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Media constructions of gender and inequality in an educational context
Get PDFPast research regarding gender inequality in education can be characterized as dealing with issues that girls are likely to encounter in schools; however, in the 1990s, a new paradigm emerged based on results achieved in international assesments that monitor trends in student achievement – consideration of the unequal position that girls found themselves in was taken over by boys' underachievement. The shift in narrative is present not only in the scientific field but especially in public discourse, one of the key elements in the social construction of gender (in)equality, which is currently marked by "moral panic" about boys' position. What is especially worrying about that is that the media is focusing only on limited aspects of gender inequality. Thus many authors point out that concerns regarding the "boys' crisis" are based on incorrect assumptions about the correlation between girls' high achievement and boys' underachievement; on exaggeration in differences; on the assumption that girls' success is to be seen as proof of achieved (and exceeded) gender equality; and in discussions of discrimination against boys and the feminization of schools. Discourse on gender in education is thus permeated with the undertone of concern about issues boys face during schooling and is constructed and confirmed based on arguments about biological essentialism and natural differences in approaches to learning and abilities of students.
The discourses that often result from a comparison of achievements, and create a competition out of education, are a reflection of the neoliberal social climate. Such discourses are also anti-feminist, which is typical of the postfeminist media landscape in which, on the one hand, newfound female power is clearly and loudly highlighted, and the issue of sexism is discussed. On the other hand, the evergrowing presence of women and femininity in media opens up space for new forms of misogyny and retrosexism. The issue of gender and (in)equality in the current social climate is thus marked by a mostly postfeminist attitude, denoted by popular ideas about the omnipotence of women and concerns about the position of men. Such binary oppositions are present also in the field of education, perhaps most clearly seen in the form of sensationalist news articles in the media that highlight problems faced by boys. With the help of the media, a one-dimensional discourse about forgotten and problematic boys has been woven into the public discourse.
Such assumptions affect not only the perceptions of parents and teachers but also the creation of educational policies, which abroad (e.g., in the United Kingdom, Australia, United States of America) have already recognized the problems faced by boys as a serious issue. In recent years, also in Slovenia, more and more attention has been paid to discussion whether boys have the same opportunities to succeed as girls, or whether the school system prevents them from progressing because it is not sufficiently adapted to their needs and characteristics. Thus, our main goal was to analyse the discursive construction of gender in the educational context of Slovenian society.
The theoretical basis of the dissertation is the feminist theory of education, with a poststructuralist and social constructivist perspective. We begin with the thesis that social reality is discursively constructed and open for individual interpretations, which depend on individuals' respective social, cultural, and economic circumstances. The approach to handling social relations is marked by intersectionality, in which inequalities are understood as structurally conditioned and multifaceted or complex. Key theoretical concepts with which we operate, and are discussed in the theoretical overview, are gender and equality. Gender is a social construct that is established through discursive action. Equality is understood in the context of equity. The concepts of discourse and ideology are also important for our analysis. Discourse is formed by socially and culturally created and mediated language patterns, through which power operates that have a specific way of positioning subjects and objects. Ideology is conceptualized as a discursive practice that provides individuals a subjective position, with which existing social relations of domination and subordination are reproduced. Ideology and discourse are connected, discourses are the carriers of ideology, and analysis needs to focus on the ideological effects of discursive practices. Media are one of the key actors of discursive action; thus, the empirical part analyses their role in the reproduction of discourses about gender in the educational context.
The empirical part of the dissertation is research that focuses on analysing the discourse about gender in the educational context between 2007 and 2017 in Slovenia. The research enables an overview of the situation in this field in our country, as well as a comparison with the situation abroad. We use critical discourse analysis (CDA) of digital versions of the main Slovenian print media and pedagogical journals and newspapers. CDA is a tool for studying communication in the socio-cultural, political, and economic context. It takes place on three levels: linguistic (as textual analysis of the sample articles), discursive, and social (as interpretation and explanation of the results of the linguistic level). With such an approach, we reveal the specific context in which relations of power and discourses about gender and (in)equality are (re)produced in social reality.
