Calibrating predicted tree diameter distributions in Catalonia, Spain

Abstract

The effects of ICT on school: teachers��� and students��� perspectives

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of information and communication technology (ICT) on school from teachers��� and students��� perspectives. The focus was on three main subject matters: on ICT use and competence, on teacher and school community, and on learning environment and teaching practices. The study is closely connected to the national educational policy which has aimed strongly at supporting the implementation of ICT in pedagogical practices at all institutional levels. The phenomena were investigated using a mixed methods approach. The qualitative data from three cases studies and the quantitative data from three statistical studies were combined. In this study, mixed methods were used to investigate the complex phenomena from various stakeholders��� points of view, and to support validation by combining different perspectives in order to give a fuller and more complete picture of the phenomena. The data were used in a complementary manner. The results indicate that the technical resources for using ICT both at school and at homes are very good. In general, students are capable and motivated users of new technology; these skills and attitudes are mainly based on home resources and leisuretime use. Students have the skills to use new kinds of applications and new forms of technology, and their ICT skills are wide, although not necessarily adequate; the working habits might be ineffective and even wrong. Some students have a special kind of ICT-related adaptive expertise which develops in a beneficial interaction between school guidance and challenges, and individual interest and activity. Teachers��� skills are more heterogeneous. The large majority of teachers have sufficient skills for everyday and routine working practices, but many of them still have difficulties in finding a meaningful pedagogical use for technology. The intensive case study indicated that for the majority of teachers the intensive ICT projects offer a possibility for learning new skills and competences intertwined in the work, often also supported by external experts and a collaborative teacher community; a possibility that ���ordinary��� teachers usually do not have. Further, teachers��� good ICT competence help them to adopt new pedagogical practices and integrate ICT in a meaningful way. The genders differ in their use of and skills in ICT: males show better skills especially in purely technical issues also in schools and classrooms, whereas female students and younger female teachers use ICT in their ordinary practices quite naturally. With time, the technology has become less technical and its communication and creation affordances have become stronger, easier to use, more popular and motivating, all of which has increased female interest in the technology. There is a generation gap in ICT use and competence between teachers and students. This is apparent especially in the ICT-related pedagogical practices in the majority of schools. The new digital affordances not only replace some previous practices; the new functionalities change many of our existing conceptions, values, attitudes and practices. The very different conceptions that generations have about technology leads, in the worst case, to a digital gap in education; the technology used in school is boring and ineffective compared to the ICT use outside school, and it does not provide the competence needed for using advanced technology in learning. The results indicate that in schools which have special ICT projects (���ICT pilot schools���) for improving pedagogy, these have led to true changes in teaching practices. Many teachers adopted student-centred and collaborative, inquiry-oriented teaching practices as well as practices that supported students' authentic activities, independent work, knowledge building, and students' responsibility. This is, indeed, strongly dependent on the ICT-related pedagogical competence of the teacher. However, the daily practices of some teachers still reflected a rather traditional teacher-centred approach. As a matter of fact, very few teachers ever represented solely, e.g. the knowledge building approach; teachers used various approaches or mixed them, based on the situation, teaching and learning goals, and on their pedagogical and technical competence. In general, changes towards pedagogical improvements even in wellorganised developmental projects are slow. As a result, there are two kinds of ICT stories: successful ���ICT pilot schools��� with pedagogical innovations related to ICT and with school community level agreement about the visions and aims, and ���ordinary schools���, which have no particular interest in or external support for using ICT for improvement, and in which ICT is used in a more routine way, and as a tool for individual teachers, not for the school community.

In pursuit of an intercultural dimension in EFL-teaching : exploring cognitions among Finland-Swedish comprehensive school teachers

