No description available.

The purpose of this dissertation was to analyze the impact of international experiential education on life choices, specifically those related to career and educational goals. This was accomplished through two main phases of research. In the first phase, a web-based survey was used to explore the question of whether international experiential education did, in fact, impact life choices. Responses from this initial phase were used to identify a purposive sample of eight respondents with whom telephone interviews were conducted in the second phase of the study. The goal of the interviews was to determine, for those who indicated that their life choices had been impacted by the abroad experience, when and why it had happened. The evaluation was done by applying Mezirow’s transformative learning theory to the analysis. The self-reported responses indicated that there was an impact on life choices related to educational and career goals in almost 80 percent of the 74 survey respondents. These data were used as the foundation for the second phase of the study, which examined the catalysts for, and the process of, transformation through the lens of transformative learning theory. Almost all respondents indicated that the international experience had transformed their perspectives on their identity and purpose in life. Seven out of eight respondents discussed how they had gained an understanding of the fact that where one is born defines his or her perspective. One’s sociocultural environment defines who one is and how he or she sees the world. The international experience allows a person to see themselves through the eyes of others. While the timing and specifics of the catalysts varied, each of these seven had gone through the phases of transformation--disorienting dilemma, critical reflection, changed frame of reference--with some relation to the abroad experience.

The U.S. Census bureau projects that by 2023, minorities will comprise more than half of all children. The population of school-aged Hispanic children is already the largest ethnic group, and the sheer number and rate of increase of these linguistically and culturally different students creates unfamiliar cultural challenges for school leaders. School districts are confronted with diversity-related issues and school leaders, who are predominantly white and middle class, are often ill-prepared to meet the challenges. Effective professional development aimed at preparing school leaders to better understand the social and academic needs of culturally diverse students is a topic receiving much attention in recent years. Studying the social, cultural, and political circumstances of diversity in its natural setting offers particular advantages that other methods cannot replicate. One suggestion is for school leaders to spend time in the local communities of their Hispanic students. Another option for learning about culture, albeit a more difficult and costly one to achieve, is to have school leaders visit the home country of their Hispanic students and immerse themselves in the local culture for a short period of time. A school district in Georgia decided to provide authentic culture learning for some of its school leaders through a short term cultural immersion experience. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an eight-day cultural immersion trip to Xalapa, Mexico on school leaders from the Mary County School District in Georgia. Because this short-term cultural immersion experience was aimed at increasing the cultural awareness of school leaders and improving relationships with Hispanic students and their families, the primary focus of this study is to explore the meanings attached to the experiences of administrators participating in the trip.

Understanding why, when, and with whom women engage in opportunities for HIV & AIDS education is critical in exploring the extent to which popular education strategies promote transformational learning among women in Malindi, Kenya. Three central questions animate this research: a) What do rural women who participate in HIV & AIDS popular education programs learn about HIV & AIDS, b) through what range of pedagogical practices and theories does their learning occur, and c) how does this learning contribute to transformative changes that improve women's health, at both individual (e.g., beliefs, behaviour) and communal levels (e.g., group actions)? Employing a qualitative research design, face-to-face interviews, and document analysis of secondary sources enabled a rich and in-depth exploration of specific learnings and actions among Kenyan women. Qualitative analysis of eight semi-structured interviews reveals three dimensions of transformative learning among adult women in Malindi, including a) striving towards openness, b) culture of support, and c) connected knowing. These inter-related themes outline the potential for Kenyan women's HIV & AIDS education to move beyond instrumental, and communicative, to more empowering transformative learning. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-13 15:18:43.535