The selection of material studied includes Slovenian newspapers that started publishing before 2007 and regularly report on topics in education, with the condition of digital accessibility of content (in digital archives). The sample includes articles from the main Slovenian media (newspapers and their supplements): Delo, NeDelo, Sobotna priloga, Slovenske novice, Dnevnik, Objektiv, Nedeljski, Večer, Primorske novice, Družina in Mladina. In selecting materials for analysis, we also included pedagogical journals: Didakta, Vzgoja, Razredni pouk, Vzgoja in izobraževanje, and a pedagogical newspaper Šolski razgledi. A total of 319 texts are included in the final sample for analysis, of which 109 are from general media and 210 are from pedagogical journals.
In the first stage of textual analysis we examine the occurrence of themes and structure of the articles, paying special attention to the length, titles, subtitles, bolded or otherwise emphasised parts of the text and the use of photography – comparing these differences of structure and format between articles in media and specialized pedagogical journals. We also analyse the use of sources, vocabulary, elements of grammar, macro-propositions and presuppositions. The analysis reveals various implicit and explicit assumptions about gender in education and beliefs about the existence of important differences between men and women. The typical assumptions we could find in the sample studied are, for example, boys/men and girls/women: behave differently, excel in different areas, have different interests, different attitudes towards important questions, and react differently in the same situations.
These assumptions combine to form different discursive frames. In the conducting of discourse analysis, we could recognise the following frames: the absent father, the importance of the male role model and appeal to male teachers, poor boys and troublesome boys, the unfairness of grading (or gender-biased grading), schools not being adjusted to boys' needs, biological basis for gender-based differences (in achievements and interests) and also an alternative framework.
Furthermore, the discourses are placed into the context of dominant ideologies based on the social analysis, which is the final step of critical discourse analysis. Discourses that construct the knowledge about gender in education also contribute to a broader social level. They form discursive practices with ideological effects, especially neoliberalism and postfeminism, and partially also neoconservatism. These ideologies are worth exploring in a historical, cultural, political, and economic context. The explanation, therefore, focuses on potential crisis moments, changes in the discourse through time, and the elements of intersectional inequality.
Analysis shows that the discursive construction of gender and inequalities in education follows the same principles in Slovenia than it does abroad. It is grounded in gender essentialism that is conveyed through the discourse of worry and care. The purpose of the thesis is to uncover the social roots of the construction of gender inequality in education and to alert to the ideological impacts of discoursive action of the media and pedagogical journals. Through that, the importance of considering other, alternative ways of action with which we could recognise gender as an important, but in no way the only factor of inequality is shown
Virtual implementation of "social skills training" as an example of digital youth work
Get PDFIn my master's thesis, I explored the experiences of participants and youth workers with digital youth work, which started to develop more rapidly in Slovenia during the COVID-19 epidemic.
In the theoretical part, I explored the field of mental health, especially youth mental health, which was most exposed during the COVID-19 epidemic. I was interested in the risk and protective factors in promoting and maintaining mental health. I have focused on the role of youth organisations and youth workers, which can play a significant role in prevention to improv and maintain young people's mental health in Slovenia. One of the key tasks of youth organisations is to offer opportunities for personal and social development through leisure activities. In a period of strict measures to contain the spread of infections, youth organisations developed digital programmes to stay in touch with young people. I concluded the theoretical part with a presentation of digital youth work, which was already developing abroad before 2020, but only developed more rapidly in our country during COVID-19 epidemic.
In the empirical part of the thesis, I was interested in how the digitalisation of the programme “Training of social skills (TSS)”, implemented by Youth Aid Centre Association, was received by participants and digital youth work practitioners. I compared the responses collected on evaluation questionnaires filled in by participants of non-virtual and virtual TSS. Through this comparison I evaluated the success of the virtual implementation of TSS. At the same time, I was also interested in what challenges the digital youth work practitioners faced, what competences they strengthened while planning and implementing digital youth work, and what are the opportunities and needs for further development of this field of work in youth organisations.
