Ten years after : a qualitative study of students' experiences in a high school theatre company

This qualitative study explored 4 former students' perceptions of the learning associated with their involvement in a high school theatre program and the contextual factors they linked to their perceived development. The study involved 4 adult participants, 2 male and 2 female, who had participated extensively in a high school theatre company from 1996 to 2001 when they were students in a large Ontario school board. Data were collected from January to August, 2007, when the 4 former students took part in two in-depth, open-ended interviews. The focus of investigation was participant perspectives. Data analysis revealed that the 4 participants' involvement in high school theatre produced both wide-ranging and enduring developmental benefits across personal, social, and cognitive domains. Participants achieved these benefits through interactions among 3 related contexts: (a) rehearsal and performance practices, (b) the world of the play, and (c) characteristics of the high school theatre company.

História da ciência como estratégia didática no ensino médio: um breve olhar de conteúdos da óptica

From a critique of aspects of the current teaching of physics, we propose in this paper an investigation into the conceptions of Nature of Science (NOS) submitted by students from the high school level, as well as the inclusion of discussions about some elements of NOS, through the History and Philosophy of Science, understanding them as facilitating strategy for more effective learning of Physics and, more specifically, the contents of optics. Based on the historical period corresponding to Greek antiquity to the mid-nineteenth century, built and applied a teaching unit to a high school class at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN) Ipanguaçu campus. Our teaching unit involved the reading and interpretation of texts with historical content, observation and assembling five experimental activities, among other activities. Data analysis occurred through questionnaires investigative applied before and after the completion of the teaching unit, as well as questionnaires for content present in the texts. Although not significant, the results indicated that the application of the teaching unit allowed the (re) construction of some conceptions about NOS targets students present in our work, and contribute to a better learning content and greater optical science approach and its nature

Method of Linear Programming as an Idea for High School Curriculum

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 97D40, 97M10, 97M40, 97N60, 97N80, 97R80

Public school administrators' knowledge of special education law

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of public school administrators with respect to special education (ESE) law. The study used a sample of 220 public school administrators. A survey instrument was developed consisting of 19 demographic questions and 20 situational scenarios. The scenarios were based on ESE issues of discipline, due process (including IEP procedures), identification, evaluation, placement, and related services. The participants had to decide whether a violation of the ESE child's rights had occurred by marking: (a) Yes, (b) No, or (c) Undecided. An analysis of the scores and demographic information was done using a two-way analysis of variance, chi-square, and crosstabs after a 77% survey response rate.^ Research questions addressed the administrators' overall level of knowledge. Comparisons were made between principals and assistant principals and differences between the levels of schooling. Exploratory questions were concerned with ESE issues deemed problematic by administrators, effects of demographic variables on survey scores, and the listing of resources utilized by administrators to access ESE information.^ The study revealed: (a) a significant difference was found when comparing the number of ESE courses taken and the score on the survey, (b) the top five resources of ESE information were the region office, school ESE department chairs, ESE teachers, county workshops, and county inservices, (c) problematic areas included discipline, evaluation procedures, placement issues, and IEP due process concerns, (d) administrators as a group did not exhibit a satisfactory knowledge of ESE law with a mean score of 12 correct and 74% of responding administrators scoring in the unsatisfactory level (below 70%), (e) across school levels, elementary administrators scored significantly higher than high school administrators, and (f) a significant implication that assistant principals consistently scored higher than principals on each scenario with a significant difference at the high school level.^ The study reveals a vital need for administrators to receive additional preparation in order to possess a basic understanding of ESE school law and how it impacts their respective schools and school districts so that they might meet professional obligations and protect the rights of all individuals involved. Recommendations for this additional administrative preparation and further research topics were discussed. ^

A study to identify the nutritional problems in the elementary school population in the Republic of Venezuela

The purpose of this research is to identify and evaluate the nutritional problems that exist in the student population at the elementary school level in the Republic of Venezuela and to develop a system that will make it possible to deliver a more adequate diet to this population, with a greater fulfillment of their nutritional needs.

