O estudo verifica como a pesquisa escolar realizada pelos alunos do sexto ano do Ensino Fundamental, contribui com a construção de conhecimento em Ciências, por meio do desenvolvimento das dimensões da Competência Informacional. Desenvolve uma pesquisa qualitativa por meio de um estudo de caso com nove alunos do Ensino Fundamental. Utiliza a observação, a entrevista semi-estruturada e a análise da produção dos alunos como instrumentos de coletas de dados. Apresenta a análise de dados por meio de dois artigos submetidos a periódicos científicos, a análise de dados traz uma análise com abordagem qualitativa sobre o desenvolvimento das dimensões da Competência Informacional. O estudo é embasado pelo referencial teórico que apresenta o conceito de informação e conhecimento na Sociedade do Conhecimento, aborda o conceito de Competência Informacional e apresenta suas quatro dimensões que são a técnica, estética, ética e política. Também apresenta o conceito de pesquisa escolar no contexto da disciplina de Ciências. Conclui que o desenvolvimento das dimensões da Competência Informacional é importante para a construção do conhecimento em Ciências e auxilia no processo de pesquisa escolar. / The study verifies how school research of students of sixth year of elementary school contributes to a construction of knowledge in Sciences, through the development of the dimensions of Informational Competence. To develop a qualitative research through a case study with nine elementary students. It uses observation, semi-structured interview and analysis of the production of students as instruments of data collection. It presents an analysis of data through two articles submitted to scientific journals, brings a qualitative analysis on the development of the dimensions of Informational Competence. The study is based on the theoretical referential that presents the concept of information and knowledge in the Knowledge Society, addresses the concept of Informative Competence and presents its four dimensions that are a technique, aesthetics, ethics and politics. Also presents the concept of school research at the context of the discipline of Sciences. It concludes that the development of the dimensions of Informative Competence is important for the construction of knowledge in Science and helps in the process of school research.

O estudo verifica como a pesquisa escolar realizada pelos alunos do sexto ano do Ensino Fundamental, contribui com a construção de conhecimento em Ciências, por meio do desenvolvimento das dimensões da Competência Informacional. Desenvolve uma pesquisa qualitativa por meio de um estudo de caso com nove alunos do Ensino Fundamental. Utiliza a observação, a entrevista semi-estruturada e a análise da produção dos alunos como instrumentos de coletas de dados. Apresenta a análise de dados por meio de dois artigos submetidos a periódicos científicos, a análise de dados traz uma análise com abordagem qualitativa sobre o desenvolvimento das dimensões da Competência Informacional. O estudo é embasado pelo referencial teórico que apresenta o conceito de informação e conhecimento na Sociedade do Conhecimento, aborda o conceito de Competência Informacional e apresenta suas quatro dimensões que são a técnica, estética, ética e política. Também apresenta o conceito de pesquisa escolar no contexto da disciplina de Ciências. Conclui que o desenvolvimento das dimensões da Competência Informacional é importante para a construção do conhecimento em Ciências e auxilia no processo de pesquisa escolar. / The study verifies how school research of students of sixth year of elementary school contributes to a construction of knowledge in Sciences, through the development of the dimensions of Informational Competence. To develop a qualitative research through a case study with nine elementary students. It uses observation, semi-structured interview and analysis of the production of students as instruments of data collection. It presents an analysis of data through two articles submitted to scientific journals, brings a qualitative analysis on the development of the dimensions of Informational Competence. The study is based on the theoretical referential that presents the concept of information and knowledge in the Knowledge Society, addresses the concept of Informative Competence and presents its four dimensions that are a technique, aesthetics, ethics and politics. Also presents the concept of school research at the context of the discipline of Sciences. It concludes that the development of the dimensions of Informative Competence is important for the construction of knowledge in Science and helps in the process of school research.