The results have shown that there are differences in the participants' evaluation of the programme. The non-virtual TSS participants evaluate the programme higher. However, the ratings of the participants of the virtual TSS are relatively high. The results showed that it was very important for youth organisations to offer their programmes and activities in a virtual format during a period of strict measures to contain the spread of infections. Digital youth work practitioners say, that they were only somewhat in favour of digital youth work in the future (e.g. using different applications between non-virtual programmes) or in circumstances where face-to-face socialising and contact are restricted, not allowed. The research provided me with pros and cons of digital youth work and how to support digital youth work practitioners to ensure that digital youth work can continue to develop in the future
Independent living of younger adults with cerebral palsy
Get PDFThe doctoral dissertation analyses persons with cerebral palsy, their daily lives, lack of social power and the decisions they can make, as well as their unmet needs, violated basic human rights, their experience of independent living, stigmatization, social exclusion, and aid processes and support available to them in designing appropriate solutions for their lives. Individuals with cerebral palsy are in a weakened position when establishing independence and when developing self-determination; thus, social support and the support of various professional services are essential for their independence. With this research, the experts who work with persons with cerebral palsy are also the subject of this research. In turn, the research also reflects their understanding of independence and the needs of an individual with cerebral palsy, the types of help and support they can offer, and the perspective for improving the support process. Within this research, the term independent living is considered as a right for all individuals, even persons with cerebral palsy, to have the same control and can make choices in everyday life that other persons take for granted. This includes growing up in their families, attending school; employment consistent with their education and skills; equal access to services and institutions of social life, equal access to culture and leisure activities. Most importantly, persons with cerebral palsy need to have control over their own lives and be able to think and speak for themselves and themselves. The theoretical background of this research includes insights into the real and imaginary position of persons with cerebral palsy, which, through various discourses, creates a negative image of persons with disabilities (including persons with cerebral palsy). The situation and specifics of persons with cerebral palsy inevitably affect all areas of their lives, above all, the establishment of their independent living. Theoretical background also highlights the factors and obstacles that significantly determine the course of life and decision-making regarding independent living of persons with cerebral palsy. The dissertation is formulated based on the reflection of the interaction between various contextual factors (understanding of independence, the ideology of independent living, family, aid process, social inclusion, education, disabilities, employment, institutional environment, acceptance in society, etc.) and different identities and social roles of persons with cerebral palsy in connection with the development of individual's independent living. Persons with cerebral palsy represent the critical stakeholder in the dissertation. The research is aimed at reflecting on artificially constructed concepts of support, independent living, and disability. The research seeks the answers to questions regarding individual subjectivity, self-determination, and the active role of individuals in support processes and in planning their independent living. The purpose of the dissertation is to strengthen the voice of people with cerebral palsy and allow them to draw or highlight their views, experiences, needs, preferences, issues, and desires. With this in mind, the doctoral dissertation focuses on the rarely heard voice of people with cerebral palsy who speak in their way and express themselves uniquely. The dissertation identifies fundamental factors that significantly contribute successful planning of an independent life of persons with cerebral pals through empirical research, as the professionals and social relations they establish and maintain with persons with cerebral palsy. The research is theoretically funded on a social model of disability (in our case cerebral palsy), which places the individual's barrier at the level of society and outside the individual's body. Nevertheless, the dissertation does not neglect the fact that cerebral palsy is a motor and cognitive impairment; the individual’s impairment remains a fact. In the doctoral dissertation, we adopt the qualitative research approach to explore the critical facilitators for achieving independent life for people with cerebral palsy. Using semi-structured interviews, we explore the subjective opinions of people with cerebral palsy and experts regarding the definition of independent living, existing needs, and issues affecting individual's life. We further identify the necessary competencies