Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Tefl academics'

As research has become an important indicator of TEFL academics’ overall performance in Chinese higher education institutions, it is critical that TEFL academics are able to meet the expectation of conducting research. This mixedmethod study investigated research productivity of Chinese TEFL academics and associated influences, with the ultimate objective of constructing a framework to help build their research capacity in the future. Using an initial survey, the study provided a snapshot of research productivity of 182 TEFL academics from three Chinese higher education institutions, and individual and institutional characteristics that influenced their research productivity. Using interviews and documents as the data sources, the subsequent qualitative case study of two purposively-sampled Chinese TEFL departments provided insights into Chinese TEFL academics’ perceptions about research, and individual, institutional and departmental efforts in meeting the research expectation. The findings from this study revealed that the 182 Chinese TEFL academics’ research productivity during 2004-2008 was relatively low as a whole as was the quality of their research. This study identified four influences that impacted on Chinese TEFL academics’ research productivity: TEFL disciplinary influences, institutional and departmental research environments, individual characteristics desirable for research, and TEFL academics’ perceptions about research. Drawing upon the above findings from this study, a Framework towards Enhancing Chinese TEFL Academics’ Research Productivity (FECTARP) was constructed. The FECTARP synthesised the findings from the study, and presented a framework for Chinese institutions and TEFL departments to enhance their TEFL academics’ research capacity.

This study investigates the motivation of English language lecturers in a Chinese university. Recent studies have shown that low morale and job dissatisfaction are significant problems identified in lecturers who teach English in universities in China. Given the importance of teaching English as a second language in China, this problem has potentially significant ramifications for the nation’s future. Low staff morale is likely to be associated with less effective teaching and poor student learning outcomes. Although the problem is acknowledged, there has been limited research to understand the underlying contributing factors. To address this, a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach was adopted and implemented in two phases at a large regional university in Northern China. The participants in the main study were 100 lecturers from two colleges at this university. All of the lecturers were responsible for teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL); 50 were teaching English majors and 50 were teaching university students whose majors were not English. The research was informed by a synthesis of self determination theory and theories of organisational culture. The study found: 1) in contrast to previously reported studies, lecturers in this institution were in general autonomously motivated in teaching. 2) However, their level of motivation was influenced by their personal experiences and varied sense of competence, relatedness and autonomy. 3) In particular, personal experiences and contextual factors such as the influence of Chinese culture, societal context, and organisational climate were significant in regulating lecturers’ motivation to teach. The findings are significant for leaders in higher education who need to implement policies that foster effective work environments. The study has also provided insights into the capacity of self determination theory to explain motivation in a Chinese culture.

This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.<br>Bachelors<br>Arts and Humanities<br>Theatre

Though many believe some of the greatest military leaders of all time - from Alexander the Great to Julius Caesar - have engaged in sex acts with other males, and though certainly a very different political climate from that of ancient Greece or Rome, the United States military has historically never accepted homosexual sex acts within its own military, nor has the United States military accepted open homosexuals either until recently. This thesis focuses on the evolution of United States military policy towards homosexuals and the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy of the United States military in order to recommend a path that the United States can follow to provide an equal opportunity for success of openly homosexual service members. This research traces the history of policy towards homosexuality in the United States military up through the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and its repeal. This research discusses changing governmental policies towards homosexuals in the military, as well as changing public opinions about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". This research also outlines discharges under the policy, connecting changing public opinion to the policy's eventual repeal. Through the analysis of statistics surrounding discharges, opinion surveys, and anecdotal evidence, this research evaluates the level of acceptance for openly homosexual service members in a post-DADT world. These findings will then be compared with the adjustment of troops in Great Britain and Canada, who each have experienced relative success in the integration of homosexual troops, in order to make a recommendation for a course of action that the United States could take in order to help better the adjustment of soldiers to a non-exclusionary policy.<br>B.A.<br>Bachelors<br>Sciences<br>Political Science

