| 1. |
- Gahamanyi, Marcel
(författare)
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Mathematics at work : a study of mathematical organisations in Rwandan workplaces and educational settings
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- To make mathematics more significant for the beneficiaries, the problem studied in this thesis is to investigate how to connect mathematical daily practices with educational contexts. The overarching aim is to investigate how to contextualise school mathematics within Rwandan cultural mathematics practices. The content of the thesis reports on the characteristics of mathematical organisations in three workplace settings (taxi driving, house construction and restaurant management) which in turn serve as source for the design of contextualised mathematical activities for student teachers in a teacher education programme. Three levels of mathematical practices are described: (1) mathematical practices that are performed by workers within their respective workplaces, (2) mathematical practices that are performed by student teachers while solving and posing contextualised mathematical tasks for secondary school students, (3) mathematical practices that are carried out by secondary school students. Data gathered from individual and group interviews, transcripts of group discussions and students’ written reports of mathematical work were analysed from the perspective of both activity theory and anthropological theory of didactics. Findings from workplace settings revealed that mathematical organisations performed by workers are characterised by techniques which are functional to the problem at hand, the cultural constraints and the educational background of the workers. As long as they are pragmatic towards the goals of the activity no further justification of the techniques used is needed, resulting in a mathematical organisation with undeveloped know-why (logos). On the contrary, at university and secondary school settings, students justified the used techniques throughout the related taught content of the subject mathematics. Also from each category of mathematical practice, it is shown that while connecting workplaces and educational settings the didactic transposition process was much influenced by the institutional conditions and constraints.
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| 2. |
- Kagwesage, Anne Marie
(författare)
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Coping with Learning through a Foreign Language in Higher Education in Rwanda
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overarching aims of this thesis are to investigate how students in higher education in Rwanda experience learning through the medium of a foreign language, mainly English, and the strategies they employ in order to successfully complete their university studies during a period of both language and educational change. Taking a sociocultural perspective, the thesis subscribes to a qualitative research design. Interviews were used in order to gain in-depth understanding of how higher education students reflect on, handle and cope with learning through a foreign language. Video and audio recorded interactions of students’ formal and informal group discussions were used to capture some of the seen but unnoticed linguistic and communicative details that might be of interest in shedding light on aspects related to learning in a foreign language. Four empirical studies show that students face different challenges in using the newly adopted language of learning and teaching. They are, however, aware of the fact that the globalisation process and dissolution of national boundaries may create new opportunities and are therefore willing to upgrade their English in order to cope with the new academic situation. Findings show that active use of multiple languages, although time consuming, has great potential to facilitate learning, thus emphasizing the complementarities rather than the exclusion of languages used in Rwanda. Also, teacher and student initiated group discussions have the potential to promote knowledge construction in content subjects as students afford a context for confident participation. Although the mother tongue is not officially recognised as language of instruction in higher education, it plays a mediating role for the negotiation of meaning of domain specific content through responsible code switching and translanguaging.
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| 3. |
- Karoro Muhirwe, Charles
(författare)
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Developing Academic Literacies in Times of Change : Scaffolding Literacies Acquisition with the Curriculum and ICT in Rwandan Tertiary Education
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Inspired by the Bologna Process and other globalising influences from modern higher education, and driven by policy reform for national development after the ravages of the 1994 conflict and genocide, Rwanda’s tertiary education has embarked on a number of policy reform for national development after the ravages of the 1994 conflict and genocide, Rwanda’s tertiary education has embarked on a number of policy reforms that have ushered in expectations, requirements and demands that call for both reinvigorated and new academic literacies in undergraduate study since 2007. With its aim of producing a highly skilled human resource as a panacea for Rwanda’s social and economic development deficits, the tertiary education curriculum is more than never before focused on outcomes that are linked to further education and the labour market. However, one of the problems to contend with is academic and professional under- preparedness of students entering and exiting undergraduate study, respectively. Theoretically these developments involve distancing oneself from a previous pedagogy whereby the teacher imparts knowledge to the student but instead places greater responsibility on the student to search for knowledge either individually or in a group, as well as critically examine and be able to argue a point of view in writing and through other modes of communication. Therefore, this study has been informed especially by the New Literacy Studies and the Academic Literacies Approach to understanding the development of tertiary academic literacies. The study has also been inspired by the concept of educational scaffolding. It is against this backdrop that my study set out to investigate the academic literacies requested in undergraduate study, and to explore approaches adopted by tertiary learning institutions in the country to embed academic literacies acquisition into the mainstream curriculum over the last decade. Furthermore, the study sought to explore how technology is integrated at different levels to support the acquisition of academic literacies, including technological and information literacies. In order to achieve the aforementioned, the study embarked on a qualitative blend of cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs. Principal data were gathered from official documents obtained from the government and tertiary learning institutions. Drawing on the synergies of qualitative content analysis and intertextual analysis, the documentary data were analysed and then qualitatively interpreted. The data were supplemented by a couple of questionnaire mini-surveys which were also subjected to qualitative analysis. The findings indicate that a new and expanded definition of literacy in the 21st century implies students’ development of a set of interrelated and transferable academic competences which are elaborated in the thesis. Curriculum discourses show that there is a shift of curricular and pedagogical emphasis from general linguistic competence as a vehicle for developing academic literacies to a more integrated embedment of a number of literacies including English for Specific Purposes (ESP), study skills, as well as information, communication and technological literacies. Regarding the use of ICT as a scaffolding tool for learning, findings show that the use of technologies has the potential to support students’ processes of academic literacies development from a highly dependent level to a more autonomous level, given that the ICT integration policies and strategies could fully materialise.
