An Empirical Study on Teachers’ Choice of Extensive Literature in the Swedish Upper Secondary EFL Classroom

The importance of extensive literature reading in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context has been given increasing attention in recent research. Literature reading is also a required part of the national syllabi of the (EFL) courses offered to both adolescents and adults at Upper Secondary level in Sweden. This thesis aims to investigate the teachers’ process of making literature choices for extensive reading in upper secondary EFL courses in Sweden. Eight teachers of three different student groups took part in the study, representing adolescent university preparatory programs and vocational programs, as well as programs for adult students. Questionnaires were used and the data was analyzed for patterns revealing three main factors affecting teachers’ literature choice: language proficiency, reading experience and contextual factors. These three factors were fitted into the theoretical framework of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic reading models, with the addition of a perspective of motivational research. The results of this survey underline the importance of extensive reading, according to teachers, and that motivation for literature choice can be primarily related to factors associated with psycholinguistic reading models. The survey also points to the need for further investigating of teachers’ own experiences of literature reading, searching for deeper motivational factors which influence teaching choices. Another future field of research is the choice of reading activities assigned together with the chosen literature, which probably also influence teachers’ choices in the Swedish EFL classroom.

With an eye to academia or vocation? A draft to a research plan

There is a profound need to increase the quality and status of vocational education and train-ing (VET) and vocational education and training education – Teacher training (VTE-TT). As a consequence of several reforms the requirements of academic achievements in these different education systems are distinctly higher than before. These high ambitions cause problems and the actors in school and teacher education has got new challenges. Furthermore, vocational education teachers are supposed to prepare their pupils both to a pro-fessional career and to future academic studies. Accordingly, Vocational Education Teacher Trainers are supposed to prepare their students both to a career as vocational teachers and for further academic studies. This makes imprints in the field of VET and VTE-TT. The aim of this paper is to present a coming study about how actors in VET and VTE-TT think and act in relation to their changed assignment.

Effective measures to decrease air contaminants through risk and control visualization : a study of the effective use of QR codes to facilitate safety training

Woodworking industries still consists of wood dust problems. Young workers are especially vulnerable to safety risks. To reduce risks, it is important to change attitudes and increase knowledge about safety. Safety training have shown to establish positive attitudes towards safety among employees. The aim of current study is to analyze the effect of QR codes that link to Picture Mix EXposure (PIMEX) videos by analyzing attitudes to this safety training method and safety in student responses. Safety training videos were used in upper secondary school handicraft programs to demonstrate wood dust risks and methods to decrease exposure to wood dust. A preliminary study was conducted to investigate improvement of safety training in two schools in preparation for the main study that investigated a safety training method in three schools. In the preliminary study the PIMEX method was first used in which students were filmed while wood dust exposure was measured and subsequently displayed on a computer screen in real time. Before and after the filming, teachers, students, and researchers together analyzed wood dust risks and effective measures to reduce exposure to them. For the main study, QR codes linked to PIMEX videos were attached at wood processing machines. Subsequent interviews showed that this safety training method enables students in an early stage of their life to learn about risks and safety measures to control wood dust exposure. The new combination of methods can create awareness, change attitudes and motivation among students to work more frequently to reduce wood dust. 

Escola para os filhos dos outros: trajetória histórica da escola industrial de Natal (1942-1968)

This paper presents a reconstruction of the historical trajectory of the Escola Industrial de Natal (Industrial School of Natal), in the period 1942 to 1968, based on the analysis of its cultural, social and pedagogical characteristics in a process in which its educational practices and the individuals who constructed them were getting involved in their actions. In this sense, the concepts of memory and school culture occupied a central place to understand the elements that characterized its administrative and pedagogical organization such as, for example, its curriculum, aims, disciplinary rules, clientele, teachers, leaders and the configuration of the institutional power. Designed to meet the demands of an industrial process that has strengthened in the country, throughout its history, the Escola Industrial de Natal was becoming a space predominantly occupied by individuals, from economically disadvantaged social groups in society, in search of a professional training that would guarantee them the exercise of a profession. The time frame from 1942 to 1968 allowed us to verify the changes caused by the Organic Law of Industrial Education of 1942, and the Law number 3.552, from 1959, in the organizational structure of this school. In this context, a characteristic that was evident was the purpose of making it flow between the students the love for the country, the respect for civic values and the belief that industrial education would be able to boost the country's development, an aspect that reached a bigger dimension from the 1950 s. Marked the disciplinary character of this institution the control over the actions of individuals, developed through its multiple educational practices in specific areas and in the predetermined time, under the constant gaze of those who participated, in some from, in driving this process. On the other hand, the vocational and human training, provided to students, allowed new opportunities for social integration, not only in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, but also in other regions of Brazil. Conversely, during his career, the Escola Industrial de Natal has remained being seen as an organized institution, with good teachers, but intended for the children of others

