Thesis (doctoral)--University of Uppsala, 1983. / Thesis t.p. laid in. Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-163).

Research has indicated children with autistic disorder often demonstrate below average intelligence. Others have suggested intelligence of the autistic population has been underestimated. A gap in the current literature reflects the need to examine the accuracy of assessment of intelligence of children with autistic disorder. The research questions underlying this study addressed tools professionals use to assess intelligence of children with autistic disorder, how tools are selected, the level of confidence in the accuracy of results, and what level of consensus exists among experts. This Delphi study used a panel of 20 autistic disorder experts and 3 rounds of surveys to establish expert consensus of practices for gaining an accurate measure of intelligence and to determine if an appropriate tool is available to measure intelligence of children with autistic disorder. This study was based on the Lockean inquiring systems philosophical perspective with a sequential, exploratory, mixed methods design and employed the constant comparative method for data analysis. Emergent themes included strategies used for assessing intelligence in this population, barriers to determining accurate results, and methods for mitigating the influence of barriers. With moderate to strong consensus among participants, the findings demonstrated lack of availability of an appropriate measure of intelligence for children with autistic disorder. This study has the potential to contribute to positive social change with findings justifying the development of an appropriate assessment tool which will enhance life opportunities of children with autistic disorder when more accurate measures lead to appropriate placement in academic, vocational, and social settings.

This thesis sets out to critically examine the field of higher education development, as one which is focused on socio-economic inequality and welfare, and determines educational purpose in poorer, or ‘developing’, countries accordingly. My question is whether mainstream development approaches to higher education are really contributing to the provision of more equal education services, or whether they risk reintroducing inequality by treating the priorities of poorer countries differently. To investigate whether there are educational values or purposes common to universities globally irrespective of socio-economic imperatives, I begin the study with a historiographical look at their growth in terms of both ideas of its purpose, and how purpose is realised in actuality. I then trace the emergence of the discourse of international development, and the role that higher education has come to play within it, showing how the field of international higher education development has simplified the notion of university purpose for its own devices. The thesis then looks at underlying assumptions about human nature, defined as the problem of humanism, common to both transcendent ideas of university purpose as well as the development discourse. To avoid the limitations of these assumptions, I argue that a theoretical approach is required that can engage with questions of hybridity and multiplicity in both the history and future of universities, without reducing those questions to abstract ideas. The approach I propose draws upon the dialogism of Mikhail Bakhtin, whose multi-layered understanding of language prevents any one understanding of another person, or of human nature more generally, being considered final. The educational implications for such an approach are finally explored in the concept of academic freedom, which is traditionally conceived of as a right, but is here reconceptualised also as a responsibility.

Research indicates play contributes to children's learning and development. The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) changed early care and education by limiting time for play in early childhood classrooms. There is a gap in the literature concerning early childhood teachers' current beliefs about play and how those beliefs are connected to their practices. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the connections between early childhood teachers' beliefs regarding play and their practices in the early childhood classroom. Lave's situated learning theory formed the conceptual framework for this study recognizing the early childhood classroom and the social aspect of learning as a community of practice. Data for the study were collected through structured interviews, observations, and documents from teachers in 6 early childhood classrooms. Coding was used to identify patterns and themes. Analysis revealed that teachers held strong positive beliefs in regard to play. Teachers believed the connection between their beliefs and practices regarding play was strong and the connection between them was clear. Evidence showed the connection was not as strong and clear as teachers perceived. A clearer understanding of the link between teachers' beliefs and practices could create positive social change and benefit teachers, parents, administrators, and children. Teachers may use the information in this study to reflect on and make changes to their practices. Program directors, principals and school districts may be guided to implement curriculum changes more inclusive of play, or to include play and play theory in preservice training. These changes could bring the United States more in line with top performing countries in terms of educational outcomes for children.