The present study aimed to establish a test development and validation framework of reading-into-writing tests to improve the accountability of using the integrated task type to assess test takers' ability in Academic English. This study applied Weir's (2005) socio-cognitive framework to collect three components of test validity: context validity, cognitive validity and criterion-related validity of two common types of reading-into-writing test tasks (essay task with multiple verbal inputs and essay task with multiple verbal and non-verbal inputs). Through literature review and a series of pilot, a set of contextual and cognitive parameters that are useful to explicitly describe the features of the target academic writing tasks and the cognitive processes required to complete these tasks successfully was defined at the pilot phase of this study. A mixed-method approach was used in the main study to establish the context, cognitive and criterion-related validity of the reading-into-writing test tasks. First of all, for context validity, expert judgement and automated textual analysis were applied to examine the degree of correspondence of the contextual features (overall task setting and input text features) of the reading-into-writing test tasks to those of the target academic writing tasks. For cognitive validity, a cognitive process questionnaire was developed to assist participants to report the processes they employed on the two reading-into-writing test tasks and two real-life academic tasks. A total of 443 questionnaires from 219 participants were collected. The analysis of the cognitive validity included three stands: 1) the cognitive processes involved in real-life academic writing, 2) the extent to which these processes are elicited by the reading-into-writing test tasks, and 3) the underlying structure of the processes elicited by the reading-into-writing test tasks. A range of descriptive, inferential and factor analyses were performed on the questionnaire data. The participants' scores on these real-life academic and reading-into-writing test tasks were collected for correlational analyses to investigate the criterion-related validity of the test tasks. The findings of the study support the context, cognitive and criterion-related validity of the integrated reading-into-writing task type. In terms of context validity, the two reading-into-writing tasks largely resembled the overall task setting, the input text features and the linguistic complexity of the input texts of the real-life tasks in a number of important ways. Regarding cognitive validity, the results revealed 11 cognitive processes involved in 5 phases of real-life academic writing as well as the extent to which these processes were elicited by the test tasks. Both reading-into-writing test tasks were able to elicit from high-achieving and low-achieving participants most of these cognitive processes to a similar extent as the participants employed the processes on the real-life tasks. The medium-achieving participants tended to employ these processes more on the real-life tasks than on the test tasks. The results of explanatory factor analysis showed that both test tasks were largely able to elicit from the participants the same underlying cognitive processes as the real-life tasks did. Lastly, for criterion-related validity, the correlations between the two reading-into-writing test scores and academic performance reported in this study are apparently better than most previously reported figures in the literature. To the best of the researcher's knowledge, this study is the first study to validate two types of reading-into-writing test tasks in terms of three validity components. The results of the study proved with empirical evidence that reading-into-writing tests can successfully operationalise the appropriate contextual features of academic writing tasks and the cognitive processes required in real-life academic writing under test conditions, and the reading-into-writing test scores demonstrated a promising correlation to the target academic performance. The results have important implications for university admissions officers and other stakeholders; in particular they demonstrate that the integrated reading-into-writing task type is a valid option when considering language teaching and testing for academic purposes. The study also puts forward a test framework with explicit contextual and cognitive parameters for language teachers, test developers and future researchers who intend to develop valid reading-into-writing test tasks for assessing academic writing ability and to conduct validity studies in such integrated task type.

This thesis investigates the potential for the online production of place, specifically as it applies to the host site for the Homestuck web comic, MS Paint Adventures, and its attendant fandom. The proliferation of digital environments such as video games, web sites, and chat rooms has led to numerous opportunities for the study of online spaces and the numerous practices that take place within them. The lack of physical location in online spaces can, however, make it difficult to conceptualize of a web site as real, a problem that has often led researchers to develop new theories of space that do not rely on material places. This thesis was inspired by questions about the potential for the production of online place, and how and to what extent this operation can be studied through the application of a theory of place. Applying Certeau's theory of place from The Practice of Everyday Life this thesis theorizes the operations through which Andrew Hussie created MS Paint Adventures as a habitable place. Hussie accomplishes this through the generation and maintenance of authority, the creation of stable and ordered elements, and the establishment of the "proper," the rules and reality that govern the site. In addition, I theorize about the space that MS Paint Adventures as a place attempts to create, a space where readers are encouraged and enabled to engage with the web comic Homestuck and with each other through meaningful online interaction, and about the ways in which the site can be, and is, inhabited. Ultimately, I explore the extent to which web sites, though lacking physical location, can be fairly and logically conceived of, and therefore examined as, habitable places.<br>M.A.<br>Masters<br>Writing and Rhetoric<br>Arts and Humanities<br>English; Rhetoric and Composition Track

This study investigates the role of utilising an electronic portfolio in the context of vocabulary learning strategy (VLS) instruction. It aims to examine the use of a mixture of language learning strategies and skills required for learning management. Therefore, the current study incorporates e-portfolio as an application that can provide learners with practical and systematic steps and thus assist them to make control on their learning. This research adopted a mixed method approach to explore the impact of e-portfolio integration in the context of the VLS instruction on undergraduate learners’ strategic learning of vocabulary and academic vocabulary learning. This study employed a number of research instruments including vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire, academic vocabulary size test, interviews, artefacts and documentation of learning which forms comprehensive archival records (e-portfolio). E-portfolio was found to be insightful and reflective of the strategies learning and use processes. Utilising e-portfolio in the context of VLS instruction seemed to lead to more systematic and consistent strategic learning of vocabulary. This has been in conjunction with significant improvement in the learners’ academic vocabulary size and in their strategic vocabulary learning. Such improvement would make changes in learners’ understanding and awareness towards strategic learning. This could play important roles in accelerating and facilitating the learning process in general. However, there were issues of irregularities where learners were not systematic or show less consistency when it comes to strategies use in the e-portfolio. The findings of this research contribute to a better understanding of how the use of e-portfolio impact on the learners’ strategic learning and on their acquisition of academic vocabulary.

