The aim of this investigation was to discover if there is different knowledge of Human Physiology at Grammar Schools students and Secondary Nursing Schools students. The research carried out among students of secondary schools showed that the time interval in school curriculum hadn´t a big effect on the amount of students´ knowledge. The research consisted of preparing and checking of a didactic test investigating the Human Physiology knowledge, then its distribution at carefully chosen secondary schools and finally evaluation the results. The didactic test was submitted to 156 third-level students, 87 fourth-level students at Grammar Schools and 56 students at medical secondary school. The test was set just after finishing the topic of Human Physiology with the third-level students. The fourth-level students completed the test with a 6-month interval. The test results could show if the time interval of a term influenced students´ knowledge and if they could remember the information after certain time. Analysis of results carried out in particular levels was evaluated in details and summarized in charts.

Educators with leadership roles as promoters of organizational learning in Bolivarian secondary schools: Training needs This article presents partial results of research aimed at detecting the training needs of educators in leadership roles. This explorative and descriptive study analyzed relevant actions and difficulties or obstacles of twenty-four school leaders in their role as organizational learning promoters in two Bolivarian secondary schools in San Cristóbal (Táchira State). The data was collected through a questionnaire administration, semi-structured interviews and observations. Among our findings is the progressive awareness of the school leaders concerning the growth of responsibility as organizational learning promoters for a new school model. Nevertheless, in the taking of this role they face problems, obstacles, resistance and tremendous training needs in many areas, especially when dealing with interpersonal relationships. / El artículo presenta resultados parciales de una investigación dirigida a detectar necesidades formativas de docentes con función directiva. El estudio, de tipo exploratorio y descriptivo, analizó actuaciones relevantes y dificultades u obstáculos de veinticuatro directivos de dos Liceos Bolivarianos del municipio San Cristóbal, estado Táchira, en su rol de promotores de aprendizaje organizacional. Los datos se recolectaron a través de la aplicación de un cuestionario, entrevistas semiestructuradas y observaciones. Entre los hallazgos destacan la progresiva toma de conciencia de los directivos escolares acerca del incremento de responsabilidad como promotores de aprendizaje organizacional para un nuevo modelo de escuela; no obstante, en el ejercicio de este rol, enfrentan problemas, obstáculos, resistencias e ingentes necesidades de formación en diversos ámbitos, sobre todo en el de las relaciones interpersonales.

abstract: Background: Limited physical activity (PA) is a key factor contributing to obesity and independently protects from diseases in youth and later in life. Students spend most of their time in schools sedentary and have limited opportunities to engage in PA. By making changes to the school environment and developing a school culture that actively supports and reinforces PA behavior, Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs are designed to make PA engagement throughout each school day the accepted social norm. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of environmental and behavioral modifications to school-level PA participation for girls and boys. Methods: This study used a hybrid reversal design by alternating baseline phases with two intervention phases that provided increased access and opportunity to PA, and behavioral prompting and reinforcing plus access and opportunity, for all students to engage in PA during lunch. Physical activity and contextual data were collected using a previously validated instrument (System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth; SOPLAY). Behavioral data were collected using a novel instrument (System for Observing Behavioral Ecology for Youth in Schools; SOBEYS) developed to measure prompting and reinforcement contingencies of PA participation consistent with the Behavioral Ecological Model. Data Analysis: The number of students engaged in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and the proportion of students in MVPA were analyzed using visual analysis of graphic data and general linear statistical models, with environmental and behavioral variables as predictors. Results: Increases in the number of girls and boys in MVPA were seen visually and statistically during the environmental and the environmental plus behavioral intervention phases compared to baseline. No differences were seen visually or statistically between intervention phases. Intervention effects were larger for boys than girls. The SOBEYS instrument was able to produce valid and reliable data regarding prompting and reinforcement of PA. However, environmental factors appear to have a greater influence on PA than behavioral factors. Conclusion: Modifying the school environment to increase access and opportunity for PA during lunch can lead to positive changes in MVPA during the school day, with special consideration needed to engage more girls. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physical Education 2014