O PROEJA ensino médio no ifrn, campus Caicó: causas da desistência e motivos da permanência

This dissertation deals about the theme of National Integration Program of the Professional Education to the Basic Education in the form of Youth and Adults Education - PROEJA, which was developed at the Federal Institute of Education Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte - IFRN - Campus Caicó. It aims to analyze the causes of the abandonment and the reasons for the permanence of students within the mentioned program. To substantiate this research, we used methodologically, some procedures such as bibliographical research, documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews and focus group. To analyze the data, we discussed the contradiction that involves duality and educational compensation based in the struggles and achievements of rights at the core of public policies for high schools, for vocational education and the education of youth and adults in the 2000s. We analyze the integrated high school under PROEJA, having as reference the conception of the total human formation; the inseparability of the primary education system and vocational education and the integration of knowledge and expertise as a whole, discussing the specificities of the modality EJA, discussing the causes of abandonment and the reasons for the permanence of the students of education for youth and adults (EJA) in the primary education system. As for the results, we found that although the PROEJA be a program that aims to provide a complete human formation to contribute to the full citizenship of their graduate members, what is announced in the document that guides its creation has not been materialized in Caicó Campus. The curriculum of the course was not designed for the students of EJA, nor teachers have had an adequate training to work with these specific individuals, and its specificities of being workers with differentiated learning times have not been considered. In addition, the courses are predominantly of instrumentalist characteristics. This indicates that the material and institutional conditions to achieve the promised total and complete training have not being fully materialized at the researched school. Associated with the difficulties concerning the intra-school and extra-school conditions, personal and socioeconomic conditions which are related to the obligation to work that implies in limitations to balance work, school and family, they influenced in the interruption of the school trajectory of these subjects. Through research, we confirmed that the motives of students who remain have to do also with intraescolares conditions the quality of education (qualification of technical staff and teachers) involved in the educational process, as well as socioeconomic and personal issues represented by the support of colleagues and family.Then it is concluded that the causes of abandonment and the reasons of the permanence are of institutional, socioeconomic and personal origins. Finally, it is observed that capitalist society demands as much as possible high levels of educated workers, and at the same time makes difficult the access to that education for much of the population, and it is not randomly. The objects of that exclusion are the popular worker classes and their children

The initial formation of teachers in scholastic cartography: a report on a research experience

This paper is derived from the PhD research entitled "The initial training of Geography teacher in school cartography: a reflective analysis", developed by the program of Post-graduation in Geography of UNESP, campus of Rio Claro. The research is in the final phase, focused on data analysis and final writing of thesis. In this context, it may be stated that the research orientates in the problematic focused at the understanding of how the recent knowledge produced by the school cartography unfolds in the practices of Geography licentiate students. However, at this time, we will discuss about issues related to the research by the theoretical and practical point of view.

Spirituality: Do teachers and students hold the same opinion?