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| 4. |
- Mukama, Evode, 1968-
(författare)
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Information and Communication Technology in Teacher Education : Thinking and learning in computer‐supported social practice
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to investigate how new knowledge can be developed in computer-supported social practice. Participants were selected from newly qualified secondary school teachers and student teachers at a higher education institution in Rwanda. The thesis consists of four empirical case studies, the findings of which were analysed from a sociocultural perspective. In the first study, it has been shown that novice teachers are motivated to acquire information and communication technology (ICT) and to use it in their teaching and learning. The study also reveals that they succeed in situations where school administrators grant them easy access to computers. This implies a need to develop school-based curricula and appropriate pedagogy in the area of ICT literacy, which can allow teachers to develop critical reflection vis-à-vis the new technology and enable them to cope with change in social practice. In the second study, it has been shown that, while acquiring hands-on computer skills in small task-based groups, student teachers can adopt one of the three major learning patterns: individual-led, group-led, or individual-group hybrid-led. Moreover, the study shows that the group-led framework seems to create a supportive environment for knowledge building. This may require that students receive the right kind of teacher assistance and focus on criterion-referenced reflection to regulate their learning. The findings of the third article reveal that students coping with web-based literature face a twofold reality of learning discourse rooted in their sociocultural and educational contexts: the one conveyed through the foreign languages in which they are instructed, the other whose vehicle is their native language. The study suggests an alternative way of constructing a substantial learning discourse based on dissolution of language boundaries. The fourth article shows that appropriation of ICT use can stem from learning conditions including users’ motivation and their participation in social practice. Additionally, it can stem from collaboration between active users and other students. Given this, the study suggests that active ICT users can play a role as agents of change in the implementation of the new technology. Together, the four studies show that thinking and learning with ICT can develop through the interplay of mediation, learning conditions, collaboration and critical reflection.
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| 5. |
- Mutwarasibo, Faustin
(författare)
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Understanding Group-based Learning in an Academic Context : Rwandan Students’ Reflections on Collaborative Writing and Peer Assessment
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overarching aim of the present thesis is to gain knowledge about how Rwandan university students understand and practice group-based learning. Specifically, this research takes a social constructivist perspective when examining how second year students within the area of Modern Languages reflect on collaborative writing and peer assessment as means to promote academic writing and active learning. Four studies make up this research. Thus, Study I examines how students carry out self-directed group work in writing. Study II investigates how instructor-guided writing groups can help promote students’ collaborative learning. Study III explores in what ways process writing as instruction method can help develop students’ academic writing abilities and Study IV focuses on how students experience peer assessment and peer feedback on group writing. The data, which are qualitative, were collected by means of interviews carried out with groups of students. The findings show that students perceive and conduct group-based learning in different ways, which can impact the quality of their learning. Also, based on initial support and guidance from the course instructor, most students acknowledged having been able to take stock of their common writing abilities and understand in what ways peer assessment and peer feedback can help them improve, and thus enrich their learning. A few students considered the common writing process time consuming though. In conclusion, some strategies are suggested to further improve group-based learning.
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| 6. |
- Riesbeck, Eva, 1947-
(författare)
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På tal om matematik : matematiken, vardagen och den matematikdidaktiska diskursen
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this dissertation is to describe and analyze how discourse as a theoretical and didactical concept can help in advancing knowledge about the teaching of mathematics in school. The dissertation has been written within a socio-cultural perspective where active participation and support from artefacts and mediation are viewed as important contributions to the development of understanding. Discourse analysis was used as a theoretical point of departure to grasp language use, knowledge construction and mathematical content in the teaching practises. The collection of empirical data was made up of video and audio tape recordings of the interaction of teachers and pupils in mathematics classrooms when they deal with problem-solving tasks, as well as discussions between student teachers as they engage in planning a teaching situation in mathematics. Discourse analysis was used as a tool to shed light upon how pupils learn and develop understanding of mathematics.The results of my studies demonstrate that discussions very often are located in either a mathematical or in an every-day discourse. Furthermore, the results demonstrate how change between every-day and mathematical language often takes place unknowingly. Also the results underline that a specific and precise dialogue can contribute towards teachers’ and pupils’ conscious participation in the learning process. Translated into common vocabulary such as speak, think, write, listen and read teachers and pupils would be able to interact over concepts, signs, words, symbols, situations and phenomena in every-day discourse and its mathematical counterpart. When teachers and pupils become aware of discursive boundary crossing in mathematics an understanding of mathematical phenomena can start to develop. Teachers and pupils can construct a meta-language leading to new knowledge and new learning in mathematics.