High School Task Force report

The Task Force focused on the following questions: 1. What is the current high school experience? 2. How well is the current system preparing students for college and careers? 3. What are the current barriers or system roadblocks? The High School Task Force provided findings and recommendations following an examination and evaluation of the design of the high school experience in South Carolina.

Propostas e desafios ao exercício profissional no âmbito dos Processos de RVCC

Trabalho de projecto de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Formação de Adultos), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2011

Analyse de l'attrition des enseignants au Québec

L’abandon de la carrière chez les enseignants, généralement appelé l’attrition des enseignants dans les écrits scientifiques, a été l’objet de nombreuses études. La connaissance en est assez avancée dans certaines régions du monde, mais très peu de recherches ont étudié cette problématique au Québec. Ainsi, l’objectif principal de ce travail de recherche était d’identifier les facteurs de l’attrition des enseignants au Québec. L’objectif spécifique de cette recherche était d’observer comment ces facteurs influencent la perception des individus et amènent certains d’entre eux à prendre la décision de quitter. Dans le cadre de cette étude qualitative, 26 individus (16 femmes et 10 hommes) ayant récemment quitté l’enseignement ont été rencontrés. Dix participants ont exercé la profession enseignante au niveau primaire et 16 au niveau secondaire. Afin de recueillir les données, le chercheur a procédé à des entrevues de groupe semi-dirigées d’une durée de deux heures. Les résultats de cette étude indiquent que les facteurs qui influencent l’attrition des enseignants au Québec sont nombreux et variés. Ils sont surtout relatifs aux conditions d’exercice de la profession et les plus souvent mentionnés sont les difficultés liées à la gestion de classe, la précarité du travail, les difficultés dans les relations avec les collègues, la charge de travail et le peu de soutien offert par la direction. Le contexte social et la faible valorisation de la profession enseignante ont aussi été mentionnés. Par ailleurs, le chercheur a analysé la perception qu’avaient les participants de leur expérience de travail à l’aide de la théorie de l’autodétermination (Deci et Ryan, 2000). Les résultats de cette analyse suggèrent que les participants ne se sentaient pas en mesure de satisfaire leurs besoins psychologiques fondamentaux dans le cadre du travail enseignant.

Developing a rural and regional science challenge to utilise community and industry-based partnerships

Interest and participation in science in schools has been declining for many years and there is a genuine need to rejuvenate interest in science at the high school level. One possible solution is the completion of challenging science projects which fulfill an authentic purpose in the community. This paper discusses the results of ongoing research into the establishment of a rural and regional Science Challenge which makes use of partnerships with local industries and community groups to encourage the development of authentic science projects. In the development of the Science Challenge, many issues are emerging in relation to teachers' work, resources, administration and school cultures. This paper reports on the preliminary findings and indicates directions for the future.

Remixing to design learning: social media and peer-to-peer interaction

Social and participatory media offer opportunities to interact and share user-generated content. After some investigation and research, the authors are in their initial stages of using such media to provide a pathway for thinking about learning design in higher education. Using the concept of remixing, the authors aim to creatively blend and manipulate ideas to build a sustainable approach to course/program enhancement. Remixing is touted as one of the most important practices within the field of open educational resources, but it is not mainstream practice in educational thinking or design. This article highlights the authors’ approach and uses their pre-service teacher education program and their previous high school study as an example of remixing. The high school study involved the integration of social and participatory media into the face-to-face classroom; Author 1 was the practitioner researcher in the high school study. This article articulates the use of online social environments at the high school level to highlight concepts of sharing and remixing as a creative and social approach to designing learning in higher education. It also attempts to consider this within a course-wide approach.

