| 1. |
- Carm, Ellen, 1954-
(författare)
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Caught in Culture? : Cultural Transformation through HIV/AIDS Prevention Education in Zambia
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The study explores the role and contribution of education in developing a localized and relevant HIV/AIDS prevention strategy through a multi-voiced approach, involving the educational institutions, as well as the traditional leaders, community-members, including parents. The study comprised all public schools in one Zambian province from 2002-2008. The study explores, among other factors, the role of traditional culture in mitigating and exacerbating the spread of the disease.Zambia was one of the countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDs epidemic, and one of the few countries in the region that, in 2002, had a clear policy on the role of education in fighting the epidemic. Through the process of developing and implementing a learner-centered interactive HIV/AIDS education program in the province. based upon MOE`s HIV/AIDS policies and strategies, syllabi, and teachers guides, and at the same time emphasizing the broader community as a point of departure.The qualitative and interpretivist research was conducted within a constructivist grounded theoretical approach. The study applies comprehensive and multilayered perspectives while utilizing a broad range of methods. Documentary analyses, structured and semi-structured interviews, in depth conversations with traditional and educational leaders, teachers, parents and pupils, were all carried out during the period of the study. Nvivo, a computer-supported data analysis tool was used to support the process of categorizing the qualitative data and the study applied Cultural- and Historical Activity Theory for analytic purposes.The study revealed the mismatch between the decentralized, national HIV/AIDS prevention education approach, as stated in the policy documents and the global UNAIDS, centralized and cross-sectoral strategies favored by the Zambian government. The uncoordinated efforts did not reach the grassroots level, where professionals, at district and school level, perceived and applied policies in highly different ways, if at all reaching students and the communities.The main categories of drivers of the epidemic were of socio-cultural and economic character, e.g. polygamy, sexual cleansing, local healing, gender inequality and poverty, sexual violence, multiple concurrent sexual partners and prostitution, but there were also variety of local drivers, depending upon context.When analyzing the participatory approaches of the HIV/AIDS prevention strategy, predominantly, at the school-community level, the findings revealed that the traditional leaders, being legitimate leaders in their kingdoms, and the custodians of culture and traditions, were found to be gate openers to promote behavioral change and cultural transformation in their villages.The traditional leaders worked hand in hand with the schools and the villagers. Their involvement legitimated that discourses and HIV/AIDS prevention actions were taken at school as well as within their own chiefdom. Utilizing their traditional leadership structures, the chiefs sustained their cultural rites, e.g. cleansing, in order to chase away the evil spirits, by turning the rites into practices that do no put people at risk for contracting HIV. Particularly at the global and state level, culture has been seen as drivers of the epidemic. The study revealed that the traditional leaders used their role as significant others, became gate-openers, using their legitimate role as custodians of culture to transform cultural rites and practices.
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| 2. |
- Dutt, Khaleda Gani, 1968-
(författare)
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The Role of Adult Literacy in Transforming the Lives of Women in Rural India: Overcoming Gender Inequalities : Comparative case studies in Bhilwara District Rajasthan & Howrah District West Bengal India
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Indian diaspora is woven around castes, languages, dialects, religions- a young nation boasting of an ancient civilization in which inequalities are deeply ingrained in its culture and traditions. Although vital government interventions have succeeded in increasing the literacy rate of women in both urban and rural areas general household characteristics such as income, caste, occupation and education attainments of parents still continue to determine access, attendance, completion and learning outcomes of girls and women from severely disadvantaged communities. The critical issue investigated in the comparative case study is why and how established hegemonic roles changed because of the catalytic role of adult literacy. The research was conducted in Bhilwara District, Rajasthan and Howrah District, West Bengal, India where literacy has played an intrinsic role in transforming the lives of the rural and marginalized women. In Indian society social norms often prevent women from exercising their free choice and from taking full and equal advantage of opportunities for individual development, contribution and reward. So assessing empowerment/transformation would mean identifying the constraints to empowerment, how women’s agency has developed and finally looking if ‘agency’ was able to address the constraints to women’s access to adult literacy. This would also entail seeking answers to questions such as ‘How is transformation represented in their narratives? What was the impact of literacy upon their lives?