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| 7. |
- Rusanganwa, Joseph
(författare)
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Enhancing Physics Learning through Instruction, Technical Vocabulary and ICT : A Case of Higher Education in Rwanda
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overarching aim of this thesis is to explore how teaching and learning in tertiary education is performed in times of change both in language policy and learning approaches. The study takes social constructivist and socio-cultural theories as its major points of departure. These theories are combined with cognitive theory of learning with multimedia.The four studies comprising this thesis are born out of a new situation demanding the mastery of a scientific language in English and new ways of teaching and learning backed with ICT. The studies set out to investigate (i) how students and teachers adapt to a change of medium of instruction (ii) what teachers and students of physics learn when constructing a multimedia vocabulary learning instrument (iii) the impact of two methods of teaching vocabulary on students’ test performance and (iv) how teachers reflect on the use of ICT in Physics teaching.To attain these targets, the study employed a blend of qualitative and quantitative designs to gather relevant data. In three studies, data were gathered from classroom practices in tertiary education. The fourth study included teacher interviews on their experiences with ICT. Findings indicate that the understanding of physics was facilitated by a variation in language use in different classroom spaces, students and teachers’ collaborative selection of technical vocabulary and a multimedia tool of technical vocabulary software constructed by two teachers and the researcher. According to the teachers, the quality of physics teaching would be enhanced further by adopting learner-centred teaching methods and the integration of more advanced ICT. The studies show that teachers and students are on their way to develop ICT tools for teaching and learning. Given adequate support, this can pave the way for transforming teaching and allowing for further quality development in innovative and creative ways of learning with ICT.
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| 8. |
- Ruterana, Pierre Canisius
(författare)
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The Making of a Reading Society : Developing a Culture of Reading in Rwanda
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Following a growing concern among education stakeholders about the lack of a reading culture and low literacy levels among Rwandans in general and university students in particular, the aim of this thesis is to increase the awareness of Rwandans about the development of a reading culture and early literacy. To achieve this aim, four studies with participants representing different experiences related to reading culture were performed. These qualitative studies draw on different perspectives on the development of a reading culture and emergent literacy by using open-ended questionnaires and interviews. The thesis takes sociocultural and emergent literacy theories as points of departure.The first study investigates students’ reflections on their previous reading experiences, and discuss ways to develop literacy and a reading culture in Rwanda. The next one sheds light on parents’ involvement in literacy practices at home and the third study concerns what literacy knowledge teachers expect from their pupils when they start nursery and lower primary school. An example of a literacy event (storytelling) is given in the fourth study where children’s narratives of fairy tales are followed by their discussions on gender issues, which in turn can develop the children’s interest in reading. This can also help them relate texts to their life and teach them to think critically.In sum, the studies show that there is a limited reading culture in Rwanda. That is attributed to the colonial and post-colonial education system, reliance on verbal communication, limited access to reading materials, and ultimately the low status of the mother tongue Kinyarwanda within the sociolinguistic configuration of Rwanda. Also, the participating students and teachers point out the necessity of involving parents more in the creation of an environment that nurtures children’s emergent literacy development so that it becomes a shared responsibility translated into a teacherparent partnership for children’s success at school. Hence, the findings inform the use of this thesis which is to promote literacy and a reading culture in Rwanda by engaging the whole nation in a national effort to build a sustainable culture of reading. To paraphrase the old African saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, I want to conclude by saying that it takes a nation to develop a culture of reading.
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| 9. |
- Sandlund, Monica, 1955-
(författare)
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Lärare med utländsk bakgrund : Sju yrkeslivsberättelser om möten med nya skolsammanhang
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Studiens övergripande syfte är att öka kunskapen om lärare med utländsk bakgrund och deras möte med den svenska skolan genom deras berättelser. Studien har sin grund i ett socialkonstruktionistiskt perspektiv med förståelsen att mening skapas i interaktion med andra. Berättandet ses här som en handling och en dominerande uttrycksform för identitetsskapande. I avhandlingen lyfts sju lärare fram genom deras yrkeslivsberättelser om den svenska mångkulturella skolan. Studien är en longitudinell undersökning och empirin består av fjorton livsberättelseintervjuer som gjorts i två omgångar med ett till fyra års mellanrum. Med hjälp av livsberättelseansatsen som teoretisk och metodologisk utgångspunkt analyseras följande frågeställningar: Vilka yrkesethos framträder i lärarnas berättelser om möten och relationer i den svenska skolan? Vilka positioner intar och tillskrivs lärarna i sina berättelser? Hur gestaltas legitimitet i lärarnas berättelser? Resultatet diskuteras i relation till teorier och diskurser om skola, lärarprofession, mångkulturella/interkulturella intentioner samt sociala strukturer. Studien visar att lärarna gör identitetsframträdanden i sina berättelser gällande legitimitet. Detta sker genom konstruktion, dekonstruktion och rekonstruktion av yrkesethos. I avhandlingen framkommer indikationer på att det i skolan förutsätts att det är de utländska lärarna som ska anpassa sig efter rådande normer och att toleransen för alternativa förhållningssätt är begränsade. Lärarna positionerar sig i berättelserna genom att både acceptera och göra motstånd mot kraven på konformitet.
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