Bibliography: leaves 89-95.<br>The study explores the usefulness of literacy narratives as a tool in academic writing for revealing the perceptions and values EAL students' place on their academic writing identities. The literacy narratives highlight the multiple identities that students bring with them to the act of writing and are shaped by the questions, Who am I? Where am I going? Where do I come from? These questions probe the writers' perceptions of past, present and future academic writer identities and shifts of identity over a period of time and differences between first and third year students. In my analytical approach, I recognise the fact that writing is a social act whereby we say something about ourselves, and use it actively to affirm those values, beliefs and practices which we want to sustain, and to resist those values, beliefs and practices which we do not value (Clark and Ivanic1997).

This study seeks to understand the effect of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) on Teaching-Focused Academics working in Life Sciences in UK higher education institutions. Twenty-one full-time Teaching-Focused Academics from England, Scotland and Wales were interviewed about their academic roles. Using Engeström’s Activity Theory as an overarching framework, a picture emerged of the significant influence of REF on the academic roles of Teaching-Focused Academics despite their exclusion from the process. The status of Teaching-Focused Academics is influenced by REF, as they are perceived within academia to be lesser academics as they are not included in REF. It is also perceived as a deficit that they are not included in REF for pedagogic research. As a result of this perception, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning was further studied to investigate the practicalities of pedagogic research being included in future REFs. Although the participants in this study were active in SoTL, the emerging picture of pedagogic research was that its purpose was for the sharing of practice, rather than high impact research. Furthermore, there was evidence to suggest that engagement with SoTL was hampered by the existence of threshold concepts associated with it. This has implications for the suitability of pedagogic research inclusion in REF. In addition, the workload and priorities of Teaching-Focused Academics may be impacted by the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework from 2016.

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2010<br>English is listed as the official or second official language in forty five countries. It is the majority language in twenty seven countries. English is spread vastly over the world, resulting in scores of speakers (Kitao, 1996). However, in countries where English is not the dominant language, language schools are available to assist in the acquisition of the language. It is stated that EFL methods are effective and thriving in teaching English to non-native speakers. It is further pointed out that EFL methods rival those used in traditional classes which mainly use teacher-orientated-language whereas TEFL focuses on enhancing student-orientated-language in a classroom (http://teflonline.com). The research’s importance stems from the area of focus and purpose. It is the primary purpose of this paper to examine whether improved possibilities and imperatives of language acquisition to subjects and teachers are offered by TEFL methods. The dissertation derives greater primary importance upon consideration of the effectiveness of TEFL in multi-lingual classrooms. This dissertation will determine whether EFL methods are in fact more effective and efficient in teaching English than other known methods. On another point it should then be possible to improve TEFL methods and take them to further possibilities such as online classes or web-based-training. The dissertation’s aim is to critically review TEFL as an effective method of teaching English in a multi-lingual environment. This is done by incorporating the TEFL teaching methods into an experimental classroom of students from different ethnical backgrounds, age groups and mother tongues – except English. By critiquing the TEFL course content and using contextual and literature reviews, internet research, questionnaires, observations, interviews and formative assessment opportunities, data were gathered on participant perspectives on the following key questions of the research: 1. Do the TEFL teaching techniques differ from those in traditional English classrooms? 2. If this is the case, how do these techniques differ? 3. Do the students benefit from TEFL, or may/can they benefit? 4. And do teachers benefit by using TEFL techniques in the classroom? The Researcher is a qualified TEFL educator and aims to make an in-depth study of EFL techniques and whether it can be effective in a multi-lingual classroom. The study is conducted at the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft, Aalen (HTW Aalen) and the Educcare day-care centre in Stuttgart, Germany. xvi Three case studies were conducted throughout the course of this research. A total of fifteen months and thirty-six subjects of different ages, ethnicities and genders participated in observational case studies. The remaining nine months were utilised in preparation of the case studies and drafting of the research paper. The conclusions drawn from this research are definitive distinctions in the subjects’ ability to acquire English by means of EFL methods. The EFL methods were widely accepted by the case subjects. The research showed that the subjects enjoyed the student-orientated classroom, because they felt included in the proceedings of the lessons. This was done by the EFL way of encouraging the potential in the students to actively part-take in the lesson by talking freely, known as Student Talking Time (STT). According to questionnaires and interviews the subjects declared that STT gave them the ability to possess control over the speed and strength in which they acquire the new information. The students did not feel like they were only absorbing information provided to them by the teacher, instead they felt like active participants in the learning process. The teacher, on the other hand also benefits from EFL. The first advantage for EFL educators is more freedom in lesson planning. Due to the fact that TEFL focuses on increasing the STT in classrooms, the teacher’s responsibility shifts from a leading to an assisting function. This gives the possibility to the lecturer to have many potential scenarios for one lesson to the contrary of a strict lesson plan. A stringent lesson plan in traditional classes usually does not allow derivation from the original path or derivation is only possible for very experienced teachers (http://teflonline.com). In the EFL classes a standard path is not needed. Instead it is essentially necessary to be prepared for many likely situations as a reaction to the current needs of the classroom. As an additional benefit the positive reaction of the students to the teaching methods increases the teacher’s motivation. The lecturer1 can then pass this positive effect back to the students and provoke more self-confidence in the students when teaching. This overall self-enhancing cycle shows, in conclusion that incorporating EFL teaching methods into a lesson, realises the main objective of every language teacher: to assist students in acquiring the target language. In addition it is the aim of this research that the findings may participate in future development and improvement in educational systems where teaching a second or foreign language to students, whether English or any other foreign language.