O estudo verifica como a pesquisa escolar realizada pelos alunos do sexto ano do Ensino Fundamental, contribui com a construção de conhecimento em Ciências, por meio do desenvolvimento das dimensões da Competência Informacional. Desenvolve uma pesquisa qualitativa por meio de um estudo de caso com nove alunos do Ensino Fundamental. Utiliza a observação, a entrevista semi-estruturada e a análise da produção dos alunos como instrumentos de coletas de dados. Apresenta a análise de dados por meio de dois artigos submetidos a periódicos científicos, a análise de dados traz uma análise com abordagem qualitativa sobre o desenvolvimento das dimensões da Competência Informacional. O estudo é embasado pelo referencial teórico que apresenta o conceito de informação e conhecimento na Sociedade do Conhecimento, aborda o conceito de Competência Informacional e apresenta suas quatro dimensões que são a técnica, estética, ética e política. Também apresenta o conceito de pesquisa escolar no contexto da disciplina de Ciências. Conclui que o desenvolvimento das dimensões da Competência Informacional é importante para a construção do conhecimento em Ciências e auxilia no processo de pesquisa escolar. / The study verifies how school research of students of sixth year of elementary school contributes to a construction of knowledge in Sciences, through the development of the dimensions of Informational Competence. To develop a qualitative research through a case study with nine elementary students. It uses observation, semi-structured interview and analysis of the production of students as instruments of data collection. It presents an analysis of data through two articles submitted to scientific journals, brings a qualitative analysis on the development of the dimensions of Informational Competence. The study is based on the theoretical referential that presents the concept of information and knowledge in the Knowledge Society, addresses the concept of Informative Competence and presents its four dimensions that are a technique, aesthetics, ethics and politics. Also presents the concept of school research at the context of the discipline of Sciences. It concludes that the development of the dimensions of Informative Competence is important for the construction of knowledge in Science and helps in the process of school research.

Sammanfattning Skolan i Sverige ska vara likvärdig, men det är den inte idag. Det finns skolor i utanförskapsområden som har stora utmaningar och som har haft låg måluppfyllelse under en längre tid. Men det finns också skolledare som har tagit över ledningsrollen på lågpresterande skolor i utanförskapsområden och lyckats omvandla dem. Vi har intervjuat några av dem som har berättat om deras upplevelser och erfarenheter. Skolledarna beskriver att de har lyckats omvandla skolorna genom transparent och tydlig kommunikation, och en förändringsprocess som genomsyras av tydlig och inkluderande ledarskap. De har även berättat hur de har aktivt arbetat med att förändra elevers inställning till skolan och även krävt att skolpersonalen ställt högre krav både på sig själva och eleverna. Skolledarna har skildrat en stegvis förändringsprocess som förespråkas av skolforskningen.    Nyckelord Skolomvandling,  Skolledarskap, Skolförbättring, / The school in Sweden should be equal, but it is not today. There are schools in outlying areas in the cities that have major challenges and that have had low goal fulfillment for a long time. But there are also school leaders who have taken over the leadership role of low-performing schools in areas of exclusion and managed to transform them into better schools. We have interviewed some of those who have told us about their experiences. The school leaders describe that they have succeeded in transforming the schools through transparent and clear communication, and a process of change that is permeated by clear and inclusive leadership. They have also told how they have actively worked to change the students attitude towards the school and also demanded that the school staff make higher demands on both themselves and the students. The school leaders have described a step-by-step process of change that is advocated by school research.  Keywords School Turnaround, School Leadership, School Improvement.

Orientador: Oswaldo Francisco de Almeida Júnior / Banca: Helen de Castro Silva Cesarin / Banca: José Fernando Modesto da Silva / Resumo: Paralelamente ao avanço da tecnologia e uso da expressão "Sociedade do Conhecimento", percebe-se pessoas que não sabem efetuar a contento pesquisas e leituras. Alguns professores e bibliotecários escolares preocupam-se apenas com a orientação na aquisição de habilidades para o uso dos recursos tecnológicos na localização de informação. Esquecem que a ambiência da biblioteca, maior que seu espaço físico, deve alcançar os lares dos alunos, salas de aula e outros aportes de apoio pedagógico. Sendo assim, procurou-se responder questões como: O bibliotecário sabe que é um mediador? Como tem sido esta mediação? O bibliotecário acompanha as mudanças tecnológicas, inserindo-as em seu fazer cotidiano? A virtualização da informação facilita o uso das fontes/recursos de pesquisa e a capacidade de selecionar informação e ampliar conhecimento? O estudo teve como objetivos: avaliar a percepção do bibliotecário quanto a sua responsabilidade cotidiana em mediar a pesquisa escolar, independentemente da ambiência em que se encontra; analisar a postura e as habilidades técnicas/cognitivas do bibliotecário na mediação da pesquisa em um momento de crescente virtualização da informação; verificar o processo de utilização de recursos tecnológicos na busca de informação; identificar a existência de parceria entre bibliotecário e professor na prática da