bendrauti su bendraamžiais, skatina asmens aktyvumą, plėtoja kūrybiškumą, pasitikėjimą, skatina susimąstyti apie savo kūno priežiūrą, apie tai ką valgo ir, be abėjo suteikia galimybę išreikšti save bei tobulėti visuose srytise. • Tyrimas atskleidė, kad tik 8 proc. vaikų nežinojo ar nenumanė ką reikia daryti, kad būti stipriam ir sveikam. Vaikai teigė, kad žino kodėl žmonės save prisižiūri, pvz. nes nori būti sveiki. Taip pat tyrimo metu paaiškėjo, kad daugiau nei pusė vaikų (61 proc.) renkasi aktyvų laisvalaikio praleidimo būdą. Remiantis pradinio ugdymo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The main aim was to disclose 3-4 classes children's opposition proceedings healthy habits and provisions and their connection with physical leisure activity. The study was 180 children, of which 51 per cent were boys and 49 per cent - the girls, studying 3 - 4 classes. The work was to raise three objectives: • to submit concept of health and health education; • to examine a healthy lifestyle pupils of the primary forms and habits; • to investigate how pupils provisions and a healthy lifestyle habits correlates with their leisure forms of activity. During the investigation methods are used: • anonymous survey anketinė 3-4 classes. • questionnaires and investigations performed at data analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program. The most important empirical findings of the investigation: • Questionnaires aggregated data can be said that leisure, physical activity, and personal hygiene and healthy eating occupies an important place in children's life, and provides the opportunity to communicate with counterparts, encourages personal activity, develop creativity, confidence, encourage to think about your body care, about what they are eating and, without abėjo provides an opportunity to express themselves and to improve all srytise. • The investigation revealed that only 8 percent of children did not know or did not know what to do that to be a strong and healthy. Children said that they know why people themselves prisižiūri, for example because it... [to full text]

The aim of the research is about the evaluation of the management of the selection for educators at a primary school in the North West, Klerksdorp District and to consider theoretical and practical implications. Questionnaires were used as the main measuring instrument. The findings of the research revealed that some of the role players lack necessary skills and expertise to be part of the selection process. Policy implications were found to have an effect on the process. Nepotism, poor communication, selection of correct candidates, roles played by different role players, information dissemination during the process, effectiveness of the selection process, lack of preparations before the selection process begin and composition of the selection panel, were found to be present. The conclusions from the findings indicated that, selection should be considered as a serious process and stakeholders should ensure that they play their roles according to the policy that governs the process. Recommendations included the following: training of the stakeholders should be taken into consideration, nepotism and other unfair practices should be avoided, information distribution and communication should be improved, and effectiveness during the process should be emphasized as well as the composition of the selection panel. Future research should be on further enhancement of the selection process to be effective and efficient taking into consideration the needs of different societies and the nation as a whole. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

This study aimed to determine what the effect of a sport development and nutrition intervention programme would be on the following components of psychological development of previously disadvantaged, primary school-aged rugby players: self-esteem; cognitive development, attention and concentration and social support. The participants were primary school boys between the ages of 9 and 14 years from disadvantaged communities. They were recruited on the basis of availability from six primary schools in the Potchefstroom area of the North West Province involved in a rugby development programme. The research design was a randomised, single-blinded, controlled intervention study. The children were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The experimental group of children received an exercise intervention and a nutritional supplement twice a week for a period of three months. The control group received no sport or nutritional interventions during this period. The research methodology included pre-testing, intra-testing and post-testing. With the pre-testing a comparison could be drawn between the experimental and control group regarding the above-mentioned psychological components. During the intra testing each of the 2 groups was evaluated separately regarding these components to identify any changes that could have taken place within the group from baseline to end. With the post-testing the 2 groups were compared with each other regarding these components to determine whether the nutrition and exercise interventions resulted in any markable changes to especially the experimental group. The results showed an statistically significant improvement in self-concept within the experimental group (p = 0.028) whereas no difference in self-concept within the control group was obtained. The effect of the intervention programme was not as clearly observable in any of the other psychological components. A longer duration of such an intervention programme could possibly contribute to better test results. The socioeconomic circumstances of the participants played an important role in the final outcome of the study in that it influenced the social support the participants received and it also had an effect on the test behaviour of the participants. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

This study is a subdivision of an inter-university research project to investigate the psychological resilience of children in the late middle childhood years. The title of the umbrella project is Psychological resilience in children in the South African context. The aim of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between social support and self-concept, as well as to establish whether gender differences occur with regard to the experience of social support and the evaluation of self-concept. Schools in different regions were identified in order to make the sample as large and the study as representative as possible of the different provinces, racial and language groups in South Africa. The children in the samples were randomly selected from class lists. The complete test battery was subsequently administered to these children. For the purpose of this study only the Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale, the Social Support Appraisal Scale and the Biographical Questionnaire were used. Due to practical problems, the final figures of the samples varied between 549 and 918 participants. The processing of the data was done by the Statistical Consultation Service of the North West University Potchefstroom Campus. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used as an effect size to determine the relationship between social support and self-concept. T-tests and Cohen's effect sizes were used to determine whether gender differences occur with regard to social support and self-concept. The statistical processing of the results revealed that a positive correlation exists between social support and self-concept. These results are corresponding with the literature (Collins, 2000; Kirkcaldy, Shephard & Stiefen, 2002; Malecki 8 Demaray, 2002; Marjoribanks & Mboya, 2001; Van Tassel-Baska & Olszewski-Kubilius, 1994). Further, the results showed that no gender differences that were both statistically significant and practically meaningful occurred with regards to social support and self-concept. These results were repeatedly inconsistent with the literature (Bee, 1992; Dubow & Ullman, 1989; Harris, Rosenthal & Snodgrass, 1986; Hirsch & Rapkin, 1987; Piers, 1984; Werner & Smith, 1982). Finally, the last section of this investigation provides recommendations for further studies in this area, as well as practical suggestions for the implementation of the findings. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005

This study was undertaken in the Johannesburg South district (D11). Primary school language teachers in this district (D11) were invited to participate in this study by means of a questionnaire. This study investigated which kind of teaching methods teachers are currently using to develop and enhance critical thinking skills of ESL learners in language classrooms. Teachers' knowledge of Blooms' Taxonomy of cognitive objectives and how to use this taxonomy to develop ESL learners' critical thinking skills were also scrutinized. Since many ESL learners' language proficiency in English is also limited the responses of the teachers indicated that this could have a negative influence on their critical thinking development. This study accentuates the need for the use of a variety of teaching methods to enhance ESL learners' critical thinking skills in language in the Johannesburg South District (D11). / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.