Thesis have quantified the total number of students from 1999 until 3th March, 2015 who graduated within the excess year after the standard length of study (SDS). During the reporting period, the total number of finished studies in SDS plus anadditional semester totalled nearly 130,000 students, in SDS plus an additional one year were then finished 117,000 studies. The total number of failed studies, which ended up in the additional extra year in period is 40,000, of which 28,000 in SDS plus one semester and 12,000 in SDS increased by one year. Direct costs of the prolonged studies were estimated at 1.1 billion Kč for 2014. Of which 200 million are sunk costs to studies that have not been completed successfully. The work also calculated the opportunity costs in terms of revenue that could have Czech Republic earned, if the student have finished in SDS and have worked which was estimated at 4.7 billion Kč including both direct and indirect taxes.

The concern over undergraduate engineering students’ mathematical skills and the means of addressing this through the provision of mathematics support is the main driver of this research. With the emergence of mathematics support within mathematics education there has been an associated research community interested in measuring the effectiveness of mathematics support provision. Recent studies have measured improvements in mathematics performance for students who have used mathematics support against those who have not by comparing prior mathematical ability against examination results. This does not address the issue of individual differences between students and resulting changes in mathematical ability. However the provision of mathematics support for individual students is resource intensive hence evaluation of the effectiveness of the support is essential to ensure resources are efficiently used. This mathematics education research examines the effectiveness of mathematics support in addressing the mathematics problem. It does this by considering individual differences and the mismatch of mathematical skills for studying at University by analysing the effectiveness of mathematics support in improving mathematical skills. The dataset for the analysis comprises of over 1000 students from a Scottish Post-92 University, over 8% having made use of mathematics support, and nearly 2000 students from an English Russell Group University, with just over 10% having made use of the support. It was discovered that in both sets of data the students who came for mathematics support in comparison to their peers had a statistically significant lower mathematical skills base on entry to their course, and at the end of their first year had improved their mathematical skills base more than their counterparts. Although the analysis is based on data from UK Universities we believe the findings are relevant to the international community who are also engaged in the provision of mathematics support.

The requirements placed on Olympic and professional athletes in contemporary world sport are such that they need to dedicate themselves more and more to achieving excellence. This immediately implies that most athletes' time is dedicated to developing their sporting career, with very little time left to develop other aspects of their lives outside their sport. The reality facing many elite athletes is that few are sufficiently financially rewarded to allow them to make a living out of their sport, and even fewer can rely on measures in place in their own country to assist with the financial and psychological impacts of their retirement from sport (Stambulova, Stephan, & Japhag, . 2007). This places even more importance on the need for the athlete to either have a 'dual career' or else to prepare for a post-athletic career while still participating in elite sport. However, though policy makers have begun to demonstrate an awareness of these needs, and programmes have been developed to assist in the educational and vocational development of athletes, little effort has been made to identify how athletes perceive the choices which face them and how they negotiate a way through the challenges of developing and maintaining a dual career. To redress this, a life story approach has been adopted during this research study to try to elicit student-athletes' own life experiences and to identify and evaluate the decision-making processes they go through, in order to combine an academic and elite sporting career successfully. The athletes selected for the development of life-stories are drawn from three countries, Finland, France and the UK which reflect different approaches to state intervention in sport/education (Amara, Aquilina, Henry, & Taylor, 2004). Crucial to an evaluation of these national systems is an understanding of what these policy systems are seeking to achieve. This may be expressed in terms of a balance between the roles; rights and responsibilities of the main stakeholders (including the athlete, the university, the Member State and the European Union) which are articulated within the study. This research study therefore seeks to develop an understanding of the perspectives on student-athletes' development in academic and sporting terms, identifying the principal challenges faced and how these may be overcome, and considers the implications of such insights for practitioners and policy makers.