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| 3. |
- Dwyer, Helen, 1963-
(författare)
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Children at risk Securitization theory and special education reforms
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Special education is to a significant extent based on special education programmes and support to children who are identified as children at risk. These programmes and support are often framed in educational reforms that aim to reduce risk and barriers to equal opportunities for learning and wellbeing. This thesis sets out to explore processes of special education reforms, with a special focus on the implementation of certain reforms. Here, a theoretical framework almost unknown in special education – securitization theory – is introduced, drawing on a tradition of securitization studies within the fields of Political Science and International Relations. The Copenhagen School’s theory of securitization referred to in the thesis describes the handling of vulnerabilities, insecurities and perceived threats through the initiation and implementation of securitization processes, such as, for example, education reforms. In short, securitization theory helps us understand processes of educational reforms in terms of identified threats, such as, for example, those against equal education for a specific group of pupils. Firstly, the reforms themselves are understood as securitization projects aimed at reducing threats to the young generation and as a consequence for society. Policies that concern children who are at risk by not receiving equal education, are handled differently among various securitization actors depending on how they perceive threats and education reform as a way to handle the perceived threat. Secondly, I introduce a new term into the examination of securitization processes – extended securitization actor. This assists the comprehension of additional implementation procedures and turns of securitization processes in the analytical procedure. Thirdly – and here I also add to the existing securitization theory – I show how a specific reform might itself be experienced as a threat to the goals and interests of actors at the lower levels of the implementation chain, which as a consequence, produces counter securitization processes that seem to influence the implementation of the education reform. The empirical parts of the thesis consist of empirical studies from South Africa and Sweden. Discussed are those education reform policies between the mid 1940s and 1970s in South Africa and Sweden that were directed towards the indigenous populations. Children “at risk” here concern educational issues linked to identity- and ethnic belonging and access to equal education for all children. Another study brings up the perception of environmental threats and international claims of incorporating Education for sustainable development (ESD) into national education. Children at risk can here be understood as those exposed to environmental hazards and in exposed land areas. Still another study deals with threats concerning political and societal exclusion of ethnic and vulnerable groups. Education reform should here be seen against the historic background of former Apartheid policies and the need for democratic development with a special emphasis on teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion and perceived threats by teachers in connection with implementing inclusive education.
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| 4. |
- Fredriksson, Ulf
(författare)
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Reading skills among students of Iimmigrant origin in Stockholm.
- 2002
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- I Stockholm utgör elever med invandrarbakgrund ungefär en fjärdedel av alla elever. Läsning är en central färdighet av betydelse för elevers möjligheter att lyckas i skolan. Läsförmågan hos 11 179 elever med invandrarbakgrund i årskurs 3 i Stockholms skolor under åren 1993 - 1999 jämförs med 33 915 "svenska" elever under samma period. De svenska eleverna läser bättre än eleverna med invandrarbakgrund. På test där eleverna enbart läste fristående ord var skillnaden mindre än när eleverna läste hela texter. Elever med invandrarbakgrund var kraftigt överrepresenterade i de skolor som hade de lägsta medelvärdena på testen. När olika grupper av elever med invandrarbakgrund jämfördes med varandra så fanns stora skillnader. Elever som var födda och uppvuxna i Sverige läste bättre än de som själva invandrat. Elever från några språkgrupper läste lika bra och i något fall t.o.m. bättre än de svenska eleverna, medan elever från andra språkgrupper hade resultat på lästesten som var betydligt under de svenska elevernas resultat. När elever med invandrarbakgrund som deltagit i modersmålsundervisning eller gått i tvåspråkiga klasser jämfördes med de som ej deltagit i någon modersmålsundervisning fanns inga skillnader mellan gruppernas medelvärden på lästesten på svenska. När resultaten på lästest för elever som 1994 gick i årskurs 3 och 1999 i årskurs 8 (alltså till stor del samma elever, men fem år äldre) jämfördes var skillnaden i testresultat mellan de svenska eleverna och de elever med invandrarbakgrund som bott hela livet i Sverige den samma 1999 som 1994.