This thesis is about the educational purpose of foreign language teaching (FLT) in an increasingly internationalised world.The past 20-30 years have witnessed a fundamental rethinking of the aims of FLT, entailing a shift in emphasis from linguistic competence over communicative competence to intercultural competence. The growing emphasis on cultural issues, called for by research and international curricular documents, places new demandson language teachers. The overall aim of this study is to deepen the knowledge about the attitudes of teachers at the upper level of the Finland-Swedish comprehensive school towards the treatment of culture in English foreign language (EFL) teaching. The questions in focus are: 1) How do teachers interpret the concept"culture" in EFL-teaching?, 2) How do they specify the cultural objectives of their teaching? and 3) What do they do to attain these objectives? The thesis strives to reveal whether or not language teaching today can be describedas intercultural, in the sense that culture is taught with the aim of promotingintercultural understanding, tolerance and empathy. This abductive and largely exploratory study is placed within a constructivist and sociocultural framework,and is inspired by both phenomenography and hermeneutics. It takes its starting-point in language didactics, and can also be regarded as a contribution to teacher cognition research. The empirical data consists of verbatim transcribed interviews with 13 Finland-Swedish teachers of English at grades 7-9. The findings are presented according to three orientations and reviewed with reference to the 2004 Finnish National Framework Curriculum. Within the cognitive orientation, "culture" is perceived as factual knowledge, and the teaching of cultureis defined in terms of the transmission of knowledge, especially about Britain and the USA (Pedagogy of Information). Within the action-related orientation, "culture" is seen as skills of a social and socio-linguistic nature, andthe teaching aims at preparing the students for contacts with people from the target language areas (Pedagogy of Preparation). Within the affective orientation, which takes a more holistic approach, "culture" is seen as a bi-directional perspective. Students are encouraged to look at their own familiar culture from another perspective, and learn to empathise with and show respect for otherness in general, not just concerning representatives of English-speaking countries (Pedagogy of Encounter). Very few of the interviewed teachers represent the third approach, which is the one that can be characterised as truly intercultural. The study indicates that many teachers feel unsure about how to teach culture in an appropriate and up-to-date manner. This is attributed to, among other things, lack of teacher insights as well as lack of time and adequate material. The thesis ends with a set of recommendations as to how EFL could be developed ina more intercultural direction.

Integrating environmental education in primary school education in Tanzania : teachers��� perceptions and teaching practices

The study focuses on primary school teachers��� perceptions of environmental education, its integration into primary school education and teachers��� teaching practices in Tanzania. The thesis is based on empirical research. The theoretical underpinnings of the study are based on Palmer���s (1998) model of environmental education. According to the model, meaningful environmental education should include education about, in or through and for the environment. The study is supported by national and international literature from research done on environmental education and education for sustainable development and policy statements. The study is qualitative in nature, adopting phenomenography and phenomenology as points of departure. The empirical data was collected from four primary schools in Morogoro region in Tanzania. The study sample consisted of 31 primary school teachers. Data was collected through interviews and lesson observations. According to the results of the study, primary school teachers expressed variations in their perceptions of environmental education and education for sustainable development. Most of the teachers focused on the aspect of knowledge acquisition. According to Tanzanian education and training policy, environmental education has to be integrated into all subjects. Although there is environmental education in the primary school curriculum, it is not integrated on an equal footing in all subjects. Some subjects like science, social studies and geography have more environmental content than other subjects. Teachers claim that the approach used to integrate environmental education into the school curriculum was not favoured because many claimed that what is to be taught as environmental education in the various subjects is not shown clearly. As a result, many teachers suggested that to ensure that it is taught properly it should be included in the curriculum as an independent subject or as specific topics. The study revealed that teachers��� teaching practices in integrating environmental education varied from one subject to another. Although most of the teachers said that they used participatory methods, lesson observations showed that they limited themselves to question and answer and group discussion. However, the teachers faced a number of barriers in the teaching of environmental education, some of which include lack of teaching and learning resources, time and large class size. The role of teachers in the implementation of environmental education in developing an environmentally literate citizenry is of great significance. The responsibility of the government in developing a curriculum with clear goals and content, developing teachers��� capacity in the teaching of environmental education and provision of teaching and learning materials needs to be taken seriously by the government in educational plans and programs.

Teachers' conceptions of literacies during and after a school library development project

Abstrakti

Towards adoption of eLearning technologies at Lappeenranta University of Technology: Understanding Teachers��� Adoption of Blackboard Learning System

The electronic learning has become crucial in higher education with increased usage of learning management systems as a key source of integration on distance learning. The objective of this study is to understand how university teachers are influenced to use and adopt web-based learning management systems. Blackboard, as one of the systems used internationally by various universities is applied as a case. Semi-structured interviews were made with professors and lecturers who are using Blackboard at Lappeenranta University of Technology. The data collected were categorized under constructs adapted from Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and interpretation and discussion were based on reviewed literature. The findings suggest that adoption of learning management systems by LUT teachers is highly influenced by perceived usefulness, facilitating conditions and gained experience. The findings also suggest that easiness of using the system and social influence appear as medium influence of adoption for teachers at LUT.

