A teacher’s understandings of literacy have an impact on the pedagogical decisions that the teacher makes. Such understandings of literacy may evolve through professional learning, experiences, and reflective practice, but this evolution is seldom documented and therefore not often considered as a systematic means for improving practice. Similarly, educators are rarely able to document the longitudinal literacy life of one learner. This autoethnographic study explores and documents how the researcher’s understandings of literacy have changed over time. The researcher is the primary participant in the study, but her daughter’s literacy learning (from early childhood into adolescence) informs the three eras of the researcher’s teaching life. These three eras are named: teacher, teacher-mother, and teacher-mother-researcher. In each era the researcher interprets her daughter’s literacy learning through the theoretical lens of literacy as social practice. The study draws upon documents, interviews, and artefacts from both the researcher’s life and from her daughter’s literacy life in order to construct stories that express the lived experience of an educator in the act of examining her own literacy theory-practice evolutionary process. Findings from this study can inform educators of the need to challenge their understandings of literacy theories in relation to their past and current literacy practices, enabling them to effectively construct their future practices.

The intent of this professional doctorate study was to clarify theory and develop knowledge that could benefit the researcher's workplace. It achieved two aims. The first was the useful knowledge gained by the insider-researcher about how to effect teacher learning in a reform context. The second was the improved understanding of the uniqueness of contextual conditions that affected teacher learning in one school. A case study of a single school site was the means of examining the problem of what issues confronted teachers in learning new knowledge mandated by curriculum reform, along with why those issues existed and how teachers dealt with them. A genealogical approach to the literature investigation determined where, why and how teacher learning should be effected in a learning community, in what reflected an "outside in" approach to the problem. However, the intent of the study was that this should be balanced by the "inside out" approach evident in the consideration of what teachers in a school had to say about the realities of teacher learning. Interviews with teachers considered good informants resulted in quality data that facilitated the construction of explanatory theory. A comparison of this theory constructed from data grounded in the realities of teachers' experiences with the theory derived from the literature constituted the final stage of clarifying the problem. Results from the study, therefore, represented both useful knowledge and understanding of the problem. These were of benefit to the specific school, while contributing to the professional efficacy of the researcher-insider, responsible for delivering curriculum reform that was dependent on teacher learning.

This teacher as researcher inquiry set out to negotiate a critical literacy curriculum in a grade 3 classroom in Nova Scotia, Canada. It suggests that the inclusion of texts with multiple perspectives alongside popular culture, media, and digital texts are key to enacting a critical literacy curriculum.

This thesis maps the growth of the use of internet technologies in randomised controlled trials in health care and public health, and explores the methodological and ethical issues that arise from their use from the perspective of researchers and participants. Online clinical trials are growing in number, and claim to offer benefits for researchers and participants, providing solutions to some of the inherent problems associated with traditional trials. However, little is known about how many internet-based trials have been conducted, what methodological research has been undertaken, or what impact the new technologies might have on researcher or participant experience. The thesis followed a step-by-step approach, using information science, research synthesis, and qualitative methods. The creation of a database of internet-based clinical trials established that they have grown rapidly in number, use internet technologies primarily to deliver an intervention, predominantly in behavioural, mental health, or life-style public health settings. A two-stage systematic review, comprising a descriptive map and a qualitative synthesis, established what is known about the methods, conduct or participant experience in internet-based trials. A qualitative primary study was then carried out, based on the findings of the review, to further explore the views, attitudes and experiences of researchers, participants and the public, into the motivations, benefits or barriers to taking part in internet-based clinical trials. Themes emerging from the research suggest complex interactions between design and technology, particularly in the area of participant characteristics and choice; convenience versus intrusion; impact of time and place; the pace of change and impact of societal changes in the use of technology. A range of ethical considerations emerged, including the nature of informed consent, ethical approval, and the need for a systematic approach to patient and public involvement. Recommendations are made to help inform and improve research practice in the digital age.

abstract: In this dissertation I present data gathered from an eleven-month qualitative research study with adolescents living and working on the streets of Lima, Peru. Through the pairing of photovoice with participant observations, this work incorporates distinctive methodological and theoretical viewpoints in order to complicate prevailing understandings of street life. In this dissertation, I examine the identities that children and adolescents on the street develop in context, and the ways in which photography can be a useful tool in understanding identity development among this population. Through a framework integrating theories of identity and identity performance with spatial theories, I outline how identity development among children and adolescents living on the street is directly connected to their relationships with the urban landscape and the outreach organizations that serve them. The organizations and institutions that surround children on the street shape who they are, how they are perceived by society, and how they view and understand themselves in context. It is through the interaction with aid organizations and the urban landscape that a street identity is learned and developed. Furthermore, as organizations, children and adolescents come together within the context of the city, a unique street space is created. I argue that identity and agency are directly tied to this space. I also present the street as a thirdspace of possibility, where children and adolescents are able to act out various aspects of the self that they would be unable to pursue otherwise. Weaved throughout this dissertation are non-traditional writing forms including narrative and critical personal narrative addressing my own experiences conducting this research, my impact on the research context, and how I understand the data gathered. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2011