of professionals to adequately help a person with cerebral palsy and the strengths of people with cerebral palsy, which can significantly contribute to the quality of life of people with cerebral palsy. Finally, we highlight the importance and impact of the process of support, aid services, family, and education on the independent life of people with cerebral palsy. Persons with cerebral palsy are often ignored, and their voices are disregarded. They do not receive sufficient adjustments and support and often feel stigmatized and excluded. Due to limited financial resources, persons with cerebral palsy often feel deprived and dissatisfied with professional help and face society's prejudices. Experts emphasize the need for education and training to work with adults with cerebral palsy and identify the benefits and contribution of their inclusion in the work process from the perspective of power and co-creation, which leads to positive outcomes in the working relationship and professional practice. Based on the results of this research, we propose a new model of assistance and support, which is funded on a cooperative relationship between the experts and the person with cerebral palsy and an active role of the person with cerebral palsy in the processes. We propose a holistic and individualized approach that stems exclusively from the needs of persons with cerebral palsy and covers modern concepts of the support process. In formulating future directions and recommendations for changes in the existing support processes in conjunction with the planning of independent living of people with cerebral palsy, we relied on the theoretical concepts from the Strengths perspective in social work practice,‘Solution Focused Brief Therapy and the Concept of resilience development. The dissertation reveals the fundamental mechanisms that keep people with cerebral palsy in a subordinate position and prevent them from living independently. Thus, it aims to represent a step towards a more fair society. The dissertation highlights how the patronizing attitude is reflected in less-satisfactory solutions for independent living of persons with cerebral palsy. It also identifies how the real insight into the lives of persons with cerebral palsy is distorted due to the stigmatizing, ambivalent attitude towards persons with disabilities and ingrained prejudices. Furthermore, the voices of persons with cerebral palsy and their right to self-determination and decision-making in conjunction with their interpretation of their needs and their desires are too often overlooked and disregarded. The absence of their voice represents the fundamental precondition for repression. Society tends to label persons with disabilities as»sick",»different,»or»incompetent.»It is generally assumed that persons with disabilities do not need to work and are thus often excluded from daily life duties, in many cases even marginalized. Our goal is also to make the community aware of the rights of citizens with disabilities and that their rights to quality of life are equal to those of everyone else. The research is one of the few that observes persons with cerebral palsy in Slovenia as subjects and stakeholders and not only as mere objects of observation. Such a perspective enables a new understanding of persons with cerebral palsy and fair integration of persons who are labeled as only barriers into society
Constructing a 3-D model of brighter stars
Get PDFIn my master thesis I describe the making of a didactical gadget 3-D model of brighter stars that can be used for teaching physics or astronomy. In the first part I explain the basic concepts that I talk about in the rest of this master thesis. These are proper motions of stars, brief description of Milky Way Galaxy, description of Andromeda constellation and stars that are found in this constellation. I also dedicate a few words to the story from Greek mythology from which allegedly originate names of the main constellation and some neighbouring constellations. In the second part I focus on the construction of my model. Hence a model such like this one to my knowledge hasn’t yet been made all my work is mainly based on planning and during construction try to find problems that a person can encounter and efficient ways to overcome them. Goal is to find an affordable and efficient way to construct such a model, find as many traps during construction and ways to bypass them. In the last part I test the main hypothesis of my master thesis by analysing proper motion of stars
Developing pre-school children's creativity through the creative thinking tehnique in technical education
