This thesis investigated the extent to which participation of school students in decision-making processes can be achieved, including through participatory action research (PAR) in teacher... Show moreThis thesis investigated the extent to which participation of school students in decision-making processes can be achieved, including through participatory action research (PAR) in teacher education. Data were collected from observations, research reports of pre-service teachers (PSTs) and interviews with PSTs and teacher educators. The aim was to enable students-teacher collaboration at an intensive level and have real influence on changes in teaching practice. The study found that some PST-projects exhibited the first stages of development towards this goal and that student participation was possible within limited time frames and contexts. School students were involved in designing and implementing the research projects, and they thereby contributed to changes in the content of their teaching and learning or in their circumstances. The study also highlighted the need for a higher level of student participation than just having a voice and being able to express opinions.The study developed a matrix for describing and designing participatory research practices (the SPinSTAR matrix), which distinguishes four levels of participation during different research phases. Furthermore, the study provided a set of principles for PAR that can provide more detailed insights into the participatory qualities of practices and the intertwined mechanisms that influence student participation. Show less
Families with multiple needs across life domains often deal with a multitude of professionals from various organizations. This frequently results in fragmented support. In theory, integrated care... Show moreFamilies with multiple needs across life domains often deal with a multitude of professionals from various organizations. This frequently results in fragmented support. In theory, integrated care is considered the ultimate solution to overcome this fragmentation in Youth Care. However, in practice, providing integrated care is easier said than done. Consequently, professionals, organizations, and policy makers struggle to implement an integrated approach. It is becoming increasingly clear that integrated care requires more than merging organizations or establishing multidisciplinary teams. Many scholars claim that it is a necessity to evaluate integrated care in real-life settings, and thereby unravel facilitators and barriers for professionals.This dissertation aims to increase understanding of facilitators and barriers for professionals to provide integrated care from various perspectives: a systematic literature review, semi-structured interviews with professionals and parents, and an action-based research study in integrated care teams in the Netherlands. With the outcomes of this dissertation, clinical and research practices will be better informed about the complexity of integrated care on a professional level. Show less
The Multi-Stakeholder Community Consultation (MSCC) is a participatory research tool that has been developed by the DR Congo team of TRAFIG and that will be applied in other countries in the course... Show moreThe Multi-Stakeholder Community Consultation (MSCC) is a participatory research tool that has been developed by the DR Congo team of TRAFIG and that will be applied in other countries in the course of the project too. By bringing together a mixed group of respondents (displaced, hosts, authorities, civil society), the tool is geared towards collecting additional insights through an interactive dialogue on intergroup relations, validating findings gathered through other methods, and jointly seeking solutions for problems that are identified by the participants. In this note we provide methodological guidance and share our experience of using the tool in the DRC. Other TRAFIG country teams, interested researchers and practitioners can learn from it and adapt it to their own needs. Show less
This dissertation reports on the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of science teachers during a professional development program. This research intended to help us understand why and how teachers... Show moreThis dissertation reports on the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of science teachers during a professional development program. This research intended to help us understand why and how teachers make their classroom decisions as they teach science. The main questions in this study were: What is the pedagogical content knowledge of science teachers when they prepare and conduct lessons as part of a specific professional development program to improve their science teaching and how does this PCK change during this program? This study showed that teachers__ orientations, one of the PCK components, are complex because teachers have multiple goals and use multiple strategies when teaching a lesson. The study also showed that science teachers__ PCK can best be typified and described using teachers__ concerns, goals, and purposes in teaching science. When studying PCK development, this study showed that science teachers__ PCK development followed two different pathways of change. One pathway where teachers reflected on their classroom outcomes and the other pathway where they fail to reflect on these outcomes. When studying PCK in practice, there was evidence that when teachers use their PCK in inquiry lessons, their concerns and their orientations were closely related to their planning of inquiry-based instructions. Show less
This thesis reports on a study that examined the development of L1 teachers__ practical knowledge when they researched and implemented concept-context rich education in an action-research setting.... Show moreThis thesis reports on a study that examined the development of L1 teachers__ practical knowledge when they researched and implemented concept-context rich education in an action-research setting. Chapters 2 to 5 of this thesis explore several aspects of the knowledge development process by describing how the collaborative action-research partnership developed, what interpretations of concept-context rich L1 education teachers formulated, what teachers described as benefits of concept-context rich education, and how they learned to use this approach to L1 teaching to increase student understanding of and engagement in learning. Eleven L1 teachers developed concept-context rich materials by conducting collaborative action research in three research groups from January 2006 until June 2007. They were accompanied by an action-research facilitator and an academic researcher. By doing action research the L1 teachers developed curriculum materials for secondary L1 education, which allowed them to explore the notions of concept-context rich education in L1 teaching and the teacher as developer as advised by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science. Show less
