Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, EDU Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this study was to explore the social studies teachers conceptualizations, experiences and practices of developing citizens in primary schools in Botswana. The study was qualitative and employed naturalistic inquiry paradigm. Data were collected through interviews, focus groups, participant observations and document analysis.The study adopted a grounded theory to data analysis by using the constant comparative data analysis technique for theory generation. The findings from this study reflect a gloomy picture on citizenship education as perceived, interpreted and enacted within primary shools investigated leading to the conclusion that citizenship education remains an illusion rather than a reality.

Committee: Merry Merryfield Dr (Advisor); Binaya Subedi PhD (Committee Member); Antoinette Errante PhD (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: African Studies; Education Policy; Gender; Social Studies Education; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2012, Curriculum and Instruction (Education)

Previous studies indicate that in comparison to face-to-face learning environment, online discussion requires students to engage each other at higher levels of thinking and not restrict themselves to recalling facts (Bell, 2006). A higher level of thinking in the learning process is observed when learners take responsibility of their learning process and exercise self-regulation. Although instructors usually use educational technology, such as online discussion forums, to encourage learners' interaction, at times the technology seems not to be fully integrated in instruction. (Scardamalia, (&) Bereiter, 2008). Scardamalia and Bereiter (2008) stated that educational technologies should not be regarded as mere technological innovations, but as a part of instructional design. Treating online discussion boards, chat rooms or wikis as part of instructional design encourages higher level learning practices (Nussbaum et al., 2002(;) Scardamalia, (&) Bereiter, 2008). This study explored the potential of online discussion board forums to support thoughtful dialogue that contributes to higher levels of thinking. Previous studies have indicated that although online discussion forums have the potential to enhance student engagement in reflective learning, the quality of this reflection is often shallow (Marttunen and Laurinen (2001(;) Nussbaum et al., 2002(;) Scardamalia, (&) Bereiter, 2008). Transformative learning theory enabled this study evaluate participants' perception of their learning experiences and progress in online discussion forums. The finding of this study was that participants of online discussion forum perceive transformative learning as a two-dimensional construct. This is inconsistent to previous studies proposing a four-dimensional construct (Mezirow, 2003). Further analysis of the collected data suggested that within the online discussion forums gender has no significant impact on learners' engagement in reflective learning practices. Neither do class-lev (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dr. David R. Moore PhD (Advisor); Dr. Teresa T. Franklin PhD (Committee Member); Dr. George A. Johanson PhD (Committee Member); Dr. Greg K. Kessler PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Continuing Education; Curriculum Development; Education; Educational Technology; Information Technology; Teacher Education; Teaching