ABSTRACT The goal of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the perception that exists for fourteen Jamaican instructional leaders as they integrate Tablet Computers (TCs) into the pedagogical process to prepare grade four students for the Grade Four Literacy Test (G4LT). The research was conducted in four schools; three rural primary schools in the parishes of Trelawny, Manchester and St Elizabeth and an urban primary school in Kingston. The focal group comprised four principals, three vice principals, three grade four coordinators and four grade four teachers from the scope of schools that were piloting the Tablet in School (TIS) initiative. Structured interviews and observation were used as data sources. Findings from the data revealed that the instructional leaders, while receptive to the initiative of utilizing the TCs in the pedagogical process, were unable to speak to how effective its usage was in preparing students for the G4LT. Furthermore, although the devices were somewhat facilitated in the teaching and learning process, the majority of instructional leaders did not use them to teach the components of the examination. Finally, results suggested that the usage of the TC as an instructional tool had encouraged more favourable responses from students in the classroom learning environment. As the first study to investigate the integration of TC to teach literacy in the Jamaican Primary Classroom, the current study provided novel insights and a springboard for more qualitative investigations into this particular phenomenon. It is also anticipated that the emerging data will influence and inform decision making within the Ministry of Education (MoE). / Educational Leadership

This study examined public primary school teachers' perceptions of the factors contributing to safe school learning environments. Teachers' perceptions and behaviors were examined to assist task force members to develop and conduct a self-study process for enhancing a safe learning environment for pupils. Twenty-eight primary school teachers from one public primary school in Malawi participated in the study. Data on teachers' perceptions and behaviors were collected through a survey. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the survey data on teachers' perceptions. The data from the self-study process generated the discussions in the task force meetings where teachers shared their perceptions of classroom practices that contributed to a safe learning environment. The task force conducted a four-step self-study process. The steps of the process were building awareness and community, developing a group focus, implementing the ideas of the group focus, and reflecting on the practice. The participating teachers' experiences suggested that the process discouraged teachers from direct instruction and encouraged them to actively engage students more in their learning. As a result the teachers experienced fewer discipline problems in their classes. The perceptions of teachers in the survey indicated that the school environment was generally positive for teaching and learning. However, there were some elements that could adversely affect school safety. For example, there were problems in maintaining some of the school facilities such as books and children's latrines. The finding of the self-study process indicated that the school could develop elements of school safety. For example, the teachers in the study developed positive attitudes toward their teaching and learning. They reported for school activities on time and involved learners in their learning. The study had a number of implications for teaching and learning and teacher educators. The self-study process, for example, was able to change teachers' attitudes about their learners, thereby enhancing the learner-teacher classroom relationship. Suggestions for further research are also given. For example, further studies could focus on the replication of the study in other schools in order to examine the self-study process in different school contexts. And such replication could assist further understanding and refinement of the self-study process for addressing school safety as well as other identified school problems. / Ph. D.

Research suggests school-based interventions and health education programs can increase children's fruit and vegetable exposure and consumption to improve their diet quality and reduce the risk of diet-related chronic diseases during adulthood. Nevertheless, children have limited availability and access to fruits and vegetables in school environments, which is a barrier to healthy eating. Farm to school (FTS) programs are one of many synergistic interventions to increase children's intake of locally and regionally produced fruits and vegetables at school. In 2015, the United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture reported that 42% of U.S. school districts and 57% of Virginia schools participated in FTS programs. However, there is a lack of research on FTS programs in Montgomery County, Virginia. This MS thesis describes a mixed-methods, Q Methodology study to explore the views of diverse stakeholders (n=14) regarding the benefits, opportunities, and challenges to implement FTS programs for children, aged 5-11 years, in primary schools in Montgomery County, Virginia. Objective 1 was used to identify and mapped stakeholders invested in or affected by FTS programs in Virginia. Objective 2 used Q Methodology and factor analysis to identify the views of stakeholders regarding the benefits, opportunities, and challenges of FTS programs in Montgomery County. Results found two factors that summarized all 14 participants' viewpoints. Factor one (n=12), Appreciators of Child-Centered Benefits and factor 2 (n=2), Advocates for Legislative Change. Objective 3 described policies and future actions needed to institutionalize and sustain FTS programs in Montgomery County and southwestern Virginia. / Master of Science / Research suggests school-based interventions and health education programs can increase