pesquisa escolar; obter subsídios para propostas de projetos/ações que visem busca de soluções para que a pesquisa escolar atinja seus objetivos.Buscou-se embasamento teórico por meio da literatura pertinente e para coleta de dados aplicou-se uma entrevista focalizada com o profissional bibliotecário em seis escolas de ensino fundamental da cidade de Londrina. / Abstract: In parallel with the advancement of technology and use of the term "the knowledge society", realizes it is people who do not know sign to the satisfaction surveys and readings. Some teachers and school librarians concern itself only with the guidance in the acquisition of skills for the use of technological resources in tracking information. Forget that the environment of the library, more than its physical space, must reach the homes of students, classrooms and other contributions of teaching materials. Therefore, it is answering questions such as: The librarian knows who is a mediator? As has been the mediation? The librarian accompanies technological change, inserting them into their daily lives do? The virtualization of the information facilitates the use of sources / resources research and the ability to select information and expand knowledge? The study aimed to: assess the perception of the librarian as its responsibility in daily mediate the search school, regardless of the environment in which it is; examine the attitude and technical skills / knowledge of the librarian in mediation of the search in a time of growing virtualization of documents; verify the process of the use of technological resources in the search for information; identify the existence of partnership between librarian and professor in the practice of research school; obtain subsidies for proposals for projects / activities aimed at finding solutions to the search school reaches its objectives. Intent is a theoretical through the relevant literature and to collect data applied to be a focused interview with the professional librarian in six schools of basic education of the city of Londrina. / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-03-17Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:34:38Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 bicheri_alao_me_mar.pdf: 1072337 bytes, checksum: 9c8701bb40bbcc23e44c70dbc2bc3fc0 (MD5) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / Paralelamente ao avanço da tecnologia e uso da expressão “Sociedade do Conhecimento”, percebe-se pessoas que não sabem efetuar a contento pesquisas e leituras. Alguns professores e bibliotecários escolares preocupam-se apenas com a orientação na aquisição de habilidades para o uso dos recursos tecnológicos na localização de informação. Esquecem que a ambiência da biblioteca, maior que seu espaço físico, deve alcançar os lares dos alunos, salas de aula e outros aportes de apoio pedagógico. Sendo assim, procurou-se responder questões como: O bibliotecário sabe que é um mediador? Como tem sido esta mediação? O bibliotecário acompanha as mudanças tecnológicas, inserindo-as em seu fazer cotidiano? A virtualização da informação facilita o uso das fontes/recursos de pesquisa e a capacidade de selecionar informação e ampliar conhecimento? O estudo teve como objetivos: avaliar a percepção do bibliotecário quanto a sua responsabilidade cotidiana em mediar a pesquisa escolar, independentemente da ambiência em que se encontra; analisar a postura e as habilidades técnicas/cognitivas do bibliotecário na mediação da pesquisa em um momento de crescente virtualização da informação; verificar o processo de utilização de recursos tecnológicos na busca de informação; identificar a existência de parceria entre bibliotecário e professor na prática da pesquisa escolar; obter subsídios para propostas de projetos/ações que visem busca de soluções para que a pesquisa escolar atinja seus objetivos.Buscou-se embasamento teórico por meio da literatura pertinente e para coleta de dados aplicou-se uma entrevista focalizada com o profissional bibliotecário em seis escolas de ensino fundamental da cidade de Londrina. / In parallel with the advancement of technology and use of the term the knowledge society, realizes it is people who do not know sign to the satisfaction surveys and readings. Some teachers and school librarians concern itself only with the guidance in the acquisition of skills for the use of technological resources in tracking information. Forget that the environment of the library, more than its physical space, must reach the homes of students, classrooms and other contributions of teaching materials. Therefore, it is answering questions such as: The librarian knows who is a mediator? As has been the mediation? The librarian accompanies technological change, inserting them into their daily lives do? The virtualization of the information facilitates the use of sources / resources research and the ability to select information and expand knowledge? The study aimed to: assess the perception of the librarian as its responsibility in daily mediate the search school, regardless of the environment in which it is; examine the attitude and technical skills / knowledge of the librarian in mediation of the search in a time of growing virtualization of documents; verify the process of the use of technological resources in the search for information; identify the existence of partnership between librarian and professor in the practice of research school; obtain subsidies for proposals for projects / activities aimed at finding solutions to the search school reaches its objectives. Intent is a theoretical through the relevant literature and to collect data applied to be a focused interview with the professional librarian in six schools of basic education of the city of Londrina.

