Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of school libraries in supporting an inquiry based approach for teaching and learning science subjects in senior secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The significance of this study revolves round the prominence given to science education being a mechanism for realising national advancement in Nigeria. This was emphasised in the Nigeria National Policy on Education (2013) as the Federal Government of Nigeria adopted science education as an instrument for effecting national development. This study addressed the following research questions: What is the status of secondary school libraries in Ekiti State, Nigeria? To what extent does the quality of library resources influence science curriculum implementation? To what extent do science teachers advocate using information resources beyond textbooks?

The pressure to have students perform well on standardized tests can serve as a stressor to some teachers in their efforts to autonomously teach their students, particularly those of low socioeconomic status (SES). However, the relationship between teachers' sense of autonomy, teachers' attitudes and behaviors, SES, and student's academic success remains unclear. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between teachers' autonomy to make decisions about classroom teaching practices and specific science curricula, school-wide student achievement in science, and students' SES. Freire's empowerment theory served as the theoretical framework. The research questions investigated the extent that student SES background moderated the relationship between teacher autonomy, curricula, and school district science achievement. Data sources were student Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test science achievement scores and teacher autonomy data from 108 eighth grade science teachers in 16 school districts. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression analysis. Results revealed no significant relationships between eighth-grade science teachers' perceptions of their autonomy, teaching practices, their science curriculum, and district eighth-grade science achievement scores (p > .001). Although the results were not significant, this study provides insights into 8th grade science education which may benefit students, teachers, and administration. Factors such as SES and teacher perception of autonomy can be advantegeously considered in science classes to increase student achievement. Such considerations can influence positive social change by increasing the science capacity of students at all SES levels.

Efforts to improve science education have resulted in proposed innovative teaching methods and changing course sequences such as the inquiry-based Physics First curriculum. This study examined student and alumni perceptions of a Physics First course in a modified curriculum that inverted the traditional course sequence of Biology-Chemistry-Physics (BCP) to an inquiry-based Physics First (PF) curriculum in which students take an inquiry-based physics course as freshman and chemistry as sophomores. This study explored the experiences of students in their ninth grade physics course and how the Physics First curriculum influenced students’ and alumni future STEM course choices and experiences. The qualitative study included a sampling of 16 male students and alumni selected from students currently enrolled and alumni who graduated within five years of the study. All the students interviewed recalled positive, memorable experiences in their Physics-9 course as they explained in their interviews that they enjoyed their Physics-9 course and remembered details about the engaging, hands-on projects as their favorite activities. Since the adoption of the PF curriculum more students were taking honors and AP science courses and over 90% of the students at the site enrolled in four years of science even though only three years were required. Almost all of the students liked science for the first time because of the Physics-9 course.

The medical laboratory science (MLS) profession is in need for published molecular diagnostics competency-based standards and curriculum. To assess their expectations of new MLS graduates, professionals performing and supervising performance of clinical molecular assays were surveyed to rate the importance of relevant cognitive and psychomotor learning objectives. A modified, asynchronous, iterative online Delphi process was utilized for assessment of consensus on the importance of the objectives. The survey was delivered through online REDCap application. Program directors of 221 MLS programs accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS) were asked to forward the first Delphi survey to target participants at their affiliated clinical sites. Ninety-four experts submitted complete surveys, including 88 who provided email addresses, indicating agreement to participate in future Delphi rounds. Most of the participants were certified by ASCP or NCA (81.9%), had over 10 years of laboratory experience (76.6%), and worked in a hospital setting (43.6%). The reliability of the surveys, assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.96 and 0.97. In the second survey, the objectives assigned low importance by the majority were removed; and others, assigned high importance were expanded. Respondents were given the opportunity to confirm or change their opinion on the objectives after reviewing quantitative results and narrative comments collected in the preceding survey. Upon completion of the Delphi process, 25 essential items were identified as necessary for inclusion in the entry-level MLS curriculum. These concepts and objectives focused on basic molecular biology principles and general molecular laboratory operations, including practical knowledge of techniques designed to maintain specimen integrity and intense theoretical background of the polymerase chain reaction, as well as comprehension of the principles of laboratory assays designed for pathogens most commonly tested for using molecular methods. In this study, the investigator also provided information on the preferred number of contact hours devoted to each group of the identified essential items. The goal of creating the list of essential concepts and objectives was to share it with MLS educators, the NAACLS and the provider of MLS certification exam, the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP-BOC), to contribute to the existing exam content guidelines.

