Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:44:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3206.pdf: 4866995 bytes, checksum: ed007ae3e8fdfce0d7dd9ac6cb05a012 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-03-30 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / Literature highlights family and school as important agents to the infant development, having special influence on child‟s learning. In this perspective, partnership between scholar and familiar systems has been seen as one of the alternatives to prevent and/or to attenuate difficulties in learning and behavioral problems presented by children at the school. Based on these assumptions and on the theoretical framework of the Bioecological Perspective on Human Development, the present study shows the need to train teachers to work with children with learning difficulties. The goal of this study was to elaborate, implement and assess an intervention program for high school teachers working with students with learning difficulties. This program enables the teachers to work with families and to increase the parental involvement in the academic activities, creating better conditions for the children to learn. In order to control the variables investigated, it was used a quasiexperimental design composed by two groups (Experimental Group GE and Control Group GC). We provided measurement of pre-test, post-test and follow-up. Overall, the study involved 180 participants. The 60 teachers, 60 parents and 60 children were divided in GE and GC groups. The program entitled Intervention Program for Teachers as Agents of Promoting Parental Involvement (PROAPEP) was consisted of 1 lecture per week during 10 weeks. The goal of PROAPEP was to provide information to teachers about the strategies to involve parental in the learning process of their children, mainly through their homework. Teachers developed practical and theoretical activities focused on the involvement of the families with their students. The instruments used to collect data from teachers, children and families were: Questionnaire (pre-test, post-test and follow-up situations, Criterion of Brazil Economic Classification, Protocol of Session Evaluation of the Intervention Program, Protocol of Final Evaluation of the Intervention Program, Parental Involvement Scale Teacher´s Perception, Parental Involvement Scale Teacher´s Practice, Home Environment Resources Scale, Rutter A2 Parent Scale, Parental Involvement Scale Practices of Families and Test of School Performance. The results were analyzed through qualitative criteria, descriptive statistics and ANOVA and MANOVA tests. The scope was to verify differences between the participants of GE and GC. We also used the pair-t test to investigate differences in the teachers‟ repertoire of the GE group between the post-test and follow-up phases. The results indicated: a) the teachers of GE group gave more importance to the parental involvement and implemented more activities than the teachers of GC group; b) the families of GE group practiced more activities related to the learning process of the children than those in GC group; c) the children of GE group had better academic performance and fewer behavioral problems compared to children of GC group; d) there was a major difference between pre-test grades and post-test grades for both groups, which indicated the improvement of the GE teachers‟ repertoire at the end of PROAPEP; and e) there was a significant differences between two of the three questions that were answered by GE teachers in the post-test and follow-up, which pointed to an increase in the repertoire of teachers even after six months elapsed from the end of PROAPEP. This way, it is possible to conclude that PROAPEP program was effective to train teachers as agents of the parental involvement in the learning process of children with difficulties. For future research, we suggest the development of studies with the randomization of participants, the monitoring the effects of long-term program and the selection of stratified samples for possible comparisons. / A literatura destaca a família e a escola como importantes contextos de