Post 1994, the vision of the South African education policy terrain is to transform schools into more effective places of teaching and learning. To achieve this vision, policy suggests a shift in management practices from traditional autocratic headship to more participatory leadership practices, including the leadership of teachers. Theorizing from a distributed leadership perspective, the aim of this study was to explore the concept of teacher leadership and the challenges that are faced by post level one teachers as they operate as leaders in their schools in the South African context. The study sought to investigate how the concept of teacher leadership was understood, how post level one teachers lead in their schools and what challenges to teacher leadership are in schools. The study was conducted in one rural and one semi-urban primary school and it was qualitative in nature. A case study methodology was suitable for this study since it was aimed at gaining teachers understanding and perceptions of teacher leadership. Different methods of collecting data were used and these included interviews, questionnaires, and document analysis. Data were analyzed thematically using Grant’s (2008) model of teacher leadership. The findings indicated that teacher leadership as a concept was still new to certain teachers, even though research on the topic in the South African context is increasing. Some teachers did not think of the roles they played in a school as teacher leadership. The findings further indicated that teacher leadership was experienced differently across the two schools with teacher leadership in the rural school being more restricted than the teacher leadership in the semi-urban school, where it was more emergent. In the rural school, leadership could, at best, be described as authorized distributed leadership while in the semi-urban school, leadership could be described as dispersed distributed leadership. In addition, the findings showed that the major barrier to teacher leadership in the rural school was resistance from the School Management Team while in the semi-urban school the major barrier to teacher leadership was a lack of time. A further barrier to teacher leadership in both schools was teachers themselves who were lazy and did not want to take on additional leadership tasks. The study also found that the major enhancing factor to teacher leadership, particularly in the semi-urban school, was a collaborative school culture where teachers trusted each other and worked together in professional learning communities. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Im vorgelegten Materialband wird illustriert, wie im Rahmen der ethnografischen Erforschung der Praxis des Ganztagsangebotes von Grundschule und Hort mittels der Technik "Ablaufgrafik" Informationen zum zeitlichen und territorialen Ablauf des Ganztagsprogrammes dokumentiert und in der Begegnung mit Feldakteuren reflektiert werden konnten.

I den senaste PISA undersökningen från 2012 testades elevernas kunskaper i matematik, läsning och naturvetenskap hos femtonåringar runt om i landet. Sverige var det land som försämrat sina resultat mest av alla deltagande länder inom samtliga områden. Detta tyder på att något måste göras. Vi har studerat hur man kan väcka intresse för ämnena fysik och kemi inom naturvetenskapen. Detta för att öka de naturvetenskapliga kunskaperna hos eleverna i skolan. Vi har använt oss av en litteraturstudie där vi samlat in och kritiskt granskat tidigare forskning för att besvara våra forskningsfrågor. Dessa är Kan läraren med ett annorlunda innehåll och arbetssätt skapa ett större intresse för naturvetenskapen och på vilka sätt? och Vad ska läraren utgå från och i vilka lärmiljöer är det lättast att fånga elevernas nyfikenhet kring naturvetenskapen? Det som ökar intresset för naturvetenskap är att läraren ska bygga undervisningen på elevernas intresse, att undervisningen ska vara vardagsanknuten och arbetas med i teman i ämnets naturliga miljöer detta betyder att undervisningen måste flyttas utanför den traditionella klassrumsmiljön. Vi rekommenderar att fortsatt forskning skapar ett konkret material som följer läroplanen och är grundat på forskning kring intresseväckande naturvetenskap för grundskolans tidigare år. / The latest PISA study from 2012 tested students´ skills in math, reading and science. The study was focused on fifteen year olds worldwide. Sweden was the country that impaired their results most of all the participating countries in all areas. This suggests that something needs to be done. We have studied how to intrigue interest in the subject’s physics and chemistry in school. Our method is a case study where we collected and critically reviewed previous research to answer our research questions. Our questions are Can teachers with a different content and approach create a bigger interest for science and in wich way? and What should the teacher base the education on and in which teaching environments is it easiest to capture the students curiosity about science education? Our result from this study shows that the content of the education must be based on the students´ interest and education must relate to students´ everyday lives to intrigue an interest. It also shows that themes must be worked with in the natural environments which mean that teaching must be moved outside the traditional classroom environment. We recommend that further research creates a concrete material that follows the curriculum and is based on research on how to intrigue interest in science education in primary school.