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the period of antiquity is portrayed in the Swedish upper secondary school material in the course History 1bfrom a gender perspective, by examining digitalized study materials that claims to follow the specifiedcurriculum. The course curriculum for History 1bstates the importance of including female groups in the historic narrative, as well as that ideas of equality between sexes should permeate everything connected to teaching, among other things. The paper aims to analyse how gender is portrayed by examining the digitalized study material of DigilärHistoria 1 100 poäng, Nationalencyklopedin, NE, Historia 1 and Gleerups Möt historien 1b. The analysis was done using theories of gender from Yvonne Hirdman and Joann Scott to put historical power structures in relation to gender. The questions considered were (1)Which male and female characters are included and (2)how are they portrayed? (3)Lastly, how are social differences between them explained?The results showan overrepresentation of men. In the Gleerups material no specific female character was represented. NE’s material had 26 % and Digilär’s 20 % representation of women. The female characters are portrayed with stereotypical female characteristics such as their body, seduction and their ability to bear children. Female leaders are shown only to influence issues regarding equality and other women, whereas all mentioned men are portrayed as changing society especially as conquerors and warriors. Masculinity and femininity are portrayed as counterparts and men’s greatest weakness is any inability to control their wives and daughters. There are some exceptions that blurs the line such as Athene, Apollon and to some extent Cleopatra which are portrayed by showing characteristics associated with the other gender. The writers of the study materials are limited by the limited number of available historical sources and the picture they betray but only NE points out the problems with this. Neither Digilär nor Gleerups mention the skewed picture as a problem but Digilär shows to some extent how people in Greece legitimized the patriarchal structures.

TITLE: Education of pupils with behavioural problems at secondary schools AUTHOR: Adriana Drbalová DEPARTMENT: Department of Special Education SUPERVISOR: PhDr. Zbyněk Němec, Ph.D. ABSTRACT: The thesis is focused on children behavioural problems at secondary schools in the context of Czech education system. The thesis aim is to find out about education, upbringing and integration process of these troubled children. In the theoretic part it will be explained the terms - behavioural problem and its most frequent symptoms at secondary school, a troubled pupil, types of secondary schools, that will be related to this work and causes of behavioural problem at this age. The empirical part will be realized by conversations at five different secondary schools in the Czech Republic. It will be used the method of quality. The conversations will be taken place with methodists of prevention, psychologists or teachers of the troubled pupils. The empirical part will be implemented with the aid of qualitative interviewing -semi-structured interview. The interview will be taped and written down. Afterwards I will make interwees answers necessary for survey. KEYWORDS: Troubled pupil, secondary schools, behavioural problems prevention

