This dissertation presents an action research project carried out in a primary school to address the issue of ‘pupil voice’. Consulting with stakeholders has risen in prominence in the political context of schools. A number of government directives to encourage schools to engage have been put forward, including the expectation of the establishment of a School Council. The formation of the School Council is the first cycle of action presented in this dissertation, which then continues to develop through three further action cycles: listening to the voices of teachers, ‘children as philosophers’ and action research partnerships in the classrooms. Preliminary work prior to the introduction of School Council sets the context. The conceptual framework has been developed through consideration of the work of Shier (2001), Fielding (2001) and Hart(1994) which has contributed to the establishment of a taxonomy of ‘pupil voice’ development. The methodological approach emerged from the works of Elliott (1991), Zuber Skerritt and Perry (2002) and Whitehead and McNiff (2006) through the development of ‘circles of influence’ which rose and diminished in importance throughout the action cycles. Three circles of influence are identified as ‘self’ including reflexivity, ‘methods’ including ways of engaging and analysing the data, and ‘literature’ pertinent to the area of action as well as the methodology itself. The contribution the subsequent thesis offers to practice is threefold. Firstly, there is the ‘methodological messiness’ (Dadds & Hart 2005) which occurs when conducting action research which necessitates listening to the voices of the participants in order to determine the next cycle. Secondly, there is the development of the ‘pupil voice’ taxonomy which embeds the pupils within the process and is groundbreaking in ‘pupil voice’ research in primary schools. Finally, there are the action cycles themselves which offer the lived experience of engaging in ‘pupil voice’ action research partnerships.

Syftet med denna litteraturstudie har varit att ta reda på vad forskning säger om hur elevers lärande kan synliggöras och stödjas med formativ bedömning, samt hur elevers delaktighet i lärandet kan stöttas med formativ bedömning i NO-undervisning i skolans tidigare år. Metoden för detta arbete har varit en systematisk litteraturstudie vilket innebär att sökning och analys av tidigare forskning har genomförts på ett systematiskt sätt. Litteraturen har sökts i databaserna Summon, ERIC Ebsco, avhandlingar.se, DiVa och NorDiNa. Sökresultatet mynnade ut i åtta vetenskapliga artiklar som ligger till grund för studien. För att synliggöra och stödja elevers lärande visade sig bland annat klassrumsprocesser, gruppdiskussioner, elevarbeten, lärarens ämneskompetens, tydliggörande av mål samt begreppsanvändande vara betydelsefulla faktorer i relation till formativ bedömning. Formativ bedömning väcker intresse som en metod gynnsam för lärande, och fler studier behöver göras för att öka kompetensen och säkra kvalitén med denna metod.

People in children’s environment can significantly influence the process of inclusion in regular schools,teachers and their perceptions on students with special abilities are recognized asplaying a key role. As such, this study aims at investigating, comparing and analyzing Greek and Swedish primary school teachers’ attitudes on inclusive education for childrenwith mental disabilities, as well as their experiences concerning the impact students’ environment has on their efficient inclusion and development. To this end, interviews with them have been employed for data collection in this cross-cultural qualitative research.

Konstpedagogiska aktiviteter och dess betydelse för förskolebarns lärande och utveckling är centrala teman i denna studie. Studien syftar till att undersöka vilka konstpedagogiska traditioner som råder i olika nationella och internationella konstinstitutioner och identifiera vilka möjligheter och/eller begränsningar till förskolebarns utveckling och lärande som de konstpedagogiska aktiviteterna erbjuder. I studien studeras och analyseras hur konstpedagoger i olika konstinstitutioner arbetar med förskolebarn, samt hur konstpedagogiska aktiviteter utformas i praktiken. I studien diskuteras även vilka möjligheter/begränsningar till barns inflytande och delaktighet som konstpedagogiska aktiviteter erbjuder. Den forskningsmetod som används i studien är en kvalitativ intervjuundersökning samt en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av datamaterialet. Undersökningen genomfördes i två länder: i Sverige och på Irland. Studiens resultat visar relativt många likheter i arbetet med utformningen av konstpedagogiska aktiviteter både i Sverige och på Irland. Aktiviteternas innehåll och upplägg varierar dock och beror på konstinstitutionens organisation, aktiviteternas pedagogiska syfte och form av samarbete mellan förskola/skola och konstinstitutioner. Konstpedagogernas syn på konst och barns lärande har många gemensamma drag både på nationell och på internationell nivå. Studien visar att förskolebarns möten med konst kan erbjuda varierande möjligheter till barns lärande och utveckling och kan användas som ett utmärkt pedagogiskt verktyg både i förskola och skola. / Art Education activities and its importance for preschool children's learning and development are central themes in this study. The study aims to examine the art educational traditions prevailing in various national and international art institutions and identify opportunities and / or constraints to preschool children's development and learning the art educational activities offer. The study examines how art teachers in various art institutions work with preschool children, and how art educational activities are developed in practice. The study also analyzed and discussed the possibilities / limitations to children's influence and participation art educational activities offer. Research methods used in the study is a qualitative interview study and a qualitative content analysis of the data. The study was conducted in two countries: in Sweden and Ireland. The study shows relatively many similarities in the work process of the art educational activities both in Sweden and Ireland. Activities’ content and structure varies and depends on the art department's organization, educational purposes and cooperation between preschool / school and art institutions. Art educators’ views on art and children's learning have many features in common, both at national and international level. The study shows that art educational activities can offer diverse opportunities for children's learning and development, and can be used as an excellent educational tool both in preschool and school.