This study examined science textbooks over time to better understand the science content expectations that the U.S. educational system deems appropriate for 8th and 9th grade science students. The study attempted to answer the questions: 1) What specific science content has been presented via the textbook from 1952 to 2008? 2) Within which areas and in what way does the science content change? 3) Are new scientific findings reflected in 8th and 9th grade U.S. general science textbooks? Twenty-six themes were identified which reflect five areas in science: Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Biology, and Process of Science. Trends in science content in U.S. 8th and 9th grade general science textbooks, as revealed by this data sample, indicated no statistically significant change in depth of coverage in Physics and Process of Science over the past 60 years, no significant change in depth of coverage in Earth Science and Biology in the last 40 years, and no significant change in coverage in Chemistry over the last 30 years. Additionally, a total of sixteen new discoveries were found in the textbook sample. For classroom teachers this information may alert them to the necessity of going beyond the textbook in preparing students for life in a global society. In educational practice, this research supports and reinforces the need for inquiry learning and socioscientific curricula. It may also influence educators to challenge assumptions regarding the value and selection of the traditional classic science content.

The purpose of this research was to develop an on-line two-tier diagnostic instrument that could be used to identify alternative scientific conceptions held by students and to ascertain the conceptual level at which students are functioning. The instrument was designed to identify alternative conceptions held in relation to concepts that underpin the objectives listed in each of the four content strands of the New Zealand Science Curriculum. The stem questions of the first tier were designed around the curriculum objectives for Levels 4, 5 and 6. Distracters for the second tier were developed from alternative conceptions identified from surveys, teacher predictions and telephone interviews. A 52 item instrument was built into a Microsoft Word format with drop down menu functionality, and then transferred into an on-line format on a web site. The instrument link was sent by email to a student sample in the age range of Year 9 to 11. The student responses were analysed by answer selection and alternative conceptions were identified and classified. The instrument proved to be an economical rapid response tool for identification of student alternative conceptions to inform the design and development of student science learning programmes. The instrument and the component two-tier items have the potential to be used as part of an item bank for formative assessment tests to enhance student learning in science. The on-line functionality of the instrument has the potential to provide the 21st century learner with formative self assessment opportunities to enhance personalized self-directed learning programmes.

<p>This study investigated the effect of an Argumentation Instructional Model (AIM) on the preservice teachers&lsquo / ability to implement a Science-IK Curriculum in selected South African schools. I examined what instructional practices the pre-service teachers engage in when they introduce scientific explanation and whether those practices influence learners&lsquo / ability to construct scientific explanations during a natural science unit of a South African school curriculum. My study began with a pilot study of 16 pre-service science teachers who completed a B.Ed university module, Science for Teaching, which included an IK component. Data collection for main study took place from 2010 to 2011, and used questionnaires, face-to-face and reflective interview protocols, case studies, lesson plans and classroom observation schedules. I took videos and audios of each of the pre-service teacher&lsquo / s enactment of the focal lesson on argumentation and then coded the videotape for different instructional practices. The study investigated firstly, what currently informed teachers&lsquo / thinking, knowledge and action of IK. Secondly, the research questioned how teachers interpreted and implemented IK in the science classroom. A sample of the three pre-service teachers were followed into their classrooms to investigate how they specifically implemented Learning Outcome Three using argumentation instruction as a mode of instruction and what approaches relevant to the inclusion of IK were developed. The study found that the three pre-service teachers used three very different approaches through which IK was brought in the science curriculum. An assimilationist approach, that brings IK into science by seeking how best IK fits into science. A segregationist approach that holds IK side-by-side with scientific knowledge. Lastly, an integrationist approach makes connections between IK and science. The approaches developed by the pre-service teachers were found to be informed by their biographies, values, cultural backgrounds and worldviews. Meticulously, the study explored how shifts were being made from a theoretical phase at the university where the pre-service teachers engaged IK to an actual phase of implementation in their school science classrooms. Finally, I attempted to explain why the pre-service teachers interpreted and implemented IK in the way they did.</p>

