The Domain of Nursing: Developing Practice Through Action Research in the Intensive Care Unit

<p>In the intensive care unit (ICU) the bedside nurse is the person who carries out the fundamental care to sustain life and comfort for that patient and is the conduit between the patient, their family/whanau, the doctors and the multi disciplinary team. Nursing practice has an indelible impact on that patient's life and future and for their family. This thesis presents a project on the reconnaissance phase of a future critical action research project. The project involved ICU nurses collectively defining their practice within the context of ICU and identifying aspects which needed development and change. As this was the first time that the nurses had met to define and discuss their practice it was essential for them to take this time in order to focus on the reconnaissance phase as this will guide and inform all future action. The study is informed by Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action which has an emancipatory focus. The action research approach enabled the nurses to reach mutual understanding of their practice and reach consensus on areas of practice they wish to develop to enhance their care of the patient. Mutual understanding and consensus have been achieved using focus groups and interviews involving self reflection as well as collective reflection. The reconnaissance phase as described in this thesis involves the nurse participants collectively identifying their ideals of ICU nursing, then defining where they are unable to meet these ideals in the reality of every day practice. The themes emerging from the discussions are defined in terms of relationships; nurse to patient, nurse to family/whanau, nurse to doctor and nurse to nurse. These relationships are interconnected and all occur within the overarching theme of professional standards of care. Through the process of discussion and consensus the nurses identified nurse to nurse communication and support as the most important aspect of practice needing development. Reconnaissance in this research defines the beginning of the change process as the transformation begins with the creation of the communicative space enabling the nurses to connect and together to look ahead at what changes might now be possible.</p>

The Domain of Nursing: Developing Practice Through Action Research in the Intensive Care Unit

<p>In the intensive care unit (ICU) the bedside nurse is the person who carries out the fundamental care to sustain life and comfort for that patient and is the conduit between the patient, their family/whanau, the doctors and the multi disciplinary team. Nursing practice has an indelible impact on that patient's life and future and for their family. This thesis presents a project on the reconnaissance phase of a future critical action research project. The project involved ICU nurses collectively defining their practice within the context of ICU and identifying aspects which needed development and change. As this was the first time that the nurses had met to define and discuss their practice it was essential for them to take this time in order to focus on the reconnaissance phase as this will guide and inform all future action. The study is informed by Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action which has an emancipatory focus. The action research approach enabled the nurses to reach mutual understanding of their practice and reach consensus on areas of practice they wish to develop to enhance their care of the patient. Mutual understanding and consensus have been achieved using focus groups and interviews involving self reflection as well as collective reflection. The reconnaissance phase as described in this thesis involves the nurse participants collectively identifying their ideals of ICU nursing, then defining where they are unable to meet these ideals in the reality of every day practice. The themes emerging from the discussions are defined in terms of relationships; nurse to patient, nurse to family/whanau, nurse to doctor and nurse to nurse. These relationships are interconnected and all occur within the overarching theme of professional standards of care. Through the process of discussion and consensus the nurses identified nurse to nurse communication and support as the most important aspect of practice needing development. Reconnaissance in this research defines the beginning of the change process as the transformation begins with the creation of the communicative space enabling the nurses to connect and together to look ahead at what changes might now be possible.</p>

The relationship between the school organization and the process of inclusion of an autistic student

The issues surrounding the school organization are important for the inclusion process. It is essential to prepare the schools and people who work at them because it contributes to the social and cognitive development of the students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This qualitative research uses collaborative-critical action research as the methodology. The aim of this paper is to analyze the school routine for the attendance of an autistic child. This research was done at regular schools they were weekly visited for twelve months. This study allowed the author to conclude that there is a concern about architectural issues and the absence of prior planning to carry out the pedagogical practices, when the students get in the school or when they leave. The educational process of students with disabilities is evidenced by the problems they face. There is no school organization to provide educational support and contribute to student’s development.