children’s fruit and vegetable exposure and consumption to improve their diet quality and reduce the risk of diet-related chronic diseases during adulthood. Nevertheless, children have limited availability and access to fruits and vegetables in school environments, which is a barrier to healthy eating. Farm to school (FTS) programs are one of many synergistic interventions to increase children’s intake of locally and regionally produced fruits and vegetables at school. In 2015, the United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture reported that 42% of U.S. school districts and 57% of Virginia schools participated in FTS programs. However, there is a lack of research on FTS programs in Montgomery County, Virginia. This MS thesis describes a mixed-methods, Q Methodology study to explore the views of diverse stakeholders (n=14) regarding the benefits, opportunities, and challenges to implement FTS programs for children, aged 5- 11 years, in primary schools in Montgomery County, Virginia. Objective 1 identified and mapped stakeholders invested in or affected by FTS programs in Virginia. Objective 2 used Q Methodology and factor analysis to identify the views of stakeholders regarding the benefits, opportunities, and challenges of FTS programs in Montgomery County. Results found two factors that summarized all 14 participants’ viewpoints. Factor one (n=12), Appreciators of Child-Centered Benefits and factor 2 (n=2), Advocates for Legislative Change. Objective 3 described policies and future actions needed to institutionalize and sustain FTS programs in Montgomery County and southwestern Virginia.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka  i vilken utsträckning rektorer medverkar i elevhälsans systematiska hälsofrämjande arbete i svenska grundskolor. Metod: En deskriptiv, kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie användes som metod för att besvara studiens syfte. Datainsamlingen genomfördes med hjälp av egenkonstruerade webbenkäter för att samla in data från 200 slumpmässigt utvalda rektorer från grundskolor från hela Sverige. Enkäterna skickades ut till rektorernas e-postadresser tillsammans med ett missivbrev. Av de 200 valda rektorerna deltog 28 % i studien och besvarade enkäten. Resultat: 88 % av rektorerna svarade (n= 51) att elevhälsan aktivt bedriver ett systematiskt hälso-främjande utvecklingsarbete. Majoriteten av rektorerna (n=52) angav att elevhälsan, aktivt bedriver samtliga faser av det systematiska arbetet. Svarsfrekvensen om rektorernas medverkande vid faserna analys, planering, och uppföljning var relativt lika då hälften av rektorerna angav att de medverkade ofta och hälften medverkade varje gång. En skillnad uppstod då 31 % av rektorerna svarade att de sällan medverkade i genomförandefasen.  Den yrkeskategori som nämndes flest gånger som initierar majoriteten av hälsofrämjande insatser var elevhälsoteamen på skolorna som bestod av skolsjuksköteterskor, rektorer, kuratorer, lärare och elever.  51 % av rektorerna angav att det var på rektorns egna initiativ som elevhälsan bedrev ett systematiskt hälsofrämjande utvecklingsarbete på skolan. Fyra rektorer nämnde att elevhälsan var de som utförde hälsofrämjande arbete i skolorna. 80 % av rektorerna ansåg även att deras medverkan var betydelsefull för att elevhälsan ska kunna bedriva ett systematiskt hälsofrämjande arbete i grundskolor. Slutsats: Rektorer initierar, bedriver och medverkar i hälsofrämjande arbete och elevhälsans systematiska hälsofrämjande arbeten inom skolorna. Elevhälsoteam eller elevhälsogruppen som fanns lokalt placerade på skolorna var de som initierade hälsofrämjande insatser. Elevhälsan initierade mycket sällan hälsofrämjande insatser på skolorna. Detta kan ifrågasätta ifall det hälsofrämjande elevhälsoarbete som bedrivs är övergripande eller möter elevernas behov. / Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the extent of headmasters’ participation in the systematic health promoting work carried out by the student health service. Method: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional survey was used to collect the data. The data collection was preformed using a self-designed web survey, through email addresses to collect data from 200 randomly selected headmasters of primary schools from all over Sweden. Of the 200 selected headmasters, 28% (n = 53) attended, and answered the questionnaire.  Result: 88 % of the headmasters reported that the student health service conducted a systematic health promoting work. The majority of the headmasters (n=52) reported that the student health service conducts all of the different stages of the systematic work. The response rate was equal regarding headmaster’s participation, often and every time in the different stages; analyze, planning and follow up. The stage implementation showed a divergence from the other stages when 31 % of the headmasters reported that they rarely participate in this stage. The main profession who initiated health promotion work according to the headmasters was student health teams in the schools, consisting school health nurses, headmasters, teachers, pupils and psychologist. 51 % of the headmasters declared that it was on their initiative that the student health service started the health promotion work. Only four headmaster’s named that the student health service conducted health promotion work in the schools. 80 % of the headmasters felt that their participation was important for the student health service to manage a systematic health promoting work in primary school’s settings. Conclusions: The headmaster’s initiates, conducts and participates in the systematic health promotion work and with the student health service in the primary schools. Student health teams are placed locally at the schools and were the ones who initiated health promotion work. The student health service was very rarely the ones who initiated health promotion work in schools. This may question if the health promoting work witch is conducted in schools are overall or meets the students' health needs.