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| 5. |
- Nzima, Ibrahimu, 1977-
(författare)
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Competence-based Curriculum (CBC) in Tanzania : Tutors' Understanding and their Instructional Practices
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of the study is to investigate tutors’ understanding of a competence-based curriculum (CBC) and how they train the student-teachers to implement CBC in actual classroom situations in ordinary level (O-level) secondary schools in Tanzania.The study employed a qualitative research approach informed by the interpretive paradigm. It involved a total of 12 methodology tutors. The tutors were purposively and conveniently selected from four teachers’ colleges in Tanzania that offer the Diploma in Secondary Education. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document review methods. Deductive and inductive approaches as well as the hermeneutic phenomenology tradition informed data analysis and interpretations, respectively.The findings, in brief, reveal that in certain respects tutors understand CBC in relatively different ways and thus give it different meanings. Two main understandings with regard to CBC’s meaning and intentions are identified: CBC as an application-oriented curriculum and CBC as an activity-based curriculum. In the former, CBC is understood as a curriculum emphasising the building of learners’ ability to become practical, creative, and applying the skills they receive to solving real problems in daily life and become functional in society. In the latter, CBC is understood as nothing but a curriculum emphasising learning through activities in the classroom. The key difference between the two categories of understanding is that, in the latter category, tutors are less sensitive to applying what is learned beyond classroom and subject contexts. As for reasons for the CBC introduction in Tanzania, five categories of understanding are identified, such as education being too theoretical, coping with global trends, the desire for a creative and independent generation, external influences, and poor academic performance. Interestingly, all tutors held an understanding that the teaching approaches relevant for CBC are learner-centred approaches.Moreover, the findings reveal that tutors’ instructional practices contradicted their understanding of CBC as a curriculum that basically emphasises invisible pedagogic practices. The tutors’ instructional practices could be described as more teacher-centred, theoretical, and maintaining instructions of an authoritarian, rather than a learner-centred character, as the new curricula seem to emphasise. Lecture-dominated instructions characterised by strong framing and classification are the norm. The findings of tutors’ understandings and their instructional practices can be attributed to the various contextual factors coined as administrative, pedagogical, and physical and ecological factors. The results show that contextual cues are possibly more powerful factors to explain tutors’ instructional practices and they may thus need to be accorded due attention. The tutors proposed some conditions to establish a long-term framework for tutor learning to support educational change. The tutors’ ideas are theorized in a framework constituting a combination of such conditions as reflection, community, conceptual inputs, action, and an institution dealing with education change.
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| 6. |
- Odero, Jared O., 1963-
(författare)
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ICT-based Distance Education : A Study of University Students’ Views and Experiences in Early Post-Apartheid South Africa
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this study was to investigate how the introduction of ICT into distance education at public institutions of higher learning in South Africa during the early post-apartheid period from 1994 to 2002, provided learning opportunities for students and facilitated the delivery of learning content. More explicitly, it examined and analyzed the views and experiences of students and course facilitators at selected higher education institutions, which provided ICT-based distance education. The study also examined and analyzed the views and experiences of students regarding the services of a private on-campus Internet café located in a South African technikon (a technological institution). The empirical part of the current study was conducted in 2002, when some public higher education institutions in the country were involved in the provision of distance education as a means of increasing student participation and generating income. However, the proliferation of private actors who collaborated with some of these institutions to provide ICT-based distance education caused concern to the government that questioned their quality of content delivery.A case study research design was applied to collect, analyze and interpret quantitative and qualitative data at four universities and one technikon. Two electronic surveys were administered by email and on the Web, to self-selected students at the five case institutions. The first survey examined the views and experiences of respondents (n = 605) who participated in ICT-based distance education, while the second one investigated the views and experiences of respondents (n = 274) who used a private campus-based Internet café. Non-participant observations were made at some learning centers to understand how classes were carried out, and at the Internet café, to understand the type of services offered. Unstructured interviews were held with selected students and course facilitators at one institution, whereas informal interviews were conducted with some students and the Internet café manager. Further, a literature review was undertaken to understand certain issues and trends in ICT-based distance education, within and beyond South Africa.The findings indicate that the majority of respondents chose ICT-based distance education because it was flexible. They were also comfortable with using the English language for instruction. However, some complained that the learning materials were irrelevant and were not delivered on time. The course facilitators were generally satisfied with their work, although they were disappointed for not having the opportunity to influence changes in the study guides. Many respondents used the Internet café because they did not have any other means of accessing the Internet. Moreover, it was affordable and they used it for socializing.The study concludes that the system of instructional design and content delivery to distance education students in South Africa should be improved to become efficient. Further studies are recommended to examine the ongoing development of ICT-based distance higher education in South Africa.