Profissionalização e escolarização: a experiência de articulação do SENAI-PA

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo compreender, na prática da formação profissional dos trabalhadores em nível médio, como se relacionam a escola média e a escola profissional técnica de nível médio, conforme o preconizado pela legislação vigente, que prevê a articulação entre estes dois momentos da formação do trabalhador de forma seqüencial e concomitante. O foco da investigação manteve-se nas estratégias de formação adotadas no Curso Técnico em Manutenção de Mecânica Automotiva do Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial - SENAI, em Belém PA, uma vez que em seu processo formativo se processa apenas a formação da profissionalização. O curso tem por finalidade habilitar profissionais para atuar em processos de montagem, manutenção e recuperação de veículos automotivos. A metodologia utilizada subsidiou-se na abordagem qualitativa, por meio de um estudo de caso, fazendo uso na coleta de dados da entrevista semi-estruturada e da análise documental. A análise dos dados foi realizada com fulcro no referencial teórico utilizado e com base nos procedimentos da análise de conteúdo, a partir de três grandes eixos principais identificados na fala dos entrevistados, que foram: a articulação entre escola média e escola profissional de nível técnico no contexto da formação para o trabalho, formação profissional e mercado de trabalho e relação teoria-prática como componente da formação profissional. A pesquisa possibilitou identificar que o processo formativo no SENAI-PA possui como referência o economicismo, a empregabilidade e a competitividade, tendo na pedagogia das competências seu norte de formação profissional, a qual está voltada para atender a um mercado de trabalho cada vez mais mutante e instável. Constatou-se que a articulação mantida entre a escola média e a escola profissional de nível técnico é instrumental, ficando a escolarização subordinada e a serviço da profissionalização, sem preocupação específica da Instituição para com uma formação ampla do trabalhador. Ignora-se que a mera soma das partes não favorece uma formação mais abrangente desse trabalhador. Concluiu-se também que a formação profissional promovida pelo SENAI-PA, ao desenvolver um modelo utilitarista, pragmático e fragmentado, ratifica o histórico dualismo existente nesse nível educacional. Além disso, ao focar no desenvolvimento de habilidades e atitudes apenas para o mercado de trabalho, sua formação acaba por inviabilizar o projeto de ensino médio integrado que possibilitaria o desenvolvimento amplo do trabalhador.

Física de partículas no ensino médio: uma análise de materiais para apoio didático

This work consisted in analysing five materials which mean respect to subjects related to Particle Physics, aiming to explore their potentialities for the use in the High School levels, particularly by physics teachers. On this perspective, we sought to describe the contents of each material and point out their potentialities as material of didactic support. They are: 1. The purpose of Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo, presented in the Teacher's Guide of the Program São Paulo faz escola; 2. The Game Sprace Game, elaborated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN); 3. The book O discreto charme das partículas elementares, written by the professor Maria Cristina Abdalla; 4. The video O discreto charme das partículas elementares, based on the book of Professor Maria Cristina Abdalla which was produced by TV Cultura in association with the Ministério da Educação e Cultura” (MEC). The book Partículas elementares no ensino médio: uma abordagem a partir do LHC written by Wagner Franklin Balthazar and Alexandre Lopes de Oliveira, from the collection CBPF - Tópicos de Física. The work was constructed on a qualitative perspective, that is, it did not attempt to quantify the help that each material could offer to Physics teaching. One sought to describe and analyse, from different theoretical frames, their potentialities for the use in the High School level. The results indicate that all the materials analysed can contribute to the Physics teaching, and beyond, as they own format and approches distinct from the subject, they can be used as a whole or in parts, together or separately, depending on the objectives to be reached and on the profile of the target public

Elaboração de um material didático aplicado ao ensino de física para utilização do experimento virtual da dupla fenda

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Career Influences of Music Education Audition Candidates

In this descriptive study, we examined the influences and experiences motivating students to enter college-level music schools as reported by a population of precollegiate students auditioning (but not yet accepted) to music education degree programs. As a follow-up to a published pilot study, this research was designed to quantify the various experiences respondents had as part of their precollege school and community programs that related to teaching and music. Results indicate a strong connection between respondents’ primary musical background and future teaching interest. The top three influential experiences were related to high school ensemble membership (band, choir, orchestra), and the most influential group of individuals in the decision to become a music educator were high school ensemble directors. Respondents from all four primary background groups (band, choir, orchestra, and general or other) rated private lesson teaching as their second strongest future teaching interest, just behind teaching at the high school level in their primary background. Respondents rated parents as moderately influential on their desire to become a music teacher.