<p>This study investigated the effect of an Argumentation Instructional Model (AIM) on the preservice teachers&lsquo / ability to implement a Science-IK Curriculum in selected South African schools. I examined what instructional practices the pre-service teachers engage in when they introduce scientific explanation and whether those practices influence learners&lsquo / ability to construct scientific explanations during a natural science unit of a South African school curriculum. My study began with a pilot study of 16 pre-service science teachers who completed a B.Ed university module, Science for Teaching, which included an IK component. Data collection for main study took place from 2010 to 2011, and used questionnaires, face-to-face and reflective interview protocols, case studies, lesson plans and classroom observation schedules. I took videos and audios of each of the pre-service teacher&lsquo / s enactment of the focal lesson on argumentation and then coded the videotape for different instructional practices. The study investigated firstly, what currently informed teachers&lsquo / thinking, knowledge and action of IK. Secondly, the research questioned how teachers interpreted and implemented IK in the science classroom. A sample of the three pre-service teachers were followed into their classrooms to investigate how they specifically implemented Learning Outcome Three using argumentation instruction as a mode of instruction and what approaches relevant to the inclusion of IK were developed. The study found that the three pre-service teachers used three very different approaches through which IK was brought in the science curriculum. An assimilationist approach, that brings IK into science by seeking how best IK fits into science. A segregationist approach that holds IK side-by-side with scientific knowledge. Lastly, an integrationist approach makes connections between IK and science. The approaches developed by the pre-service teachers were found to be informed by their biographies, values, cultural backgrounds and worldviews. Meticulously, the study explored how shifts were being made from a theoretical phase at the university where the pre-service teachers engaged IK to an actual phase of implementation in their school science classrooms. Finally, I attempted to explain why the pre-service teachers interpreted and implemented IK in the way they did.</p>

abstract: This dissertation discusses the findings of an ethnographic exploratory study of Turkana nomadic pastoralist children's sociocultural practices of their everyday lifestyles and science curriculum and instruction in Kenyan early childhood curriculum. The study uses the findings from Turkana elders to challenge the dominant society in Kenya that draws from Western education ideology to unfairly criticize Turkana traditional nomadic cultural practices as resistant to modern education. Yet Turkana people have to rely on the cultural knowledge of their environment for survival. In addition, the community lives in abject poverty caused by the harsh desert environment which has contributed to parents' struggle to support their children's education. Cultural knowledge of Turkana people has received support in research demonstrating the role cultural lifestyles such as nomadic pastoralism play as important survival strategy that enable people to adapt to the harsh desert environment to ensure the survival of their livestock critical for their food security. The study documented ways in which the Kenya national education curriculum, reflecting Western assumptions about education, often alienates and marginalises nomadic children, in its failure to capture their cultural Indigenous knowledge epistemologies. The research investigated the relationships between Turkana children's sociocultural practices of pastoralist lifestyles and the national science curriculum taught in local preschools and first grade science classrooms in Kenya and the extent to which Turkana children's everyday life cultural practices inform science instruction in early childhood grades. Multiple ethnographic methods such as participant and naturalistic observation, focus group interviews, analysis of documents, archival materials, and cultural artifacts were used to explore classrooms instruction and Indigenous sociocultural practices of the Turkana nomads. The findings from the elders' narratives indicated that there was a general congruence in thematic content of science between Turkana Indigenous knowledge and the national science curriculum. However, Turkana children traditionally learned independently by observation and hands-on with continuous scaffolding from parents and peers. The study recommends a science curriculum that is compatible with the Indigenous knowledge epistemologies and instructional strategies that are sensitive to the worldview of nomadic children. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2010

