En ökad mängd interventioner av fysisk aktivitet och rörelse under skoltiden, har positiva effekter på elevernas hälsa och skolresultat, samt minskar tiden som utgörs av stillasittande aktiviteter. Fysisk aktivitet är dessutom en friskfaktor för att minska risken att drabbas av vanliga folksjukdomar och skapar goda förutsättningar för folkhälsan. Stillasittande beteende ökar generellt i samhället och är riskfaktor till uppkomst av kroniska sjukdomar och vidare förtidig död. Samtidigt minskar tiden som individer är fysiskt aktiva, både vardagliga och planerade aktiviteter. Skolan är en lämplig arena för att öka den fysiska aktiviteten, där en bred målgrupp nås utifrån samma förutsättningar på skolan. Syftet var att studera högstadielärares attityder kring fysisk aktivitet och rörelse under skoltiden för elever i årskurs sju till nio, som en hälsofrämjande insats för folkhälsan. Empirin samlades in via enskilda intervjuer och en avslutande fokusgruppsintervju med samma deltagare. Vidare genomfördes en induktiv kvalitativ innehållsanalys. I resultatet framkom att deltagarna var medvetna om att fysisk aktivitet har positiva effekter på elevernas hälsa, men att den enskilda läraren inte var ansvarig för att implementera mer fysisk aktivitet på skoltid. Fysisk aktivitet kopplades med pulshöjande aktiviteter som var schemalagda eller som skulle ske utanför lektionerna, som på rasterna och förslagsvis struktureras av till exempel en fritidspedagog. Ansvaret för att eleverna skulle vara mindre stillasittande och mer fysiskt aktiva under skoldagen, ansågs vara andra aktörer än lärarna själv. Lärarna uttryckte ett behov av djupare förståelse och ökade kunskaper kring fysisk aktivitet och hur de vidare kunde implementera det för att förbättra förutsättningarna för eleverna. Ökad implementering av fysisk aktivitet i skolan med lärarna som resurs, kan komma att ha stor betydelse för vidare folkhälsoarbetet och individers hälsa. Resultatet i studien kan öka medvetenheten om vilka hälsofrämjande interventioner som kan vara lämpliga i skolverksamheter för att förbättra folkhälsan. / More interventions with physical activity and movement during school time, have positive effects on the students health and performance in class, and reduces the time spent on sedentary activities. Physical activity is a health-promoting activity which decreases the risk of becoming ill in common public diseases and creates good opportunities for the public health. Sedentary lifestyle increases in the society and is a risk factor for developing chronic diseases and further to early death. physically active decreases, regarding both everyday- and intentional activities. The school is a suitable arena for increasing the physical activity, since it contains a wide target group and can offer equal conditions. The aim was to study secondary teachers attitudes to physical activity and movements during the school time for students in age 13-16, as a health-promoting intervention for a good public health. The empirical data was collected through individual interviews and a final focus group interview with the same participants. Further an inductive qualitative content analysis was conducted. The result showed that the participants were aware of the positive effects of physical activity on the students health, but the individual teacher wasn't responsible to implement more physical activity at school time. physical activity was connected to pulse-raising activities, which should be scheduled or should take place outside the lessons, suggested during the breaks and be arranged by a leisure teacher. The responsibility for the students to be less sedentary and more physically active during the school day, lays on other actors than the teachers themselves. The teachers expressed a need to gain deeper understanding and increased knowledge of physical activity and how they could continue with implementation of it to improve the conditions for the students. Increased implementation of physical activity in school with the teachers as a resource, may be of great importance to further public health interventions and individuals health. The result from the study can increase awareness of health promoting interventions, which could be applied in schools for a better public health.