Die Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft ist seit geraumer Zeit einem dynamischen Wandel unterworfen, der einhergeht mit neuen und veränderten Anforderungen an kaufmännische Fach- und Führungskräfte in den Unternehmen. Diese Entwicklungen sowie der sich abzeichnende demografisch bedingte Mangel an Fachkräften erfordern eine branchennahe Neuausrichtung der kaufmännischen akademischen Aus- und Weiterbildung. Gegenstand dieser Publikation sind vor allem die Ergebnisse der schriftlichen Befragung der Unternehmen, ergänzt durch typische Zitate und Aussagen aus den 26 Interviews mit Experten der Branche. Der im Rahmen der schriftlichen, standardisierten Befragung eingesetzte Fragebogen wurde am Institut für Wirtschaftspädagogik der Uni-versität Leipzig entwickelt und mit dem Wissenschaftlichen Beirat für Energiewirtschaft-liche Bildung an der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Leipzig abgestimmt. Der Fragebogen umfasst sieben Themenkomplexe mit 27 Fragen und 168 Items.

Die Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft ist einem dynamischen Wandel unterworfen, der einhergeht mit neuen und veränderten Anforderungen an kaufmännische Fach- und Führungskräfte in den Unternehmen. Diese Entwicklungen sowie der sich abzeichnende demografisch bedingte Mangel an Fachkräften erfordern eine branchennahe Neuausrichtung der kaufmännischen akademischen Aus- und Weiterbildung. Dafür sind Curricula erforderlich, die sich sowohl an neueren wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen in unterschiedlichen Disziplinen als auch an den aktuellen und künftigen Anforderungen der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft an Fach- und Führungskräfte orientieren. Letztere sind bisher allerdings kaum systematisch untersucht worden. Die vorliegende Studie füllt diese Lücke.

Dynamic changes taking place in the energy and water industries are bringing with them new and different demands on business specialists and managers of enterprises. These developments, together with an emerging, demographically induced shortages of specialists call for an industry-focused realignment of academic business education and training. This will require curricula geared to both recent scientific findings in various disciplines and the current and future needs of the energy and water industries for specialists and managers. So far, the latter have hardly been studied systematically. The present study fills this gap.