Topic: Level of knowledge and skills of first aid on primary school. Abstract: This thesis aims to examine and compare the first aid level of knowledge of pupils, focusing the 3th & 5th classes on primary schools in Prague, in a small town and in a village. The work is divided into two main parts, to the theoretical and practical one. The theoretical part consists of four chapters. The first chapter defines what first aid is and what its types are. The second charter covers emergency lines and basic components of the Integrated Rescue System. The third chapter maps the sources of information, where pupils at primary school can learn about first aid. The fourth chapter deals with the model emergency procedures in selected areas. In the introduction of practical part are research hypotheses and methods specified. The research itself was made by questionnaire. The chosen procedure was a first step to map the level of knowledge of first aid. When developing the questionnaire there were given situations in which children can actually occur and be the only savior at hand. Based on the information collected, the training program for this age category was set. After some time period, the effectiveness of training program was verified and the level of knowledge for pupils in Prague, in a small town and village was...

Thesis (Ph.D. (Language Education)) --University of Limpopo, 2018 / Despite the introduction of a number of educational policies and measures (for example, the Foundation for Learning Campaign, the National Reading Strategy (2008), Integrated National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy (INLNS) (Department of Basic Education, 2011), Certificate in Primary English Language Teaching (CiPELT)) in 2012-13 to increase the quality of education during and over twenty three years of democracy in South Africa, there are still problems with regard to reading levels of rural South African learners in the intermediate phase. The in/ability to read at grade level, still persist even after the introduction of teaching of English as a subject from Grade 1 in all schools as prescribed by CAPS. Available literature on reading in/abilities in South African schools concedes that the problem lies in the primary schools. The aim of this study was to investigate and determine an effective approach to teaching reading skills in the intermediate phase. I employed convergent parallel design as both the quantitative and qualitative strands were used concurrently and equally. The convergent parallel design is suitable for this study as it allows me to compare and contrast quantitative statistical results with qualitative findings for corroboration and validation purposes. The four main approaches which are; Phonemic awareness, Read-aloud, Shared Reading and Guided Group Reading were tested through the employment of an intervention administered to individual groups of grade 4 learners applying a particular approach for seven weeks. In the light of the aim of the study, it is clear from data presentation that Read-aloud approach yielded better results in terms of developing and promoting reading skills in the rural intermediate phase. Results of post-intervention comprehension test show that the Read-aloud group had remarkable improvement in terms of the number of learners who could read at an acceptable level. Teachers’ experiences about an effective approach were explored through the questionnaire and interviews; and their responses corroborated findings from learners’ post-intervention comprehension test. Nevertheless, Group Guided Reading should not be ignored as the group that was taught reading using this approach had significant improvement that was corroborated by teacher participants’ responses in both the questionnaire and interviews. Thus, in this study I argue that Read-aloud promote and develop reading skills in the rural intermediate phase.

