The aim of this study is to examine the effects of school-to-work programs on cognitive engagement from the students’ perspective. The study was guided by the question: “How do students perceive their cognitive engagement in learning when participating in school-to-work transition programs”? Using a case study methodology, data were collected from ten students at a rural high school using semi-structured interviews, and were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The results show an increase in cognitive engagement and the motivation to graduate as a result of participation in the school-to-work program. This increase in cognitive engagement is attributed to the students’ career preparedness, and the hands-on practical experiences gained from the program. By studying the students’ perception of their own engagement we gain a better understanding of the contributing factors that lead to increased cognitive engagement and motivation levels.

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of school-to-work programs on cognitive engagement from the students’ perspective. The study was guided by the question: “How do students perceive their cognitive engagement in learning when participating in school-to-work transition programs”? Using a case study methodology, data were collected from ten students at a rural high school using semi-structured interviews, and were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The results show an increase in cognitive engagement and the motivation to graduate as a result of participation in the school-to-work program. This increase in cognitive engagement is attributed to the students’ career preparedness, and the hands-on practical experiences gained from the program. By studying the students’ perception of their own engagement we gain a better understanding of the contributing factors that lead to increased cognitive engagement and motivation levels.

Abstract The overarching goal of this study is to investigate whether teachers of Swedish at upper secondary schools in Sweden feel that they know how to teach critical literacy, especially on the Internet, and also if they know how it is taught. It also investigates the difficulties teachers experience in teaching critical literacy. A secondary goal is to investigate the knowledge of critical literacy among students at upper secondary schools in Sweden. The study is based on quantitative and qualitative research. The research consists of two parts. The first one is made through a digital survey-machine. The answers can be analyzed in both a quantitative and a qualitative way. The selected group for the survey consists of both students and teachers. The second one is based on interviews with three teachers. The majority of earlier research in this field focuses on the information seeking process. Not much has been written about critical competence when teaching Swedish and if teachers today have the right tools and skills to handle critical literacy on the Internet. The study points to school being an important place for learning critical competence. It is imperative that teachers teach students to navigate on the Internet, to be able to assess the impact media and technology have on their lives and also to review the information they find. One of the problems is that teachers feel insecure about how to handle critical literacy in their everyday teaching. Important tools for this work are knowledge of the different stages in the information seeking process, but also knowledge of how to integrate critical literacy in the classroom. The conclusion is that a great deal has to be done in this area, both at a political level, but also at an educational level. According to the results of this study teachers need more media competence to help students in an ever changing digitalized world.

Due to political decisions regarding the Swedish school, public and independent schools booth face the need topromote themselves in the quest for new pupils. This study aims to, from a communications perspective, examine how four selected upper secondary schools address their target audience; the pupils‐to‐be, on their homepages. Additionally, I intend to investigate whether, and if so, how, said addressing can be connected to the different target groups applying to the schools in question. The questions asked in this study regard the way in which the selected schools describe themselves on their homepage; how do they use the textual and visual content to address their audience, and can there be disagreement between the meaning of the text and that of the image? To answer these questions, I use a theoretical base made out of visual communication and semiotic as well as rhetorical analyses. The methodological procedure is a qualitative approach on the matter, allowing me to understand the “what” of the content on the homepages, as well as the “how” it’s being communicated. I have separated the text from the image, analyzing them separately, so that I can make sense of the whole based on what the segments tell me. I’ve come to the conclusion that there seems to be a pattern between the way in which a Swedish upper secondary school address their target group, and which pupils choose to apply to the school. The schools whose applicants have a high median value in their grades tend to refer to academic values in their descriptions, while the schools whose applicants have the lower median value tend to speak more of the world outside the classroom, and refer to such things as connections with companies or the pupils’ interests.