Inom matematikdidaktik beskrivs matematisk modellering som en process bestående av olika delprocesser. Forskare inom området menar att ett holistiskt förhållningssätt behövs i undervisningen för att alla delprocesser i modelleringsprocessen ska kunna utvecklas. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka kursplaners synliggörande (intended curriculum) av olika delprocesser vid matematisk modellering med differentialekvationer i svenska lärosätens ämneslärarprogram för gymnasiet med matematik som huvudämne. För att analysera kursplanerna används ett teoretiskt ramverk formulerat av Blomhøj & Jensen (2003). Resultatet visar stora skillnader i vilka delprocesser som synliggörs. Från nästan alla kursplaner som analyserades kunde man tydligt utläsa att i kursplanen synliggjordes delprocesser om matematisering av modelleringsproblem samt undersökning och lösning av uppkomna matematiska problem, medan andra delprocesser som speglar identifiering av ett verklighetsnära modelleringsproblem och tolkning av beräkningsresultatsynliggörs i mycket liten utsträckning. Delprocessen om analys av modellens giltighet synliggjordes i några enstaka kursplaner. En slutsats är att alla delprocesser inte synliggörs i kursplaner för matematikkurser i ämneslärarprogram för gymnasiet som behandlar modellering med differentialekvationer. Studien belyser behov av fortsatt forskning inom området, till exempel av det tillämpade genomförandet eller det uppnådda kursresultatet. / In mathematics education, mathematical modelling is described as a process consisting of different sub-processes. Researchers in the area believe that a holistic approach needs to be included in teaching where all sub-processes in the modelling process can be developed. The aim of this study is to investigate the visibility of different sub-processes in mathematical modelling in curricula (intended curriculum) with differential equations for Swedish teachers’programme with mathematics as core subject. To analyse the curricula, a theoretical framework formulated by Blomhøj & Jensen (2003) is used. The results show that there is a difference in the visibility of the sub-processes. From almost all curricula that were analysed, sub-processes on mathematization of modelling problems and investigation and solution of emerging mathematical problems could be clearly seen, while other sub-processes such as identification of a realistic modelling problem, interpretation and analysis of results could be seen to a lesser extent. The sub-process of analysing the validity of modelswas visible in a few curricula. Hence possible conclusions can be drawn, one is that curricula in modelling with differential equations for Swedish secondary education teacher programme in mathematics do not showcase all modellingsub-processes. The thesis highlights further need in studies of the implemented and attained curricula.

In 2012, a southeastern state mandated that all school districts employ the response to intervention (RtI) tiered approach model to meet the needs of struggling students. RtI was implemented at the study site; however, secondary teachers were not confident in their abilities to implement RtI. Researchers have found that a teacher's sense of efficacy can impact student academic outcomes. Professional development on implementing RtI was provided for teachers in the study school. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of explicit RtI professional development on the perceived self-efficacy of secondary teachers and their ability to impact student achievement. The study was framed within the constructs of social cognitive theory (SCT) and the associated concept of teacher efficacy. Pre and postintervention data were collected from 51 core subject area teachers using the Teacher Efficacy Scale Survey (short form). An analysis of the data was conducted using paired sample t tests to measure mean differences in efficacy scores. Results of the data analysis demonstrated significant gains in overall efficacy sum scores, personal teaching efficacy scores, and general teaching efficacy scores among the sample of teachers in this study. The results suggested a positive shift in teacher efficacy following the professional development. Recommendations included additional research with larger samples of teachers and the inclusion of a control group. Implications for positive social change include providing research findings to the local administration on the change in teacher efficacy following the RtI professional development. Recommendations are also provided for continued research on RtI, teacher efficacy, and student achievement.

This dissertation compares the work and life of secondary public-school teachers in Ontario with different labour contracts during a time of crisis. The COVID public health crisis along with neoliberalism, the defunding of public education, and a climate crisis have all influenced governmental policies and the labour process of public secondary teachers in Ontario. The influences that different contracts can have on the labour process of teachers, how they feel towards their union, and the impacts on their individual health and household wellbeing before and during the first year of the COVID pandemic is the focus of this dissertation. To help explore these contexts and the influences on the life and labour of public secondary teachers in Ontario with different contracts, I have used research from studies in Labour Process Theory, precarious work, and educational labour to inform my analysis. Along with those areas of discourse, I have also used insights from research into Critical Realism and Thematic Analysis to think through and discuss the differences between the teachers I interviewed and connect their experiences with work, their union, and their individual health and household well-being to larger systems, structures, and histories. The interviews conducted revealed three points of interest: that precarious labour contracts can function as a disciplinary device, that larger contexts outside the contract shaped how the contract was experienced, and that teachers’ unions can act as a source of solidarity and security during a crisis and when there are certain associations with its purpose. This exploratory research aims to open up future areas of research into educational labour and differences between the experiences of educators with different contracts. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This project explored the differences between public secondary teachers with different contracts in Ontario before and during the COVID pandemic. It involved an online survey to help recruit participants and interviews with 36 teachers who were recruited from the online survey. Of the 36 teachers, 13 had permanent contracts, 16 had long term occasional (LTO) contracts, and 7 had occasional teaching (OT) contracts. The interviews and analysis revealed three points of interest: that precarious labour contracts in a tiered relationship with secure contracts can function as a disciplinary device, that larger contexts outside the contract shaped how the contract was experienced, and that teachers’ unions can act as a source of solidarity and security during a crisis and when there are certain associations with its purpose. Teachers with different contracts had uniquely different experiences with their work, their union, and their individual health and household wellbeing before and during COVID.