Student Voice and Participation in Intercultural Education

This paper presents a multi-case study in the field of intercultural education and it refers to a project named “Voice of children and young people in the development of intercultural education”. The cases are critical action-research projects developed with three groups of middle and high school students. They participated in dialogic processes and shared leadership with their teachers. They co-designed projects, debated and became aware of critical issues related to cultural diversity in their educational communities. The purpose of the research is to analyze participatory processes and associated changes in relation to intercultural education and students’ voice frameworks. Personal changes of the students, such as self-awareness and attention to others and to relationships, and group changes such as cohesion, were underlined, as well as changes extended to other actors —teachers, other students, staff, tutors, and other members of the community— creating collaborative relationships, solidarity, and mutual recognition. There were visible changes during the most active period in which projects were held, but sometimes impacts still endured and deepened afterwards. This stresses the relevance of youngsters’ participatory projects engaged in intercultural processes and change.

Decolonising technological pedagogical content knowledge of first year mathematics students

Decolonising students’ knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and mathematics content is important because it helps students understand their learning needs. Decolonisation is a process of critiquing and renewing the curriculum. Learning needs are circumstances that demand individuals’ actions in order to address professional, personal, and/or social needs. The purpose of this article is to explore and decolonise students’ knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content in the learning of first year Bachelor of Education mathematics. Ten students learned a mathematics module at a South African university and were purposively selected to participate in this study. Semi-structured interviews, observation, and reflective activities/questionnaires, framed by critical action research, were used for data generation. The students’ knowledge revealed that the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) was useful when used as the learning framework, which generated curriculum concepts for the module to support the student knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content. The concepts were learning needs, content, goals, activities, time, environment, community, assessment, and GeoGebra resources. GeoGebra was the main learning resource that helped the students to integrate other resources into the module. The study concluded that, although the technological and content knowledge dominated the learning in other cases of the module, the pedagogical knowledge which was a result of their self-reflection to understand their identities, drove the module all the time. This study, consequently, recommends that students should use their knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content as taxonomies of learning, in order to address mathematics, individual, and societal needs through the integration of technology.

Sosyal Bilgiler Dersinde Yer Alan Tarih Konularının Öğretiminde Drama Kullanımı: Bir Eylem Araştırması / Using Drama While Teaching History Subjects in Social Studies Lesson: An Action Research

<p><strong>Abstract </strong></p><p>In recent years, concepts such as socialization of the learners, relating their knowledge to daily life, and organizing teaching activities according to individual differences have gained importance. The method of drama is regarded by many researchers as one of the most effective teaching methods that serve this purpose. It is seen that drama methods are frequently included in the curriculum and textbooks prepared by the Ministry of National Education. In the scope of the research, it was tried to determine the place, the importance and effectiveness of drama usage in the teaching of the history subjects in the 6th grade Social Studies lesson. In this study, action research was conducted in accordance with the use of drama. Since this research encompasses the teaching practices in the classroom environment, liberating / developmental / critical action research was preferred among 3 types of action research. The study group of the study is composed of 6th students from School located in Torbalı district of İzmir province. From time to time, students’ parents and other teachers of social studies at the school were included in the study group. The data were provided through Pre-perception survey-final perception survey, Evaluation forms of drama work, Student’s diary, Researcher's diary, Interview forms, Parent survey, Video, Voice recordings/photographs and student-made products. The lesson’s implementation process, productivity and the effects on the students were studied in this research. It has been seen that the method of drama is efficient and effective in the teaching of history subjects in social studies class and also it was seen that students and their parents showed a positive attitude towards to this technique.</p><p><strong>Öz</strong></p><p>Son yıllarda, öğrencilerin sosyalleşmesi, bilgilerini günlük yaşama bağlamaları ve öğretim etkinliklerini bireysel farklılıklara göre düzenleme gibi kavramlar önem kazanmıştır. Drama yöntemi, birçok araştırmacı tarafından bu amaca hizmet eden en etkili öğretim yöntemlerinden biri olarak kabul edilmektedir. Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı tarafından hazırlanan öğretim programı ve ders kitaplarında drama yöntemlerinin sıklıkla yer aldığı görülmektedir. Araştırma kapsamında, 6. Sınıf Sosyal Bilgiler dersinde tarih konularının öğretiminde dramanın kullanımı, önemi ve etkinliği belirlenmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu çalışmada, drama kullanımı doğrultusunda eylem araştırması yapılmıştır. Bu araştırma, sınıf ortamındaki öğretim uygulamalarını kapsadığından, 3 tür eylem araştırması arasında özgürleştirici / gelişimsel / eleştirel eylem araştırması tercih edilmiştir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, İzmir ili Torbalı ilçesinde bulunan bir devlet okulunda öğrenim gören 6. sınıf öğrencileri oluşturmaktadır. Çalışma grubuna, öğrenci velileri ve okulun diğer sosyal bilgiler öğretmenleri de dâhil edilmiştir. Veriler, ön algı anketi - son algı anketi, drama çalışması değerlendirme formları, öğrenci günlüğü, araştırmacı günlüğü, görüşme formları, veli görüşme formu, video ve ses kayıtları / fotoğraflar ve öğrenci yapımı ürünler aracılığı ile temin edilmiştir. Araştırmada drama yöntemi ile işlenen derslerin uygulama süreci, verimliliği, öğrenci üzerindeki etkileri incelenmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda veriler ışığında drama yönteminin sosyal bilgiler dersinde tarih konularının öğretiminde verimli ve etkili olduğu görülmüştür. Bununla birlikte öğrencilerin ve öğrenci velilerinin de drama yöntemi ile ilgili olumlu görüş ve tutuma sahip oldukları saptanmıştır.</p>

