Abstract This empirical study investigates how students in secondary school 7-9 learn the English language outside of school, in an informal setting, and how they can benefit from it in a formal setting in school. The usage of digital technology is more common nowadays amongst youngsters than it used to be before. Digital technology has become a part of young people’s daily lives, whether it is for social media, schoolwork, gaming or blogging. Most students in Swedish secondary schools have their own computers, mobile phones, and have the opportunity to borrow an iPad from school, if needed. For this reason, it is relevant and interesting to investigate how students use their informal knowledge of English in a school setting, and how teachers take advantage of that knowledge. The research focused primarily on how the incorporation of extramural English can be used as a motivating factor for students to develop their English language in a formal setting. The results showed that students who are given the opportunity to use their previous knowledge in the classroom, appeared to be more encouraged to engage in classroom activities. They were also more motivated to work with the assignments handed to them. Teachers who involved students’ interests and previous knowledge in the classroom were experienced in the use of different media in the classroom and had good knowledge about students’ daily lives and experiences, something that helped them establish a positive teacher-student relationship. Keywords: extramural English, out-of-school English, teaching materials, motivation, informal- and formal settings, students’ perceptions.

No description available.

Teknikämnet är i ständig förändring i och med den snabba teknikutvecklingen, medan klassrummets utseende i princip inte har förändrats sedan 1840-talet. Därför lär inte det traditionella klassrummet vara anpassat för teknikämnet och dess undervisning idag. Syftet har varit att undersöka, analysera och utforma förslag på hur teknikklassrum kan utformas. Vidare var syftet att utvärdera förslagen med utgångspunkt i perspektivet att klassrummet ska främja projektbaserad undervisning. För att uppnå syftet genomfördes en litteraturstudie samt datainsamling bestående av intervjuer och fokusgrupper med lärare och elever. En fenomenografisk analys utfördes på empirin för att finna uppfattningar om vad som är viktigt vid utformning av ett klassrum. Analysen visade att den fysiska inomhusmiljön, möblering, material i klassrummet, inspiration för elever samt vad som finns i närheten av klassrummet, är viktigt att ta hänsyn till vid utformning av teknikklassrummet. Flexibilitet verkade vara den enskilt viktigaste faktorn att ta hänsyn till vid klassrumsutformning, därför behöver flexibilitet genomsyra alla kategorier. De fysiska miljöfaktorer som lärare ansåg påverkar projektbaserad undervisning var material, ljudvolym, estetik och elevernas placering. När ett klassrum ska utformas för att främja projektbaserad undervisning behöver skolan ta hänsyn till vilka typer av projekt klassrummet ska möjliggöra eftersom olika projekt kräver olika fysiska miljöer. Fem klassrumsförslag för teknikämnet utformades främst med hjälp av den fenomenografiska analysen. En utvärdering av klassrumsförslagen gjordes och enligt respondenterna passar två av förslagen, eller en kombination av dem, bäst för projektbaserad undervisning. / Technology is a Swedish school subject that is in constant change because of the rapid rate of technology development, while the classroom appearance, in principle, has not changed since the 1840s. Hence, the traditional classroom might not be suited for the subject of technology and its teaching. The aim has been to investigate, analyze and design proposals on how a classroom for the technology subject can be designed. Furthermore, the aim was to evaluate the proposals based on the perspective that the classroom should promote projectbased teaching. To achieve the aim, literature studies and data collection was conducted consisting of interviews and focus groups with teachers and students. A phenomenological analysis was conducted to find perceptions of what is important when designing a classroom. The analysis showed that the physical indoor environment, furnishings and materials in the classroom, inspiration for students as well as what is in the vicinity of the classroom are important to be taken into consideration when designing a classroom for the technology subject. Flexibility seemed to be the single most important factor to take into account in classroom design, therefore, flexibility needs to permeate all categories. The physical environmental factors that teachers thought influenced project-based teaching were material, sound volume, aesthetics and students' placement. When a classroom is to be designed to promote project-based teaching, the school needs to take into account what kind of projects the classroom should enable because different projects require different physical environments. Five classroom proposals for the technology subject were designed primarily using the phenomenological analysis. An evaluation of the classroom proposals was made and according to the respondents, two of the proposals, or a combination of them, are best suited for project-based teaching.