Demands associated with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 contribute to the risk of teacher burnout; however, the relationship between teacher burnout and specific teaching assignments is unclear. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate if burnout is greater for high-stakes subject area public high school teachers than for low-stakes subject area public high school teachers and to ascertain teachers' perceptions about difficulties associated with teaching a high-stakes subject area. The job demands-resources model and the multidimensional model of burnout provided the theoretical framework. The concurrent mixed methods design included quantitative tests of differences in burnout scores of 87 Maryland public high school teachers across high-stakes and low-stakes subject areas, and the qualitative research question documented perceptions. The Maslach Burnout Inventory---Educators Survey measured burnout, and although high-stakes teachers reported greater burnout, chi-square and independent sample t-test did not confirm statistically significant differences across subject area. Qualitative data underwent coding into emergent burnout-related themes that were reanalyzed and revised to explain teacher perceptions. Analysis of teacher responses yielded 5 domains that affected burnout: workload/time incompatibility, pressure on teachers for students to pass high-stakes tests, need for all stakeholders to take responsibility, diminished teacher autonomy, and lack of resources. Recommendations include addressing teacher workload and sharing educational responsibilities among all stakeholders. Because burnout is an organizational issue, positive social change is achievable if administrators promote positive coping strategies and include teachers in the change process necessary to achieve the goals of No Child Left Behind.

Proefschrift--Amsterdam. / "Stellinge" (2 leaves) laid in.

Submitted by SBI Biblioteca Digital (sbi.bibliotecadigital@puc-campinas.edu.br) on 2017-04-07T11:53:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 C?SSIO RODRIGO DE OLIVEIRA.pdf: 1558816 bytes, checksum: af1bb11391882d7fbd283fd2afa08915 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-07T11:53:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 C?SSIO RODRIGO DE OLIVEIRA.pdf: 1558816 bytes, checksum: af1bb11391882d7fbd283fd2afa08915 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-07 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / The objective of this research is to understand the meaning of indifference to school, for the first years of high school, a public school, a city in the State of S?o Paulo in Brazil. Adopts as theoretical-methodological cultural-historical psychology, in particular, the concepts of Vigotski. Construction of information procedures were used observations recorded in regular classes field journals; conversations with the team manager and with teachers; meetings with students mediated by artistic activities; semi-structured interviews with students and with parents and/or guardians. The results indicate that the school and its contents are far from promoting the interests of students, just because there are no spaces in which meanings are negotiated and what new directions about the role of the school in their lives can be configured. / O objetivo desta pesquisa ? compreender o sentido da indiferen?a em rela??o ao conhecimento escolarizado, para jovens dos primeiros anos do ensino m?dio noturno, de uma escola publica estadual, de uma cidade do interior do estado de S?o Paulo. Adota-se como referencial te?rico-metodol?gico a Psicologia Hist?rico-Cultural, em especial, os conceitos de Vigotski. Como procedimentos de constru??o das informa??es foram utilizadas observa??es registradas em di?rios de campo de aulas regulares; conversas com a equipe gestora e com os professores; encontros com os estudantes mediados por atividades art?sticas; entrevistas semiestruturadas com alguns alunos e com os pais e/ou respons?veis. Os resultados indicam que a escola e seus conte?dos est?o distantes de promover o interesse dos estudantes, justamente por n?o haver espa?os em que significados sejam negociados e que novos sentidos sobre o papel da escola em suas vidas possam ser configurados.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-79).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Page 171 and 182 left intentionally blank. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 161-170). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Positive academic self-efficacy beliefs are associated with increased motivation, higher levels of persistence, and overall academic success. There is a gap in the literature regarding how young adult learners with identified learning disabilities who are also enrolled in postsecondary education characterize their development of academic self-efficacy beliefs and corresponding adaptive coping skills. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to develop a meaningful understanding of the lived experiences of young adult students with learning disabilities in the development of their self-efficacy beliefs and adaptive coping skills. Social learning theory, particularly the self-efficacy belief components, was the guiding conceptual framework for the study. Ten postsecondary students with identified learning disabilities were recruited through a purposeful sampling strategy and engaged in individual, semi-structured interviews. Moustakas' steps to phenomenological analysis were employed to analyze the data. Analysis resulted in the emergence of 6 major themes in self-efficacy belief development: (a) the role of experience, (b) support systems, (c) role models, (d) adaptive coping mechanisms, (e) accommodations, and (f) effective educators. Insights from the analysis of the data may contribute to the further development of effective and supportive interventions, strategies, and accommodations for postsecondary students with learning disabilities.