Building learning communities to support beginning teachers use of technology

This paper reports on the early stages of a three year study that is investigating the impact of a technology-enriched teacher education program on beginning teachers' integration of computers, graphics calculators, and the internet into secondary school mathematics classrooms. Whereas much of the existing research on the role of technology in mathematics learning has been concerned with effects on curriculum content or student learning, less attention has been given to the relationship between technology use and issues of pedagogy, in particular the impact on teachers' professional learning in the context of specific classroom and school environments. Our research applies sociocultural theories of learning to consider how beginning teachers are initiated into a collaborative professional community featuring both web-based and face to face interaction, and how participation in such a community shapes their pedagogical beliefs and practices. The aim of this paper is to analyse processes through which the emerging community was established and sustained during the first year of the study. We examine features of this community in terms of identity formation, shifts in values and beliefs, and interaction patterns revealed in bulletin board discussion between students and lecturers.

AS RELAÇÕES ENTRE SATISFAÇÃO NO TRABALHO, COMPROMETIMENTO ORGANIZACIONAL AFETIVO E INTENÇÃO DE ROTATIVIDADE: UM ESTUDO EM UMA MINERADORA DE DIAMANTES EM ANGOLA

Muito se tem investigado sobre os antecedentes de intenção de rotatividade. Dentre as possíveis variáveis com capacidade de se relacionar aos planos dos trabalhadores deixarem a organização destacam-se: satisfação no trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo. O presente estudo teve como objetivo geral analisar as relações entre estas três variáveis; satisfação no trabalho, comprometimento organizacional afetivo e intenção de rotatividade. Ligando-se aos objetivos através dos seus estímulos internos ou externos, desvendados no estudo em uma mineradora de diamantes em Angola onde foram analisadas as relações entre as três variáveis. Participaram na pesquisa 151 trabalhadores, todos de nacionalidade angolana selecionados aleatoriamente em diferentes áreas da mesma empresa. Após aplicação do questionários com três medidas validadas e precisas, o tratamento dos dados, todos de natureza numérica, foi processado pelo software estatístico Statistical Package for the Social Science SPSS, versão 19.0 para Windows. Apurou-se que a idade media dos participantes era de 38,34 (DP = 8,42) anos, sendo a maioria do sexo masculino, solteira, com o nível médio completo, não exercendo cargo de chefia, pertencendo ao grupo (GP - III) um total de 89 (58,9 %), realizando grande parte do seu trabalho com outra pessoa ou em grupo, com tempo de trabalho variando entre 1 (um) e 16 anos. Os resultados descritivos indicam que os trabalhadores detêm um quadro de satisfação no trabalho, com satisfações maiores proporcionadas pelo número de vezes e oportunidades de serem promovidos, com a capacidade profissional de seus chefes, no entendimento encontrado entre si e na maneira como são tratados pelos seus chefes; e menores com o tipo de amizade, confiança e espírito de colaboração demonstrada pelos seus colegas de trabalho, assim como com a capacidade absorvida e o salário se comparado com o quanto trabalha. O quadro do comprometimento organizacional afetivo demonstra maior afeto as questões relacionadas a empresa em fazer o empregado sentir-se orgulhoso e contente com ela. Análises de correlação pelo r de Pearson informaram índices negativos e significativos entre as duas variáveis e intenção de rotatividade. Tais resultados informam que o plano de deixar a empresa onde trabalham é cada vez menor à medida que se elevam os níveis de satisfação no trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo.