Academic writing can be difficult to accomplish and disengaging to read (Monchamp 2007), the result is that often when we carry out research, our final readership can be miniscule. While reading and writing for the purposes of research should be informative, insightful, rigorous and challenging, is it also possible to make these processes entertaining or even pleasurable? Can the researcher give some personal insight into their world view and also from that of their interviewees instead of pretending that they play an entirely passive and objective role in the research process? Many qualitative researchers (Grumet 1981; Cortazzi 1993; Charmaz 1995; Ely, Vinz et al. 1997; Erben 1998; Usher 1998; Denzin and Lincoln 1998, 2003; Ellis and Bochner 1998, 2003; Richardson 1998, 2003; Bruner 2004; Perselli 2004; Antoniou and Moriarty 2006; Short, Grant et al. 2007; Sparkes 2007; Caulley 2008; Trahar 2008) have started to push the academic writing borders and explore new ways to write up research. This assignment seeks to provide a rationale for using narrative as a research method to tell the story of my research and to trial these methods on a small-scale project. A professor with an extensive writing portfolio has been interviewed in order to access some of her experiences with academic writing. The author seeks to use a emotionalist approach to the interview process by obtaining the participant’s view on their authentic experiences through open ended and unstructured interviews (Silverman 1993) with the aim of encouraging the interviewee to share their thoughts while discussing the author’s own observations and attitudes towards academic writing. This is in order to provide ideas and insight that might help other academics with their own approaches to the writing process.

Many scientists have used the expediency of geographic information science (GIS) for archaeological analyses, such as predictive site location modeling and producing topographical site surveys. However, the use of GIS to explore the spatial relationships among the architecture, geography and site artifacts has rarely been done. This research focuses on visualizing and analyzing these relationships using GIS. The sites of Tel Beth Shemesh, Israel and the Fincastle Kill Site (DIOx 5), north-east of Taber, Alberta, were used as case studies, as they were very differnt types of sites. Based on field measurments and by using specific GIS applications and software, components of these sites were reconstructed in virtual space as GIS models. Other recorded field data were used as input parameters into the models in order to attain the most accurate representations and analyses of the sites. The analysis at Fincastle Kill Site used two types of GIS models: 1) a viewshed model to assess possible bison hunting techniques and 2) surface interpolation models that delineated correlations between high density and low density areas of archaeological remains. The investigation at Tel Beth-Shemesh used a GIS model to store, visualize, interpret and assess the quality and accuracy of the field data recorded during 2001 - 2004 excavations. Predominately, the work in this thesis did not aim at answering any profound questions about the archaeology of either site, although in some cases it did, but rather focused on developing useful GIS tools for the archaeologist. These GIS models show the value of the applications, and their applicability to archaeological sites around the world.<br>vii, 119 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.