Induction practices : experiences of newly qualified teachers

The thesis consists of four studies (articles I���IV) and a comprehensive summary. The aim is to deepen understanding and knowledge of newly qualified teachers��� experiences of their induction practices. The research interest thus reflects the ambition to strengthen the research-based platform for support measures. The aim can be specified in the following four sub-areas: to scrutinise NQTs��� experiences of the profession in the transition from education to work (study I), to describe and analyse NQTs��� experiences of their first encounters with school and classroom (study II), to explore NQTs��� experiences of their relationships within the school community (study III), to view NQTs��� experiences of support through peer-group mentoring as part of the wider aim of collaboration and assessment (study IV). The overall theoretical perspective constitutes teachers��� professional development. Induction forms an essential part of this continuum and can primarily be seen as a socialisation process into the profession and the social working environment of schools, as a unique phase of teachers��� development contributing to certain experiences, and as a formal programme designed to support new teachers. These lines of research are initiated in the separate studies (I���IV) and deepened in the theoretical part of the comprehensive summary. In order to appropriately understand induction as a specific practice the lines of research are in the end united and discussed with help of practice theory. More precisely the theory of practice architectures, including semantic space, physical space-time and social space, are used. The methodological approach to integrating the four studies is above all represented by abduction and meta-synthesis. Data has been collected through a questionnaire survey, with mainly open-ended questions, and altogether ten focus group meetings with newly qualified primary school teachers in 2007���2008. The teachers (n=88 in questionnaire, n=17 in focus groups), had between one and three years of teaching experience. Qualitative content analysis and narrative analysis were used when analysing the data. What is then the collected picture of induction or the first years in the profession if scrutinising the results presented in the articles? Four dimensions seem especially to permeate the studies and emerge when they are put together. The first dimension, the relational �� emotional, captures the social nature of induction and teacher���s work and the emotional character intimately intertwined. The second dimension, the tensional �� mutable, illustrates the intense pace of induction, together with the diffuse and unclear character of a teacher���s job. The third dimension, the instructive �� developmental, depicts induction as a unique and intensive phase of learning, maturity and professional development. Finally, the fourth dimension, the reciprocal �� professional, stresses the importance of reciprocity and collaboration in induction, both formally and informally. The outlined four dimensions, or integration of results, describing induction from the experiences of new teachers, constitute part of a new synthesis, induction practice. This synthesis was generated from viewing the integrated results through the theoretical lens of practice architecture and the three spaces, semantic space, physical space-time and social space. In this way, a more comprehensive, refined and partially new architecture of teachers��� induction practices are presented and discussed.

Understanding and improving quality of secondary school education : conceptions among teachers in Tanzania

Temat f��r studien handlar om gymnasiel��rares uppfattningar om kvalitet och om hur kvalitet kan utvecklas i gymnasieutbildningen in Tanzania. Studien ��r till sin karakt��r kvalitativ och best��r av utpr��vade semistrukturerade intervjuer med sammanlagt trettio l��rare som arbetar i fyra gymnasieskolor b��de i urbana och rurala milj��er. L��rarna har varierande arbetserfarenhet och undervisar i olika ��mnen. Huvudfokus har g��llt identifieringen av variationer i l��rares uppfattningar om kvalitet. P�� basen av tv�� forskningsfr��gor avsl��jar analysen uppfattningar av hur l��rare f��rst��r och ��nskar utveckla kvaliteten p�� gymnasieutbildningen. Resultaten visar att l��rare f��rst��r kvaliteten p�� utbildningen i sina skolor som f��rs��k att m��ta skolans och samh��llets m��l, som individuella prestationer och f��rm��gor som att inneha kompetenser och som att m��ta utmaningar inom utbildning, Identifierade uppfattningar var baserade p�� l��rarnas personliga kunskap, arbetsmilj��n och varierande omst��ndigheter som r��dde i deras skolor. Uppfattningar om en f��rb��ttring av kvaliteten i gymnasieutbildningen innefattade utveckling av l��rares motivation, skolmilj��n, arbetet i klassrum, kvaliteten p�� l��rares kunskaper och f��rdigheter och undervisningsmaterial. Ambitionen bakom studien ar att erbjuda en plattform f��r strategier f��r att f��rb��ttra kvaliteten p�� gymnasieutbildningen. Resultaten str��var till att ge en f��rdjupad insikt i uppfattningar hos en utvald grupp av l��rare som arbetar under samma villkor inom gymnasieskolor I Tanzania. Av den h��r anledningen ��r den genererade kunskapen d��rf��r relevant f��r att belysa l��rares uppfattningar ��ven utanf��r den studerade gruppen av respondenter.