Master of Public Health - MPH / Teenage childbearing interferes with girls' educational attainment in many settings, as it frequently marks the end of their schooling. While the right to education is guaranteed in the Constitution and its Education Act of 2004, which include clauses supportive of girls' continuing their education during pregnancy and after childbirth, data show that many teenage girls do not return to school after childbirth. According to official figures, 10 out of 18 teenage mothers in the Seychelles did not return to school in 2013. A young girl terminating her education early because of pregnancy may have negative social, economic and health consequences for the individual and for the Seychelles as a country. To avoid the negative consequences that may result from pregnant teenage girls not completing school, it is important to explore the facilitating and hindering factors to young mothers returning to school after childbirth in the Seychelles. This research aimed to explore the factors that influence teenage mothers to return to school after childbirth in Seychelles. A qualitative research methodology was used, where in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve young women who were teenage mothers, and with four key informants. Amongst the young women, six had returned to school after childbirth, and six had not return to school after childbirth. The key informants were professionals including a school counsellor, a schoolteacher, a counsellor working with young mothers, as well as a professional working with a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that targets out of school young pregnant girls. Purposive sampling was used to access the research participants. The content of the interviews was transcribed and then analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicated that there were numerous factors influencing a young mother’s decision to return to school after childbirth in Seychelles. These were not limited to individual level factors such as the internal motivation of the young mothers to achieve a better future for themselves and their child, but also included other immediate and broader influential factors. Family support was crucial in determining whether a young mother would return to school after childbirth. Furthermore, the school environment was not always conducive to the retention of the teenage mothers, as often teachers’ attitudes, the rigid grade system and school uniform policy acted as deterrents for those young girls’ school return. Additionally, the school policy for pregnant learners and teenage mothers, and the lack of welfare assistance, were other hindering factors to the young women's return to school. These factors were often interconnected, and collectively impacted on those teenage mothers' decision to return to school. Teenage mothers and their children are two vulnerable groups in society. Pregnant girls dropping out of school after delivery can contribute to the chain of poverty in Seychelles, as this leads to their having lower educational attainment, reduced employment and career development opportunities. To address the issue of teenage mothers not returning to school after childbirth in Seychelles, it is important to have better mechanisms that will together tackle the multiple factors influencing their return to school. This involves adopting a health promotion approach using the Ottawa Charter. This would be done by adopting healthy policies and creating a supportive school environment with regard to teenage mothers and pregnant learners and would include the Ministry of Education working in partnership with other sectors so as to adopt a comprehensive approach to teenage mothers and schooling.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Aim: The purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge of the transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS among secondary school students in Bekwarra, Cross River State, Nigeria; to appraise the students' attitudes towards HIV/AIDS; to describe the risky sexual and other behaviours they engaged in and what factors influenced such behaviours. This study was conducted in the area to systematically examine the widely held notion that adolescents were deviating from the strict sexual mores of the Bekwarra people, thereby exposing themselves to the risk of acquiring HIV. Methods: Information was collected using a cross-sectional survey based on a 64 item questionnaire adapted from the Family Health International HIV/AIDS/STD Behavioural . Surveillance Surveys. A random sample of 381 male and female students aged 14 to 18 selected from 12 secondary schools participated in the survey. Results: The level of general awareness of HIV/AIDS was high - 56.9% of participants knew how HIV is transmitted - but their knowledge of STI symptoms was low. Only 24.7% knew at least two STI symptoms in women, while only 20.7% knew at least two STI symptoms in men. One hundred and twenty three (32.2%) students constituting 68 males (17.8%) and 55 females (14.4%) had experienced sexual intercourse. The mean age at first sexual experience was 15.06 years for males and 14.95 years for female students. There was a statistical association between age and experience of sexual intercourse (p = .024). Two thirds (65.0%) of the 123 sexually experienced students had intercourse in the last six months, and only 30 of them (24.4%) had used a condom during their last intercourse. The use of condom was most frequent (10.6%) at age 18 and least frequent (.8%) at age 14. About one quarter (26.1%) of the students had taken alcohol: 17.3% occasionally, 5.5% moderately, and 2.6% frequently. There was a statistical association between taking alcohol and age (p = .038). Over a half (56.1%) of those who had not had sexual intercourse also had not taken alcohol. In contrast, 14.2% had sexual intercourse and also took alcohol, indicating significant statistical association (p < .001).). 66.8% of the students had neither used drugs nor taken alcohol, whilst 6.8% had both used drugs and taken alcohol, indicating significant association, (p < .001)). There was a similar association between sexual intercourse and using drugs, (p = .002). Conclusions: The study revealed significant high risk sexual behaviour among adolescents in Bekwarra. The high level of risky sexual behaviour and lack of basic knowledge about STIs indicated that access to information is currently insufficient. Health and educational authorities in Bekwarra should utilize the key findings highlighted from this study to design more effective local strategies for sexual health promotion that may help to slow the spread of STIs including HIV/AIDS. Intensive child-friendly programmes for pre-teenagers organized by educators to promote postponement of the early initiation of sexual intercourse may be effective. For adolescents who are unable to control their sexual initiation, improved education on safe sexual practices, especially the use of condoms appears to be necessary. / South Africa