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This study investigated teachers' attitudes towards a career in rural schools. The aims of this study were broken into two, namely, the primary and secondary aims. The primary aim was to find out whether rural secondary school teachers hold a positive or a negative attitude towards a career in rural schools. The secondary aim was also broken into two. The first secondary aim was to find out whether rural secondary school teachers' personal characteristics such as age, sex, marital status, rank, qualification and teaching experience in rural school(s), as well as the school in which the teacher teaches, have a significant influence on their attitudes towards a career in rural schools. The second secondary aim was to determine the nature of attitudes with regard to A-B-C components of attitudes. To this end, a questionnaire was compiled and used as an attitude rating scale. The questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of one hundred and thirty four rural secondary school teachers from six schools, under Mehlwesizwe circuit in KwaZulu-Natal. Statistical analyses were conducted to fulfil the aims of the study and to test the research hypotheses stated. This study revealed that rural secondary school teachers hold a negative attitude towards a career in rural schools. It also revealed that, irrespective of teachers' personal characteristics, their attitude towards a career in rural school is the same, that is, it is negative. Therefore it was concluded that teachers' personal variables have no significant influence on their attitudes. This study also revealed that, statistically, there were significant differences in the affective and cognitive components of attitude but differences in the behavioural component were not significant. This indicated that the affective and cognitive components are more closely related to each other than they are with the behavioural component. On the basis of teachers' responses to attitude statements, the researcher offered two lines of direction as recommendation, namely, "Rethink resource allocation" and "Direction of restructuring". The former will assist in improving the conditions under which rural teachers work and the circumstances surrounding their workplace. The latter will assist in collaborating the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) structures at national, regional and local level with the Department of Education and Culture, as well as with the private sector, for improving the conditions under which rural teachers work. In that case teachers' attitudes towards a career in rural schools might be changed from negative to positive. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This study investigated teachers' attitudes towards a career in rural schools. The aims of this study were broken into two, namely, the primary and secondary aims. The primary aim was to find out whether rural secondary school teachers hold a positive or a negative attitude towards a career in rural schools. The secondary aim was also broken into two. The first secondary aim was to find out whether rural secondary school teachers' personal characteristics such as age, sex, marital status, rank, qualification and teaching experience in rural school(s), as well as the school in which the teacher teaches, have a significant influence on their attitudes towards a career in rural schools. The second secondary aim was to determine the nature of attitudes with regard to A-B-C components of attitudes. To this end, a questionnaire was compiled and used as an attitude rating scale. The questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of one hundred and thirty four rural secondary school teachers from six schools, under Mehlwesizwe circuit in KwaZulu-Natal. Statistical analyses were conducted to fulfil the aims of the study and to test the research hypotheses stated. This study revealed that rural secondary school teachers hold a negative attitude towards a career in rural schools. It also revealed that, irrespective of teachers' personal characteristics, their attitude towards a career in rural school is the same, that is, it is negative. Therefore it was concluded that teachers' personal variables have no significant influence on their attitudes. This study also revealed that, statistically, there were significant differences in the affective and cognitive components of attitude but differences in the behavioural component were not significant. This indicated that the affective and cognitive components are more closely related to each other than they are with the behavioural component. On the basis of teachers' responses to attitude statements, the researcher offered two lines of direction as recommendation, namely, "Rethink resource allocation" and "Direction of restructuring". The former will assist in improving the conditions under which rural teachers work and the circumstances surrounding their workplace. The latter will assist in collaborating the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) structures at national, regional and local level with the Department of Education and Culture, as well as with the private sector, for improving the conditions under which rural teachers work. In that case teachers' attitudes towards a career in rural schools might be changed from negative to positive. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

No description available.