The Influence of Teacher Expectancy Improvement Strategies on Student Attitude and Achievement in English Courses (An Action Research Sample)

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of teacher expectancy improvement strategies on student achievements and attitudes in English courses. We investigated the existing situation, and have presented a method that can provide the educational processes necessary to bring about the required changes. For this reason, the emancipatory/improving/critical action research model was used. The study was carried out on a sample group consisting of 87 students, 43 sixth graders, and 44 eighth graders, attending a school located in Düzce’s city center during the 2015–2016 academic year. In order to collect the data, the “Teacher Expectancy Scale” that was developed by the researchers, as well as the “Attitude Scale towards English Course”, and a further seven tests, which were prepared by the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE), were used. The study was conducted for a total of 48 hours over 12 weeks, for four hours per week. As a result of the study, it was revealed that teacher expectations influenced the attitudes of the students towards the English lesson in a positive way, and increased their academic achievements.

Career Education and Integrated Curriculum

The article presents an action research process for the improvement of Vocational Guidance and Career Education in a school center in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands). The research perspective, from a collaborative and critical work, responds to the need to improve the teaching-learning practice. Priority is given to the ulterior need to improve learning for all students and increase the impact of their journey through school by means of an educational attention and guidance based on a curriculum project with an integrated and global Career Education and Guidance. Finally, results, process and conclusions are displayed of the two years of critical action research carried out by the different educational agents participating.

The Influence of Teacher Expectancy Improvement Strategies on Students’ Attitudes and Achievement in English Courses (An Action Research Sample) †

The aim of the existing study is to investigate the influence of teacher expectation on students&rsquo; achievement and their attitudes towards English lesson and to increase the students&rsquo; academic success and positive attitudes towards this issue. In the study, a process which defined the existing situtation and which provided the educational processes to improve by changing the existing situation could be seen. For this reason, emancipatory/improving/critical action research model was used. The study was carried out on a sample group consisting of 87 students; 43 6th graders and 44 8th graders attending a school located in the city center of D&uuml;zce during the 2015-2016 academic year. In order to collect the data, &ldquo;Teacher Expectancy Scale&rdquo; developed by the researchers, &ldquo;Attitude Scale towards English Course&rdquo; and 7 test exams prepared by Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE) were used. The study was conducted for a total 48 hours in 12 weeks, 4 hours a week. As the result of the study, it was revealed that teacher expectation influenced the attitudes of the students towards the English lesson in a positive way and increased their academic achievements.