desenvolvimento infantil, que exercem especial influência sobre a aprendizagem da criança. Nessa perspectiva a parceria entre os sistemas escolar e familiar tem sido vista como uma das alternativas para a prevenção e/ou atenuação das dificuldades de aprendizagem e problemas comportamentais apresentados pelas crianças no âmbito escolar. Embasado nesses pressupostos e ancorado no arcabouço teórico oriundo da Perspectiva Bioecológica do Desenvolvimento Humano, o presente estudo visou investir na formação de professores que atuam com crianças que apresentam dificuldades de aprendizagem. O objetivo do estudo foi elaborar, implementar e avaliar um programa de intervenção dirigido aos professores do ensino regular que lecionassem para alunos com dificuldade de aprendizagem. A meta foi instrumentalizá-los a trabalhar junto às famílias de seus alunos para aumentar as possibilidades de envolvimento parental nas atividades acadêmicas e conseqüentemente favorecer a aprendizagem das crianças. Para um maior controle das variáveis investigadas optou-se pelo emprego de um delineamento quase-experimental composto por dois grupos (Grupo Experimental - GE e Grupo Controle - GC), prevendo medidas de pré, pós-teste e follow-up. Participaram do estudo 180 participantes, sendo 60 professores, 60 familiares e 60 crianças distribuídos entre GE e GC. O programa intitulado Programa de Intervenção para Professores como Agentes de Promoção do Envolvimento Parental - PROAPEP foi ofertado em situação presencial por meio de 10 sessões semanais. O PROAPEP teve como meta fornecer suporte informativo aos professores sobre as estratégias para favorecer o envolvimento parental na aprendizagem de seus filhos por meio principalmente de atividades desenvolvidas em seus lares. Os professores desenvolveram atividades teóricas e práticas voltadas ao envolvimento das famílias de seus alunos. Para a coleta de dados com os professores, crianças e famílias foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos: Questionário (situação de pré, pós-teste e follow-up, Critério de Classificação Econômica Brasil, Protocolo de avaliação das sessões do programa de intervenção, Protocolo de avaliação final do programa de intervenção, Escala de Envolvimento Parental Percepção do Professor, Escala do Envolvimento Parental Prática do Professor, Inventário de Recursos do Ambiente Familiar, Escala Comportamental A2 de Rutter, Escala de Envolvimento Parental Prática das Famílias e Teste de Desempenho Escolar. A análise dos resultados envolveu o uso da análise qualitativa, estatística descritiva e dos testes estatísticos ANOVA e MANOVA para verificar diferenças entre os escores dos participantes do GE e do GC e do TESTE T PAREADO para verificar diferenças no repertório dos professores de GE entre os momentos de pós-teste e follow-up. Os resultados indicam: a) os professores do GE atribuíram maior importância e implementaram atividades de envolvimento parental com freqüência maior do que os professores do GC; b) as famílias do GE praticaram atividades relacionadas a escolarização das crianças em maior proporção do que as famílias do GC; c) que as crianças do GE apresentam melhor desempenho acadêmico e menos problemas comportamentais quando comparadas as crianças do GC; d) a existência de diferença significativa entre as médias do pré e do pós-teste implementados junto aos professores do GE e do GC, o que indica o aumento do repertório dos professores do GE após a participação no PROAPEP; e e) a existência de diferença significativa entre duas das três questões que foram respondidas pelos professores do GE no pós-teste e no follow-up, o que apontou para um aumento no repertório dos professores mesmo após transcorrido seis meses do término do PROAPEP. Desta forma é possível concluir que o PROAPEP se mostrou eficaz na capacitação dos professores como agentes de promoção do envolvimento parental na escolarização das crianças com dificuldades de aprendizagem. Para futuras pesquisas sugere-se o desenvolvimento de estudos com distribuição randômica de participantes, a monitoração dos efeitos do programa a longo prazo e a seleção de amostras estratificadas para possíveis comparações dos resultados.

