Measuring the geographic distribution of maternal education in Africa

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Validation of the self-regulated online learning questionnaire

Abstract The number of students engaged in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is increasing rapidly. Due to the autonomy of students in this type of education, students in MOOCs are required to regulate their learning to a greater extent than students in traditional, face-to-face education. However, there is no questionnaire available suited for this online context that measures all aspects of self-regulated learning (SRL). In this study, such a questionnaire is developed based on existing SRL questionnaires. This is the self-regulated online learning ques- tionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on the first dataset led to a set of scales differing from those theoretically defined beforehand. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on a second dataset to compare the fit of the theoretical model and the exploratively obtained model. The exploratively obtained model provided much better fit to the data than the theoretical model. All models under investigation provided better fit when excluding the task strategies scale and when merging the scales measuring metacognitive activities. From the results of the EFA and the CFA it can be concluded that further development of the questionnaire is necessary.

Parents’ Preparedness for Their Infants’ Discharge Following First-stage Cardiac Surgery: Development of a Parental Early Warning Tool

Aim The aim of this study was to explore parental preparedness for discharge and their experiences of going home with their infant after the first-stage surgery for a functionally univentricular heart. Background Technological advances worldwide have improved outcomes for infants with a functionally univentricular heart over the last 3 decades; however, concern remains regarding mortality in the period between the first and second stages of surgery. The implementation of home monitoring programmes for this group of infants has improved this initial inter-stage survival; however, little is known about parents’ experiences of going home, their preparedness for discharge, and parents’ recognition of deterioration in their fragile infant. Method This study was conducted in 2011–2013; eight sets of parents were consulted in the research planning stage in September, 2011, and 22 parents with children aged 0–2 years responded to an online survey during November, 2012–March, 2013. Description of categorical data and deductive thematic analysis of the open-ended questions were undertaken. Results Not all parents were taught signs of deterioration or given written information specific to their baby. The following three themes emerged from the qualitative data: mixed emotions about going home, knowledge and preparedness, and support systems. Conclusions Parents are not adequately prepared for discharge and are not well equipped to recognise deterioration in their child. There is a role for greater parental education through development of an early warning tool to address the gap in parents’ understanding of signs of deterioration, enabling appropriate contact and earlier management by clinicians.

Project Development Information Packet for Federal-Aid City and County Projects, 1997

In August, 1994, the Office of Local Systems, Project Development Division, Iowa Department of Transportation established a Quality Improvement Team to review and improve upon the federal-aid project development process. The mission was to communicate federal-aid project development procedures to local agencies, beginning with the approval of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and ending with obligation of federal funds by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). In January 1997, another Team (Make it Better) began meeting to clarify, update, and streamline the federal-aid project process. This Project Development Packet is a compilation of these efforts. The packet includes Project Development timelines, flow charts, guidelines, design criteria, Instructional Memorandums and forms to assist in the federal-aid project development process. The main (fold out) flow chart directs to other sections of the packet when appropriate.

Erfassung bildungssprachlicher Kompetenzen von Kindern im Vorschulalter. Grundlagen und Entwicklung einer Ratingskala (RaBi)

Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt die Grundlagen einer Ratingskala zur Erfassung bildungssprachlicher Fähigkeiten in Kindertagesstätten (RaBi) vor. Die RaBi-Skala wurde im Rahmen des Projektes "EASI Science-L" entwickelt und anhand der Transkripte von videografierten Lehr-Lerneinheiten aus diesem Projekt erprobt. Die Entwicklung erfolgt vor dem theoretischen Hintergrund aktuell in der Fachliteratur angenommener bildungssprachlicher Merkmale. Diese werden auf die Besonderheiten der konventionell verlaufenden Sprachentwicklung adaptiert. Es folgt sowohl die Deskription der einzelnen Dimensionen bildungssprachlichen Handelns auf den Ebenen Lexikon, Morphosyntax und Sprachhandlungen als auch die Darstellung der Konzeption der RaBi-Skala sowie erste Ergebnisse.