Le présent travail de thèse aborde la problématique des effets de pairs en contexte scolaire. A partir de l'analyse détaillée d'une large base des données issue d'une enquête nationale au Chili (SIMCE 2004), on s'interroge sur les mécanismes qui véhiculent les influences entre élèves différemment dotés d'un point de vue de leurs capitaux culturels, humains et scolaires. Ces influences sembleraient présentes sur différents résultats à l'école, y compris ceux de type académique. Considérant la littérature produite sous différentes approches disciplinaires --sociologie, économie, psychologie sociale et sciences de l'éducation -- on s'attarde sur les manières d'identifier et de mesurer lesdits effets de pairs. En même temps, on considère la présence de dimensions subjectives capables d'exprimer, en partie, le vécu scolaire des élèves. Ces dimensions seraient, par ailleurs, reliées à la présence des pairs et aux interactions entre élèves. De manière additionnelle, on propose une révision de la littérature sur le système scolaire au Chili, notamment sur sa segmentation socio-scolaire et sa relation avec le mécanisme de vouchers. Dans ce cadre, trois interrogations principales organisent ce travail. D'une part, l'existence ou non d'un impact net sur les acquis scolaires des pratiques d'étude faisant appel aux camarades. Ensuite, la présence probable des influences sous la forme des " transferts des capitaux " entre élèves différemment dotés et déclarant pratiquer l'entraide. Enfin, les relations qui s'avèrent visibles entre ces pratiques et des dimensions telles que le bien-être à l'école ou le concept du soi académique, mais aussi, entre ces dernières et les acquis scolaires. Une séquence d'analyses est entreprise visant à donner des bases robustes aux éventuelles réponses à ces questions. Entre autres, différentes séries d'analyses de régression hiérarchique et par quantiles ont été conduites sur quatre disciplines scolaires. Les principaux résultats de recherche indiquent, d'un côté, que les interactions entre élèves sont assez répandues en milieux scolaire (entre 22% et 41% en moyenne), mais leur proportion varie d'une discipline à l'autre et selon la direction qui prend l'aide. Plus encore, ces interactions sont significativement liées aux résultats scolaires. A conditions comparables, les élèves académiquement faibles gagnent à être aidés par leurs camarades, quelque soit la discipline concernée. En même temps, les élèves qui aident leurs camarades montrent toujours un profil académique fortement associé à des gains de score assez importants. D'un autre côté, on trouve que les élèves possédant plus de capital culturel ont, toutes choses égales par ailleurs, de plus fortes chances de déclarer aider leurs camarades. Enfin, les analyses confirment que les interactions entre élèves sont, de manière importante et significative, liées aux sentiments de bien-être à l'école et au concept de soi académique. La construction d'indices pertinents pour ces derniers est, d'ailleurs, discutée. Différents résultats secondaires ont été aussi produits et discutés, notamment la confirmation, pour la première fois dans le cas chilien, des hypothèses associées au paradigme BFLPE (Marsh, 1987). Ces résultats sont discutés dans leurs probables conséquences en termes de politique éducative, notamment dans le cadre des systèmes éducatifs à forte ségrégation sociale et scolaire.

Ce travail de thèse traite du caractère plus ou moins irréaliste des perceptions que l'élève a de ses compétences scolaires ou de ce qu'il est convenu d'appeler aujourd'hui le biais d'évaluation de sa compétence scolaire. Deux objectifs principaux structurent ce travail. Le premier vise à vérifier si le type de comparaison sociale auquel l'élève se livre est lié au développement d'un biais négatif d'évaluation de sa compétence scolaire. Pour ce faire, nous avons réalisé 6 études auprès d'élèves francophones de primaire scolarisés en France et au Québec. Dans la lignée des travaux de Buunk et Ybema (1997) et de Buunk et al. (2005), nous avons d'abord testé l'hypothèse selon laquelle les élèves pouvaient interpréter positivement et négativement les comparaisons sociales en classe indépendamment de leur direction. Fort de ces éléments, nous avons vérifié ensuite que l'interprétation positive de la comparaison sociale (identification ascendante et différenciation descendante) est liée positivement au biais d'évaluation de sa compétence alors que l'interprétation négative (identification descendante et différenciation ascendante) lui est négativement reliée. Enfin, une mesure plus fine de la comparaison sociale en classe nous a permis d'explorer si le type de comparaison choisie par l'élève impliquait des effets d'assimilation ou de contraste sur leur biais d'évaluation, selon que l'élève s'identifiait plus ou moins fortement à son camarade de comparaison. Les six études menées dans cette première partie apportent globalement un soutien empirique à nos hypothèses. Le second objectif s'est attaché à étudier l'évolution de ce biais au fil du temps et à vérifier si ces modes d'évolution pouvaient être liés au bien-être psychologique du sujet à moyen terme. Dans cette optique, nous avons conduit des analyses de trajectoires pour décrire l'évolution du phénomène au fil du temps (Nagin, 2005). Cette méthode nous a permis de distinguer des patrons d'évolution distincts mettant en lumière le caractère plus ou moins stable du phénomène. Enfin, la mise en relation de ces trajectoires avec des indicateurs de bien-être et de fonctionnement scolaire révèle que sous-estimer ses compétences constitue un risque d'adaptation psychosociale et scolaire pour les élèves.