Neste trabalho utilizou-se o mapa conceitual como ferramenta para analisar a estrutura conceitual de alunos de um curso de graduação em química de uma universidade pública do estado de São Paulo, sobre o tema equilíbrio químico em dois momentos distintos, o primeiro ao ingressarem na universidade e o segundo após um ano de curso. Os mapas foram analisados utilizando uma adaptação do método de Análise Estrutural de Mapas Conceituais (AEMC adaptada). Teve-se como meta do trabalho: a) Avaliar, através de mapas conceituais elaborados pelos alunos a estrutura conceitual dos mesmos referente ao conceito equilíbrio químico; b) Descrever e analisar a evolução das relações entre os principais conceitos envolvidos no tema feitas por alunos no seu ingresso no curso de graduação e após um ano de curso, quando são submetidos pela primeira vez a um estudo sistemático do tema. Pretendeu-se assim, verificar quais foram às mudanças mais significativas ocorridas em decorrência das disciplinas ministradas neste período e c) Estabelecer uma relação entre estas mudança com o processo de ensino ao qual o aluno foi submetido, ou seja, como a estrutura conceitual dos estudantes a respeito do tema mudou em função do processo de aprendizado a que foram submetidos. Concluiu-se que a ferramenta desenvolvida durante a pesquisa foi muito útil na análise proposta; onde os alunos ingressantes definem o Equilíbrio químico como o estado onde as velocidades das reações se igualam sem relacionar a conceitos da termodinâmica, estes também, demonstraram muitos conhecimentos oriundos de como o conceito é apresentado no ensino médio. Verificou-se também que os estudantes ao serem submetidos à disciplinas relacionadas ao tópico equilíbrio químico modificaram seu entendimento sobre o tema. / In this work it was used the Concept Map as a tool for analyzing the conceptual structure of students in an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from a public university in the state of São Paulo, on the subject of Chemical Equilibrium at two different times, the first at the moment when entered in the university and second after a year. The maps were analyzed using an adaptation of the method of Structural Analysis of Concept Maps (AEMC adaptada). The objectives of work were: a) Explore and modify a method of analysis of Concept Maps in order to obtain a Concept Map that shows the main conceptual connection of a group of students in order to graphically represent their conceptual structure; b) Evaluate, through Concept Maps prepared by students their conceptual framework for the Chemical Equilibrium concept; c) Describe and analyze the evolution of relations between the main concepts involved on the subject made by students in their admission to the undergraduate course and after one year course, when they are first subjected to a systematic study of the subject. Thus the intention was to verify which were most significant changes occurred as a result of the matter taught in this period and d) Establish a connection between these changes with the teaching process to which the student was submitted, ie, how the conceptual framework of students regarding the subject changed as a function of the learning process they have submitted. It was concluded that the tool developed during the research was very useful in analyzing the proposal, which the new students define the Chemical Equilibrium as state where the velocities of reactions are equal without relating the concepts of thermodynamics, they also showed a lot of knowledge from as the concept is presented in high school. It was also found that students be subjected to the disciplines related to the topic Chemical Equilibrium changed their understanding of the subject, therefore, provide a greater number of connections between the different concepts involved on the matter.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:34:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leanete Teresinha Thomas Dotta.pdf: 1925564 bytes, checksum: 4eea48fb496a868055bddb637ab9ea89 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-07-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This work aims to concentrate its investigation in the field of teaching formation and, more specifically, the teacher educators in undergraduate courses of teachers formation. In accordance to a sociological perspective, we seek the understanding of the teaching professional identities of teacher educators, emphasizing some of their constitutive processes. The main objective of this investigation is to learn and analyze the teaching professional identities of teacher educators in undergraduate courses of teachers formation, which are built from the administrative and academic organization of the institutions where they work, from the subjects they teach and from the field of knowledge of the course they work at. As theoretical-methodological references in the field of professional identities we used Claude Dubar and Amélia Lopes s contributions. In the teaching field of the university education, the basis for the discussions was extracted from Maria Isabel da Cunha, Lee Shulman, Miguel Zabalza and Carlos Marcelo, among others. To proceed with the data collection, put into practice in 2008 and 2009, we used semistructured interviews with twenty teachers from undergraduate courses of teachers formation in: History, Mathematics, Physical Education and Pedagogy. Two teachers from each course were randomly selected one who was in charge of teaching specific subjects and the other who used to teach subjects related to the teachers formation, from two campuses of a state university, from one campus of a private university and two private colleges, located in the eastern region of the state of Paraná in Brazil. Analyzing the data, according to the theoretical references, it was possible to realize the crucial role, in the subjects identity constitution, of the following aspects: initial formation and institutional dynamics where the former happened; specificities of the work context, according to the kind of institution; relations with the significant others. In the teachers who were subjects of this study, the double negotiation between the formation in its subjective/biographical nature and the work context in its objective/relational nature resulted in identities marked by continuity and recognition / O interesse investigativo deste trabalho concentra-se no campo da formação docente e, dentro desse campo, o olhar se volta para os formadores de professores em cursos de licenciatura. Numa perspectiva sociológica, busca-se conhecer as identidades profissionais docentes de formadores de professores, dando ênfase a alguns de seus processos constitutivos. O objetivo geral da investigação é conhecer e analisar as identidades profissionais docentes de formadores de professores de cursos de licenciaturas, que se constroem a partir da organização administrativa e acadêmica das instituições em que atuam, das disciplinas que ministram e do campo de conhecimento do curso com que trabalham. Como referencial teórico-metodológico, no campo das identidades profissionais, foram utilizadas as contribuições de Claude Dubar e Amélia Lopes. No campo da docência na educação superior, os fundamentos para as discussões foram buscados em Maria Isabel da Cunha, Lee Shulman, Miguel Zabalza e Carlos Marcelo, entre outros. Para a coleta de dados, realizada nos anos de 2008 e 2009, foram utilizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com vinte professores de cursos de Licenciatura em História, Matemática, Educação Física e Pedagogia. Foram escolhidos, de forma aleatória, dois professores de cada curso um de disciplinas específicas e um, de disciplinas pedagógicas, de dois campi de uma universidade estadual, de um campus de uma universidade particular e de duas faculdades particulares, localizadas na região oeste do Estado do Paraná. Com a análise dos dados, sob a luz dos referenciais teóricos utilizados, foi possível perceber o papel fulcral, na constituição identitária dos sujeitos, dos seguintes aspectos: formação inicial e dinâmica institucional em que essa constituição ocorreu; especificidades do contexto de trabalho, de acordo com o tipo de instituição; relações com os outros significativos. Nos sujeitos deste estudo, a dupla transação entre a formação em seu caráter subjetivo/biográfico e o contexto de trabalho em seu caráter objetivo/relacional resultou em identidades marcadas pela continuidade e reconhecimento