Skolan är en lättköpt arena - livskunskap i kritisk belysning

During the last decade a school subject with the designation of Life Competence Education ("Livskunskap" in Swedish) has emerged in many Swedish schools. The aim of this article is to describe and analyse the subject Life Competence Education, its historical and ideological roots and current place in the curricula of some selected schools. The article is based on analyses of policy documents, interviews and participant observations from fieldwork in two upper secondary schools and in one course for further training of teachers arranged by a municipality. Work by Foucault, especially on governmentality, is used as an analytic tool, as well as work developed from Foucault by Nicolas Rose and Stephen J. Ball. The analyses show that the subject Life Competence Education is constructed in many varied ways in Swedish schools due to different influences, both from the state, but also from private policy entrepreneurs (Ball, 2006). It is also shown that the SET-programme, which is only one example of programmes used for this type of education, is quite widely used in Life Competence Education in Swedish schools. In light of analyses from Foucault and Rose, I suggest that these programmes can be seen as the "psy", i.e. the "psychological domains" (Rose, 1999), entering into the educational arena and with the help of behaviouristic theories constructing "governable subjects" (Foucault, 1988, 1991). This raises questions regarding what kind of subjects are constructed in Life Competence Education, with what kind of methods, as well as how these methods are construed in the light of the Swedish National Curriculum

"It’s just very natural" – interpersonal knowledge as a didactical device in guided classroom conversations in religious education

This article investigates how teachers in religious education (RE) think and act as professionals while working with differences in religious and philosophy of life experiences and beliefs in class and trying to do this in respectful and inclusive ways. It analyses data from two research projects that were carried out in lower secondary school in Norway. The main research question is: What is the relationship between teachers’ contextual knowledge and knowledge of the child and how do these two dimensions of professional knowledge interact when religious education teachers try to strike a good balance between inclusion and productive learning in their teaching practice? The data analysed were drawn from three different data sets featuring three Norwegian religious education-teachers. The research was part of the EU-funded "REDCo"-project and the "Religious education and diversity" - project ["ROM"] funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The interviewees emphasized the potential of the religious education subject to contribute to a wider tolerance for difference and to support individual students in their identity management. The analysis shows, however, that considerable contextual awareness - of the classroom and of the local community - is needed to realize this potential. It also shows the importance of interpersonal knowledge between the teacher and each student if contextual awareness is to be effective in terms of inclusion, participation, wellbeing and good learning outcomes for all students.

Citizenship education, national identity and political trust: The case of Sweden

The challenging effects of globalization upon the nation-state have been a recurrent theme in the social science discourse since the 1990’s. Nationally organized education is also seen as challenged by new demands originating from globalization. In this article it is argued that ‘nation-state’ and ‘national identity’ are highly relevant concepts when discussing a citizenship education that seeks to develop a civic ethos with, potentially, a global reach. It is further argued that the understanding of such an ethos would benefit significantly from incorporating the role of political trust since trust has been identified as a main feature of the social capital that makes democracy work. Three themes are brought together: national identity and identification, the importance for democracy of political trust and the challenges citizenship education face when carried out in a national context but intended to manage issues that go far beyond the reach of the nation-state. The importance of citizenship education is discussed using recent research on the Swedish citizenship education classroom.

Planung des Lernfeldunterrichtes im Spannungsfeld von Geschäftsprozessorientierung und lernfeldübergreifender Kompetenzentwicklung. Das Hamburger Konzept kooperativer curricularer Entwicklungsarbeit