Collaboration between the parents and the school has a powerful influence on a child’s literacy development. However, home-school partnerships to support young learners’ emergent literacy development are weak in South Africa. Research into family literacy in South Africa is particularly important due to many socio-economic factors impacting negatively on family life and on children’s literacy development. The South African education system lacks a dedicated policy for the promotion of family literacy. Against this background the present study investigated the role of family literacy programmes in supporting emergent literacy among young children. A literature study on family literacy and family-school-community partnerships to support literacy framed an empirical inquiry following an interpretivist approach, using an action research design and qualitative techniques of data collection. The Wordworks Home-School Partnerships programme was selected for implementation and the programme was modified through the design and inclusion of a children’s component. A multicultural independent primary school situated in Pretoria, South Africa was selected through a combination of purposeful and convenience sampling. The school principal, four Foundation Phase teachers and seven families including nine children participated in the study. Criteria for family inclusion were that the participating families should have at least one child enrolled in Grade R and at least one parent should agree to attend the full six-week duration of the modified Wordworks School-Family Partnerships programme. Data was gathered during parallel sessions from parents, children and teacher-facilitators through multiple techniques: observation, interviews, feedback sessions, artefacts and journals. Data was analysed according to qualitative principles and the findings were presented in a narrative format substantiated by verbatim quotations. Key findings indicated a greater sense of community among the families and the teachers, improved quality of parent-child interactions, parents’ improved knowledge of emergent literacy skills and improved confidence in supporting their children with early literacy development. The medium term impact of the programme includes benefits for the whole school, the teaching staff, parent body and children. Based on the findings of the literature study and the implementation of the family literacy programme through action research, recommendations were made to improve school-family partnerships with a view to supporting emergent literacy development among young learners. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

The diploma thesis focuses on a European activity eTwinning and its implementation within the system of education. The theoretical part of the thesis introduces the activity and its main principles, as well as its goals and management. The emphasis is also put on its position within the conception of lifelong learning. The thesis presents the development of the activity since its lunch in 2005 until now, describes its original direction to be followed at the beginning as well as the gradual changes that happened during its further implementation. The practical part defines the main internet tools offered by eTwinning to its users and describes those in detail. In the last part, three eTwinning projects are presented as good practice examples from the Czech Republic. The main aim of the diploma thesis is to present the European activity in as broad context as possible and from different points of view. All the data used are based on relevant literature and other sources.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of administrators, guidance counselors, and classroom teachers in the high schools of Northeast Tennessee regarding their schools’ academics, climate, culture, parent engagement, and their English Language Learners’ school experiences. The researcher sought to ascertain if significant differences exist between the perceptions of different groups of educational professionals in the school, with those groups to include school administrators, guidance counselors, and classroom teachers. Data were analyzed from 50 survey questions with 42 of those questions measured on a 5-point Likert scale, 5 questions as multiple choice, and 3 questions as open-ended. Data were collected through an online survey program, Survey Monkey. The survey was distributed to 12 school districts consisting of 39 high schools. There was a 23% response rate among administrators, a 29% response rate among counselors, and a nearly 10% response rate among teachers. There were no significant variations of the participants’ perceptions of their schools’ conduciveness to ELLs’ success with regard to classroom practice, student resilience, school climate, school culture, and the strength of home and school partnership.

Collaboration between the parents and the school has a powerful influence on a child’s literacy development. However, home-school partnerships to support young learners’ emergent literacy development are weak in South Africa. Research into family literacy in South Africa is particularly important due to many socio-economic factors impacting negatively on family life and on children’s literacy development. The South African education system lacks a dedicated policy for the promotion of family literacy. Against this background the present study investigated the role of family literacy programmes in supporting emergent literacy among young children. A literature study on family literacy and family-school-community partnerships to support literacy framed an empirical inquiry following an interpretivist approach, using an action research design and qualitative techniques of data collection. The Wordworks Home-School Partnerships programme was selected for implementation and the programme was modified through the design and inclusion of a children’s component. A multicultural independent primary school situated in Pretoria, South Africa was selected through a combination of purposeful and convenience sampling. The school principal, four Foundation Phase teachers and seven families including nine children participated in the study. Criteria for family inclusion were that the participating families should have at least one child enrolled in Grade R and at least one parent should agree to attend the full six-week duration of the modified Wordworks School-Family Partnerships programme. Data was gathered during parallel sessions from parents, children and teacher-facilitators through multiple techniques: observation, interviews, feedback sessions, artefacts and journals. Data was analysed according to qualitative principles and the findings were presented in a narrative format substantiated by verbatim quotations. Key findings indicated a greater sense of community among the families and the teachers, improved quality of parent-child interactions, parents’ improved knowledge of emergent literacy skills and improved confidence in supporting their children with early literacy development. The medium term impact of the programme includes benefits for the whole school, the teaching staff, parent body and children. Based on the findings of the literature study and the implementation of the family literacy programme through action research, recommendations were made to improve school-family partnerships with a view to supporting emergent literacy development among young learners. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)