Get PDFThe purpose of the thesis is to introduce the technics of a creative thinking into work with preschool children. With writing of this thesis, we wanted to inform pedagogical workers with different technics of creative thinking, that they could use in practice. In the theoretical part of the thesis, we have generally defined the creativeness and then we have focused on creativeness of a preschool child. After that we have described different technics of creative thinking, and later on we have integrated it into survey questionnaire for pedagogical workers. Because of empirical part of the thesis, we have focused on a different cross-generational groups and we have performed activities, which we have described in theoretical part of the characteristics of an evolution of a preschool child. We have ordered characteristics in an area of a child’s evolution, and after that we have focused on a development of a child in a second age span. In the empirical part we have analyzed the data, which we have gathered with a survey questionnaire. In the research we have included 239 pedagogical workers from Slovenian kindergartens, which we have questioned about their opinion and work cases in integration of creative activities into kindergarten. As a part of a thesis, we have through morphological analysis of technics of a creative thinking designed and made two toys for a preschool child, and then we have tested the toys in practice. One of the toys was designed as a part of planned activities with the children in age span from 5 to 7 years. In the empirical part of thesis, we have analysed and compared the activities with children about their play time with the toys that we have designed and made. We have found out that every day pedagogical workers include activities that strengthens and develop child’s creativeness through different areas. In the planning they are trying to include child’s interest and offer them different materials to play with. The toys that we had created in a part of a thesis, have been tested in a two different age groups. We have observed and compared the children’s play time and after that we have come to the conclusion that in between of a group of children that have helped in a toy’s making and independent group there was no major differences. Also, we have noticed that during the play time with the toys, the children were very careful with the toy and persistent in repeating of the activities. The conclusion was that the knowledge about creative thinking among pedagogical workers is very bad, so we hope that with this thesis we would encourage pedagogical workers to study new technics of a creative thinking and uses of a new ideas meant for better work with children’s, even in a technical part of an education
Materiali – Iz česa so narejeni stvari?, Založba Hart, Ljubljana, 2021
Get PDFKnjiga o materialih poenostavljeno opiše, kaj so
materiali in se osredini na opis kamna, kovine, lesa,
papirja, stekla, plastike in tekstilnega blaga. Tudi
dvostranska poglavja nosijo taka imena. Vsebino
knjige sestavljajo še poglavja, ki vključujejo odgovore
na možičkove izzive, slovarček manj pogostih besed in
stvarno kazalo
Strokovno didaktične usmeritve za poučevanje matematike v prilagojenem izobraževalnem programu z nižjim izobrazbenim standardom
Get PDFPovod za nastanek dela Strokovno didaktične usmeritve za poučevanje matematike v prilagojenem izobraževalnem programu z nižjim izobrazbenim standardom (v nadaljevanju PP NIS) je v letu 2022 potrjen učni načrt za matematiko za prilagojeni izobraževalni program z nižjim izobrazbenim standardom. K oblikovanju usmeritev nas je spodbudilo tudi dejstvo, da za učence in učitelje v tem programu primanjkuje didaktičnih gradiv. V podporo razvoju inkluzivne šole smo se odločili oblikovati strokovno didaktične usmeritve za poučevanje matematike v PP NIS. Učiteljem, ki poučujejo matematiko v tem programu, kot tudi ostalim učiteljem, ki se v procesu poučevanja srečujejo z učenci z lažjo motnjo v duševnem razvoju in tistimi, pri katerih je prisotno sopojavljanje več motenj in so vključeni v druge izobraževalne programe, želimo ponuditi specialno didaktične rešitve pri poučevanju matematičnih pojmov, strategij in spretnosti. Strokovno didaktične usmeritve smo organizirali v dve razčlenjeni poglavji: specialno pedagoška zasnova pouka matematike v PP NIS in strokovno didaktična obravnava matematičnih vsebin po sklopih iz učnega načrta. Usmeritve poučevanja smo zasnovali na novejših specialno didaktičnih in didaktično matematičnih spoznanjih, ki v čim večji meri upoštevajo posebne potrebe učencev in opolnomočijo učitelje za kakovostno vnašanje sprememb v proces poučevanja. Kakovostno poučevanje matematike omogoča učitelju izvajanje individualizacije in diferenciacije, ki temeljita na posebnih potrebah učencev in identifikaciji predhodnih znanjih, ki so opredeljena v učnem načrtu, saj so posamezni pojmi in postopki sistematično nanizani od prvega razreda naprej. Enotno rabo matematičnih izrazov podpirajo opredelitve izrazov pred matematičnimi vsebinskimi sklopi, kot so opredeljeni v učnem načrtu. Strokovno didaktične usmeritve učitelje spodbujajo k uvajanju inovativnih rešitev in raznolikih prilagoditev v skladu s posebnimi potrebami učencev
Differences in children's story telling with a picture book without text according to parents' education and child's gender
Get PDFThe thesis identifies and examines the differences in children’s storytelling with the help of a picture book without text, whereby the level of their parents’ education and the gender of children were considered.
In the theoretical part, the terms speech and speech development are defined, as well as the factors that affect speech development. The role of reading and storytelling in a child's development is described, as well as and the role of an adult in encouraging speech development and the role of an adult in communication with the child. Picture book as am aid for promoting speech development is also discussed. Different types of picture books are presented as well as activities that children carry out using picture books without text.