Background:  Few studies have investigated potential differences between the opinions of educators and undergraduates regarding spirituality in patient care. Understanding these differences, could lead to better strategies for educational proposes. Purpose:  To compare the opinions of medical teachers (MTs) and medical students (MSs) regarding spirituality training in a Brazilian medical school. Methods:  A cross-sectional study was conducted. MTs and MSs filled out a questionnaire containing the Duke Religion Index, and questions regarding spirituality in clinical practice and at medical school. A comparison between early-curriculum MSs, late curriculum MSs and MTs was carried out. Chi-square (categorical) and Mann-Whitney (continuous/ordinal) tests were used. Results:  A total of 475 MSs and 44 MTs were evaluated. Results showed that MSs did not address spirituality as frequently as MTs (p<0.001), and that most participants did not feel prepared to address this issue, and believe that Brazilian medical schools are not giving all the required information in this field. Nevertheless, they believe MSs should be prepared to discuss these issues. Late-curriculum MSs believed that spirituality plays a more positive role in patient health (p=0.027), and were more prone to address this issue than early-curriculum MSs (p=0.023). Conclusion:  These findings revealed some of the challenges faced by spirituality medical training in Brazil, and differences between MTs and MSs regarding this issue. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings in other countries. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2013.

Integração do ensino médio e técnico: percepções de alunos do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Pará – IFPA/Campus Castanhal

Esta dissertação intitulada “Integração do ensino médio e técnico: percepções de alunos do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia – IFPA/Campus Castanhal”, apresenta como questão norteadora: O que os estudantes percebem nas estratégias de ensino praticadas no curso, que os levam a tirar conclusões sobre realizações e limitações na operacionalização da integração do ensino? Seu objetivo geral é analisar a partir da percepção de alunos, do terceiro ano do curso Técnico em Agropecuária Integrado do IFPA/Castanhal se as estratégias de ensino praticadas pelos professores estão possibilitando operacionalizar a integração do ensino médio com a educação profissional. Para tal, sistematizamos os princípios e fundamentos norteadores da proposta de Ensino Médio Integrado que constam nos estudos dedicados ao assunto, bem como no Documento Base do MEC (2007). Verificamos as estratégias de ensino integrado anunciadas no Plano do Curso Técnico em Agropecuária Integrado do IFPA/Castanhal e Relatórios Pedagógicos (2006 e 2007), em seguida foram analisadas as percepções de estudantes quanto às práticas operacionalizadas no referido curso. No percurso teórico metodológico recorreu-se a referenciais que adotam o materialismo histórico-dialético como método de análise dos dados. A coleta de dados foi precedida de revisão bibliográfica, seguida da pesquisa de campo com a realização de entrevistas semi estruturadas com oito (08) estudantes oriundos de três (03) turmas do terceiro ano do curso. Os resultados revelam o terreno contraditório no qual o Ensino Médio Integrado foi implantado: O IFPA/Castanhal realizou algumas ações (palestras, debates e reflexões) mediante encontros pedagógicos no intuito de inserção da proposta de Ensino Médio Integrado no referido curso, porém muito longe do objetivo ao qual se destina; evidenciam-se iniciativas de alguns professores em vincular o ensino médio com o técnico mediante a estratégia da interdisciplinaridade. Observaram-se limites que dificultaram a efetivação do ensino integrado como: A justaposição de dois cursos realizados em dois turnos com uma carga horária excessiva; os recursos infra- estruturais disponíveis restringiram aulas práticas; escassa interação entre os professores na operacionalização das estratégias de integração do ensino e não inclusão do coletivo escolar na construção da proposta do curso. Como conclusão destaca-se a presença da dualidade educacional (educação geral e técnica) no curso e romper com esta realidade requer a superação de vários obstáculos, dentre eles: Os de natureza estrutural e material; modificações na estrutura organizacional da Instituição escolar; envolvimento, compromisso político e postura coerente dos docentes, técnicos educacionais, gestores e dirigentes das redes de ensino federal. O Instituto necessita pensar na proposta de formação continuada do corpo técnico e docente na perspectiva do ensino integrado, necessita consultar seus estudantes, ouvi-los em suas necessidades formativas, para tanto se faz necessário criar estratégias de integração da escola à comunidade para que possam discutir e organizar as ações escolares de forma coletiva e construir objetivos comuns fundamentais à operacionalização do Ensino Médio Integrado.