L'adolescence est marquée par un engagement intense des sujets dans les relations amicales qui représentent des liens bien plus complexes qu'il n'y paraît. Les changements sociétaux infèrent une évolution de la dynamique et de la nature des relations entre adolescents. Ils participent alors largement à une diversification de leurs formes et à intensifier leurs influences sur le développement des jeunes. Dans ce cadre, l'objectif de cette étude est d'évaluer l'influence de la qualité des relations entre pairs sur la démobilisation scolaire des adolescents, ainsi que l'effet médiateur de la valeur accordée à l'école. Cette recherche, s'inscrivant dans une approche interactionniste dans le champ de psychologie sociale et du développement (Malrieu, 1973 ; Mead, 1963 ; Wallon, 1941), nous a permis de souligner la part active et subjective du sujet, tant dans son rapport aux pairs que dans son rapport à l'école. L'étude a été réalisée à l'aide d'un questionnaire, renseigné par 676 adolescents scolarisés en 3ème dans des collèges issus de l'éducation prioritaire (185) et des collèges publics et privés (582). Ce questionnaire appréhende dans une première partie la (dé)mobilisation scolaire des adolescents sous la forme d'une auto-évaluation de leur niveau scolaire, de leur attention et de leur implication en classe, de leur persévérance scolaire, et de leur intérêt pour le travail personnel et la réussite. Dans une deuxième partie, nous cherchons à appréhender la valeur que les adolescents accordent à l'école, selon les dimensions épistémiques, futures, sociales ou externalisées. La troisième partie est consacrée à la qualité des relations entre pairs appréhendée selon la recherche de conformité, la capacité à se dégager de la pression des pairs, le soutien social et le sentiment d'isolement social. Nos résultats révèlent que la recherche extrême de conformité influence significativement la démobilisation scolaire et favorise conjointement un rapport externalisé à l'école (stratégique et social). Le sentiment d'isolement participe, au contraire, à la mobilisation scolaire de l'élève et favorise un rapport épistémique à l'école. Les deux autres dimensions sont médiatisées par la valeur accordée à l'école. Il ressort ainsi que le soutien social et la pression du groupe ressentis par les adolescents favorisent la mobilisation scolaire à condition qu'ils accordent du sens à l'école pour leurs apprentissages scolaires et intellectuels, et non pour leurs apprentissages relationnels et affectifs.

Cette thèse a eu pour objet de montrer comment les universités d'Etat sous prétexte d'une conformité aux référentiels internationaux s'engagent dans la réforme du L.M.D et développent la professionnalisation. Le texte met en exergue les épreuves auxquelles sont soumis les Etats, notamment les pays en voie de développement comme le Sénégal, dans l'incitation à la professionnalisation des études par le milieu de l'emploi, les pouvoirs politiques, les institutions et organismes partenaires internationaux. Le statut de service public garantissant la démocratisation des savoirs transmis comme bien public est fortement examiné. La réforme de la professionnalisation des études universitaires est-elle imitable, transposable ou se construit-elle localement ? Est-elle opportune pour une université du sud et compatible avec la gratuité de l'enseignement supérieur ? Telles sont les questions essentielles auxquelles l'étude a tenté d'apporter des réponses.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d'enrichir la notion de professionnalisation. S'articulant autour des notions de régulation de l'entrée dans un corps professionnel et de fabrique de professionnels, elle propose une conception originale du processus de professionnalisation des formations universitaires. Elle tente principalement de construire une typologie des formations à partir de l'analyse synchronique et diachronique de leurs contenus et de leurs méthodes d'apprentissage. Ce travail mobilise un ensemble hétéroclite de travaux de sciences sociales allant de l'histoire des universités et de la sociologie des professions à la philosophie aristotélicienne. À partir de la question de recherche " Quels types de professionnels les formations universitaires sont-elles en mesure de fabriquer ? ", il part du postulat que la nature des savoirs transmis fixe les modalités de cette fabrication. Il montre que ces savoirs participent de trois types de discipline (discipline pratique, discipline scientifique et discipline poïétique) auxquels sont rattachés quatre types de formation : la formation professionnelle généraliste, la formation professionnelle spécialiste, la formation professionnelle scientifique et la formation professionnelle poïétique.