The thesis is about the very current issue of lifelong learning in the Czech and Slovak Republics. This thesis evaluates the educational systems and the progress in the area of lifelong learning implementation in both countries. The author dedicates the introductory chapters to theoretical bases of the thesis such as issues of investments in human capital and education, motivation for learning, and establishing definitions on lifelong learning in the CZ and SK. There are further introduced Strategies on lifelong learning in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, as the first complete schemes to modify the whole educational systems. An important chapter is the fourth chapter, which evaluates the Strategies of CZ and SK, and reports on a successful application of preset goals in this area, including their ability to draw financial support from the European funds. The closest attention is dedicated to graduates from universities and their applicability in the job market in relation to their ability to speak foreign languages; and the overall cost of the tertiary education in relation to the growing number of people with university degrees.

While there is abundant literature about Australian rural women including references to those who have had or wish to have some form of tertiary education, little attention is given to those who are the subject of the present study, graduate rural women, in this case of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The significance of the research emerged from its focus on the experiences of such women, with the purpose of the study being to present an exploration of their previously unrecorded perceptions of themselves as graduates occupying a place in their rural communities - to articulate the impact and import of graduate status for rural women. As understanding the articulations rather than explaining the data was deemed to be more appropriate to the exploration, a qualitative-interpretivist approach was adopted, recognising that a grounded constructivist epistemology would assist in viewing the experiences through the eyes of the participants. Data were collected in the form of written narrative - correspondence via e-mail - which allowed both the participants and myself to revisit and reflect upon each other's comments. The graduate women's comments were wide-ranging, from matters of concern to all country people, to those which were particularly relevant to graduate rural women, such as the perceived value of their own expertise and their experiences in taking up either professional or other roles in the rural context. The depth of thought, the powers of perception, the identification of lines of reasoning, the development of interwoven themes in rural life, and the manner of expression through the articulation of common occurrences, revealed far more than was originally envisaged. From the resultant collation of data it was possible to identify, examine and associate important perceptions which permeated the lives of graduate rural women. An exploration of the term rural and being a rural person in that environment was an important pre-cursor to interpreting subsequent articulations as the meaning of rurality extended the accepted geographical definitions and comparative urban-rural economic and social relationships. With this understanding, remembered experiences embraced the stages of becoming and being graduate rural women in professional practice and in everyday life, evidencing the participants' introspective, positive appreciation of the impact and import of their university education in the fulfilling and rewarding application of their professional skills. The concluding stage involved the graduates' relationship with the members of their rural communities as they attempted to pursue their lives at the level of their confidence and belief in themselves and in the value of their education. Challenging situations were recounted, indicating a schism to be overcome in that association, with male culture and traditional attitudes, the feminist movement and the rural crisis being included in the considerations. The core concepts, upon which the findings of the research were structured, emerged from the participants' articulations to illustrate the stages of becoming and being graduate rural women, both from the introspective and contextual viewpoints. The written narrative articulations of graduate rural women defined their reflective views of self-empowerment through education, countered by the challenges and constraints of social reality in the application of that ability in the rural context of their professional and everyday lives. The previously unrecorded perceptions of this significant section of society have added to the store of knowledge by giving graduate women a voice, a basis for further expression and a collective presence and identity in the rural situation. The future value of this research lies in its dissemination to raise awareness of identified issues and in its invitation to explore a wider sphere of knowledge enrichment beyond its central focus.