The aim of my study is to see how teachers in the early primary school are working to teach all their pupils based on how different ethnicities, cultures and multilingual differences reflect on their work places – the classrooms. I've also contacted the county, were the schools are located in, so I could see what system they are using and how it affects the society. The Swedish society is influenced by different cultures, multilingualism and ethnicities the more time passes, which means that teachers all around need to integrate their pupils in the system so they can better adjust to how the Swedish school system works and be prepared for adult life. Teachers need to concentrate intensely on how they should guide the pupils in their specific class so they can reach their full learning potential and reach the knowledge criteria set by the Swedish school system. I contacted the board of education and to set up a meeting so we could discuss my project. During the meeting I asked the representative how they believe this matter should be handled. After the meeting with the board of education I’ve contacted several teachers in the area. Four teachers participated and contributed information for this study.   The result of my study is that the teachers I’ve been in contact with have pupils that often speak more than one language and the hardest job is to guide them to become viable society citizens in Sweden and still have their culture, language and ethnicities with them.

Abstract Sweden has over the past years grown into a multicultural society which has caused that people with numerous variances of religion and cultures have to interact. This essay will be based on several primary school teacher’s experiences with immigrant families. The purpose of this essay is finding out how they are introduced and integrated in Swedish primary schools by the teachers. I’ve interviewed six primary teachers that shared what they’ve experienced with immigrant families. In order to achieve this study’s purpose I’ve used qualitative methods. The theory for this essay has been chosen to provide me with deeper knowledge about intercultural communication and meetings between people with different cultures. The results have shown that teachers experienced the culture as a big influence in the meetings. The meetings between parents and teachers has been challenging and difficult. The difficulties was often caused by the lack of understanding and communication issues, based on language, religious beliefs etc.  I’ve found out that teachers had trouble informing and achieving what was written in the curriculum for primary schools.  The teachers experienced that immigrant parents had low expectations of the primary schools and on its staff. This study has shown that teachers resolved difficulties in the meetings by acknowledging immigrant parent’s languages, heritages and cultures.

Algebraic thinking is a crucial and fundamental element of mathematical thinking and reasoning. It initially involves recognising patterns and general mathematical relationships among numbers, objects and geometric shapes. Using historical evidence, this paper will highlight how the ability to think algebraically might support a deeper and more useful knowledge, not only of algebra, but the thinking required to successfully use mathematics. It will also provide a framework for educators of primary and middle years’ students to develop the necessary thinking strategies required to understand algebra.

This thesis examines the way refugee and immigrant children, newly-arrived in Australia, perceive and describe music learning and music making. Sited in a specialist English Language School for primary school-age new arrivals, it explores the meaning that children from diverse cultural backgrounds and prior schooling experiences ascribe to their music classes and experiences, inviting their perceptions of what they are learning, how they learn it, what aspects of the music program most engage and motivate them, and what sense they make of the music program and its existence at this school. / The study also focuses on the methodological issues at play in a research context where multiple languages, culture shock, and pre-adolescent children with unknown pre-migration experiences, coincide with a subject matter that does not lend itself easily to spoken descriptions. These include issues of interpretation and assigning meaning, and the way that different cultural values and expectations can influence participants’ responses. The researcher sought to develop research methods and tools that would effectively elicit the children’s responses, supporting them in the unfamiliar research environment, while remaining sensitive to their preferred ways of communicating. / This is a qualitative multiple case study that focuses on three individual students from diverse cultural and schooling backgrounds, with the school’s music program being the issue or concern upon which they offer their different perspectives. Both within-case and cross-case analysis was utilised, and a phenomenological approach to the inquiry was embedded within the case-study structure and research design. Data were gathered by means of interviews and participant observation, and were analysed and interpreted for emergent categories and themes, and for the additional meanings hidden between what was not said, or within awkward language, using interpretive poetics methods and direct interpretations of individual instances. / Discussion points and conclusions include the significance of the music pedagogy in building shared understanding among culturally-diverse children, the impact of culture shock on children’s perceptions, the importance of social learning contexts for newly-arrived children, and methodological challenges and recommendations for research with a similar cohort of children.