In the empirical part results of the research are presented. The research was focused on finding out whether there are differences in children's storytelling when using picture book without text in correlation to the level of education of their parents and the gender of a child. Using a questionnaire filled out by the children's parents, we found out what their level of education is and gained insight into their beliefs about speech development in the preschool period.
Most of the parents surveyed believe that the parents' education partially affects the speech development of a child. Half of the respondents share the opinion that there are differences in speech development among girls on one hand and boys on the other hand, and share the opinion that girls' speech develops faster.
The research also comprised storytelling by the children, who were using a picture book without text (M: Amalietti: Maruška potepuška) as an aid for telling the story. 32 children aged four to six were included in the research. Picture book without text served as the basis for exploring the children’s speech development according to the six indicators of the instrument for children's storytelling evaluation (Marjanovič Umek et al., 2011).
The results show that there are insignificant differences in speech development that could be attributed to children’s gender and the level of education of their parents
Textiles as an art material
Get PDFThe goal of my dissertation is to explore and present textiles as artistic material. I will briefly discuss the general presentation of the material and its history, and then discuss how it became a part of art. I will describe in more detail the connection between textiles and the art world, how textiles entered art, and their place in contemporary art. I will mention the great names of modern and contemporary artists who have known how to draw great potential from this vast material and its technical possibilities.
Before textiles rose in the hierarchy of artistic materials, they trod an exciting path that still permeates the craft of art today.
Since textiles allow us a wide range of techniques, I present the most important ones in one of the chapters. In doing so, I go into more detail about techniques such as embroidery, crochet, mending, sewing and painting, and textile printing. I briefly describe each technique and place it in the world of art, connecting it to contemporary artists who use this medium and material in their practice.
I begin the second part of my thesis by presenting my own work, an artist's book. I was inspired by the feminist artist Louise Bourgeois, who toward the end of her life began combining goods in her illustrated books.
The purpose of the author's work was to try out the techniques she described and achieve different results with them. I wanted to prove that textiles can be an equivalent material to a brush and a palette, that they can express everything we want to express with watercolors or photography, and that they offer us a lot of techniques that allow us a lot of expressionist expression
Experiencing the experts' attitudes and support by the parents who cope with the child's special needs
Get PDFThis master's thesis discusses the experiences of parents od children with special needs when participating with professionals, in the process of coping with the difference of their child. It focuses on experiencing the help and support parents received from professionals and on the changes in the family that occured when coping with the child's difference. The theoretical part of the master's thesis first presents a historical view of special needs and the current situation of children with special needs through the educational context. Then a description of parents' coping with their child's diagnosis and their grieving process is given. In the following, the concepts of cooperation between parents and professionals and guidelines for better quality work with parents are presented. In the end, the importance of including the child in the assistance process is emphasized.
Since living with a child with special needs requires many considerations, which means that parents are forced to come into contact with and cooperate with various professionals throughout the child's upbringing, the purpose of the empirical work was to present the diverse experiences of parents, and the challenges and obstacles that appear in cooperation with professionals. In addition, the goal of the master's thesis was to find out what a successful cooperative relationship means for parents and which factors they consider important for the development and existence of a partnership with professionals. The master's thesis also focuses on the child's role and position in the treatment process, and investigates the extent to which adults consider the child as an equal partner in the treatment. The research was conducted with a qualitative research approach, with the help of a semi-structured interview, which included four pairs of parents of children with special needs, who are members of the Association of Parents of Children with Special Needs, which operates in the area of Croatian Istria.
The results of the research showed that the experience of cooperation between parents and professionals depends on many factors, such as: the attitude of professionals towards parents; the views and expectations of both parties; ways of cooperation; operation and connection of professional services. The main findings show that parents mostly have a negative experience of cooperation with professionals, as they believe that they lack the support and help of an interdisciplinary team that would be in charge of continuously monitoring their child. This applies especially to the period of adolescence. The child's active involvement in treatment depends on his age, self-advocacy and the dynamics of the relationship between parents and professionals