Orientador: Ivan Amorosino do Amaral / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T08:03:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pereira_FrancielleAmancio_M.pdf: 9140190 bytes, checksum: dd78035169d21d801aad0dd5b72a4468 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: As discussões sobre a interdisciplinaridade não são recentes e, apesar de haver controvérsias quanto ao seu significado, está bastante difundida e aceita nos meios científicos e pedagógicos, nas universidades e escolas, desde as últimas décadas do século XX, sendo proposta como um dos princípios pedagógico-científicos fundamentais em muitos cursos e/ou reformas curriculares na busca de soluções para diversos problemas educacionais. Apesar disso, permanecem dúvidas acerca de como ela tem sido entendida pelos profissionais de ensino, se ela tem sido mesmo posta em prática e sob que formato. A partir daí, os objetivos que orientam esta pesquisa são: compreender o lugar ocupado pela interdisciplinaridade no Curso de Gestão Educacional (CEGE) promovido pela Faculdade de Educação da Unicamp, especificamente no componente curricular de Ciências; analisar a interpretação que os gestores possuem sobre o potencial interdisciplinar das idéias-chave do currículo proposto por este componente curricular; identificar e discutir as manifestações e representações de interdisciplinaridade contidas no discurso dos gestores participantes do CEGE. Trata-se de um estudo de características predominantemente quantitativas, abrangendo uma amostra de 186 trabalhos de conclusão da Disciplina ¿Gestão Currículo e Cultura¿, em que os gestores foram solicitados a visualizar o currículo de suas escolas de forma interdisciplinar, a partir de uma das idéias-chave do currículo de Ciências. Como categorias de análise foram adotadas as próprias sete idéias-chave do currículo de Ciências apresentado no Curso, sendo quatro de cunho predominantemente programático e três predominantemente metodológicas. Também foram criadas, com base no referencial teórico adotado, algumas categorias que refletissem crescentes graus de integração curricular, além de outras auxiliares que expressassem diferentes formas de ¿resistência¿ à tarefa solicitada. A análise dos dados demonstrou que: apesar do currículo de Ciências apresentado no CEGE possuir nítido potencial interdisciplinar, a maioria dos gestores não conseguiu elaborar uma proposta integradora, preponderou a multidisciplinaridade (simples e/ou articulada) e apenas um número bem pequeno alcançou a interdisciplinaridade. No conjunto geral dos trabalhos analisados, os gestores identificaram maior potencial integrador/interdisciplinar nas idéias-chave de teor metodológico, com especial destaque para ¿Estímulo ao desenvolvimento do pensamento crítico e divergente do aluno¿, que ademais não representa uma diretriz específica do ensino de Ciências. Por outro lado, apesar de a segunda idéiachave mais escolhida pelos gestores ¿ ¿Ambiente em transformação, interação, integração e equilíbrio dinâmico¿ ¿ ser de cunho programático, ficou claramente caracterizado que não foi explorado, pela grande maioria dos gestores que a escolheram, o seu potencial interdisciplinar e nem foi aproveitado o seu significado original. Concluiu-se que, apesar de a interdisciplinaridade estar fortemente presente no discurso dos gestores como uma prática fundamental à educação atual, o currículo de Ciências focalizado no CEGE não se configurou satisfatoriamente aos olhos dos gestores participantes como um elemento articulador da interdisciplinaridade nos currículos gerais das escolas em que atuam. Permanecem dúvidas se as dificuldades detectadas têm suas origens principalmente nas condições oferecidas pelo CEGE, nas deficiências de formação anterior dos gestores ou nas tradições arraigadas de organização curricular / Abstract: Discussions on interdisciplinarity are not new and, although that are controversies how much to its meaning, it is widely disseminated and accepted in the scientific and pedagogical ways, at the universities and schools, since the last decades it century XX, being proposal as one them basic pedagogical-scientific principles in many courses and/or curricular reforms in the brainstorming for a variety of educational problems. Despite this, remain doubts concerning how it has been understood by the education professionals, in what way has been practiced. From there, the objectives that guide this research are: to understand the place of the interdisciplinarity in the Course of School Management (CEGE) promoted by the College of Education of the Unicamp, specifically in the Sciences curricular component; to analyze the interpretation that the head teachers possess about the potential to interdisciplinary of the Key Ideas disclosed by this curricular component; to identify and to discuss the manifestations and representations of interdisplinarity contained in the speech of head teachers participating Course. This is a study predominantly quantitative, covering a sample of 186 works of completion of Discipline "School Management, Curriculum and Culture", where the head teachers had been requested to visualize the curriculum of their schools so interdisciplinary, from one of Key Ideas of the Sciences curriculum. As categories of analysis, were adopted themselves seven key Ideas of the Sciences curriculum presented in the Course, being four of matrix predominantly programming and three predominantly methodological. Also they had been created, based on the theoretical reference adopted, some categories that reflected increasing degrees of integration curriculum, and other auxiliary that expressed different forms of "resistance" to the task requested. Data analysis showed that: despite the Sciences curriculum presented in CEGE have clear interdisciplinary potential, most managers failed to make an integrating proposal, have been highlighted the multidisciplinary proposals (single or articulated), and only a very small number reached interdisciplinary proposals. Overall general of the work examined, the head teachers identified greater potential integrator / interdisciplinary in the methodological Key Ideas, with special emphasis to "Stimulating the development of critical thinking and divergent of the student", which does not represent a specific guideline of Science education. Moreover, although the second key idea favored by most head teachers "Environment in transformation, interaction, integration and dynamic balance" ¿ with programming features, was clearly marked that its potential interdisciplinary was not exploited by the vast majority of head teachers that the chosen, and neither was tapped its original meaning. It was concluded that although the interdisciplinary are strongly present in the speech of head teachers as one practical basic one to the current education, the Sciences curriculum focused in the CEGE was not configured satisfactorily, to the eyes of the participant head teachers, as na articulator element of the interdisciplinarity in the curriculums, in general, of the schools where they act. Doubts remain about the origins of the problems identified: if are derivatives of the conditions offered by CEGE, of the shortcomings of your previous training or of the traditions rooted organization of curriculum / Mestrado / Ensino, Avaliação e Formação de Professores / Mestre em Educação