L'objectif de cette thèse est d'étudier l'effet d'un entraînement explicite de la conscience phonémique (CP) en anglais L2 et les apports potentiels du tableau blanc interactif (TBI) comme instrument permettant de réaliser cet entraînement avec des apprenants de CE1. A partir des travaux de pédagogues tels que Borel-Maisonny et Caleb Gattegno, nous avons conçu des aides multimodales qui sont à la fois visuelles, sonores et kinesthésiques. Les couleurs de l'approche Gattegno ont été reprises pour créer des cartes de couleur auxquelles nous avons joint une représentation sonore du phonème. La carte sonore est également manipulable sur le TBI. En ce sens, la manipulation sur TBI pourrait aider la manipulation mentale des éléments. Les représentations des phonèmes constituent des représentations externes multimodales intégrées (REMI). Ces REMI ont été intégrées à un dispositif d'apprentissage permettant de valider les hypothèses de recherche. Il s'agissait non seulement d'évaluer l'efficacité de tâches explicites de conscience phonémique dans le cadre de l'apprentissage de l'anglais, mais également d'évaluer l'efficacité de l'utilisation du TBI pour réaliser les tâches de conscience phonémique. Ces hypothèses de recherche ont été testées à l'aide de trois groupes d'apprenants : deux groupes expérimentaux et un groupe contrôle. Un groupe a effectué des tâches explicites de conscience phonémique avec les REMI sur TBI (groupe ConsPhonoTBI), un groupe a effectué ces mêmes tâches de manière classique, c'est-à-dire mentalement sans aide multimodale (groupe ConsPhono), tandis que le groupe contrôle a fait des activités de vocabulaire anglais. La comparaison du groupe contrôle avec le groupe ConsPhono permet de déterminer l'effet d'un entraînement explicite de la conscience phonémique, tandis que la comparaison du groupe ConsPhono avec le groupe ConsPhonoTBI permet de déterminer l'effet des aides multimodales et de leur utilisation sur TBI dans le cadre de cet entraînement explicite. Cette recherche a pour objet une intervention dans le domaine du travail puisque les enseignants et les apprenants sont considérés comme étant en situation de travail. Cette recherche s'inscrit alors dans le cadre de l'ergonomie cognitive. En l'occurrence, la quasi-expérimentation a été menée en 2011-2012 auprès d'apprenants issus de classes de CE1 situées dans l'Isère. Dans la méthodologie de recherche mixte adoptée, les données qualitatives et quantitatives ont été triangulées et permettent d'obtenir des résultats ayant une validité interne. L'étude indique que le travail explicite de la conscience phonémique a un effet sur le niveau atteint dans ce domaine et que l'utilisation des REMI sur TBI permet d'atteindre un meilleur niveau dans le même laps de temps. Par ailleurs, cette étude indique que l'utilisation du TBI pour mener cet entraînement explicite permet à des enseignants non-spécialistes en langue de se décentrer pour réguler l'activité, de proposer une prononciation correcte aux élèves, renforçant ainsi le sentiment d'auto-efficacité au sens de Bandura (2003). En outre, le TBI favorise les échanges entre les apprenants au niveau du groupe classe et permet une découverte collective des phonèmes anglais.

L'objet de notre recherche est d'étudier la dynamique subjective du parcours universitaire des enseignants en vue de la construction d'une identité professionnelle et de leur préparation à l'enseignement. Nous analysons les expériences, les représentations et les méthodes de travail des futurs professeurs de l'enseignement secondaire en milieu universitaire ainsi que la transition de l'expérience universitaire à la formation. Notre enquête porte sur un échantillon de 170étudiants (et professeurs stagiaires) préparant les concours de recrutement (CAPES, CAPEPS, Agrégation), futurs enseignants du second degré dans trois disciplines : Lettres, EPS et Sciences physiques. Nous avons utilisé pour le recueil des données un questionnaire qui nous a permis de collecter les données nécessaires (données quantitatives)puis nous avons conduit 35 entretiens complémentaires afin de collecter des données qualitatives. Nous dégageons ainsi sur la base des résultats obtenus les particularités de leurs représentations par rapport à leur discipline d'appartenance.Nous nous intéressons plus spécifiquement aux méthodes de travail des futurs enseignants selon certains concepts pédagogiques (l'efficacité des enseignants, l'évaluation des élèves, le comportement en classe et dans différents contextes, la préparation des cours, les connaissances relatives aux disciplines, les compétences pédagogiques). Il es tégalement intéressant d'examiner la question du choix du métier des enseignants candidats ainsi que d'étudier la position culturelle des nouveaux enseignants entre la culture académique-scolaire et la culture des jeunes. En outre,nous envisageons les modalités actuelles de la professionnalisation et des nouvelles contraintes du métier ainsi que les stratégies possibles en vue de la construction d'une culture professionnelle commune des enseignants du secondaire

Cette recherche relève du domaine de la didactique du FLE et de l'usage de la communication médiée par ordinateur [CMO], plus particulièrement du clavardage, outil de communication synchrone à base textuelle. Notre recherche se place dans une perspective interactionnelle et acquisitionnelle en L2 en mettant l'accent sur la construction des discussions entre participants lors de séances de clavardage. Le public étudié est composé d'étudiants de nationalités variées en master ou doctorat dans des universités en France, et qui souhaitent améliorer la langue qu'ils doivent utiliser en milieu académique. Notre analyse du " discours-en-interaction par clavardage " a pour but d'étudier les interactions en tenant compte des spécificités de l'outil et du contexte de la discussion. En premier lieu, nous examinons la structure des énoncés en L2 au niveau de l'utilisation du lexique, des structures complexes et des marques transcodiques. En deuxième lieu, nous analysons l'utilisation des topogrammes dans un contexte académique et leurs diverses fonctions. Cette analyse montre la manière dont les apprenants se focalisent à la fois sur l'objet thématique de la discussion et sur la résolution des obstacles linguistiques ou discursifs auxquels ils sont confrontés lors des échanges. En dernier lieu, nous étudions la manière dont les apprenants construisent et co-construisent les discussions par clavardage. Les énoncés que l'apprenant construit à partir des discours de ses différents interlocuteurs lui permettent, tout en alimentant ses compétences pragmatiques, d'approfondir le sujet en discussion. Nous examinons également comment les savoirs sur les pratiques académiques naissent et se transforment au fil des interactions. Nous cherchons à montrer à la fois le bénéfice de l'utilisation du clavardage pour la recherche sur la langue d'apprenants avancés et son intérêt comme outil po! ur favoriser l'appropriation d'une L2.