Den ökande befolkningen i Sverige medför en stor resursansträngning för landets kommuner i arbetet med att tillgodose behovet av skolplatser i ett redan ansträngt läge med överbelagda skolor och eftersatt lokalunderhåll. Skolverksamheten är en av samhällets grundläggande verksamheter och det är kommunens ansvar att tillhandahålla de uppskattningsvis 400 nya grundskolor som kommer att behövas i Sverige inom de närmsta åren. Syftet med examensarbetet är att åskådliggöra fördelar, utmaningar och utvecklingsområden relaterade till att kommunen hyr grundskolelokaler av en privat aktör jämfört med traditionellt ägande eller hyra av ett kommunalt bolag. Det litterära material som ligger till grund för arbetet grundar sig på sekundärdata från rapporter, lagar och offentlig statistik. Arbetet är främst genomfört med en kvalitativ forskningsansats genom intervjuer i syfte att ta del av intervjuobjektens erfarenheter i ämnet. Intervjufrågorna hade ett semistrukturerat upplägg med syfte att få ett naturligt öppet samtal med både den kommunala och den privata sidan om deras respektive synvinkel. Arbetet fokuserar på nybyggnationer och behandlar inte eventuella utbyggnationer av befintliga skolfastigheter eller andra alternativa lösningar såsom tillfälliga paviljonger. Endast kommunala grundskolor är av intresse för utredningens syfte. Resultatet från intervjuerna bekräftar kommunernas redan idag ansträngda situation i arbetet med lokalförsörjning för skolverksamheten förutom det uppskattade framtida ökade behovet. Processen vid upprättandet av en grundskola är omfattande, det är många faktorer som påverkar och behöver tas i beaktning och förutsättningarna skiljer sig kommuner emellan beroende på faktorer såsom ekonomi, segregation och tillväxt. Utöver de vanligaste alternativen, att kommunen äger skolfastigheten själv eller hyr genom ett kommunalt bolag finns ett alternativ med hyrande från en privat fastighetsägare. Här skiljer sig synsättet och arbetsgången helt mellan kommunerna. Alltifrån en skriven policy om eget ägande av alla grundskolor till en pragmatisk inställning med utgångspunkt från varje specifik grundskolas behov och förutsättningar. En pragmatisk syn på lösningar till skolbristen med hjälp av en marknadsmix tillsammans med privata aktörer där alla parter, kommunala såväl som privata, tillsammans bidrar med sina kompetenser borde ligga i alla parters intresse. / The increasing population in Sweden leads to a great effort by the country's municipalities to meet the needs of school areas in an already strained situation with overallocated schools and neglected local maintenance. School is one of the basic activities of society and it is the responsibility of the municipality to provide the estimated 400 new compulsory schools that will be needed in Sweden within the next few years. The purpose of the study is to illustrate the benefits, challenges and development areas related to the municipality renting compulsory school premises by a private company compared to traditional ownership or rental of a municipal company. The literature underlying the work is based on secondary data from reports, laws and public statistics. The work is mainly carried out with a qualitative research approach through interviews in order to take part of interviewee experiences on the subject. The interview questions had a semi structured approach with the aim of getting a naturally open conversation with both the municipal and the private sector of their respective viewpoints. The study focuses on new constructions and does not deal with any expansions of existing school facilities or other alternative solutions such as temporary pavilions. Only municipal compulsory schools are of interest for the purpose of the investigation. The results of the interviews confirm the already strained situation of municipalities in the work on local supply for schools in addition to the estimated future increase in demand. The process of establishing a compulsory school is extensive, there are many factors that influence and need to be taken into consideration, and the conditions differ between municipalities, depending on factors such as economy, segregation and growth. In addition to the most common options, that the municipality owns the building itself or rents it from a municipal company, there is an alternative in renting from a private property owner. On this matter, the approach and the workflow differ completely between the municipalities. Some have a written policy of ownership of all compulsory schools and others have a pragmatic approach based on the needs and conditions of each specific compulsory school. A pragmatic approach to solutions to school shortages through a market mix together with private actors where all parties, the municipalities as well as the private sector, contribute with their competencies should be in the interests of all parties.

The purpose of the research documented in this thesis is to investigate how one particular approach to groupings in one primary school, commonly referred to as multi-age, enables and constrains the practices and actions of its individual teachers. This study is located in a literature that examines the potential that beliefs and belief systems offer for understanding how teachers make sense of, and respond to particular educational contexts. It will be of particular interest to the community of scholars who are investigating the uptake of curriculum innovations in the classrooms of individual practitioners. The philosophical framework underpinning multi-age schooling is significantly different from that operating within the traditional lock-step system. The conventional school organisation has the child move through a predetermined curriculum at a fixed pace, whereas multi-age classes require that teachers focus on needs-based teaching, thus adapting the curriculum to suit the individual student. As a result of this shift in emphasis, it has been common for teachers in multi-age schools to experience dilemmas caused by the dissonance between their own and the school’s assumptions about teaching, learning, knowledge and social relations. However, this clash of individuals’ beliefs and mandated practices is an under-researched area of scholarship particularly within multi-age settings, and is thus the focus of the present research. A framework based on the construct of beliefs and belief systems was used for understanding the personal and idiosyncratic nature of a teacher’s practice. Such a framework proposes that beliefs can be classified in terms of personal assumptions about self, relationships, knowledge, change and teaching and learning. These classifications, rather than being discrete dimensions acting in isolation, tend to be organised into a coherent and interdependent belief system or