BACKGROUND: Harmful drinking among students in tertiary institutions has become a major public health issue worldwide. Botswana is among the countries that are experiencing this problem. Abuse of alcohol amongst students is linked to road crushes, intentional and unintentional injuries, raping and an array of communicable diseases notably HIV/AIDS. Drinking among students could be a function of personal and environmental factors. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to identify factors that are consistent with abuse of alcohol among students in tertiary institutions in Gaborone. METHOD: This is a quantitative, non-experimental, cross sectional descriptive study. Data were collected from a sample of students in tertiary institutions. SPSS was used for the analysis of data. RESULTS: The study has revealed hazardous drinking among students. The use of alcohol was predicted on demographic, psychological and environmental factors of respondents. Influence from a close friend, year level of study and area of residence were correlates of drinking among students. Institution based educational interventions that focus on building leadership skills of students are critical in addressing issues of alcohol in tertiary institutions. Statutory measures are necessary to limit students’ access to alcohol. CONCLUSION: The study has identified factors that are related to abuse of alcohol among students. The findings could be used to strengthen evidence based planning and implementation of interventions for tackling issues of alcohol in tertiary institutions. There is a need for future research on this area using qualitative approach. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Reflective practice, though ill-defined, has become an accepted educational concept within many health care disciplines particularly in nursing. Subsequently it has become benchmarked within Paramedic Sciences as a professional requirement for continuing education and clinical practice. However, despite the vast literature in nursing and the increasing growth of reflective practice in paramedic curricula it is unclear how it influences the students’ learning in preparation for graduate practice as future reflective practitioners. This research explored ‘to what extent does reflective practice in the paramedic curriculum influence the students’ academic and clinical learning leading to graduate practice’? A mixed methods approach with cohort samples of undergraduate health care students comprised four studies including surveys and non-participant observations of clinical simulation that were conducted in a university learning environment. The results showed overall that Paramedic students believed that they understood reflective practice and perceived it to be useful for their academic studies and clinical practice; although this is probably influenced more by formal teaching rather than the result of their own views. Students were able to describe reflective practice in ideal theoretical terms and were positive towards it regardless of their individual learning styles. However, in a clinical context, they applied it differently with significant emphasis on technical reflection. Evidence of the nature of reflective practice as it occurred during and after clinical simulation scenarios highlights a need for revised approaches to existing learning/teaching strategies with paramedic students. An extended understanding and refinement of reflective practice concepts including a new pedagogic framework to promote enhanced reflectivity are proposed. This theoretical framework is designed to accommodate reflective learning for both personal and collaborative learning related to curriculum outcomes. The use of clinical simulation for the development of reflective practice in the paramedic curriculum is supported with recommendations for further studies in academic and clinical settings.

Previous studies have shown that teachers and students using English as the medium of instruction (EMI) in science classrooms encounter many language challenges with teaching and learning processes. Problems include the limited English communication skills of science teachers, the lack of EMI training for science teachers, the students' different language abilities and science teachers' beliefs that they are not responsible for addressing students' language needs in science. Teachers' lack of language awareness has led to poor teaching practices and limited interactions in the classrooms. This lack of language awareness, in turn, suggests that there are limited opportunities for students to learn English as a second language in the science classroom. This study extends the research on EMI classroom interactions in Hong Kong (Lo and Macaro, 2012) to the previously unexamined context of senior secondary science classrooms. A total of 19 teachers and 545 students from grades 10 and 11 EMI science class were recruited in Hong Kong from 'early-full EMI' schools (full EMI instruction from grades 7 to 12) and 'late-partial EMI' schools (Chinese medium from grades 7 to 9 and partial EMI instruction from grades 10 to 12). The project used multiple sources of qualitative data (i.e. semi-structured interviews and 33 videotaped classroom observations) to explore the similarities and differences in classroom interactions during the first and second years of the senior science curriculum (grades 10 and 11) in the two types of EMI schools. This project also investigated these science teachers' and students' perceptions of EMI teaching and learning processes, their preference of instructional language and their beliefs about teaching and learning in the EMI environment. Interviews also probed teachers' language awareness, teachers' and students' belief about EMI, students' self-concepts in science (students' perceptions or beliefs about their ability to do well in science, see Wilkins, 2004)) and their perceptions of language challenges and coping strategies in EMI classrooms. The results from the observational data show similar interactional patterns in both early-full and late-partial EMI science classrooms when measured as percentages of interaction time, distribution of time between teacher and student talk and frequency of pedagogical functions. However, the nature of the interactions is different. In late-partial EMI schools, overall, there are more (but shorter) student initiations and responses, more use of higher-order questions from the teachers but less direct feedback to students. Both teachers and students tend to use their L1 more. In both types of schools, there was less interaction time and a lower maximum length of student turns and more L1 use in grade 11 than in grade 10. The discourse analysis of the four biology lesson transcripts also shows that both early-full and late-partial EMI students predominantly produced incomplete sentences consisting of short, technical nouns or noun phrases referring to scientific items. Science teachers rarely made any attempts to correct their students' language mistakes, nor did they encourage students to produce a complete sentence. This lack of teacher feedback on students' L2 language production perhaps reflects the fact that EMI science teachers rarely provide comprehensible input to facilitate students' L2 language learning. These findings suggest the important role of the teacher's modified input in teacher-student interaction in developing students' content knowledge and language skills. The adoption of EMI appears to lead to the development of students' comprehension of content knowledge more than development of their language production skills. As a result of their language shortfalls, the students' L2 productive skills remain under-developed despite English instruction. This lack of language support by teachers appears to indicate a gap between the aims of the EMI policy and its implementation. The interview and questionnaire data show that the science teachers from both the early-full and late-partial EMI schools held many of the same views about their EMI teaching experiences, but they differed in their attitudes towards the value of English language skills and their language awareness. The early-full EMI teachers believed English language skills were important and these early-full teachers have a higher language awareness than the late-partial EMI science teachers. Students from both types of schools also held similar views about their EMI learning, indicating that they welcome the adoption of EMI instruction. However, while the late-partial EMI students see EMI as an opportunity to improve their English, those in the early-full EMI schools believe that EMI discouraged them from learning. By providing an evidence-based, pedagogically focused analysis of teacher and student classroom interactions and their perceptions, this research sheds light on ways to improve the quality of instructional practices in different EMI classrooms in Hong Kong and in similar contexts around the world.