PROJETOS EDUCATIVOS COMO FACILITADORES DO ENSINO-APRENDIZAGEM

A experiência tem demonstrado que projetos educativos facilitam o processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Por isso, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo verificar as possibilidades, os limites e os obstáculos enfrentados pelo professor ao trabalhar com projetos educativos. Para tanto, foi feito um estudo de caso em uma escola do município de São Paulo em que os professores possuem como prática o desenvolvimento de projetos. Foram selecionados cinco deles: Ler e Escrever , Xadrez na Escola , Nas Ondas do Rádio pertencentes ao programa da Secretaria Municipal de Educação de São Paulo, e que constam nos projetos político-pedagógicos das escolas da rede desde 2006 e A Caixa de Pandora e Azulejos no Metrô , que aconteceram no ano de 2010. Estes dois últimos não pertencem ao projeto político-pedagógico da escola, mas foram selecionados para este estudo pelo grande número de alunos que envolvem e por terem ultrapassado os muros da instituição. Com base na teoria de vários autores, principalmente Fernando Hernández, que traz a proposta de organização do currículo integrado por meio de projetos de trabalho, e Ulisses F. Araújo, que trata da construção de valores e da influência da afetividade na formação do aluno, e considerando a prática docente e o papel importante do educador, refletiu-se sobre como os projetos educativos contribuem para o aumento do rendimento escolar. De cunho qualitativo, a pesquisa foi desenvolvida tendo como principais técnicas a leitura e a análise de documentos, fotos e vídeos, bem como entrevistas e questionários para professores e alunos. Os resultados apontam para a estratégia de projetos desenvolvida na escola objeto de estudo ela incorpora alguns elementos relativos às teorias utilizadas e para o fato de que a prática docente pode contribuir para a implantação de ações pedagógicas que auxiliam na aquisição do conhecimento e no desenvolvimento de valores, ações que caminham em direção das ideias de interdisciplinaridade e transversalidade.

O PROFESSOR DO ENSINO MÉDIO E AS TRANSFORMAÇÕES NO MUNDO DO TRABALHO

O estudo objetivou entender como as mudanças que ocorrem na organização do trabalho interferem na maneira de o professor do ensino médio pensar e organizar o seu próprio trabalho. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de campo realizada com professores do Ensino Médio de uma escola estadual localizada num bairro da periferia do município de São Vicente, Estado de São Paulo. Contou-se com os estudos realizados por Harvey (2000), Castel (1998) e Sennett (2004) para entender como as transformações estão se processando no mundo do trabalho e como elas interferem nas condições de trabalho e vida do trabalhador. A organização da escola foi estudada a partir de Ferretti e Silva Júnior (2004) e a profissão docente, a partir das contribuições de Adorno (2003), Oliveira (2003, 2004) e Fanfani (2005). A metodologia adotada insere-se no contexto de uma pesquisa empírica, qualitativa do tipo etnográfico, de acordo com as definições de André (1995), e a coleta de dados foi realizada a partir de observação participante, questionários e entrevistas. Envolveu também estudo de documentos elaborados pela escola e referentes às legislações aplicadas ao ensino médio. Chegou-se à conclusão de que as conseqüências das transformações que ocorrem no mundo do trabalho chegam até a escola por vias diversas e acabam afetando a forma de esta organizar o seu trabalho. Ao chegarem até os professores elas são reinterpretadas e re-adaptadas. As representações que esses profissionais possuem acerca do trabalho e que são construídas ao longo de suas trajetórias de vida acabam interferindo nas interpretações que eles fazem sobre as transformações do mundo do trabalho, bem como na construção da identidade da própria profissão docente. No atual contexto de transformação do trabalho, muito há que se considerar nos caminhos que hoje se colocam como opção para a formação do professor. Esta pesquisa contou com o apoio da CAPES.(AU)