This thesis examines the way refugee and immigrant children, newly-arrived in Australia, perceive and describe music learning and music making. Sited in a specialist English Language School for primary school-age new arrivals, it explores the meaning that children from diverse cultural backgrounds and prior schooling experiences ascribe to their music classes and experiences, inviting their perceptions of what they are learning, how they learn it, what aspects of the music program most engage and motivate them, and what sense they make of the music program and its existence at this school. / The study also focuses on the methodological issues at play in a research context where multiple languages, culture shock, and pre-adolescent children with unknown pre-migration experiences, coincide with a subject matter that does not lend itself easily to spoken descriptions. These include issues of interpretation and assigning meaning, and the way that different cultural values and expectations can influence participants’ responses. The researcher sought to develop research methods and tools that would effectively elicit the children’s responses, supporting them in the unfamiliar research environment, while remaining sensitive to their preferred ways of communicating. / This is a qualitative multiple case study that focuses on three individual students from diverse cultural and schooling backgrounds, with the school’s music program being the issue or concern upon which they offer their different perspectives. Both within-case and cross-case analysis was utilised, and a phenomenological approach to the inquiry was embedded within the case-study structure and research design. Data were gathered by means of interviews and participant observation, and were analysed and interpreted for emergent categories and themes, and for the additional meanings hidden between what was not said, or within awkward language, using interpretive poetics methods and direct interpretations of individual instances. / Discussion points and conclusions include the significance of the music pedagogy in building shared understanding among culturally-diverse children, the impact of culture shock on children’s perceptions, the importance of social learning contexts for newly-arrived children, and methodological challenges and recommendations for research with a similar cohort of children.

In Queensland, all state schools have the opportunity to decide the model of school-based management they would like to adopt for their school communities. For schools wishing to pursue the greatest level of school-based management, School Councils are mandatory. Because School Councils will play an important role as schools become increasingly involved in school-based management, the operations of newly formed Councils were the basis of this research. The main purpose of the study is to determine, through both literature and research, what makes an effective School Council. Although Education Queensland has identified roles and functions, as well as the rationale behind School Councils, clear guidelines to assist Councils with their implementation and to gauge the effectiveness of Councils do not exist. Because School Councils have only been implemented in Queensland for a very short period of time, there has been very little research undertaken on their operations. There are three main stages to this research. First, an extensive literature review explored the theoretical, research and policy developments in relation to school-based management and School Councils. Second, a pilot study was undertaken of an existing School Council that had been in operation for just twelve months. The final and most significant stage of the research involved multi-site case study of three newly formed School Councils, the research being conducted over a twelve-month period to obtain a longitudinal picture of their operations. Two general theoretical frameworks, based on the concepts of change theory and leadership theory, guided the research. Data from the study were analysed within these frameworks and within six focus areas that were identified from the literature and pilot study. These focus areas formed the basis for the development of criteria for the implementation of an effective School Council that were investigated in the three case studies. The focus areas were: 1. promoting the profile of the School Council within the school community; 2. developing well defined roles, responsibilities and functions of the School Council; 3. developing roles and relationships of School Council members; 4. promoting accountability, monitoring and reporting responsibilities; 5. providing training and professional development for all School Council members; and 6. improving the functioning and operations of the School Council. The research was conducted within the qualitative tradition. Specifically, the method adopted was multi-site case study. Data-collection techniques involved questionnaires, interviews with School Council members, observations of Council meetings and an analysis of Council documentation. The findings from the study outlined a number of theoretical understandings and suggested criteria to assist schools in developing a more effective Council, including examples of strategies to support their effective implementation. It is envisaged that the theoretical understandings, the suggested criteria and specific examples will be of benefit to other schools where School Councils are being formed by providing them with a structure that will assist in the beginning stages of the Council's operation.