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| 7. |
- Rasmusson, Maria, 1973-
(författare)
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Det digitala läsandet : Begrepp, processer och resultat
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this doctoral dissertation project has been to investigate and describe the reading comprehension of digital texts related to the reading of traditional texts by gender differences, computer-game playing, and socioeconomic background factors. The dissertation is based on four studies. In the first study, the results from a reading comprehension test delivered on screen is compared to a test delivered on paper and administered to 235 Swedish students 14-15 years of age. The students managed the test in the paper mode slightly better than that in the screen mode. The difference was particularly evident for boys. The second study used Swedish data from the PISA 2009 survey in an analysis conducted with a structural equation modelling technique. A digital reading factor nested within the overall reading was identified. A gender difference in favour of boys was found in this factor. This difference was perfectly mediated by the larger amount of time that the boys spent on computer-game playing. The third study, conducted on Swedish and Norwegian PISA data from 2009, focussed on equity aspects in reading comprehension and indicated that the unique aspects of digital reading were not influenced by cultural capital, neither on the student nor on the school level, in contrast to what was the case for traditional reading comprehension. The fourth study, using qualitative data, aimed at exploring the abilities and skills important for digital reading. The analysis resulted in five categories: traditional literacy, multimodal literacy, pathfinding, IT abilities, and information abilities. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, the overall conclusion drawn from the results of the four studies was that reading comprehension of digital texts has unique aspects in addition to those required for reading comprehension of traditional texts. Three other important conclusions were pointed out as well. The first was that reading comprehension is influenced by the context of the texts; the second was that particular skills and abilities are required for digital reading; and the third was that there seems to be less of an influence of background factors on the performance of digital reading compared to traditional reading among Swedish (and Norwegian) youth. The results are discussed in relation to a Dual Level Theory formulated by Leu et al., as well as the validity issues with an outset in Bachman’s conversation analysis. The implications for schooling have been considered.
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| 8. |
- Reierstam, Helena, 1972-
(författare)
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Assessment in Multilingual Schools : A comparative mixed method study of teachers’ assessment beliefs and practices among language learners - CLIL and migrant students
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis presents the results from two research projects on teachers’ assessment beliefs and practices in multilingual education. Study I involved teachers of biology, history or English as a foreign language (EFL) in Swedish upper secondary Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) schools, grades 10-12, where English is used as the medium of instruction. In Study II teachers from schools with newly-arrived migrant students (NAS) grades 7 to 12 in the natural and social sciences participated. In both contexts, students are learning the language of instruction at the same time as they are expected to develop subject area knowledge why issues in relation to the role of language in assessment come to the fore. The aim is to contribute to the knowledge of an underexplored research area on subject matter assessment in multilingual schools and draw attention to the consequences varying language policies and pedagogies may have on fairness in access opportunities and validity in assessment outcomes.In this thesis teachers’ language beliefs and practices as expressed in interviews, questionnaires and assessment samples were compared and analyzed in relation to the cognitive and linguistic requirements of language functions in syllabi and the assessment tasks. Whereas Study I was mainly qualitative in nature, involving 12 teachers, a mixed method approach was adopted in Study II where 196 teachers participated in a survey and 13 in follow-up interviews. The responses in the survey were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Thematic content analysis was used for the interview data, the assessment samples and open-ended survey questions.The findings from the two studies indicate that although teachers state that language is not part of the assessment, they maintain that students need to use language to show proof of critical thinking and more advanced analytical skills. All teachers regardless of discipline shared the weight attached to covering course content as expressed in syllabi which points at a shared accountability culture. One of the main concerns expressed by the teachers is how to construct assignments where language does not represent a hindrance to show content knowledge. Teachers in both studies claimed to focus mainly on subject concepts, not general academic language, and the assessment beliefs and practices seemed to be closely related to the character of the subject. The non-parametric tests of association revealed that teachers with a dual language and subject content certification displayed significantly higher results in relation to all activities involving a visible language pedagogy, e.g. looking at useful sentence structures and providing model texts. Oral follow-up was used by all teachers to remedy poor written results. Although the use of the students’ strongest language is advocated in guidelines for the instruction of NAS, most teachers in Study II referred to a monolingual Swedish language norm. In a society where the educational discourse has become characterized by diversity, inequality and segregation, these two studies underline the need for a shared language policy and pedagogy across subjects and school contexts. They also suggest that an organization and teacher profession with an explicit responsibility for academic language is needed to provide equal access to subject content and validity and comparability in assessment in multilingual schools.