The subject of this thesis is the nature of Christian transformation as understood through the process of discipleship in the Wesleyan tradition and United Methodism in particular. A basic premise is that contemporary discipleship efforts are perceived as ineffective in spite of the numerous strategies that exist within the field of Christian education. The contention of this thesis is that the current situation is rooted in a failure to address the holistic and integrated nature of Christian transformation, which from a Wesleyan perspective is understood as the process of sanctification. This thesis explores a more holistic vision for discipleship, drawing upon methodology proposed by Richard Osmer to do theological reflection as it engages Wesleyan theology and transformative learning theory (TLT), a contemporary adult educational theory. The result is a contribution to the field of Christian education that has implications for disciple making ministries in the local congregation. Alasdair MacIntyre's theory of practice is developed as a means of accounting for the present incoherence within discipleship ministries, and to resource the development of a more holistic approach to the process of Wesleyan discipleship. As a result, discipleship is conceived of as a single complex practice comprised of four inseparably related and integrally connected dimensions: virtues, disciplines, ethos and telos. The theoretical framework also provides insight into contemporary discipleship efforts by systematically isolating each component and investigating the particular emphasis that is stressed, thus truncating the practice of discipleship. Putting this framework into conversation with TLT provides a way for theological reflection that can broker a cross-disciplinary dialogue between TLT and Wesleyan discipleship. The resulting discourse discerns which relevant aspects of TLT can be appropriated within a Wesleyan context and how TLT contributes to the field of Christian education. Contributions that Wesleyan discipleship can make to the field of TLT are also explored. The thesis develops an educational theory that views discipleship as a single coherent complex practice that is consistent with the process of sanctification in the Wesleyan tradition. Such a theory overcomes the current situation that results in isolating various discipleship efforts by prompting the field of Christian education to consider discipleship as sanctification that transforms persons and their contexts in holistic ways.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics, and Health / Tandalayo Kidd / HIV and nutrition status are interrelated. Nutrition problems associated with HIV or its treatment occur in nearly all people living with HIV (PLHIV) and can be indicative of the stage and progression of infection. On the other hand, adequate nutrition ensures good nutrition status, immune function, improved treatment outcome, and quality of life. The growing problems of HIV and AIDS in Indonesia require health professionals, including dietitians, to mobilize for HIV care and control. However, studies have demonstrated health care workers to have prejudicial attitudes towards PLHIV, which may further jeopardize the quality of care. The objective of this study was to implement the attribution theory to improve HIV-related knowledge and attitudes among dietetics students. It is hypothesized that given the opportunity to revisit the antecedent of their stigma, dietetic students might be able to improve their attitudes and emotional reactions to HIV. Results from the cross-sectional study confirmed the attribution theory, showing that the stigmatizing attitudes were influenced by both personal values and environmental factors. The study also found that greater knowledge about HIV was associated with a better attitude toward PLHIV. This and the fact that universities differed in how they educated dietetic students about HIV, raise questions on the current dietetic curriculum in Indonesia and the teaching conduct in each dietetic school. These notions were studied in the second study, using a qualitative approach to inquire lecturers and school administrators. Four major themes emerged from the analysis confirming that HIV discourse in dietetic schools in Indonesia is very limited since it is not mandatory in the curriculum, lecturers are reluctant to talk about HIV, and there is apparent restriction to work with the key population. The way the lecturers attribute HIV with blames of personal responsibility and fear of contagion, heavily influence their teaching conduct. The intervention model with transformative learning supported the hypothesis that given the opportunity to reflect and re-question their judgment, students were able to improve their knowledge and reduce their stigmatizing attitudes. Overall, these studies give a warning to policy makers in health and education sectors as well as the school administrators that dietetics students have negative attitudes towards PLHIV and this stigma is associated with lack of knowledge about HIV, hence the need to improve response from both sectors. This study also serves as a strong call to provide more opportunities to students to learn about HIV and to reach out to the patients and key population to instill better understanding and acceptance to HIV.

This thesis is a documentation of an empirical study in which qualitative methods were employed to investigate the current programmes offered to pre-service Creative Arts teachers at selected South African universities. The subject, Creative Arts, is one of the compulsory learning areas for grades R - 9 in all South African public schools as prescribed by the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement of 2011. In order for learners to gain maximum benefit from the subject Creative Arts, pre-service teachers should be educated to gain an understanding of the interrelatedness of the different art forms. The theoretical framework underpinning this study is Mezirow's theory of transformative learning which is based on critical reflection. Pre-service teachers should therefore be encouraged to critically reflect on the learning process, rethinking their own perspectives and constructing new knowledge in the process of discourse with others. Information on the current programmes offered at five South African universities involved in this collective case study, was extrapolated from interviews with both lecturers of Creative Arts programmes, and pre-service teachers enrolled for courses in Creative Arts. Furthermore, observations were done at various sites to obtain an in-depth perspective of how the arts are presented at these institutions. Findings revealed that most universities offer Creative Arts programmes with an arts specific approach. This corresponds with the demands of artistic disciplines, and especially performance arts, which require the development of practical skills which should be developed over an extended period. Although developing these specialized skills and knowledge in each art form is important, the discrete presentation of these arts may limit opportunities for students to experience integrated arts activities. Moreover, pre-service teachers need practice in school based settings to hone their teaching skills in delivering meaningful arts activities to learners. The recognition of common grounds between the different art disciplines makes the merging of these arts into the broad subject, Creative Arts possible. These commonalities should be further explored, especially in a South African context where African arts are inherently integrated. Benefits of co-operative curriculum planning between the departments of Basic and Higher Education in the provision of competent and skilful teachers for Creative Arts is the key to successful arts education in South African schools. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Music / DMus / Unrestricted

Thesis advisor: Audrey A. Friedman / Through adventure-based learning (ABL), individuals analyze unique experiences in order to generalize and apply critical skills and dispositions to their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities (Dillon, Tannehill, & O’Sullivan, 2010).  However, there is a lack of research documenting the transferability of ABL to other contexts (Kraft, 1999; Furman & Sibthorp, 2012). In educator preparation programs, coursework in ABL has been found inadequate for its incorporation into practice (Sutherland & Legge, 2016; Dillon, Tannehill, & O’Sullivan, 2010). Expanding this research base is critical in justifying “adventure programming [as] more than just fun and games, and to support it as the powerful form of change that practitioners tacitly know it to be” (Priest & Gass, 1999, p. 478), and understanding how that change can impact teachers. This research is informed by the overall question: In what ways can experience as an adventure-based learning (ABL) leader impact the subsequent epistemologies and practices of professional educators? Utilizing qualitative, collective case study methodology (Yin, 2018; Hancock & Algozzine, 2017) and grounded in Mezirow’s (2000) transformative learning theory, this research studies ten professional educators who, as college students, had served as ABL facilitators. Findings indicate that participants’ experience in facilitating ABL aligned with Mezirow’s criteria for transformative learning both personally and professionally. While participants rarely incorporated the physical challenges and fantastical premises typically associated with ABL, they reported their pre-professional experiences deeply influenced their pedagogical practice.  This research posits a new framework for these connections, adventure-informed pedagogy, to explore how ABL philosophies and processes, but not practices, impacted former facilitators and their classrooms. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

No description available.

No description available.