Submitted by Celso Magalhaes (celsomagalhaes@ufrrj.br) on 2017-07-20T14:21:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Luiz Antonio Tavares de Oliveira.pdf: 1568115 bytes, checksum: 669684073f4278b0aae4285989b23a74 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-20T14:21:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Luiz Antonio Tavares de Oliveira.pdf: 1568115 bytes, checksum: 669684073f4278b0aae4285989b23a74 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-29 / Teaching chemistry in most high schools traditionally emphasizes memorization and transmission of fragmented and isolated contents. In technical education, however, that is less functional, because a connection between the National Base contents with more practical technical themes is necessary. In the absence of such connections, future technicians remain unprepared to make links and not able to apply his full skills. The scope of this research is to develop an innovative teaching model that enhances chemistry learning along with development of other technical and significant skills and competencies. Hence, ?Guaran?? was chosen, because it is a product symbol of Mau?s city, to become an integrating element: it would bring practical significance to chemistry classes for first year technical students. The specific objectives were: to verify whether the theme ?fertilizers for guaran? production? enhances significant chemical learning through lectures and projects development; and to verify whether this approach influences student?s approvals in chemistry courses. This research was conducted at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Amazonas - IFAM, campus Mau?s in 2015, with thirty-three students of first year in Agricultural Technical Course. A new chenistry course description having ?guaran? produciton? as integrating element was designed. Topics such as: factors affecting the growth of guaran? plants, types of fertilizers used for this crop based on the essential macro and micronutrient demands. An initial survey followed by a second one afer claases were performed, at the end of the term, were applied to verify whether the main chemistry concepts were incorporated into the practical technical ones. Also the academic performance was looked into.The performance of the experimental group was compared to previous years?classes. The outcome of the two questionnaires revealed growth of 300 % in correct or expected answers; with respect to the final approval in Chemistry, experimental group increased by 84.85 %, surpassing all others from previous years. It is therefore concluded that the teaching method proposed, that is, connected to an integrating figure of tangible significance for the students, in this case the ' Guarana of Mau?s ' can contribute to better articulation of chemistry teaching/learning, with the development of skills and competences within a real context. / O ensino m?dio de qu?mica, na maioria das escolas tem por tradi??o a memoriza??o e a transmiss?o de conte?dos fragmentados e de forma isolada. No ensino T?cnico isso ? menos v?lido, pois se faz necess?rio uma conex?o maior entre os conte?dos da Base Nacional com as disciplinas de natureza t?cnica. Na aus?ncia desse enfoque, o futuro t?cnico fica com o conhecimento compartimentado, o que n?o colabora para a sua aprendizagem integral. Assim, o objetivo geral foi o de se desenvolver uma estrat?gia de ensino de qu?mica inovadora, para que a aprendizagem melhore e que o estudante desenvolva de forma mais ?ntegra as suas habilidades e compet?ncias t?cnicas. Assim, elegeu-se o fruto s?mbolo da cidade de Mau?s, o guaran?, como figura integradora do ensino de qu?mica no primeiro ano do ensino m?dio. O objetivo espec?fico foi verificar se o tema ?adubos e aduba??o do guaranazeiro? nas aulas de qu?mica, associada a projetos de pesquisa, revela potencialidades para se desenvolver conceitos qu?micos significativos e verificar se a nova metodologia repercute na evolu??o das notas finais e aprova??es da disciplina. A pesquisa foi realizada no Instituto Federal de Educa??o, Ci?ncia e Tecnologia do Amazonas ? IFAM, campus Mau?s em 2015, com trinta e tr?s alunos do Curso T?cnico em Agropecu?ria do 1? ano. Organizou-se um ement?rio de qu?mica por meio de um mapa conceitual partindo da cultura do guaran?, destacando-se os fatores que interferem no crescimento das plantas, os tipos de adubos usados na cultura de acordo com os macro e micronutrientes essenciais. Aplicou-se no in?cio um question?rio diagn?stico e ap?s ministradas as aulas com esse novo ement?rio, coletaram-se dados por meio da aplica??o de question?rio final, para verificar se os conceitos qu?micos foram incorporados aos conceitos t?cnicos e se isso refletiu no rendimento escolar. O desempenho da turma experimental foi comparado ao das turmas anteriores. O resultado da avalia??o dos dois question?rios - diagn?stico e final-, revelou evolu??o de 300% nas respostas esperadas ou corretas; com rela??o ? aprova??o final de Qu?mica da turma experimental houve aumento de 84,85%, superando todas as demais. Conclui-se assim que o ensino contextualizado proposto, conectado a uma figura integradora de significado tang?vel para os estudantes, no caso o ?Guaran? em Mau?s? pode contribuir para melhor articula??o do ensino-aprendizagem disciplinar com o desenvolvimento de habilidades e compet?ncias dentro de um contexto real.