Empirical analysis of human capital development and economic growth in Europe

Recent discussion of the knowledge-based economy draws increasingly attention to the role that the creation and management of knowledge plays in economic development. Development of human capital, the principal mechanism for knowledge creation and management, becomes a central issue for policy-makers and practitioners at the regional, as well as national, level. Facing competition both within and across nations, regional policy-makers view human capital development as a key to strengthening the positions of their economies in the global market. Against this background, the aim of this study is to go some way towards answering the question of whether, and how, investment in education and vocational training at regional level provides these territorial units with comparative advantages. The study reviews literature in economics and economic geography on economic growth (Chapter 2). In growth model literature, human capital has gained increased recognition as a key production factor along with physical capital and labour. Although leaving technical progress as an exogenous factor, neoclassical Solow-Swan models have improved their estimates through the inclusion of human capital. In contrast, endogenous growth models place investment in research at centre stage in accounting for technical progress. As a result, they often focus upon research workers, who embody high-order human capital, as a key variable in their framework. An issue of discussion is how human capital facilitates economic growth: is it the level of its stock or its accumulation that influences the rate of growth? In addition, these economic models are criticised in economic geography literature for their failure to consider spatial aspects of economic development, and particularly for their lack of attention to tacit knowledge and urban environments that facilitate the exchange of such knowledge. Our empirical analysis of European regions (Chapter 3) shows that investment by individuals in human capital formation has distinct patterns. Those regions with a higher level of investment in tertiary education tend to have a larger concentration of information and communication technology (ICT) sectors (including provision of ICT services and manufacture of ICT devices and equipment) and research functions. Not surprisingly, regions with major metropolitan areas where higher education institutions are located show a high enrolment rate for tertiary education, suggesting a possible link to the demand from high-order corporate functions located there. Furthermore, the rate of human capital development (at the level of vocational type of upper secondary education) appears to have significant association with the level of entrepreneurship in emerging industries such as ICT-related services and ICT manufacturing, whereas such association is not found with traditional manufacturing industries. In general, a high level of investment by individuals in tertiary education is found in those regions that accommodate high-tech industries and high-order corporate functions such as research and development (R&D). These functions are supported through the urban infrastructure and public science base, facilitating exchange of tacit knowledge. They also enjoy a low unemployment rate. However, the existing stock of human and physical capital in those regions with a high level of urban infrastructure does not lead to a high rate of economic growth. Our empirical analysis demonstrates that the rate of economic growth is determined by the accumulation of human and physical capital, not by level of their existing stocks. We found no significant effects of scale that would favour those regions with a larger stock of human capital. The primary policy implication of our study is that, in order to facilitate economic growth, education and training need to supply human capital at a faster pace than simply replenishing it as it disappears from the labour market. Given the significant impact of high-order human capital (such as business R&D staff in our case study) as well as the increasingly fast pace of technological change that makes human capital obsolete, a concerted effort needs to be made to facilitate its continuous development.

Time and professional work in public sector organisations: an examination of four occupational groups in education and medicine

The aim of this thesis is to examine the experience of time of four professional occupational groups working in public sector organisations and the factors affecting this experience. The literature on time and work is examined to delineate the key parameters of research in this area. A broad organisation behaviour approach to the experience of time and work is developed in which individual, occupational, organisational and socio-political factors are inter-related. The experience of secondary school teachers, further education lecturers, general medical practitioners and hosoital consultants is then examined. Multiple methods of data collection are used: open-ended interviews, a questionnaire survey and the analysis of key documents relating to the institutional settings in which the four groups work. The research aims to develop our knowledge of working time by considering the dimensions of the experience of time at work, the contexts in wlhich this experience is generated and the constraints these contexts give rIse to. By developing our understanding of time as a key feature of work experience we also extend our knowledge of organisation behaviour in general. In conclusion a model of the factors relating the experience of time to the negotiation of time at work is presented.

The campaign to save Croxteth comprehensive: an ethnographic study of a protest movement

This thesis is based on ethnographic research carried out on a Liverpool protest movement which occurred between November, 1980 and July,1983. The protest movement was waged by residents of the working class community of Croxteth Liverpool who wished to retain their state secondary school, Croxteth Comprehensive. The Liverpool City Council voted in favour of closing Croxteth Comprehensive in January, 1981 because of its declining roles. Residents began theIr campaign as soon as they became aware of intentions to close the school at the end of the previous year. The campaIgn itself went through a number of different phases, distinguishable accordIng to the groups of people involved, the strategy and tactics they employed, the ways in which they justified their campaign, and the goals they pursued. In July of 1982 the organisation which led the protest, the Croxteth Community Action Committee, took illegal possession of the school buildings and ran a pilot summer school project. In September of 1982 they opened the school doors for all secondary pupils on the council estate and began running classes, with the help of volunteer teachers. The school was run successfully in this way for the entire 1982/83 school year. By the end of this period the school was officially reinstated by a new Labour Party majorIty on the city council. This thesis presents a comprehensive account of the entire campaign, from its beginning to end. The campaign is analysed in a number of ways: by situating the closure itself in the economic and political conditions of Liverpool in the 1980s, by examining the relation of Croxteth Comprehensive to its community, by describing the conditions in which different groups of people contributed to the campaign and the changes it went through in its use of tactics, and through a close examination of the activities which took place inside the school during its year of occupation. A number of levels of analysis are used in the study. To explain the closure and the early forms of resistance which developed to oppose it, the structural location of the local government of Liverpool in the late 1970s and early 1980s is described. To explain the relationship of the school to its community, the formation of a group of activists and their leaders, and the resources available to the protestors for pursuing their aims, a single-group model of social action is used. To analyse the establishment of social routines and schooling practices within the school during its occupation, action-theoretica1 models are drawn upon., The chapters of literature review and concept analysis with which this thesis begins link these different levels theoretIcalIy through a model of actIon and its conditions. The theoretical framework employed is reviewed in the last chapter. It is one which could be used to study any social movement, and has applications to other social phenomena as well. Lastly various issues within the sociology of education are examined in light of the events which took place in Croxteth Comprehensive, especially the theory of community education.

