In Malaysia, ethnic and cultural tension and conflicts have escalated in the past 5 years bringing undesirable impacts on the nation’s economy and, most importantly, on inter-ethnic relationships. In line with the government’s 1Malaysia effort to produce a more integrated society, this study proposes the need to construct a shared Malaysian identity, starting from the classroom, which is facilitated by teachers through the use of Malaysian short stories. This proposition, amidst the differences in cultural, religious and beliefs systems, aims to close the ethnic and cultural divide and cultivate widespread inter and intra cultural awareness. The study is grounded in the notion of hybridity in the Third Space espoused by Bhabha (1994) and ameliorated and geared towards the classroom context by the works of Gutiérrez (1999, 2004, 2008). The inquiry was designed using primarily qualitative research instruments employing non-participant classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with 7 English Language teachers, and group interviews with 6 groups of students from 4 different schools in Kuala Lumpur. A one-day workshop was also conducted with the 7 teachers to introduce new Malaysian short stories and also for the purpose of sharing experiences in teaching literature in English. This data source was then supported by secondary quantitative data derived from self-completion questionnaires administered to the students of the teachers involved in this study. The findings from the analyses of the results show various attitudes, beliefs and teaching and practices in the English language classroom in response to the notion of constructing a shared identity in the Third Space. The notion of the hidden curriculum is also investigated to determine how it can be usefully theorized towards identity construction in the classroom. On the one hand, students mainly accepted the shared identity concept as a basis for classroom practice, whilst teachers had a range of views about this idea. In the conclusion, the thesis explores the implications of the classroom practices adopted by the teachers in this study as part of the process of constructing a shared Malaysian identity. It also examines the plausibility of and barriers to creating an awareness of the Third Space through the use of narratives produced by local writers, both as a medium for developing the skills to access the Third Space and also as the container of messages about Malaysian society and identity. Finally, this study suggests the way forward for realizing the country’s aspiration of a unified society and becoming a full-fledged developed country, which can possibly start in the classrooms.

Existing evaluation research has presented equivocal findings regarding the efficacy of outdoor adventure education (OAE) interventions for vulnerable young people. The evidence-base is weakened by methodological limitations and a paucity of unified theoretical models. The current study presents an evaluation of the psychological impact of a naturally occurring OAE intervention for children perceived to be vulnerable by their mainstream primary school teachers. This study attempts to address previous methodological limitations and to facilitate a real-world application of the Adventure Experience Paradigm (AEP: Martin & Priest, 1986; Priest, 1992, 1993). The mixed-methods research design involves an exploratory qualitative phase, a randomised control trial (RCT, n = 38) and group interviews with participants (n = 27). The RCT forms the most significant part of the design, measuring the impact of the intervention on participants’ locus of control, self-perceptions and teacher-reported emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). The results show that the intervention did not have a statistically significant effect on participants’ locus of control or self-perceptions. There is some evidence to suggest that the intervention had a positive impact on teacher perceptions of participants’ EBD, however, these findings are limited by a possible Hawthorne Effect. The group interviews allowed the researcher to explore participants’ perceptions of the OAE intervention however, conclusions are tentative due to the surface-level nature of the thematic analysis procedures employed. Participants appeared to perceive the intervention in a positive light with emerging themes of ‘The Physical Experience’, ‘Outside Comfort Zone’ and ‘Competence’ identified. These findings appear to contradict the quantitative findings and offer support for the AEP. Overall, the validity of the quantitative findings is limited by low statistical power and ceiling effects as a result of sampling error. These limitations are discussed and the findings are interpreted in line with existing research and the AEP. Implications for future research and professional practice are also considered. The findings support the benefits of mixed-methods approaches and RCT designs in future OAE evaluation research.

In 2000, Hong Kong had a major educational reform, which aimed to address the inadequacies of the previous education system in order to enable the majority of Hong Kong’s population to achieve lifelong learning and an all-round education. These are also the overall aims of education in Hong Kong for the 21st century. A new education structure and new curricula for primary and secondary schools were some of the focuses of the reform. The tourism and hotel industry is one of the four pillar industries in Hong Kong. As a growing service industry, it relies heavily on the quality of their employees and the stability of manpower. However, this industry has been facing difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified employees. Many studies have been conducted to discover the ideal employability competency and to develop strategies to attract and retain the right employees. Through the study of employability theories and in-depth interviews with education practitioners in the tourism and hotel industry, this research study links-up two knowledge areas of employability competency for the tourism and hotel industry and the generic competency development in primary and secondary school education in Hong Kong. The results reveal that previous studies have not resolved human capital problems, because these problems are rooted in the incompetence in generic skills, values and attitudes of individuals. This study highlights the foundational role of generic competency in employability. It proposes that a generic competency, which has to be nurtured from a young age, is essential for employability. The findings inspired an extended concept of employability and contributed to a new generic competency structure. For primary and secondary school education, this study proposes the incorporation of a refined generic competency component in the school curriculum, along with strategies to mitigate possible barriers of implementation. The proposed employability structure can also be used by employment consultation services or serve as a recruitment, training, development and retention guide in the tourism and hotel industry. These proposals could nurture new generations with the required employability competency for the tourism and hotel industry, meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

