Methods: 1.The analysis of literary sources. 2. Survey. 3. Mathematical statistics. Purpose. Display the social skills of prospective educators (course II –III). The tasks of the investigation: 1. Determine the competence level of prospective educators (course II –III). 2. Study the level of social skills of prospective educators (course II –III). 3. Display the level of social psychological adaptation of prospective educators (course II –III). 4. The analysis of literary sources. The characterization of sociability. The sociability, social skills, the conceptions of social adaptation and their importance are being discussed. Social competence – the summation of social skills. The conception of social competence is being discussed and social competence is being presented as the summation of social skills. The factors of social competence. The factors that determine communication are being presented. The conception of self-reliance. The characterization of self-estimation. The aspects of self-estimation are being presented. The connection between self-estimation and self-reliance. The specificity of restlessness. The notion of restlessness, its appearance and reactions are being presented.

Background: Government policy has placed greater emphasis upon health professional students gaining practical experience in real-world environments. Given the fairly new inception of the role of clinical educator in podiatry there is a paucity of research in the area of practice placement in podiatry. Research aims: Within an action research framework, the first phase focused upon exploring the capacity of clinical educators to engage with the role of mentoring, alongside the factors that might impact upon that capacity. The second phase of the project investigated the impact of a teaching tool within the placement area when utilised by clinical educators and students. Methods: The pilot study utilised established questionnaire development methods to create a survey and scale to measure clinical educators’ capacity to engage with the role. The second phase of the project used a range of qualitative data collection methods analysed using framework analysis to analyse the utility of the teaching and learning tool. Findings: Phase I resulted in a 70-item scale measuring the capacity of clinical educators to engage with the role of clinical educator and the identification of four independent variables predictive of a significant proportion of the variability of the dependent variable, capacity to engage with clinical education. Phase II confirmed the utility of the teaching and learning tool to support clinical educators and students during the placement period. An inductive placement model, explanatory of the super-complexity of the environment where the clinical educator endeavours to monitor, modify and manage the placement scope, was developed. Conclusions: In an area where research is currently scant, this study contributed to practice-based education in podiatry and to current understanding of how clinical educators undertake this complex and responsible role. This is an important area for research given the influence clinical educators have to shape and guide the next generation of podiatry professionals.

In recent decades, guitar education has emerged as a discipline in PreK-12 institutions alongside “traditional” music education such as band, orchestra, and chorus. Despite the substantial body of literature containing practical advice on teaching guitar, research-supported scholarship is lacking. Additionally, this body of literature suggests a lack of congruency between curriculum, pedagogy, and teacher preparation among guitar educators. The purpose of this study was to provide an evidentiary-based understanding of the professional profiles and pedagogic practices of guitar educators. A multi-phase investigation was conducted. In Phase One, a large sample (n = 1,269) of guitar educators participated in the Guitar Educator Questionnaire (GEQ). Findings from the GEQ suggest a low (7.9) percent of music educators who teach guitar class consider themselves to be “guitar specialists.” A substantial number of respondents (68.5 percent) indicated that they rarely or never participated in guitar related professional development, and 76.1 percent of respondents reported that their pre-service training provided little or no preparation for a career in guitar education. A purposeful sample of six “exemplary” guitar educators contributed pedagogy-focused interviews and video teaching samples in Phases Two and Three. Data from the three phases were analyzed according to principles of thematic analysis in order to identify potential pathways toward the continued growth and maturation of guitar education.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:56:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Paula Martins.pdf: 759444 bytes, checksum: d3781967423fe78aa70e2e5b199ff13b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-14 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The present study aimed to understand how social educators who work with nonformal education realize their formation process. The research used a qualitative approach and data were collected through a reflective interview, as proposed by this dissertation advisor, Prof.ª Dr.