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a significant and common occupational health concern, consequently impacting work attendance and performance. High prevalence rates of MSDs have been reported amongst school teachers. Studies have linked these higher prevalence rates to typical daily teaching activities including prolonged standing, awkward postures, heavy lifting, bending and repetitive movements. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of neck, shoulder and low back pain among primary school teachers in the Central Durban area; to identify any risk factors associated with neck, shoulder and low back pain; and to establish the relationship, if any, between the prevalence and risk factors of neck, shoulder and low back pain among primary school teachers. Methods: This was a quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study, conducted in 12 selected public primary schools within the Central Durban area. Volunteers who met the inclusion criteria (n = 97) were invited to complete self-administered questionnaires. Results: Of the 97 completed questionnaires 83.1 percent (%) reported neck and shoulder pain and 71.0% low back pain. Neck and shoulder pain were significantly associated with a forward-bent head posture (p = 0.001), ethnicity (p = 0.001), and history of a severe trauma/injury (p = 0.006). Similarly, significant associations were noted with regards to medical conditions (p = 0.006), a backward-bent head posture (p = 0.016), lifting of heavy loads (p = 0.045) and treatment for severe injury (p = 0.047). Associations were also noted between low back pain and prolonged standing (p = 0.000), ethnicity (p = 0.008), transportation methods (p = 0.023), medical conditions (p = 0.031) and a history of a severe trauma/injury (p = 0.049). Conclusion: This is a first South African study, to our knowledge that highlights increased prevalence rates for both neck and shoulder pain and low back pain amongst teachers, with a variety of associated risk factors. This draws attention to the urgent need for intervention programs to be implemented to prevent/reduce the development of musculoskeletal pain amongst teachers. / M

The purpose of this study was to assess whether guided practice is more effective than no guided practice (1) in fifth and sixth grade classrooms, (2) in fifth and sixth grade social studies classrooms and fifth and sixth grade science classrooms, and (3) in science classrooms and social studies classrooms. In this experimental study, all fifth and sixth grade students in a small school district in north Texas were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and two control groups in each grade. Over the course of one month two teachers who had previously been trained in the use of guided practice procedures taught the experimental groups in each grade, using, extensive guided practice. Two other teachers taught the control groups in each grade without the use of guided practice. Students in both groups were administered a pretest before beginning each of two chapters in each textbook, while a posttest was administered after the study of each chapter. The analysis and interpretation of data yielded the conclusions that the use of guided practice in classes can be expected to result in higher student achievement than in classes using little or no guided practice in the following areas: science classes, social studies classes, sixth grade classes in general, fifth grade classes in general, fifth grade science classes, and fifth grade social studies classes. The use of guided practice did not result in significant gains in student achievement in sixth grade science classes and sixth grade social studies classes when compared with classes which used little or no guided practice.

This study is an evaluation of individual music textbooks from eight series for grades four, five, and six, by a definite criterion basis. It seems very worthwhile to have an evaluation of such books: (a) to aid in the wise selection of music books, and (b) to become familiar with the contributions of each series.

The purpose of this thesis is to acquaint future band and orchestra directors with a successful, thoroughly "tried and tested" plan of building an instrumental program within the music department. This thesis presents the technique of instrumentating the senior high school band by planning an instrumental program from the first grade to the time the band student reaches the senior high school level.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

This diploma work includes the analysis of 30 school educational programmes. The school programmes were chosen by chance in basic schools of Central Bohemian Region. The study finds out how the health support is realised in school educational programmes. The results of the work show how the subject matter of Health education is realised in school educational programmes and how i tis included in separate school forms. It also uses the real informatik and knowledge of teachers and deals with the topic of social - pathological problems.