orientation. The notion of orientation was found to be a suitable framework within which to investigate the interplay between beliefs and practices over a two year period in one school context that is likely to provide challenges and opportunities for professional growth and development. Because the study focused upon the beliefs and practices of six teachers in a multi-age setting, elements of a qualitative approach to research were employed. The research design adopted for this study is grounded in an interpretative approach which looks for culturally derived and historically situated interpretations of the social world. Within this framework a case-study approach to research was used so as to reveal the interplay between the teachers’ beliefs and practices. The study found that the concept of orientations provides a suitable framework for understanding the personal and idiosyncratic nature of a teacher’s beliefs and practices. It was evident that beliefs about self, relationships, knowledge and change were highly significant in shaping the essential nature of teachers’ orientations. It was found that a summary label, based on these four beliefs, could be used to define the thematic nature of each teacher’s orientation. These recognisably different labels demonstrated that each teacher’s four beliefs were not just a pattern, but also a thematically defined pattern. It was also found that whilst some beliefs are thematically central other beliefs are not inherently thematic but are influenced in thematically derived ways. It was the configuration of these core/secondary beliefs that highlighted the importance of investigating belief combinations rather than discrete belief dimensions when attempting to understand the teacher as a person. It was also concluded that the teachers’ orientations in this study structured their practice in a way that was personal and internally consistent, indicating the dynamic coupling of beliefs and practices. It was clear that individual orientations, shaped by core beliefs, framed the challenges and possibilities that the multi-age ethos offered in varied and personal ways. In addition, the study found that the patterns of, and reasons for, change were complex and therefore it is unlikely that professional in-service will succeed if based on only one of the models of change proposed in the literature. The teachers in this study did not experience dilemmas as dichotomous situations but rather as complex and interrelated challenges to their whole belief system. Not all the teachers in this study approached the challenge of change in the same way. It was evident that individuals had constructed their own narrative for the need to change, and that this orientation tended to dominate the self-improvement agenda. Finally, this study demonstrated that not only the educational consequences of an innovation need to be taken into account, but also how well it is implemented in each classroom, and how compatible each teacher’s orientation is with the ethos underpinning the innovation.

Over the past three decades, the development of religious education in Australia has been largely shaped by catechetical and curriculum approaches to teaching and learning. To date, little emphasis has been placed on the pedagogical dimension of religious education. The purpose of this research project is to explore the manner in which ‘brain-based’ learning theory contributes to pedagogical development in primary religious education. The project utilises an action research methodology combining concept mapping, the application of ‘brain-based’ teaching strategies and focus group dialogue with diocesan Religious Education Coordinators (RECs). The insights derived contribute to the formulation and validation of an appropriate pedagogical model for primary religious education, entitled the ‘DEEP Framework’. The model reflects an integration of insights from brain-based theory with nuances from the contemporary Australian religious education literature. The project identifies four key, interactive principles that are crucial to pedagogical development in religious education, namely: Discernment, Enrichment, Engagement and Participation. It also recognises a fifth principle, ‘an orientation towards wholeness’, as significant in combining the various pedagogical principles into a coherent whole. The DEEP framework enables teachers to more successfully select and evaluate appropriate, interconnecting teaching strategies within the religious education classroom. The framework underpins the pedagogical rationale of the recently developed Archdiocese of Hobart religious education program and forms the basis for the implementation of a coherent professional development program across the Archdiocese.

From a philosophical and historical analysis of education in Australia since World War II and consideration of the research into school effectiveness and community expectations of education, a concept of "excellence" was derived: "Excellence in education" in its various institutionalised forms describes a state where there is a community perception that worthwhile goals have been formulated, attempts are made to achieve those goals using appropriately defined processes and that those goals are being achieved to the satisfaction of community members. It was also asserted that because of the diversity introduced into Australian society by sociocultural, economic and political developments since World War II, "excellence in education" may take many forms. This demands diversity in schooling so that these different forms of excellence may be achieved. This "excellence" was seen to be a relative concept rather than an absolute one. Information was collected from six primary schools from both the government and non-govenunent sectors of the ACT, using swey instruments, interviews and document analysis. This information related to the perceptions of the family, staff and student sectors of these schools about the importance and achievement of various factors in the areas of goals and philosophy, curriculum, teaching and learning practices, general organisation and school atmosphere. The study found that, while these schools, all being concerned with the education of primary school children in the same local and national context, exhibited certain common elements, they also demonstrated a variety of other features in a variety of combinations, giving each school a distinctive profile. Moreover, these school communities each judged their particular school being "Excellent" and "meeting expectations", and yet were accepting of some discrepancy between what they considered ideal and what was actually achieved. Thus it was shown that excellence in education is a relative concept in the ACT, if not in contemporary Australian society as a whole.