Esta dissertação tem como foco o estudo do jogo empreendido entre as curiosidades e as coordenações das ações de um grupo de alunos das Séries Iniciais do Colégio de Aplicação da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (CAp/UFRGS). A turma participante da pesquisa frequentava o 1º ano em 2009, sendo que atuei nesta turma como professora no referido ano. Em 2010, retornei à mesma turma, já no 2º ano, para a continuação da coleta de dados. Tendo a Epistemologia Genética como base teórica, meu movimento de ser professora foi constituindo-se também como de ser pesquisadora na medida em que via, nas ações dos alunos, possibilidades de compreender o percurso de seu pensamento. As questões que orientam esta pesquisa são: Como a busca ativa para satisfazer a curiosidade se desenvolve? Quais são as formas de coordenações de ações resultantes da busca ativa da curiosidade? Minha hipótese era de que ao agir em função de uma curiosidade o sujeito poderia coordenar ações que se apresentam de diferentes formas. Constatei, então, três níveis de desenvolvimento, os quais foram estabelecidos por critérios de conservação e busca pela curiosidade, apresentados pela criança. As coordenações de ações foram empreendidas nas formas de criação de pergunta, relações parte e todo, implicação significante, comparações, seriação, classificação e cooperação. Tais formas de coordenações evidenciam que operar com a curiosidade pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento infantil, o qual, neste caso, é movido pelo interesse. Com isso, as ações docentes deixam de ter um roteiro fixo para aventurar-se pelos labirintos da curiosidade infantil. / This dissertation is focused in the study of the game held between the curiosities and the coordination of actions of a group of students from the Colégio de Aplicação, initial years, at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (CAp/UFRGS), in Porto Alegre, RS. The group of pupils that participated in the research was attending the 1st year in 2009 when I was working as their teacher. In 2010, I returned to the same class, this time in the 2nd year, for further data collection. Having the genetic epistemology as a theoretical basis, my movement as a teacher was being constituted along with my intent in doing school research. In that way, the actions of the students became opportunities to understand the course of their thinking. The questions that guide this research are: How the active quest to satisfy the curiosity is developed? What forms of coordination of actions arise from the active pursuit of curiosity? My hypothesis was that the act of a curiosity on the subject could coordinate actions that were themselves presented in different ways. I noted then three levels of development, which were established by the criteria of conservation and the pursuit for curiosity presented by the child. The coordination of actions were undertaken on ways of creating questions, part and whole relationships, significant implication, comparison, grading, sorting and cooperation. Such forms of coordination showed that to operate with curiosity can contribute to the child development, which in this case is driven by interest. Thus, the actions of teachers no longer have a fixed route to venture into children’s mazes of curiosity.