Σκοπός της εργασίας αυτής είναι ο Παιδαγωγικός Λόγος του Θεόδωρου Κάστανου (1886-1932) και το Μονοτάξιο Διδασκαλείο Καρπενησίου, όπου τερματίζεται η θητεία του ως Διευθυντή. Ιστορικοερμηνευτικά, αλλά και με περιγραφικές τεχνικές και με θεώρηση του Κόσμου και της Αγωγής ως ενότητας των αντιθέτων (Ηράκλειτος), εστιάζει στη Βιοαγωγή ως μέρος της Βιογραφίας. Αναδεικνύει έναν Κάστανο άνθρωπο, ιδεολόγο, ρομαντικό, επαναστάτη, εθνικιστή, Κοινωνιστή και με Παρσονικούς όρους ανατροπέα, αλλά με λογισμό και με όνειρο. Εισηγείται: 1. Πιλοτικά την βαθμιαία εφαρμογή του νέου σχολείου- σχολείου εργασίας. 2. Την δωρεάν παιδεία. 3. Την οχτάχρονη φοίτηση. 4. Την γενική επιστημονική εκπαίδευση του δασκάλου στην ανώτατη βαθμίδα. 5. Τον δάσκαλο αρμόδιο για την εκπόνηση του Προγράμματος και την υλοποίηση των στόχων του, οι οποίοι απορρέουν από τις Γενικές Αρχές και Σκοπούς που θέτει η Πολιτεία. 6. Την μετεκπαίδευση των όλων δασκάλων πέραν των θεσμοθετημένων. 7. Την αναλογία ενός δασκάλου προς τριάντα μαθητές. 8. Την καθιέρωση της δημοτικής γλώσσας. 9. Το βιβλίο εργαλείο γλώσσας, αλλά και φιλολογικής τέρψης. 10. Τευχίδια αντί Αναγνωστικών. 11. Την ριζική μεταβολή του Προγράμματος με δεσπόζουσα θέση στην ΕΣΔ. 12. Την κυρίαρχη θέση της συνεργαζόμενης κοινότητας μεταξύ των μορφών διδασκαλίας- εργασίας. 13. Τη δημιουργία σχολικών κήπων. 14. «Την ίδρυση ενός πειραματικού πρότυπου σχολείου σε κάθε κεντρική πόλη που εδρεύει επιθεωρητής δημοτικών σχολείων.» 15. Την επαναδιαπραγμάτευση της διδακτέας ύλης, αλλά και την αναβολή της σε ανώτερη βαθμίδα εξέλιξης του παιδιού. 16. Ειδική πολιτική μέριμνα για την Εκπαίδευση των ξενοφώνων. Με τα αιτήματα αυτά η μεταρρύθμιση έγινε μετά από κυοφορία δύο γενεών! / The purpose of this project is the work “Pedagogical Discourse” written by Theodore Kastanos (1886-1932), and the Primary School with one teacher in Karpenisi, where his service as Headmaster was completed. Interpreting historically, along with descriptive techniques and regarding the World and Education as the unity of the opposite (Heracletus), he focuses on Bioeducation as a part of Biography. He reveals these aspects of Kastanos that lead to his human, ideologist, romantic, revolutionary, nationalist , socialist and –in Parsonian terminology- subversive self, but seen through the spectrum of “thoughts and dream”. He suggests: 1. the gradual application of the new school – school of work, in a pilot programme. 2. free education 3. eight-year studies 4. the general scientific education of the teacher in the upper grade 5. the teacher being responsible for the elaboration of the Programme and the realization of its objectives, which stem from the General Principles and Objectives that are set by the State. 6. the training of all teachers beyond the institutionalized education 7. the proportion of one teacher to thirty students 8. the establishment of the Greek vernacular dialect (Dhemotic) 9. the book being the tool not only of language, but also of literary delight. 10. the use of book issues instead of readers. 11. the radical reform of the Programme, being in dominant position in United Collective Instruction. 12. the prevailing position of the collaborating community among the forms of instruction-work.. 13. the creation of school gardens. 14. the establishment of one pilot school in every central city, where inspectors of primary education reside. 15. the re-negotiation of the syllabus, and its postponement for a higher grade of the child development. 16. special political providence for the education of the speakers of foreign languages. Posing these requests, the reformation took place after two generations!