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:57:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Edilson Goncalves de Carvalho.pdf: 1098441 bytes, checksum: 093a04c62a04b2ffd2fea18e4988f4cf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-11-07 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The present work was developed with the goal to know and analyze the social representation of the Science teachers at SESI-SP School Web, about school research as the teachers work methodology. The argument is about what the teachers social representations permit to understand how this methodological strategic has been developed at the school context. Those representations are discussed having as referencial The Social Representation Theory. The gotten results, by questionairies, were registered by the Analyse Lexicale par Contexte d um Ensemble de Segments de Texte (ALCESTE) software and by the content analyze. At this work, are presented and discussed the main points, related to, mainly, the way the teachers think and use the school research in their classes. These main points are: The teachers vision of school research ; How the teachers describe the difficulties of using the school research; Experience description with school research; The criterions used to available the school research. The analysis show that the teachers representations about school research, takes direction to the behavior and the way as they express in relation to this subject of knowledge. The results permit to notice a conprehension reduce and using of the school research in class though an action of the difficulty of using this practise because the student can t do it. So, the teachers hide the importance of their paper in teaching them. Although ask for help in this aspect during their capacitation courses / O presente trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de conhecer e analisar as representações sociais dos professores de Ciências da Rede Escolar SESI/SP sobre a pesquisa escolar como metodologia de trabalho docente. O argumento é o de que as representações sociais dos professores permitem compreender como essa estratégia metodológica vem sendo desenvolvida no contexto escolar. Tais representações são discutidas tendo como referencial a Teoria das Representações Sociais. Os dados obtidos, por meio de questionário, foram tratados pelo softaware Analyse Lexicale par Contexte d un Ensemble de Segmentes de Texte (ALCESTE) e pela Análise de Conteúdo. No presente trabalho, são apresentados e discutidos os principais tópicos levantados, relativos, principalmente, à maneira como os professores pensam e utilizam a pesquisa escolar em suas aulas. Esses tópicos são: Visão de pesquisa escolar dos professores; Como os professores descrevem as dificuldades de utilizar a pesquisa escolar; Descrição de experiência com pesquisa escolar; Critérios utilizados para avaliar a pesquisa escolar. As análises evidenciam que as representações dos professores sobre a pesquisa escolar direcionam o comportamento e o modo de se expressarem em relação a esse objeto de conhecimento. Os resultados permitem constatar uma redução da compreensão e utilização da pesquisa escolar em sala de aula, bem como um deslocamento da dificuldade de uso dessa prática pelo fato de o educando não saber como fazê-la. Assim, os professores ocultam a importância do seu papel em ensiná-la. Também indicam uma solicitação de ajuda nesse aspecto em sua formação continuada

<p>One of the big problems of the Swedish nine-year compulsory school is the large number of pupils who fail to achieve a satisfactory standard in mathematics. One explanation that has been increasingly considered over the last ten years is that the pupils have dyscalculia. Some research suggests that 6 per cent of compulsory school pupils suffer from this dysfunction, which would in that case make it one of the Swedish school’s greatest teaching problems.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to examine this problem area from two aspects. First of all by examining the concept of dyscalculia by means of a review of the literature from 1992 onwards. The second perspective has as its starting point a case study where the purpose was to give a detailed picture of the pupil with mathematics problems. The latter part of the study was carried out over a six-year period when 200 pupils, 13 of them with particular mathematics problems, were studied in detail.</p><p>A point of departure for the study was provided by a large database where as much information as possible was collected about pupils from Year 5 of the nine-year compulsory school to Year 2 of the three-year upper secondary school. The pupils were asked to fill in regular questionnaires and classroom observations were made of roughly 100 mathematics lessons, 40 of which were recorded on video. Finally there were in-depth interviews of the 13 pupils on two occasions, the final one being during Year 2 of the upper secondary school.</p><p>The review of the research showed a series of dubious and indistinct circumstances surrounding the dyscalculia concept, and also ambiguity with regard to the diagnosis of dyscalculia. The conclusion of the review was that the concept of dyscalculia ought at present to be used with great caution, or perhaps not at all. Admittedly the review does not provide grounds for totally dismissing the dyscalculia concept, but as long as it remains impossible to determine the concept unambiguously, and I have not been able to do this in the course of this study, there are no good scientific grounds for using the term dyscalculia in practice.