Der Hamburger Schulversuch EARA (Erprobung neu strukturierter Ausbildungsformen im Rahmen des Ausbildungskonsenses 2007-2010“) wurde durch in Konsortium der Universität Hamburg evaluiert und wissenschaftlich begleitet. Die Schulversuchsevaluation gliederte sich in einen summativen und einen formativen Teil (vgl. EARA 2012, 11 f.). Im Rahmen der formativen Evaluation wurden intensive curriculare Entwicklungsarbeiten geleistet, die durch eine enge Kooperation von wissenschaftlicher Begleitung und Projektschulen geprägt waren. Dieser Beitrag stellt die theoretischen Grundlagen der gemeinsamen Curriculumentwicklung im Schulversuch EARA dar. Diese sind umfassend in der Kooperation mit der beruflichen Schule für Büro und Personalmanagement Bergedorf für das Berufsbild Kaufleute für Bürokommunikation umgesetzt worden. In diesem Beitrag werden zunächst zentrale Herausforderungen der schulnahen Curriculumentwicklung im Kontext des Lernfeldansatzes dargestellt, um dann im zweiten Abschnitt die im Schulversuch EARA zum Tragen gekommenen Lösungsansätze zu beschreiben. Die spezifischen Herausforderungen waren (1) eine veränderte curriculare Entwicklungslogik, (2) die notwendige curriculare Rekonstruktion von Lernfeldern, (3) die Schwierigkeiten prozessübergreifender Kompetenzentwicklung und (4) die geforderte Verknüpfung von Prozess- und Systemperspektive in den Lernsituationen. Die Lösungsvorschläge für diese Herausforderungen münden im Konzept der Hamburger Kompetenzmatrix und werden am Beispiel von Ergebnissen aus dem Projekt EARA dargestellt. Der Beitrag endet mit der Bilanzierung von Erfolgen und Desideraten.

Economic competence and financial literacy of young adults. Status and challenges

This book will concentrate on economic competence and financial literacy of young adults in the US, Europe and South America. The subjects of the research are mainly individuals who have begun an apprenticeship or university education. Economic competence and financial literacy are of special interest for this group because they are usually in the unique position of being responsible for managing their own financial affairs autonomously, often for the first time. Furthermore, economic competence is key to social participation and active citizenship. (DIPF/Orig.)

A poesia promovendo o trabalho integrado e colaborativo na escola: uma contribuição à formação de professores na educação básica

Este estudo, desenvolvido através de uma investigação-ação, busca aprofundar a compreensão sobre o papel da poesia e de sua abordagem associado à integração curricular e ao trabalho colaborativo, em programas de formação de professores, inicial e continuada, visando à mudança de uma prática docente solitária para uma prática mais reflexiva e solidária. Esta investigação desenvolveu-se em uma escola pública de São Paulo - Brasil, com professores de diferentes disciplinas, coordenação pedagógica e estagiários do curso de Letras de duas universidades privadas. Com o propósito de contribuir para o debate, associamos o estudo teórico à investigação empírica, numa investigação-ação, recorrendo à observação participante e às entrevistas semiestruturadas. Elegemos para este trabalho três grandes eixos e suas respectivas referências teóricas: i) formação de professores; ii) currículo e desenvolvimento curricular; e iii) poesia e abordadem da poesia. Com base nesses eixos, elaboramos e desenvolvemos o estudo empírico que nos mostrou sua relevância através dos resultados obtidos: viabilidade de construção e implementação de projetos interdisciplinares nas escolas da rede pública; importância da interação entre professores e restante comunidade escolar; humanização do ambiente escolar; protagonismo de professores e alunos. Mostrou-nos também algumas limitações, especialmente o pouco investimento e apoio das equipes de gestão ao desenvolvimento de projetos integrados, assim como a falta de tempo necessário à construção de ambiente propício à criação da cultura de colaboração docente. Esperamos ter contribuído, através deste projeto, para que um novo olhar seja lançado aos programas de formação, inicial e continuada, de professores, menos tecnicista, mais crítico e reflexivo, mais solidário e integrado, mais humanizado e democrático, bem como à potencialidade da poesia/abordagem da poesia nesses contextos.

O desenvolvimento profissional docente em discussão

This collection is the result of theoretical considerations made in the education field with emphasis on the teacher’s professional development. The diversity of authors, which came from distinctive higher education institutions located in Brazil and some arising from international context, reveals a multiplicity of relations between the themes that blend the centrality of “Rede de Aprendizado em Foco”. The studies and researches are organized around three themes: teacher’s learning in initial training and professional integration; teacher learning’s evaluations process and policies; and teacher’s professional development. The professionality’s formation in a period of deep and complex transformations in the social and educational scenarios is projected as a big challenge, especially when it is understood that a person is not born as a teacher, but it is constituted as such by processes that occur over a long period. The contact with the professional practice stands as an essential element in the context of teacher training, which in the course of professional learning experience different stages of training. The one that should be highlighted would be the learning moments that involve teaching’s practices. Thus, the main point of this work was based on the reflection of the teacher’s formative processes from the initial training to the professional development going through the teaching practice, which is considered as the beginning of the relationship between theoretical and practical knowledge in the context of educational reality and reporting formative experiences that have contributed to this training.