Educação básica e educação profissional do trabalhador jovem e adulto: desafios da integração

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A formação de professores de ensino técnico de nível médio estadual e suas relações com o Arranjo Produtivo Local na cidade de Jahu

Pós-graduação em Educação - FFC

Egocentric speech in the works of Vygotsky and Piaget: educational implications and representations by teachers

This paper presents an applied qualitative and quantitative study and seeks to understand egocentric speech according to Vygotsky and Piaget and, through a literature review, the educational implications of Vygotsky and Piaget’s ideas. Additionally, the representations of these ideas by fifteen teachers of basic education are investigated. It is important to understand egocentric speech in Vygotsky and Piaget. Despite the differences in how they conceive its nature, functions and implications, for both, egocentric speech is intrinsically linked to and facilitates our understanding of child development. Regarding the representation of teachers who criticized children who used egocentric language, when teachers established any negative consequences of such language, they attributed it to the affective and moral aspects as well as to cognition. However, their approach was more practically oriented than those found in the psychological theories addressed. Therefore, this study aids in understanding the limits and scope of teacher-training courses.

Future Brazilian teachers imaginaries about physics teaching in adults education

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Pedagogical practices carried out during an in-service teachers education project: approaching history and philosophy of science to physics teaching

We report here part of a research project developed by the Science Education Research Group, titled: "Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices and formative processes in Science and Mathematics Education" which main goal is the development of coordinated research that can generate a set of subsidies for a reflection on the processes of teacher training in Sciences and Mathematics Education. One of the objectives was to develop continuing education activities with Physics teachers, using the History and Philosophy of Science as conductors of the discussions and focus of teaching experiences carried out by them in the classroom. From data collected through a survey among local Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics teachers in Bauru, a São Paulo State city, we developed a continuing education proposal titled “The History and Philosophy of Science in the Physics teachers’ pedagogical practice”, lasting 40 hours of lessons. We followed the performance of five teachers who participated in activities during the 2008 first semester and were teaching Physics at High School level. They designed proposals for short courses, taking into consideration aspects of History and Philosophy of Science and students’ alternative conceptions. Short courses were applied in real classrooms situations and accompanied by reflection meetings. This is a qualitative research, and treatment of data collected was based on content analysis, according to Bardin [1].

Physics teachers initial education and professional performance: what do future teachers have to say?

This research deals with the discussion about Physics teachers’ undergraduate education and professional performance related to the knowledge acquired during this initial education. More specifically, we try to answer questions like: How do future teachers evaluate the knowledge acquired during their initial education as in terms of specific knowledge as pedagogical knowledge? What are their formative needs and future expectatives about professional performance and the school teaching environment? Data was constituted from a sample of 26 future high school physics teachers, one semester long, that were taking the supervised curricular training in a undergraduate Physics education program (called Licenciatura in Brazil), in São Paulo State public university. Besides the final report of this training, future teachers were asked to answer a questionnaire aiming to take their conceptions about their initial education program, their formative needs, future professional expectatives and high school teaching environment. According to the future teachers, the program they were about to finish was satisfactory in terms of Physics specific contents; however, about the pedagogical content knowledge and the pedagogical practice, they showed to be unsatisfied and insecure. The majority of the questionnaire responses demonstrated that they feel lack of teaching experience. Moreover, teachers emphasize other factors related to the future professional performance: possible difficulties to deal with students’ indiscipline, schools’ bad physical structure, limited number of Physics classes in high school level, lack of didactical laboratories and also they seem to be frightened that the expertise teachers do not be collaborative with the new ones. In this sense, the research outcomes shows the necessity of discussions about questions involving teachers knowledge, related to either, the Physics conceptual domain and the pedagogical one, since it matters directly to future teachers professional performance. Discussions in this sense can also help evaluation and restructuration of programs designed to initial and continuous teachers’ education.

The Effectiveness of a Voice Training Program for Telemarketers

Purpose. To use a randomized design to evaluate the effectiveness of voice training programs for telemarketers via multidimensional analysis. Methods. Forty-eight telemarketers were randomly assigned to two groups: voice training group (n = 14) who underwent training over an 8-week period and a nontraining control group (n = 34). Before and after training, recordings of the sustained vowel /epsilon/ and connected were collected for acoustic and perceptual analyses. Results. Based on pre- and posttraining comparisons, the voice training group presented with a significant reduction in percent jitter (P = 0.044). No other significant differences were observed, and inter-rater reliability varied from poor to fair. Conclusions. These findings suggest that voice training improved a single acoustic dimension, but do not change perceptual dimension of telemarketers' voices.