Schoolgirls in a rural context

It is proposed that, for rural secondary schoolgirls, school is a site of contestation. Rural girls attempt to `use' school as a means of resisting traditional patriarchal definitions of a `woman's place'. In their efforts, the girls are thwarted by aspects of the school itself, the behaviour and attitudes of the boys in school, and also the `careers advice' which they receive. It is argued that the girls perceive school as being of greater importance to them than is the case for the boys, and that these gender differentiated perceptions are related to the `social' lives of the girls and boys, and also to their future employment prospects. Unlike the boys, the girls experience considerable restrictions concerning these two areas. This theory was grounded in an ethnographic study which was conducted in and around a village in a rural county in England. As well as developing the theory through ethnography, the thesis contains tests of certain hypotheses generated by the theory. These hypotheses relate to the gender differentiated perspectives of secondary school pupils with regard to the areas of school itself, life outside school, and expectations for the future. The quantitative methods used to test these hypotheses confirm that there is a tendency for girls to be more positively orientated to school than the boys; to feel less able to engage in preferred activities outside school time than the boys, and also to be more willing to move away from the area than the boys. For comparative purposes these hypotheses were tested in two other rural locations and the results indicate the need for further research of a quantitative kind into the context of girls' schooling in such locations. A critical review of literature is presented, as is a detailed discussion of the research process itself.

Theme and thematic patterns in Spanish and English history texts

The aim of this research project is to compare published history textbooks written for upper-secondary/tertiary study in the U.S. and Spain using Halliday's (1994) Theme/Rheme construct. The motivation for using the Theme/Rheme construct to analyze professional texts in the two languages is two-fold. First of all, while there exists a multitude of studies at the grammatical and phonological levels between the two languages, very little analysis has been carried out in comparison at the level of text, beyond that of comparing L1/L2 student writing. Secondly, thematic considerations allow the analyst to highlight areas of textual organization in a systematic way for purposes of comparison. The basic hypothesis tested here rests on the premise that similarity in the social function of the texts results in similar Theme choice and thematic patterning across languages, barring certain linguistic constraints. The corpus for this study consists of 20 texts: 10 from various history textbooks published in the U.S. and 10 from various history textbooks published in Spain. The texts chosen represent a variety of authors, in order to control for author style or preference. Three overall areas of analysis were carried out, representing Halliday's (1994) three metafunctions: the ideational, the interpersonal and the textual. The ideational analysis shows similarities across the two corpora in terms of participant roles and circumstances as Theme, with a slight difference in participants involved in material processes, which is shown to reflect a minor difference in the construal of the field of history in the two cultures. The textual analysis shows overall similarities with respect to text organization, and the interpersonal analysis shows overall similarities as regards the downplay of discrepant interpretations of historical events as well as a low frequency of interactive textual features, manifesting the informational focus of the texts. At the same time, differences in results amongst texts within each of the corpora demonstrate possible effect of subject matter, in many cases, and individual author style in others. Overall, the results confirm that similarity in content, but above all in purpose and audience, result in texts which show similarities in textual features, setting aside certain grammatical constraints.

