The presented study is thematically closely related to research of curriculum, particularly to textbook research. The results of textbook analysis are in the thesis further developed mainly in relation to research of pupil and research of pupil and textbook interaction. We set the following aims of the thesis: a) to evaluate differences in conceptual structure of textbooks; b) to propose and on a small sample also to test and subsequently present for discussion a research method which could be at least partially applied regarding appropriateness of concepts in textbooks; c) to find main criteria for quality evaluation of verbal didactic representation of human geographic concepts in geography textbooks from the point of view of pupils. The research was conducted in three stages. In the first stage a frequency analysis of concepts in social geography textbooks for basic schools from eight publishing houses was conducted. In the second stage understanding of 140 concepts most frequently presented in examined textbooks was investigated on a sample of 52 pupils of class 9 of basic school. In the third stage of the research we investigated pupils’ assessments of verbal didactic representation of these concepts in textbooks which were in the previous stage found most problematic regarding understanding. It was found that a) investigated textbooks differ regarding their conceptual structure; b) on the basis of our investigation of understanding of selected concepts in pupils we can identify problematic concepts; c) pupils assess individual verbal didactic representations differently and demand that verbal didactic representations of problematic concepts in textbooks should be comprehensible, concise and accompanied by graphic examples.
The aim of this review study is (a) to define the concept of opportunities to learn (OTL) as a theoretical category, (b) to present selected research tools that are most commonly used for investigating opportunities, and (c) to compare differences in deβining and using opportunities to learn as a theoretical category in the Czech Republic and in the U.S., where the concept originated. In the first part of the study, a specific historical development of defining opportunities to learn is presented. Initially, the opportunities to learn were viewed as a theoretical category comprising the coherence between content of teaching and content requirements of (standardized) tests or curricula. Later, the scope of opportunities to learn expanded towards examining school-dependent variables and school-independent variables related to school performance of students. In the second part of the study opportunities to learn are operationalised, including examples of methods and techniques used for their investigation. On an example of selected research, the study shows that the concept of opportunities to learn in the U .S. primarily covers complex research-based analyses of the relationship between teaching and learning. This contrasts with the use of opportunities to learn as a theoretical concept in the Czech Republic, where opportunities to learn mainly represent a theoretical basis for conducting microanalyses of teaching.
The study informs about the most common forms of violation of the publication ethics. The main goal of the study is to increase the sensitivity of researchers to breaches of publication ethics and to contribute to cultivating the ublication environment in the Czech educational science and research. In the first part, the authors analyse the reasons that usually lead researchers to breach publication ethics. They also highlight the possibility that the current system of financing and evaluating science and research in the Czech Republic might represent one of the causes. Further on, following an analysis of available literature, the typical instances of inappropriate publishing behaviour are discussed. In doing so, the authors make use of the analogy with biblical Ten Commandments. The typical examples of such behaviour are: 1. data fabrication or falsification, 2. plagiarism 3. gift, honorary or ghost authorship, 4. simultaneous submission or multiple/duplicate publication, 5. salami slicing, 6. text recycling, 7. reciprocal citations, 8. Imprecise referencing/ quoting, 9. conflict of interests, and 10. copyright law breaking. In the end, the authors suggest precautions that might aid a more rigorous adherence to the ethical rules in publishing practice.
The paper presents the main research findings and recommendations concerning the implementation of curricular reform in upper-secondary comprehensive schools. The authors analyse ten problem areas of curricular reform, as they were captured in the Kvalitní škola research project. (1) There is no (shared) understanding of the key ideas and concepts of the reform; (2) Discussing the reform: participants and their non-voices; (3) The problem of language, of ’understanding’; (4) Doubts about what is being reformed; (5) When what-is-being-implemented has been implemented: the problem of coordination; (6) Conditions of implementation; (7) Ambiguous acceptation of the reform on the part of teachers; (8) Two-level curriculum: state-level and school-level curriculum as the key elements of the reform; (9) Teachers making a curriculum: doubts and hesitation; (10) Realising curriculum: formalism or a route to the new culture of teaching and learning. Towards the end of the paper, the authors summarise recommendations for the participants on different levels of the reform. They also suggest an outlook for future research in this area.
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