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| 9. |
- Shukia, Richard, 1973-
(författare)
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Learning and Teaching to Read in Kiswahili in Pre-Primary Classes in Tanzania : Teachers' Beliefs and Instructional Practices
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Teachers’ beliefs have the potential to influence teachers’ instructional decisions and or even accept, resist or renegotiate the mandated curriculum intentions. Knowledge about these relations in pre-primary education in Tanzania is largely lacking. The purpose of this study is to investigate pre-primary teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching to read Kiswahili in Tanzania, and then examine how these beliefs are related to instructional practices and curriculum intentions. Knowledge about teachers’ beliefs in relation to instructional practices and curriculum intentions is a gateway to improving pre-primary reading instructional practices, curriculum and learning to read early. The study was inspired by Vygotskian socio-cultural framework and its allied activity theory.Twenty one pre-primary teachers participated in the study. Of these, 3 were males and 18 were females. Of the participants, six had primary teacher education background whereas two had attended a 1 year pre-school training course. Other participants were ‘little’ trained through experiences as they had no formal teacher education background. Empirical materials were generated over a period of six months through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, post observation video-stimulated interviews, and content analysis of lesson plans and curriculum. Abductive analytical approach and hermeneutic phenomenology informed data analysis and interpretations, respectively.Findings reveal that teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching reading revolve around direct and systematic phonics-syllabic/bottom-up instruction accompanied with repeated practices, songs, use of pictures, look-and-say, and integration of reading and writing activities. Findings also show that teachers believe that most children can learn to read, only a few experience difficulties due to a number of factors outside teachers’ realm: mental impairment, immaturity, mother tongue, lack of parents’ involvement, and scarcity of teaching-learning materials. To help pupils with such experiences teachers cited strategies like supplemental instruction, within-class mixing, retention, and ability grouping. Though there were concerns, teachers have a feeling of on-going and summative assessment of reading progress. Moreover, the findings indicate that teachers’ beliefs and day-to-day instructional practices are reciprocally informing and are influenced to a large extent by teachers’ own experiences, and the classroom conditions. The findings further suggest that, teacher’s beliefs were not wholly consistent with their instructional practices and the curriculum intentions. The inconsistencies could be attributed to teachers’ beliefs and socio-contextual factors within and outside classroom context such as time constraints, large classes, lack/inadequate professional training, limited curriculum guidance, and school inspectors and parents’ expectations.The study recommends for on-going teacher in-service training to provide teachers with the opportunities to reflect on their beliefs and practices in relation to curriculum intentions. The study also indicates a need to review the curriculum intentions, supportive environment and efforts aiming at addressing contextual factors which interrupt teaching. The review might seek to harmonise teachers’ beliefs, curriculum intentions, and insights discussed in this study as effective in promoting early reading skills.
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| 10. |
- Stenlund, Karin, 1950-
(författare)
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Läsutveckling under mellan- och högstadiet : En longitudinell studie av läsfärdigheter hos elever med och utan lässvårigheter
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation consists of two studies, a middle school study and a follow-up study. In the middle school study, the reading ability of a group of middle school students, of which some have reading difficulties, is described and analyzed along with the classroom conditions the students are given for the development of their reading abilities. The overall aim of the follow-up study is to describe and analyze the reading ability development in the same group of students from the beginning of middle school to the end of lower secondary school, as well as examine the students’ use of strategies in grade 9.In lower secondary school decoding, vocabulary and reading comprehension were tested like in middle school. Students’ reading comprehension was tested on both stages based on a reading comprehension test and a national test. Since the use of strategies seems to be important for students’ reading comprehension, even the use of learning strategies were examined by including a question from the PISA (2009) student questionnaire. Furthermore, six students who in the beginning of middle school had shown poor results in one or more of the reading aspects were, referred to as the small sample group and, were interviewed in grade 9 regarding their use of comprehension strategies when reading an age-appropriate historical factual text in a textbook.Analyses show that there is a small development in reading comprehension from the beginning of middle school to the end of lower secondary school. Even the development of correct reading and vocabulary is relatively small. The largest development is shown for the reading rate, but analyses show that the reason for that is not merely a more automated process of decoding. A comparison between the results in the reading comprehension tests and the national tests at both stages show higher results for the national tests, which can depend on the different aims of the two tests. Regarding learning strategies, the entire study group stated in the questionnaire that they mostly use the deeper monitoring strategies, while the students in the small sample group reported that they tended to use the more superficial memory strategies. The results of the interviews show that the small sample group as a group found it more convenient to use comprehension strategies for superficial rather than for deeper comprehension.
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