Based on the narratives of young people this research explores the rise in youth violence in Kenya's secondary school system and wider society and the potential for peacebuilding to address youth violence. Of particular concern is the gradual change in the profiles, patterns and intensity of the conflict, as evidenced by the increase in the number of youth militias. This increase is often attributed to unemployment and poverty - yet, to date, no systematic research has been produced on the extent to which the youth participation in violence occurs through choice or coercion, or indeed both. Worryingly, a significant number of young people involved in this violence are secondary school students. The findings of this research indicate that despite responses to youth violence in the school and wider Kenyan society, the violence is unabated. Notably, approaches continue to be top-down, generic, superficial and ineffectual. By marginalising the narratives of the youth who participate in and/or observe the violence, current institutional policies and approaches are decontextualised - from both the particular and the wider Kenyan context. This leaves intact the root causes of the violence. This research raises important questions concerning generic, top-down, quick-fix, outmoded cultural paradigms, hierarchical and questionable homogeneous pedagogical approaches to peacebuilding in both the schools and wider Kenyan context. In attempt to address these deficiencies the research seeks to find out approaches to peacebuilding and the Kenyan education systems that can respond to youth violence. This research proffers three key dimensions that can be incorporated in order to ensure effective and sustainable peace: experiences, worldviews and attitudes of the actors. The research, which utilises a constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2006), was conducted in fourteen secondary schools in Nairobi and the Rift Valley provinces - two provinces that have been at the centre of youth violence and militia activities. These provinces were also selected in order to reflect the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic character, and the different types of schools in Kenya.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Syftet med den här studien är att beskriva några elevers erfarenheter av att vara elev i gymnasiesärskolan och att lyfta fram deras berättelser. Med fokus på lärande, inflytande, delaktighet och tillhörighet.  Det är en studie som har sin grund i ett inifrånperspektiv som handlar om förståelse för elevers perspektiv. För att kunna förstå elevers perspektiv behövs tolkningar, tolkningar är den teoretiska ansatsen hermeneutikens grundsyn och därför fann jag hermeneutiken vara passande till min studie. Som metod för att kunna besvara mitt syfte har jag använt mig av livsvärldsintervjuer. Studiens resultat bygger på fyra elevintervjuer. Resultaten som framträdde var att eleverna var alla positiva till sin skola, de såg en skola där de fick känna gemenskap. De beskriver att meningen med att utbilda sig handlar om att lära sig något. Några har dessutom en tanke med att lärandet ska skapa bättre förutsättningar för dem i vuxen ålder. Resultatet visade också att eleverna är medvetna om sina behov, svårigheter och kunde relatera dem till olika situationer som de möter och har mött. Vad som också blev synligt i elevernas berättelser var att det förekom begränsad samverkan med gymnasiet. / The purpose of this study is to describe some pupils’ experiences of being a student in upper secondary schools forintellectual disabilities, and highlight their stories. The study has its focus on learning, influence, participation and belonging. It is a study with its base on an inside perspective; the understanding of the pupils' own perspective. In order to understand the pupils' perspective, you need interpretation. That are the theoretical approach to the basic view of the hermeneutic character, hence I found hermeneutics appropriate for my study. As a method to be able to find the answer of the purpose of the study, I have used the life-world interviews. The result of the study is based on the interviews of four pupils. The results that emerged was that all the pupils were positive about their school, they saw a school where were able to feel togetherness. They all describe that the purpose of education is about learning. Some also thought that learning could create better situations for them in adulthood. The results also showed that the pupils are aware of their needs and difficulties and can relate them to different situations they have faced and will face. What also became obvious in the pupils' stories was that there was limited interaction with high school.

Η παρούσα έρευνα είναι ένα μέρος ενός ευρύτερου μη χρηματοδοτούμενου ερευνητικού προγράμματος με επιστημονικό υπεύθυνο τον καθηγητή Κº Παντελή Γεωργογιάννη και κύριος σκοπός της είναι να διαπιστώσουμε το πόσο επηρεάζει η καταγωγή ενός προσώπου στην αντιμετώπισή του από τους άλλους και ειδικότερα το βαθμό συμπάθειας ή αντιπάθειας που τρέφουν οι άλλοι απέναντί του, σύμφωνα με τη θεωρία των συγκινήσεων. Η έρευνα αυτή πραγματοποιείται σε μαθητές Γυμνασίου σχολείου και στόχο έχει να δείξει την έξαρση του φαινομένου του ρατσισμού στα σχολεία. / The present work is a part of an extended not-sponsored research program with scientific representative and responsible for this program professor Pantelis Georgogiannis. The main aim of the program is to confirm how much someone’s origin may influence people’s behavior towards him. Specifically it aims to distinguish the grade of sympathy and antipathy, according to the theory of emotion. The survey was carried out realized on secondary school students (age 13-15) and its target is to show the extent of racism in schools.