The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of educational technology in Mathematics teaching and learning. In order to achieve this goal, a school by the name of Phusela Secondary was visited for the whole week to conduct the study. A lot of the literature reviewed was on developed countries as there is limited literature on developing countries concerning the use of educational technology in Mathematics teaching and learning and rural schools. Learners achievements compared to the Solo taxonomy measured effective usage of educational technology. The investigation followed a mixed method approach that was more evaluative and as one case was investigated it was a case study. Participants were sampled Mathematics learners who were willing to participate in the study and willing Mathematics educators of Phusela Secondary School. It was found from the study that there are no plans on the use of educational technology tools in Mathematics teaching and learning, inadequate educators’ training on the use of educational technologies in teaching and learning and lack of relevant educational technology tools for rural schools. These were the major reasons for the school not to use the educational technology tools in Mathematics teaching and learning. However these tools were sometimes used for other purposes other than Mathematics teaching and learning. Recommendations were made on how Phusela Secondary School can improve its usage of educational technology tools in Mathematics teaching and learning effectively for the development of higher order thinking skills. Recommendations for further study in as far this study was concerned were made / Dissertation (MEd (Computer Integrated Education))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

The study is an evaluation of the ‘Science Teacher Development Project’, which was undertaken in a rural area of the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The intervention of almost four years was an outreach programme located at eMpuluzi, a distance of 375 km from the University of Pretoria. The project was funded by a grant of the Belgian Council of Flemish Universities. Funding was administered by the South African Science Education Network (SASEN) which was located at the University of the Western Cape. The Centre for Science Education of the University of Pretoria designed, managed and implemented the intervention. A ‘Further Diploma in Education’ (FDE) from the University of Pretoria was the intended outcome for individual participating teachers and 26 of 28 teachers succeeded and obtained the diploma. The project was particularly unique through being funded and implemented by a partnership of universities, rather than through state initiatives or aid, and as such must be seen as a small project with high impact within its limited scope. This thesis presents an evaluation of the project in terms of its impacts, achievements and failures, using qualitative paradigms. The evaluation process by the participant observer was an ongoing programme and included a post-completion summative evaluation for which the last interview was conducted two years after completion of the project. The evaluation proceeded in two phases. The first was a traditional analysis based on proxies derived from the research question, namely self reported change in educator attitude and change in school and classroom practices of educators. The second investigation which was begun when a successful conclusion to the intervention was already evident established the degree to which expectations of stakeholders were met, and factors that contributed to the success. For this a novel adaptation of Checkland’s Soft Systems Analysis with six stages was used. This ensured that the nature of the project was modelled and assessed holistically. The model led to the identification of several perspectives for analysis. These included the competence criteria of the Department of Education known collectively as ‘the seven roles of educators’, and whether the project was a ‘learning organisation’. A major factor which contributed to the successes of the project was the sense of ownership that developed amongst the participants. This work presents a new approach to the in-depth evaluation of single interventions, particularly where these are presented over a long period and the roles of participants at all levels may change or develop over time. The Soft Systems Analysis approach has the distinct advantage of not imposing an assumption of structure onto the analysis of the project. The potentially generalisable success factors which were identified (most importantly the sense of ownership developed by the participating teachers which exceeded the concept of partnership envisaged in the Jomtien (1990) declaration), the novel adaptation of Soft Systems Methodology, and the value of strongly academically focussed INSET are significant contributions to the body of knowledge of those planning, implementing and evaluating teacher development projects amid considerable complexity. These all lead to further research. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Physics / unrestricted

This thesis deals with motivation to study economic subjects at secondary schools and universities, specifically with its level and structure as well as achievement motivation. You can find a general theoretical overview in the first part of the thesis and then a detailed view on motivation to learn, on the importance of adolescence and young adulthood in human motivation. The final part of the theoretical part evaluates the influence of teachers on students' motivation. The second part of the thesis is a research of secondary school and university students' motivation made by using a questionnaire. Differences between both age categories are then compared and their existence is discussed in the context of the theoretical basis.