BACKGROUND: Harmful drinking among students in tertiary institutions has become a major public health issue worldwide. Botswana is among the countries that are experiencing this problem. Abuse of alcohol amongst students is linked to road crushes, intentional and unintentional injuries, raping and an array of communicable diseases notably HIV/AIDS. Drinking among students could be a function of personal and environmental factors. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to identify factors that are consistent with abuse of alcohol among students in tertiary institutions in Gaborone. METHOD: This is a quantitative, non-experimental, cross sectional descriptive study. Data were collected from a sample of students in tertiary institutions. SPSS was used for the analysis of data. RESULTS: The study has revealed hazardous drinking among students. The use of alcohol was predicted on demographic, psychological and environmental factors of respondents. Influence from a close friend, year level of study and area of residence were correlates of drinking among students. Institution based educational interventions that focus on building leadership skills of students are critical in addressing issues of alcohol in tertiary institutions. Statutory measures are necessary to limit students’ access to alcohol. CONCLUSION: The study has identified factors that are related to abuse of alcohol among students. The findings could be used to strengthen evidence based planning and implementation of interventions for tackling issues of alcohol in tertiary institutions. There is a need for future research on this area using qualitative approach. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

The purpose of the study was to investigate students’ perceptions of the role of the library in their studies. A positivist research paradigm was employed and quantitative and qualitative research approaches were followed. The research design was a case study. Three sampling methods were used in the study. To obtain a sample of the students, stratified random sampling and systematic sampling were applied. In the case of the library staff, purposive sampling was used. Data was collected from students and a limited number of library staff using questionnaires and interview schedules respectively. The latter was for the purpose of validating and collecting complete data from students.The findings of the study revealed that students at TUT, PC have positive perceptions of the library and are satisfied with library services. The findings of the study further revealed that students find the library to be user-friendly and they use the library to borrow materials, read their own notes and books, access the internet and study. Factors, such as opening and closing hours, a conducive environment for studying, and knowledge of the library staff helps the library to contribute to students’ achievement outcomes. Moreover, the findings reveal that lack of resources, non-attendance of information literacy programmes by students, a lack of research support, and an inadequate infrastructure hinder the library’s contribution to students’ achievement outcomes. The research recommends that there should be a credit-bearing and compulsory information literacy programme offered as part of the curriculum at all levels of study at TUT, PC. Furthermore, library staff need to engage and interact well with students in order to better meet the needs of individual students. They should have continuous engagement with students and notify them about important events within the library. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science) / 1 online resource (xii, 94 leaves) ; color charts

This exploratory study sought to determine how the current science education curriculum at Nazarene Teachers College contributes to the final (third) year’s students’ career readiness from their own perspectives. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The target population was 150 third year students; 110 responded to the questionnaire which had a response rate of 79%. To describe the biographical information of the respondents, frequencies and percentages were used. Tables of frequency distribution were then used to deduce the respondents’ responses to the group of questionnaire questions that probe the various career readiness concepts. Scale reliability testing was also used to determine the reliability of career readiness concepts. An overall measure of career readiness was calculated for each respondent and the effect of biographical properties as part of evaluation of respondents. The empirical (quantitative survey)showed that the science education course at the Nazarene Teachers College indeed prepares the students for their career readiness with specific reference to the teaching profession although some aspects can be improved. Therefore, it was recommended that there should be increased time allocated to science education and its teaching approaches; that a suitable science laboratory with all the required equipment for experiential learning should be constructed; the current curriculum content with regards to the relevance for primary school science should be reviewed; and the lecturers should be workshopped on the use of interactive methods of teaching science to facilitate active engagement with students. This study reveals that the science education course at the Nazarene Teachers College strengthened the students’ attitudes towards teaching science; improved their skills and confidence to teach science and enabled them to focus on a learner-centred approach. Students indicated that the use of specific teaching methods and the use of teaching aids contributed in a significant way to their preparation as teachers in the classroom. However, the students rated the contribution science makes to society as of minor importance / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)