ª Szymanski.This research took place at the Centro para Crianças e Adolescentes (CCA), in a community of Vila Brasilândia, located in the northern zone of São Paulo, which serves children and adolescents 06-14 years out of school time district, maintained by an organization non-profit. The study included two educators. Two meetings were held with each educator for the interview and feedback session. The data analysis was to reference the dialogic proposal of Paulo Freire about the significant elements that permeate the universe of non-formal education and training of social educators process. The results showed that social educators understand that their training is in daily tasks, because they had no training or initial training to carry out such activity.This research pointed to the fragility of this profession, a broad and complex field that requires higher penetrations discussions, social reflections on their professional role and functions in social education. It is emphasized at the end of this study, the establishment of training courses and improvement paths as facilitators for the support and development of childcare work / O presente estudo teve o propósito de compreender como educadores sociais que trabalham com a educação não formal percebem o seu processo de formação. A pesquisa utiliza-se de uma abordagem qualitativa e os dados foram coletados por meio de uma entrevista reflexiva, conforme proposta da orientadora desta dissertação, Profa. Dra. Szymanski. Essa investigação teve lugar no Centro para Crianças e Adolescentes (CCA), em uma comunidade da Vila Brasilândia, bairro da zona norte de São Paulo, que atende crianças e adolescentes de 06 a 14 anos fora do período escolar e é mantida por uma organização sem fins lucrativos. Participaram desse estudo duas educadoras. Foram realizados dois encontros com cada educadora para realização da entrevista e da devolutiva. A análise de dados teve como referência a proposta dialógica de Paulo Freire acerca dos elementos significativos que permeiam o universo não formal de educação e o processo de formação dos educadores sociais. Os resultados demonstraram que as educadoras sociais compreendem que sua formação profissional acaba se constituindo no fazer cotidiano, pois não tiveram treinamento algum ou formação inicial para exercerem essa atividade. Esta pesquisa apontou para a fragilidade da profissão, um campo amplo e complexo que requer maiores aprofundamentos, discussões, reflexões acerca de seu papel profissional e funções no âmbito da educação social. Ressalta-se, ao final deste estudo, a constituição de cursos de formação e aperfeiçoamento como caminhos facilitadores para o apoio e desenvolvimento do trabalho socioeducativo

Counselor educators foster the multicultural counseling competence of counselors-in-training; however, counselor educators face challenges that include emotionally charged exchanges that may might impact counselor educators' relationship with students. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate counselor educators' experiences with emotionally charged exchanges related to teaching multicultural counseling. The ecological systems theory was used as a conceptual framework. A purposeful sample of 4 counselor educators from Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs-accredited counselor education programs in the United States shared their knowledge of these emotionally charged exchanges through semistructured phone interviews in their natural settings. The data gathered underwent analysis following the descriptive phenomenological method, and revealed the essence of counselor educators' lived experiences: ever-present conflicting emotions and tension, with peaks of feeling exposed, inadequate, and satisfied after intentionally evoking students' emotions. Counselor educators can use the results of this study to alter their pedagogy and empower their students to develop their multicultural counseling competence more fully. Improved multicultural counseling competence might improve the treatment provided to a diverse range of clients and reduce treatment disparities.

The aim of this work has been to investigate how it is that it sometimes can be difficult for special educators to gain access by teachers to the classroom/lesson to make observations. A partial order has been to determine whether the special educator can curb the negative response from the teacher in question, concerning access to the classroom/lesson.   The survey has a phenomenological perspective as the basis of the test procedures and the analyses made. Phenomenology has as its starting point that the human does not perceive the world in the same way, and that she has different motives and intentions for her actions. In order to understand why the human act like she does, you have to create an image of the personal meaning behind this action. To create this image, I have implemented conversational interviews with five teachers at a high school, in central Sweden.   The investigation revealed that it is missing that the school's teachers are clearly informed of which laws and regulations the special educator is subordinate to. None of the teachers had been informed by their headmaster on the importance of cooperation with the special educator. This means that when the special educator visits and because of confidentiality has been unable to tell us why, the special educator could be perceived as checking the teacher.   To inform before the visit about how the visit should be done, and what the purpose of the visit is are very important factors to make the teachers in the study to feel comfortable with having a special educator in the classroom. There were teachers in the study who demanded answers as to why the visit would take place, in order to let in special educator in the classroom. It was, however, none of the teachers who denied the special educator access to the classroom/lesson due to unwillingness, but there were underlying factors such as to protect students and provide them with an environment conducive to work.   Based on the descriptions, given by the teachers in the study, it appears as if the cooperation between all concerned to create good conditions for the pupils fails.