Teachers' conceptions of their role

An analysis is made of the conceptions which serving teachers have of their role, though no attempt is made to relate this to their practice of teaching. A series of role items was collected to afford a description of the teacher's role in terms of school and society expectations as well as classroom behaviours. These were taken from the literature and from interviews with teachers, and confirmed in a preliminary survey. Presented as a questionnaire, replies to the main investigation were made by 881 teachers, working in a variety of schools from nurseries to comprehensives. Two attempts have been made to construct a role model. The first, depending on the judgement of items fitting theoretically derived roles, failed, due to diffuseness in the role of teacher. The second used factor analysis; six factors were extracted which represent meaningful and distinct areas of role. The analysis has depended largely on examination of scores taken from these factors. Teachers in all types of school have similar conceptions of discipline. Nursery-infant and junior staff generally agree on the other areas investigated, but the concepts of secondary teachers are distinct. They are more conservative and less child-centered. When the class being taught is held constant, few differences in role conception are found to be related to sex, being a parent, graduate status, or personality, as measured in terms of the extrovert and neurotic dimensions. The first few years of teaching bring considerable changes in role conception, and further changes occur with prolonged experience. Deputy heads in junior schools and nursery nurses have quite distinct role conceptions; those of all other teachers, including those holding senior posts in secondary schools, are similar. The perception of school climate influences the role conception of primary teachers directly, but it does not influence that of secondary teachers. The greatest variation in role conception is related to scores on the radical scale of Oliver and Butcher. Primary school teachers experience little constraint, but that reported by secondary school teachers is considerable, especially that coming from the head. Despite difficulties caused by the wide division between primary and secondary education, teachers have an accurate perception of the roles their colleagues adopt. A few misunderstandings may be due to a feeling of idealism amongst nursery and infant teachers. There is evidence in their conception of role that would enhance the professional standing of teachers, but this is not in a form which is likely to be recognised by the public.

Classroom implications of recent research into literacy development: from predictors to assessment

We outline how research into predictors of literacy underpins the development of increasingly accurate and informative assessments. We report three studies that emphasize the crucial role of speech and auditory skills on literacy development throughout primary and secondary school. Our first study addresses the effects of early childhood middle ear infections, the potential consequences for speech processing difficulties and the impact on early literacy development. Our second study outlines how speech and auditory skills are crucially related to early literacy in normally developing readers, whereas other skills such as motor, memory and IQ are only indirectly related. Our third study outlines the on-going impact of phonological awareness on reading and wider academic achievement in secondary-school pupils. Finally, we outline how teachers can use the current research to inform them about which assessments to conduct, and how to interpret the results. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ingroup and outgroup minorities:differential impact upon public and private responses

The experiment which is presented in this paper was designed to overcome some of the problems associated with previous research investigating the effects of social categorization and minority influence. Sixty-eight fourteen-year-old British Secondary School pupils indicated their attitudes towards a 'grant for pupils' before and after reading a text which advocated a minority position. The text was attributed as being the work of either pupils from their own school (ingroup minority) or from a school they discriminated against (outgroup minority). Responses were either made in ‘public’ (by telling subjects that other pupils would see their responses) or in ‘private’ (by subjects putting their responses into a ‘ballot box’). The results showed that on public responses ingroup minorities had more influence than outgroup minorities while there was no difference on private responses. Also, greater change occurred when responses were made in private than in public. These results are compatible with the intergroup analysis of minority influence.

Emerging into the light:working children's photodiaries

These photographs were produced by secondary school children (aged between 11 and 15 years) in England and Wales. They were taken as part of a qualitative research project examining the employment of children in modern day Britain.1 Using simple and inexpensive one-use analogue cameras to make photodiaries, some of the 69 children involved in the project produced around 850 photographs of their working lives. The result is a distinctive and unique visual insight into what is a rarely discussed but nonetheless ‘majority experience’ of modern childhood.2 The children who took these photographs gave their permission for them to be published; names have been changed.

Един начин за преговор на формулите по тригонометрия в средното училище

Kliment Vasilev - The trigonometry formulas are given in the form of mathematical problems. Some of these problems are solved, and it is shown how the others can be solved with the help of adequate guidance that includes the previous problems. This method is suitable for revision in the secondary school, as well as for preparation for school-leaving exams and matriculation.

Модел за изследване на креативното мислене и действие на ученици

Veselina Valkanova, Stanimir Stoyanov, Hussein Zedan, Ivan Popchev - In the paper a theoretical model for investigation of creative thinking and action of student is presented. The model extends the formal system called Creativity Map. Furthermore, an experiment for applying this model in the secondary school is explained. Although the experiment will be implemented during the mathematics lessons, the theoretical model can be applied in different subjects.