Šiame magistro darbe išnagrinėtas Vilniaus miesto ir Vilniaus rajono mokyklų 9-12 klasių moksleivių profesinis apsisprendimas. Magistro darbo tikslas – remiantis naujausiais tyrimo rezultatais sudaryti Vilniaus miesto ir Vilniaus rajono mokyklų 9-12 klasių moksleivių profesinio apsisprendimo lyginamąją charakteristiką. Iškelti tyrimo uždaviniai: nustatyti, kokios profesijos pačios populiariausios tarp Vilniaus miesto ir Vilniaus rajono moksleivių, išsiaiškinti, ar moksleiviai pakankamai susipažino su pasirenkama profesija, palyginti profesinio apsisprendimo motyvus, sužinoti mokinių požiūrį į išsimokslinimą, išsiaiškinti, ar tėvų išsilavinimas daro įtaką moksleivių profesiniam apsisprendimui.Atlikto tyrimo išvados: miesto moksleiviai labiau linkę mokytis aukštojo mokslo įtaigose, jiems svarbu pasirinkti pelningą profesiją, susikurti tvirtą materialinį pagrindą, tapti savarankiškais, didesnė dalis Vilniaus rajono mokinių labiau orientuojasi į kolegijas ar profesines mokyklas, jiems renkantis profesiją padeda apsispręsti individo sugebėjimai, polinkiai ir interesai. Lyginant respondentų grupes pastebėta, kad tėvų išsilavinimas turi didelę įtaką mokinių požiūriui į mokslą ir profesinį pasirinkimą. / In this MA thesis career determination of 9-12 form students in Vilnius city and Vilnius region‘s secondary schools is researched. The aim of this MA thesis is to conduct a comparative study of 9-12 form students‘ career determination in Vilnius city and Vilnius region‘s secondary schools. The goals of the study are as follows: to identify the most popular professions among the students of Vilnius city and Vilnius region‘s secondary schools; to find out whether the students are sufficiently acquainted with the chosen future professions; to compare the students‘ motives for career choices; to find out the students‘ attitude towards education; to discover whether parents‘education has any influence on the students‘career choice. The findings of the study are as follows: students from the city schools are more inclined to study in the institutions of higher education; for them it is important to choose a financially rewarding profession, to establish a sound material base and to become independent; whereas a major part of students from Vilnius region secondary schools are more oriented towards colleges and vocational schools; individual abilities, dispositions and interests help them to make career choices. The comparison of the two respondent groups makes it explicit that parents‘education has a great influence on students‘attitude towards education and career choices.

Šiuolaikinės demokratinės visuomenės kūrimo vienas iš svarbiausių veiksnių – vertybių ugdymas. Vien pamokoje neįmanoma kokybiškai padaryti visko, kad atsiskleistų prigimtiniai moksleivių gabumai, vystytųsi kūrybinės galios, susidarytų vertybinės orientacijos. Dėl šių priežasčių turi būti ypatingas dėmesys skiriamas papildomajam ugdymui, kuriame galima kokybiškai įgyvendinti daug į formalius rėmus netelpančių uždavinių. Tyrimo tikslas – ištirti Vilniaus miesto bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų papildomojo ugdymo ypatybes ir organizavimo prielaidas. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1. Išsiaiškinti papildomojo ugdymo kaip neformaliojo švietimo raiškos ypatumus. 2. Ištirti papildomojo ugdymo veiklos poreikius ir pasiūlą Vilniaus miesto bendrojo lavinimo ugdymo įstaigose ir nustatyti neišnaudojamus rezervus bei jų atsiradimo priežastis. 3. Ištirti papildomojo ugdymo būrelių populiarumą pagal kryptį ir numatyti tendencijas. Tyrimo bazė Kiekybiniam tyrimui buvo apklaustos visos Vilniaus miesto bendrojo lavinimo mokyklos: 17 pradinių, 16 pagrindinių, 49 vidurinės mokyklos bei 17 gimnazijų. Tyrimas buvo atliekamas trejus metus iš eilės: 2004-2005 m. m., 2005-2006 m. m., 2006-2007 m. m. Tyrimo metodai Tyrimas atliktas taikant teorinius ir empirinius metodus: mokslinės literatūros bei dokumentų analizė, lyginamoji analizė, sisteminė analizė, apibendrinamoji analizė, kritinė analizė, anketinė apklausa. Atlikus tyrimą buvo padarytos tokios išvados: 1. Vilniaus miesto bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / One of the important subjects of our present democratic society is the development of values. During the lesson it is impossible to do everything so that natural pupils abilities could be shown, creative might could be developed, valuable orientation could be formed. That is why special attention should be paid to additional development where you can fulfil a lot of the tasks which cannot be placed into the formal limits. The aim of the research – to research the pecularities of the additional development in secondary schools in Vilnius and the precondition of its organizing. The tasks of the research: 1. To find out the expression of the pecularities of the additional development as the informal education. 2. To explore the needs of the additional development and its offer to Vilnius secondary education institutions and to determine the unused reserves and the reason of their origin. 3. To do a research of the popularity of the circles of the extracurricular activities according to their direction, to forsee the tendencies. The basis of the research For quantative research for the survey has been carried out in all Vilnius secondary education schools: 17 primary schools, 16 principal schools, 49 secondary schools and 17 gymnasia. The research has been done for 3 years: 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007. The methods of the research The research has been done using theoretical, empirical methods: the analysis of scientific literature and documents, comparative analysis... [to full text]