Laima Šamatavienė. Magistro darbo tema ,,Ikimokyklinio ugdymo mokyklos grupės auklėtojo saviraiška ir ugdymo kokybė“. Darbo vadovas prof. habil. dr. M. Barkauskaitė. Vilniaus pedagoginis universitetas, Pedagogikos ir psichologijos fakultetas, edukologijos katedra. 2009.05.05 Tyrimo tikslas - ištirti ir išanalizuoti ikimokyklinio ugdymo grupės auklėtojo saviraišką ir ugdymo kokybę. Darbe iškeltas tikslas konkretizuojamas šiais uždaviniais: išanalizuota ikimokyklinio ugdymo mokyklos grupės auklėtojo saviraiškos ir ugdymo kokybės samprata mokslinėje literatūroje, išanalizuota, ištirta pedagogo savirealizacija strateguojant savo veiklą, atskleista ir apibūdinta ikimokyklinio ugdymo mokyklos grupės auklėtojo savirealizacijos raiška kuriant ugdymo programą, veiklos planus, aptarta ikimokyklinio ugdymo grupės auklėtojo saviraiškos ir kokybės dermė, išsiaiškintas tėvų požiūris į pedagogų kompetencijas organizuojant ugdymo procesą. Remiantis Vyriausybės nutarimais, aptartos visos su nagrinėjama tema susijusios sąvokos, vadovaujantis švietimo sistemos lygių galimybių, kontekstualumo, veiksmingumo, tęstinumo principais, švietimo tikslais ir uždaviniais. Pagal iš anksto susidarytą tyrimų programą buvo atliktas kokybinis ir kiekybinis tyrimas, įgyvendinti iškelti tyrimo programoje tikslai ir uždaviniai, sudarytas struktūrizuotas klausimynas, aprašai. Apklausti trisdešimt šeši ikimokyklinio ugdymo mokyklos pedagogai ir šimtas keturiasdešimt ikimokyklinę ugdymo mokyklą lankančių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Laima Šamatavienė. Theme of the Master‘s thesis ‘Self-expression of Pre-school Education Group Teacher and Quality of Education’. Research supervisor Prof. Habil.Dr. M. Barkauskaitė. Vilnius Pedagogical University, Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology, Department of Educational Sciences. 05.05.2009 . Objective of the research is to examine and make analysis of self-expression of pre-school education group teacher and quality of education. The main objective defined in the thesis is concretized with the tasks as follows: analysed conception of self-expression of pre-school education group teacher and quality of education in research literature, analysed and examined self-realisation of a teacher while making strategy of his/her activities, revealed and described expression of self-realisation of pre-school education group teacher while developing a program of education, plans of activities, a concord of self-expression of pre-school education group teacher and quality is discussed, the attitude of parents to competences of teachers while organizing education procedure is ascertained. All concepts related to the theme of the analysis are discussed following the governmental decrees, principles of equal opportunities, contextuality, efficiency, and continuity of educational system, aims and tasks of education. A qualitative and quantitative analysis was made in accordance with made in advance... [to full text]

The biggest impact that school governing bodies (SGBs) could probably have on school governance is by the appointment of quality additional educators and non-educators at the school. The South African Schools Act (SASA) provides, in section 20, for a public school to establish and employ staff in such positions. The school, as juristic person, becomes the employer and not the SGB which only acts as the agent on behalf of the school. Through this qualitative study I aimed to explore the expectations of parent members of different school SGBs regarding the appointment of staff members that are additional to the post establishment in public schools. By making use of semi-structured interviews, document analysis and a literature review I wanted to contribute to a more profound understanding of parents’ expectations of their roles in SGBs and as to what they want to achieve through being involved in SGBs. Through this I hope to improve relationships between parent members, educator members of SGBs and the principal. I determined that all parent members of SGBs are directed by bona fide intentions in that they think that they can make the greatest contribution to the learning and teaching culture of the school through the appointment of additional staff in order to have a better learner to teacher ratio in the classroom and in so doing improve the quality of teaching and learning at the school. I also determined that the parents’ expectations do not differ from one type of school to another and that all parents, irrespective of race, gender, language or culture basically have the same expectations. I discovered that schools increasingly appoint retired staff in SGB posts in order to keep their expertise at the school. Schools also appoint student teachers in posts to assist teachers at the school. This is a huge advantage to education in that they are trained in their profession at no additional cost to the government. By taking the financial position and the curriculum requirements at the school into account parent members of SGBs see it their primary duty to make sufficient finances available to enable schools to appoint additional staff. This practice is perhaps the only way to ensure quality education to all learners. The lack of financial capabilities at most schools makes the correct use of this function unavailable to them. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Educators experience numerous daily challenges in the classroom, including learner problem behaviour. Within the classroom, problem behaviour is defined as any behaviour that interferes in the flow of the lesson. How educators experience problem behaviour, and how they manage interactions with learners who display problem behaviour in the classroom, impact on both educator and learner functioning. Difficulties in managing learner problem behaviour are viewed as a contributing cause of educator burnout, as well as educators leaving the field. Adolescent problem behaviour is particularly difficult for educators, as adolescence is often characterised by risk-taking behaviour and testing social boundaries, which may negatively affect both educator functioning and adolescent scholastic development. The importance of supporting educators to function effectively, including dealing with adolescent problem behaviour efficiently, should not be understated, as it impacts on both educator and adolescent well-being. With this in mind, this study aimed to explore educators’ experience of interactions with adolescents who display problem behaviour in the classroom, interpreted from the perspective of emotional intelligence, with the aim of identifying educator EI skills during interactions. Emotional intelligence (EI), as a sub-field of positive psychology, was used as the theoretical framework for this study, and was also utilised to identify possible effectively and low-functioning EI skills used by educators during interactions with adolescents who display problem behaviour. The literature study included background on educators’ experience of learner problem behaviour, details on the theoretical framework of the study, and on adolescence and adolescent development. This qualitative study used a descriptive and explorative design, gathering data from three high schools in the southern suburbs of the City of Cape Town. Educators (27) of both genders participated in the study by completing structured interview sheets, or participating in a focus group discussion and/or personal, in-depth interview. The educators were all adequately qualified, teaching grades 8/9 at the time of the study, were from varying cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, and had been teaching adolescents for more than one year. The structured interview, focus group discussion and personal interview questions were directed by one main question, namely: “How do you experience interactions with adolescents who display problem behaviour in the classroom?” Additional probing questions were also utilized. A generic version of thematic analysis was applied using both inductive and deductive methods of data analysis. From the inductive analysis, the following main themes emerged, contributing towards understanding the experiences of the educators’ interactions with adolescents who display problem behaviour: educators experience interactions as excessively disruptive of teaching and intense negative feelings during interactions in the classroom, which can negatively affect teaching. They also experience awareness of their own influence on interactions, which consequently influences the choice of strategy used to deal with adolescent problem behaviour. Feelings of inadequacy due to lack of insight into contextual background of the adolescents, reducing ability to provide adequate support for adolescents, were also found to be prominent. Secondary, deductive analysis was conducted using the EI model of Bar-On (2006; 2011) to investigate and interpret educator interactions with adolescents. The aim was to identify effectively or low-functioning educator EI skills used by the educators in the interactions. Flexibility, problem solving, impulse control, emotional self-awareness, reality testing, empathy and interpersonal relationship skills were identified as effectively functioning educator EI skills. Possible low-functioning EI skills were also identified: problem solving, emotional self-awareness, stress tolerance, impulse control, flexibility and self-regard. Understanding how educators experience interactions with adolescents who display problem behaviour, is the first step in the direction of effective management thereof. Findings of this study are considered in the light of international and South African research and found mostly to concur with this literature, in that educators experience problem behaviour as a serious difficulty in the classroom, especially behaviour that disrupts teaching and learning. The findings on effective use of educator EI skills are also significant, as EI has globally become an influential field within education and psychology regarding the enhancement of individuals’F personal and professional functioning. In light of findings, and seeing as literature indicates that EI skills can in fact be learnt and developed, future studies on educator functioning using EI, including the management of adolescent problem behaviour, are recommended. Further recommendations include strengthening and supporting low-functioning EI skills of educators, and including EI in educator training and development programs. Considering the importance of the classroom environment for healthy educator and adolescent functioning, supporting educators in effective management of adolescent problem behaviour in the classroom is essential, and can ultimately have positive effects on the scholastic experience of both educators and adolescents. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The management of human capital is becoming of great importance. Research on this topic is largely based on talent shortages. In South Africa, considerable attention has been given to the issue of skills shortages, which are also evident in the education environment. The government has exerted many efforts; however, despite these efforts, skills shortages are still prevalent. A definite need for reform and change is necessary, with emphasis on a more positive and combined approach, focusing on strengths use and deficit improvement, psychological empowerment, work engagement and intention to leave. Therefore, the retention of talented employees has been identified as the most important outcome of a positive organisation. The general objective of this study was to determine if the Strengths Use and Deficit Improvement Questionnaire (SUDIQ) and Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire (MEQ) were reliable and valid to administer to educators in South Africa; and whether (a) psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between perceived organisational support for strengths use (POSSU) and work engagement, and between perceived organisational support for deficit improvement (POSDI) and work engagement; and (b) whether work engagement mediated the relationship between psychological empowerment and turnover intention. The study furthermore contributed to positive psychology research, using a combined focus on strengths use and deficit improvement in relation to psychological empowerment in the education sector. A need existed to test the reliability and validity (construct and convergent) of the SUDIQ and the MEQ among educators in the Southern Cape region. A cross-sectional survey was used to reach the objectives of this study. Convenience samples were drawn from educators in the Southern Cape region (N = 271). The results revealed that the SUDIQ scale comprised four factors, namely perceived organisational support for strengths use (POSSU), perceived organisational support for deficit improvement (POSDI), proactive behaviour towards strengths use (PBSU) and proactive behaviour towards deficit improvement (PBDI). In the same way, meaning, self-determination, competence and impact were revealed as the four distinct factors of the MEQ. In testing the relationships between the constructs, POSSU correlated practically significantly (medium effect) with all the MEQ constructs. PBSU correlated practically significantly (large effect) with meaning and competence, and practically significantly (medium effect) with self-determination and impact. POSDI, as a construct of the SUDIQ, showed to correlate practically significantly (medium effect) with meaning, competence, self-determination and impact. In the case of PBDI, practically significant correlations (medium effect) were aligned between PBDI and all the constructs of the MEQ. Through this study, it was revealed that POSSU significantly predicted psychological empowerment, but not work engagement. Significant and positive paths were found between POSDI and both psychological empowerment and work engagement. POSDI played a significant role in the prediction of psychological empowerment and work engagement. Furthermore, psychological empowerment played a significant predicting role in work engagement, but not with turnover intention. In the last instance, a significant and negative path was found between work engagement and turnover intention. In terms of the mediation analysis, POSSU indirectly impacted work engagement and intention to leave of educators in the Southern Cape region via psychological empowerment; and POSDI indirectly impacted work engagement and intention to leave of educators in the Southern Cape region via psychological empowerment. Lastly, work engagement was not revealed as a mediator in the relationship between psychological empowerment and intention to leave. A combined focus, incorporating both strengths use and deficit improvement, is a relative new concept and research field. Through this study educators could learn about the benefits of strengths use and deficit improvement and how those could be used to their advantage, especially in becoming more empowered in an education context. Also, this would indeed alert the schools and principals to the benefits of moving away from traditional approaches of focusing on only weaknesses or what was wrong with people, compared to a combined strengths and deficit focus. The results obtained would offer a valuable contribution to research and the limited literature available on this topic. In the South African context, it would be the first study in which the SUDIQ scale had been used in the education sector in the Southern Cape region, examining the extent to which strengths were used and deficits were developed by both employees and the organisation, and how it related to the well-being of educators. Recommendations were made for application and for future research. / MCom (Human Resource Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015.