The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of women who felt that they had to reject their femininity in favour of masculinity, and who later reclaimed their femininity. The epistemological framework of this study is social constructionism. This study involves in-depth interviews with three women who rejected their femininity and subsequently either reclaimed, or are in the process of reclaiming their femininity. The data was analysed using Hermeneutics. The participants' stories were recounted through the researcher's lens in the form of themes that characterised the rejection and the reclaiming of their femininity. A comparative analysis between the three participants was undertaken. The information gained could assist professionals in understanding the process involved in why some women reject and later reclaim their femininity. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Esta pesquisa buscou identificar os alcances e os limites que a avaliação da aprendizagem realizada pela docente pesquisadora proporcionou ao estudante de Ensino Médio durante seu processo de representação espacial em geografia. A teoria centralizadora do estudo é a Teoria Piagetiana, Epistemologia Genética. Ancorada na definição de Fernando Becker de professor-pesquisador, aquele professor que pesquisa sua própria docência, a análise consistiu em identificar os alcances e limites da metodologia da avaliação da aprendizagem (representação espacial em geografia) realizada com 46 jovens da turma 103, correspondente ao 1º ano do Ensino Médio, de uma escola da rede estadual de ensino em Sertão Santana (RS). A concepção de avaliar utilizada na pesquisa dialogou com a avaliação mediadora (Hoffmann), a avaliação diagnóstica (Luckesi) e a avaliação formativa (Sanmartí), que postulam a relevância da avaliação ao longo do processo da aprendizagem. O material empírico para a pesquisa consistiu dos registros da docente quanto a dúvidas e expressões verbais dos alunos durante as atividades pedagógicas, com análise dos instrumentos avaliativos, produções de textos de diferentes gêneros, mapas mentais e edição de vídeo. Ancoradas as estratégias pedagógicas num olhar Cultural Humanista da Geografia das Representações, opera-se com os conceitos: Alfabetização cartográfica, Geografia das Representações, Lugar, Mapas mentais e Paisagem. Já os materiais de análise da pesquisa foram os resultados alcançados, as aprendizagens ou não dos estudantes, diagnosticadas a partir da avaliação da aprendizagem realizada pela docente pesquisadora ao longo do processo de representações dos sujeitos em Geografia. / This research aimed to identify the reaches and limitations that the learning evaluation performed by the researcher teacher provided to High School students along their process of spatial representation in geography. The central theory of this study is Piaget’s Theory, the Genetic Epistemology. Grounded on Fernando Becker’s definition of researcher-teacher, i.e. the teacher who investigates his or her own teaching procedures, the analysis involved the identification of the reaches and limitations of the methodology of learning evaluation (spatial representation in geography) performed with 46 students attending group 103, which corresponds to the first year of High School in a school belonging to the state education network in Sertão Santana (RS). The conception of evaluation used in the research dialogued with the mediating evaluation (Hoffmann), the diagnostic evaluation (Luckesi) and the educative evaluation (Sanmartí), which advocate the relevance of evaluation along the learning process. The empirical research material consisted of the teacher’s records of students’ doubts and verbal expressions during the pedagogical activities, with analysis of the evaluative instruments, productions of texts of different kinds, mental maps and video edition. With the pedagogical strategies grounded on a humanist, cultural view of Geography of Representations, the following concepts were used: Cartographic literacy, Geography of Representations, Place, Mental maps and Landscape. The analysis materials were the results achieved, i.e. the students’ learning success or failure, diagnosed through the learning evaluation performed by the researcher teacher along the process of representations by the subjects in Geography.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:31:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-05-31Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:02:45Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 alves_jap_dr_bauru.pdf: 1220946 bytes, checksum: 8c3e77939ea267174d01dbbe0132a68d (MD5) / O principal objetivo deste trabalho consiste em analisar o processo de construção da identidade de professor e pesquisador em ensino de Física, em uma proposta educacional que vem sendo construída, desenvolvida e estudada na formação inicial de professores deste 1997. A pesquisa consistiu em um estudo de caso, tendo a coleta e análise dos dados sob fundamentos teóricos epistemológicos e metodológicos em Freire, Habermas, Strauss, Latour e Miron. A formação do professor e pesquisador em ensino de Física ocorre diante de diferentes demandas e situações -limite que precisam ser enfrentadas. Por isso, é necessário tecer reflexões, relações e modificações no curso da ação. Constato que a vivência de uma práxis - interlocução entre teoria e prática - no desenvolvimento de uma proposta educacional na formação inicial de professores de Física é condição imprescindível para a construção da identidade de professor e pesquisador em ensino de Física. Os resultados demonstram que a proposta tem tido progressos importantes na sistematização de atividades educacionais que problematizem conceitos e práticas, as quais viabilizem a abertura e continuidade do diálogo; bem como, nas parcerias tecidas, que buscam implementar e consolidar a relação ensino, pesquisa e extensão na interface Universidade-Escolas / The aim of this study was to analysis the construction of identity of teacher and reseacher in the teaching of Physics in an educational proposal bulding, developed and studies in abn initial teacher education program since 1997. The research was in a study of case, with collection and analysis of the data was supported by the theoretical epistemological and methodological concepts of Freire, Habermas, Strauss, Latour and Miron. The education of teachers and researchers in the teaching of Physics takes places in a context of different demands and limit situations. It is necessary to develop reflexions, relations and modifcations in the course of action. I check that the experience of praxis - interannouncer between theory and practice - in the development of an educational proposal in Physics teachers initial educational supports the construction of a special identity - a teacher and researcher in the teaching of Physics. The outomes demonstrate that the proposal have had considerable progress in the systematization and educational activities that problematize concepts and practices, which in turn allow for the start and continuation of dialogue; the partnerships that aim to implement and consolidate the relations among teaching, research and outreach activities at the University and Schools

To address a gap in the empirical literature on Educational Psychology (EP) practice and on adoption, and to gain perspectives from the Local Authority (LA), this thesis describes collaborative action research conducted by an Educational Psychologist (EP) with adoptive parents to support their communications with school staff. Participants were members of an Adoption Support Group and colleagues in Social Care. Information was gathered via focus groups and semi-structured questionnaires to ascertain the types of difficulties expressed by adoptive parents and inform the processes of communication systems. Participatory action research empowered participants to engage in meaningful and purposeful actions of planning, designing and evaluating information. The research narrative reports on first person inquiry through personal reflection and learning. Second person inquiry was generated in the course of research interactions with participants and the data that emerged from their realities to inform practical learning in action. Third person inquiry moved towards thinking around explanations for issues and the generation of knowledge. Knowledge was developed about parents’ perspectives on the barriers and enabling factors involved in their communications with school staff. The action research approach captured the potential of the insider position to generate rich data in situ while promoting a collaborative response to the social situation faced by the adopters when communicating with school staff. My insider position as researcher, holding multiple roles as an adoptive parent, as an EP and LA officer, is actively acknowledged as influencing understanding and the conceptualisations of the findings. The participants collaborated in the generation of a resource that provided opportunities for insight into issues to improve working practice and may provide a tool to allow parents to communicate effectively with school staff. The resource supported two main recognised functions: practical structure and emotional support. Empowering approaches were those that respected their knowledge, used their language and meanings in an emancipatory way that removed barriers, and were inclusive of them and their children. Communication is enhanced by and depends on systems that are empowering for parents and staff to co-construct shared understandings.