Bioexploration of wild Alaskan berries: From field screening to functional food

Wild berries are fundamental components of traditional diet and medicine for Native American and Alaska Native tribes and contain a diverse array of phytochemicals, including anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins, with known efficacy against metabolic disorders. Bioexploration represents a new paradigm under which bioactive preparations are screened in coordination with indigenous communities, to prepare for subsequent in-depth chemical and biological analysis. The inclusive, participatory philosophical approach utilized in bioexploration has additional benefits that could be realized in seemingly disparate areas, such as education and economics. Five species of wild Alaskan berries (Vaccinium uliginosum, V. ovalifolium, Empetrum nigrum, Rubus chamaemorus, and R. spectabilis) were tested using “Screens-to-Nature” (STN), a community-participatory approach to screen for potential bioactivity, in partnership with tribal members from three geographically distinct Alaskan villages: Akutan, Seldovia, and Point Hope. Berries were subsequently evaluated via HPLC and LC-MS2, yielding significant species and location-based variation in anthocyanins (0.9-438.6 mg eq /100g fw) and proanthocyanins (73.7-625.2 mg eq /100g fw). A-type proanthocyanidin dimers through tetramers were identified in all species tested. Berries were analyzed for in vitro and in vivo activity related to diabetes and obesity. R. spectabilis samples increased preadipocyte-factor-1 levels by 82% over control, and proanthocyanidin-rich fractions from multiple species reduced lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Furthermore, extracts of V. uliginosum and E. nigrum (Point Hope) reduced serum glucose levels in C57bl/6j mice up to 45%. The same precepts of bioexploration, especially the inclusion of indigenous community perspectives and knowledge, have relevance in other areas of study, such as education and economics. Studies have established the apathetic, low-motivational environment characteristic of many introductory science laboratory classes is detrimental to student interest, learning, and continuation in scientific education. A primary means of arresting this decline and stimulating the students’ attention and excitement is via engagement in hands-on experimentation and research. Using field workshops, the STN system is investigated as to its potential as a novel participatory educational tool, using assays centered around bioexploration and bioactive plant compounds that hold the potential to offset human health conditions. This evaluation of the STN system provided ample evidence as to its ability to augment and improve science education. Furthermore, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis was employed as a theoretical framework to review the potential benefits and hurdles associated with developing a wild Alaskan berry commodity. Synthesizing various sources of information – including logistics and harvest costs, sources of initial capital, opportunities in the current superfruit industry, and socioeconomic factors – the development of a berry commodity proves to be a complex amalgam of competing factors which would require a delicate balance before proceeding.

Curriculare Integration elektronischer Lehr-Lernmodule in die traditionelle Präsenzlehre – dargestellt am Beispiel des Projektes IMPULSEC

Im Rahmen universitärer Projekte entwickelte E-Learning-Angebote werden nach ihrer Fertigstellung in der Regel nicht isoliert in der Lehre eingesetzt. Vielmehr sollen sie in bereits bestehende Curricula und traditionelle Präsenzveranstaltungen integriert werden. Der vorliegende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, wie eine solche Integration zu leisten ist und welche Aspekte dabei zu beachten, welche Aufgaben zu übernehmen sind. Am Beispiel des Projektes IMPULSEC wird gezeigt, wie und unter welchen Voraussetzungen am Entwicklungsstandort Osnabrück Lerninhalte und -ziele, Medien und Methoden sowie Sozial- und Organisationsformen von E-Learning-Angeboten mit denen der traditionellen Präsenzlehre zusammengeführt werden.(DIPF/Orig.)