Experiences among primary school teachers in Tanzania

The overall aim of the study was to explore primary school teachers��� experiences of constraints to their work, and actions taken for improvement after undergoing in-service courses in the Education Quality Improvement through Pedagogy program. The research interest was thus to deepen the understanding of teachers��� experiences of constraints to their work and experiences of actions taken to improve classroom actions. In order to achieve this ambition, the study was conducted with primary school teachers in Shinyanga district-Tanzania. Two research questions guided the study: What do teachers experience as constraints to their work? The second: How have teachers improved their classroom actions after undergoing professional development courses? The theoretical framework of the study is centred on limiting and enabling frames on teachers��� work and professional development. In order to understand the classroom situations, qualitative research was designed applying a phenomenological approach with semi-structured interview, observation and videotaping to collect data. Forty experienced primary school teachers from ten primary schools participated in the study. The results of the first research question indicate that teachers face many constraints in their work. Three categories identified as interactional, environmental and professional role constraints. The most critical experienced by all teachers is teaching in large classes and inadequate teaching and learning materials. The results of the second research question show that teachers��� actions taken for improving their work were influenced by professional development activities. Three main categories including expanded interaction, expanded use of environment and expanded professional roles were identified. Generally, the knowledge generated is relevant for viewing teachers��� experiences of the challenges they encounter in teaching and the importance of professional development beyond the sampled respondents. The results suggest that constant provision of teachers��� professional development could improve teaching performance.

Changing teachers�� practices in regular schools enrolling children with visual impairment

The number of persons with visual impairment in Tanzania is estimated to over 1.6 million. About half a million of these persons are children aged 7-13. Only about 1% of these children are enrolled in schools. The special schools and units are too few and in most cases they are far away from the children���s homes. More and more regular schools are enrolling children with visual impairment, but the schools lack financial resources, tactile teaching materials and trained special education teachers. Children with visual impairment enrolled in regular schools seldom get enough support and often fail in examinations. The general aim of this study was to contribute to increased knowledge and understanding about how teachers can change their teaching practices and thus facilitate the learning of children with visual impairment included in regular classrooms as they participate in an action research project. The project was conducted in a primary school in a poor rural region with a high frequency of blindness and visual impairment. The school was poorly resourced and the average number of pupils per class was 90. The teachers who participated in the collaborative action research project were the 14 teachers who taught blind or visually impaired pupils in grades 4 and 6, in total 6 pupils. The action research project was conducted during a period of 6 months and was carried out in five cycles. The teachers were actively involved in all the project activities; identifying challenges, planning solutions, producing teaching materials, reflecting on outcomes, collaborating and evaluating. Empirical data was collected with questionnaires, interviews, observations and focus group discussions. The findings of the study show that the teachers managed to change their teaching practices through systematic reflection, analysis and collaboration. The teachers produced a variety of tactile teaching materials, which facilitated the learning of the pupils with visual impairment. The pupils learned better and felt more included in the regular classes. The teachers gained new knowledge and skills. They grew professionally and started to collaborate with each other. The study contributes to new knowledge of how collaborative action research can be conducted in the area of special education in a Tanzanian school context. The study has also relevance to the planning of school-based professional development programs and teacher education programs in Tanzania and in other low-income countries. The results also point at strategies which can promote inclusion of children with disabilities in regular schools.