The majority of research into choice, transition and decision-making took place in the 1990s-2000s. Since this time the context in which post-16 transition takes place has been changing due to increased competition between institutions and the extended length of time students are required to remain in education or training through raising the participation age. Additionally, in 2012 the government made schools responsible for Information, Advice and Guidance. This thesis explores choice and decision-making during the transition to post-16 education and training. It provides new research evidence to contribute to the existing literature in light of the changes in context since the body of literature was formed. In particular, it explores the impact of the changes to Information, Advice and Guidance provision and the role of schools in influencing students' transition. The study uses evidence from three schools with sixth forms, drawn from two contrasting counties of England during the first year of research. The second year of research draws evidence from a range of post-16 institutions which the students progressed onto. Overall, the data from staff, students and documentary evidence explores student transition from the final year of secondary schooling to post-16 education or training. The study finds that competition between post-16 institutions has implications for the way that post-16 Information, Advice and Guidance is provided by schools. The practical strategies schools use to influence transition include practical prevention of access to alternative IAG, control of the application process and active student selection. The most powerful strategies involve the social construction of unique selling points and the management of culture and trust. The implications of these strategies for students' transition is assessed taking into account how students make their post-16 transition decisions in a loosely coupled manner and the common belief that their position is of their own making. Overall, a continuum of schools' influence on transition is presented. The study concludes that the competitive post-16 environment coupled with school control of guidance may lead to imperfect transition for students and reproduction of the structural status quo rather than social change. For school leaders implications exist in being able to mitigate competition through collaboration and specialisation. However, the complexity of achieving this in the competitive post-16 marketplace produces implications for guidance providers in equipping students with decision-making skills and empowering them with an understanding of their position which is more likely to lead to students being able to challenge influencing structures and make effective post-16 transitions.

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This diploma thesis is concerned with the barriers to education for the elderly . In the theoretical part there is introduced the theoretical framework of gerontology as well as other related issues i.e. the ageing, old age, quality of life and different forms of education for older adults. The practical segment of the thesis deals with the actual research and summary of the data obtained by the survey. The survey encompasses multiple aspects such as gender, age or in particular the age distribution within the group of elderly learners, or their highest level of educational attainment. The research aims at discovering whether the level of education acquired by seniors previously in life could somehow influence their desire to learn more in old age. Therefore , if there exists a stronger tendency to engage in further education among the vocational, highschool or university graduates. Other perspectives of the research are the geographical location of learners, their field of study or their motives behind the participation in the University of the Third Age studies. The goal of the thesis is to find a wide spectrum of people who attend U3A and thus identify the barriers, which could have faced the ones who had chosen not to engage in further studies. Another goal is to present some information...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:31:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcos Wesley da Silva.pdf: 1788944 bytes, checksum: f773f6f92dde56922f7e92bdee5ed77c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-05 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / This present thesis approaches, from an educational level, strategies of exploration and exploitation and competencies. This study was developed by comparing the modalities of courses, firstly where the student is present in the classroom, and then, distance learning in graduations course, both in the management area. Therefore, the following research problem was defined as: Does the process of education of a student, in graduation course (in the management area), stimulate the development and the use of competencies for the student to become a professional, who knows how to put into practice the knowledge of the strategies of exploration and exploitation in a balanced way? In this sense, actions of building up and developing knowledge by means of exploration and exploitation are understood to be actions which are born from strategies of the organization. The organizational strategies are those which will indicate how the organization will put into practice these actions. To achieve its goals, the research has been structured into four chapters. The first chapter defines concepts related to strategy for subsequent discussion of exploration and exploitation. The second chapter discusses the concept of organizational competencies within the following perspective: educational, organizational, typology of competence and also education for the competence in professional practice. The third chapter contextualizes the educational scenery to be researched highlighting the following points: the history of education, the Brazilian educational system, the graduation and the dynamics of Distance Learning Education. The fourth chapter addresses the methodological procedures and the results of studies carried out. The result of this research shows a list of 51 competencies social skills, functional, cognitive and meta competece. It is confirmed that a graduation course can stimulate the development and the use of competencies for the student to become a professional who knows how to put into practice the use of strategies in exploration and exploitation in a balanced manner. / A presente tese aborda, a partir da educação, as estratégias de exploration e exploitation e competências. O estudo foi desenvolvido comparando as modalidades presencial e a distância em cursos de lato sensu na área de gestão. Para tanto, foi definido o seguinte problema de pesquisa: o processo de formação de um aluno, em um curso de lato sensu (na área de gestão), estimula o desenvolvimento e a utilização de competências para que este se torne um profissional que saiba colocar em prática o conhecimento das estratégias de exploration e exploitation de maneira equilibrada? Nesse sentido, as ações de construção e de desenvolvimento do conhecimento por meio da exploration e exploitation são entendidas como ações de conhecimento, são ações que nascem nas e das estratégias da organização. São as estratégias organizacionais que indicarão como a organização colocará em prática essas ações. Para atender aos objetivos, a pesquisa está estruturada em quatro capítulos. O primeiro capítulo define conceitos relacionados à estratégia para posteriormente discutir os conceitos de estratégias de exploration e exploitation . No segundo capítulo, discute-se o conceito de competências organizacionais dentro das seguintes perspectivas: educacional, organizacional, abordagem única e a educação para a competência na prática profissional. O terceiro capítulo contextualiza o cenário educacional a ser pesquisado destacando os seguintes pontos: história da educação, o sistema educacional brasileiro, a pós-graduação lato sensu e a dinâmica da educação a distância EaD. O quarto capítulo mostra os procedimentos metodológicos e os resultados das pesquisas realizadas. Como resultados das pesquisas, apresentam-se uma lista de 51 competências competências sociais, funcionais, cognitivas e meta competências. Confirma-se que um curso de lato sensu pode estimular o desenvolvimento e a utilização de competências para que o aluno se torne um profissional que saiba colocar em prática o conhecimento das estratégias de exploration e exploitation de maneira equilibrada.