This study aims to develop a method for more clearly understanding the topics that applicants choose when writing their college or university application essay. As such, the purpose of this dissertation is two-fold. First, to analyze the unstudied volume of advice and guidance available to applicants on the World Wide Web, this study will analyze the guidance that is available to motivate and guide applicants as they embark on writing their essay. Second, this study examines the college application essay and will create a categorization of the application essay topics on which a select group of applicants chose to write. The purpose is not to evaluate the applicant or their demographics, nor is it to suggest “best practices” for college applicants to follow when writing their essays. Furthermore, as an examination of popular media and of narrative expression, this analysis does not attempt to reveal a causal link between media and the resulting narratives. Instead, this inductive analysis develops a baseline theory that begins a discussion of the application essay and the multitude of information that might guide its creation. The motivation for this study is grounded in the following: 1) many colleges and universities employ selective practices in their admissions process and they consider the application essay to be a helpful tool in selecting from among otherwise academically eligible students; 2) applicants consider the essay to be one of the most challenging and unfamiliar aspects of the application; and 3) a multi-million-dollar industry has developed to assist students with college and university applications. This research supports prior studies that indicate that the writing of college application essays (or personal statements) is in fact as Paley (1996) suggests an exercise in a rhetorical conundrum. Applicants emerge from the angst and confusion of how to approach and what to write about in their college application essay to produce a work that reveals personal characteristics that they think are important to college admissions officers and that they hope, will ultimately, result in admission to their institution of choice.<br>text

Challenges in the South African education system arise from inter alia inadequate training, social and environmental problems, parental inefficiency, insufficient professionalism among teachers, as well as negative attitudes of learners. An urgent need exists to establish “a moral underground, an army of volunteers” (Jansen, 2012) who would be willing to provide another chance to “abandoned children” in poorer schools to develop their full potential for a brighter future. To assist learners to achieve a better future, this study focused on teacher-students and to enhance their learning experiences and consequently their teaching performance. By motivating the teacher-students to develop their potential in order to achieve better, they could, in turn, break the barriers of mediocrity in the learners they taught. The aim of this study was to uncover how a social network service (SNS) like Facebook could be used as an academic tool to support and enhance the affective learning experience of open distance teacher-students in the rural Eastern Cape. The main research question which guided this study was: How can the affective learning of open distance learning teacher-students in the rural Eastern Cape be supported through academic Facebook? The research intervention which elicited data, comprised coaching and scaffolding of the learning content relating to research methodology, as well as guiding the participants to engage with an SNS as a learning technology in an academic environment. The researcher created a support group on Facebook where participants could, at any time, interact with peers and the facilitator. Non-probability purposive sampling selected the participants according to the following criteria: isiXhosa home language speaking teacher-students from the rural areas around Queenstown in the Eastern Cape, enrolled with NWU for a BEd Honours degree, and who owned cellular phones which could connect to the Internet. While 74 teacher-students were invited to participate in the research, only 34 attended some of the coaching and scaffolding sessions, and 22 joined the FaceFunda group page. This qualitative bounded case study was conducted from a postmodern pragmatic view. Data were collected through individual interviews, a focus group interview, text from the FaceFunda group page and the researcher’s reflective diary. The data were analysed with Atlas. ti™. Three patterns emerged which described participants’ affective experiences: (i) emotions while learning with technology, (ii) experiences with technology, and (iii) need for support. In each case, the patterns related to emotions of competence (codes that captured positive and enabling experiences), and emotions of incompetence (codes that captured negative and incapacitating experiences). A secondary analysis of the findings uncovered the guidelines for the academic use of Facebook for rural distance teacher-students. Four themes emerged as guidelines: i) coaching and scaffolding support, (ii) technological support, (iii) peer support, and (iv) communication with the higher education institution. The guidelines highlighted that the affective learning of open distance learning of rural teacher-students in the Eastern Cape can be supported through the academic use of Facebook. ODL teacher-students require support coaching and scaffolding in order to adopt the use of SNSs for academic purposes. Adult learners should be supported to overcome technophobia to enable engagement with learning content. With adequate supportive measures, SNSs can contribute towards positive learning experiences of rural students.<br>MEd (Learner support), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014