</p><p>The empirical study shows the complexity of the problem area. Both the causes suggested by the pupils as the origin of the problem and the measures that helped them to obtain their mathematics grades form a complex pattern. The low work input of the pupils during mathematics lessons, an unsettled working environment, large classes, problems of stress and anxiety prior to tests, and obstructive gender patterns are among the causes suggested by the pupils as explanations of the occurrence of the mathematics problems. Good teachers, in other words teachers who can explain, set limits and give encouragement, were a significant factor in reversing the downward trend. Positive experiences of school changes, where the pupil felt that he or she could start again from the beginning, were also mentioned as significant by several pupils. Collaboration with fellow-pupils and the fact that the pupils themselves decided to get to grips with the problems were other important reasons for the change. The prospects of students with specific problems in mathematics nevertheless being able to leave compulsory school with satisfactory grades appear, however, from the results of this study, to be bright. All the pupils left the compulsory school with satisfactory mathematics grades and also completed mathematics studies at upper secondary school, despite major problems in the subject at intermediate school (age 10-13) stage.</p><p>The study indicates the need for research closer to the actual practical situation and to the importance of emphasizing good examples in practice. As the students themselves emphasize discrete communication between them as significant in the subject of mathematics, this is also an important area for future research.</p>

One of the big problems of the Swedish nine-year compulsory school is the large number of pupils who fail to achieve a satisfactory standard in mathematics. One explanation that has been increasingly considered over the last ten years is that the pupils have dyscalculia. Some research suggests that 6 per cent of compulsory school pupils suffer from this dysfunction, which would in that case make it one of the Swedish school’s greatest teaching problems. The purpose of this thesis is to examine this problem area from two aspects. First of all by examining the concept of dyscalculia by means of a review of the literature from 1992 onwards. The second perspective has as its starting point a case study where the purpose was to give a detailed picture of the pupil with mathematics problems. The latter part of the study was carried out over a six-year period when 200 pupils, 13 of them with particular mathematics problems, were studied in detail. A point of departure for the study was provided by a large database where as much information as possible was collected about pupils from Year 5 of the nine-year compulsory school to Year 2 of the three-year upper secondary school. The pupils were asked to fill in regular questionnaires and classroom observations were made of roughly 100 mathematics lessons, 40 of which were recorded on video. Finally there were in-depth interviews of the 13 pupils on two occasions, the final one being during Year 2 of the upper secondary school. The review of the research showed a series of dubious and indistinct circumstances surrounding the dyscalculia concept, and also ambiguity with regard to the diagnosis of dyscalculia. The conclusion of the review was that the concept of dyscalculia ought at present to be used with great caution, or perhaps not at all. Admittedly the review does not provide grounds for totally dismissing the dyscalculia concept, but as long as it remains impossible to determine the concept unambiguously, and I have not been able to do this in the course of this study, there are no good scientific grounds for using the term dyscalculia in practice. The empirical study shows the complexity of the problem area. Both the causes suggested by the pupils as the origin of the problem and the measures that helped them to obtain their mathematics grades form a complex pattern. The low work input of the pupils during mathematics lessons, an unsettled working environment, large classes, problems of stress and anxiety prior to tests, and obstructive gender patterns are among the causes suggested by the pupils as explanations of the occurrence of the mathematics problems. Good teachers, in other words teachers who can explain, set limits and give encouragement, were a significant factor in reversing the downward trend. Positive experiences of school changes, where the pupil felt that he or she could start again from the beginning, were also mentioned as significant by several pupils. Collaboration with fellow-pupils and the fact that the pupils themselves decided to get to grips with the problems were other important reasons for the change. The prospects of students with specific problems in mathematics nevertheless being able to leave compulsory school with satisfactory grades appear, however, from the results of this study, to be bright. All the pupils left the compulsory school with satisfactory mathematics grades and also completed mathematics studies at upper secondary school, despite major problems in the subject at intermediate school (age 10-13) stage. The study indicates the need for research closer to the actual practical situation and to the importance of emphasizing good examples in practice. As the students themselves emphasize discrete communication between them as significant in the subject of mathematics, this is also an important area for future research.