The present study focuses on the amount of brain knowledge that children have, and specifically, which neuromyths they believe. Previous research suggests that brain knowledge, either right or...Show moreThe present study focuses on the amount of brain knowledge that children have, and specifically, which neuromyths they believe. Previous research suggests that brain knowledge, either right or wrong, can influence the way children think about themselves, and how they behave. If this knowledge is negatively framed, this can have a negative effect on their development. Therefore, we investigated whether curiosity, prior knowledge, and science-related curiosity were predictive of correctly distinguishing neuromyths and truths and whether these same predictors were related to the perceived relevance of brain knowledge in their daily lives. Furthermore, we looked at the difference between children in primary school and in secondary school with respect to how much they want to know about the brain, and what they want to know about the brain was examined. To test this, 321 children in primary and secondary schools, aged between 10 and 15 years, filled out a questionnaire about their curiosity and prior knowledge, and they judged whether 25 statements about the brain (13 myths, 11 facts, and 1 opinion) were right or wrong. We found that curiosity, prior knowledge, and science-related curiosity as measured with a questionnaire were not predictive of being better able to distinguish neuromyths and truths. However, in an exploratory analysis we found that a higher number of correctly detected facts predicted a lower number of correctly detected neuromyths. When looking at perceived relevance, higher levels of curiosity and science-related curiosity predicted higher levels of perceived relevance, while prior knowledge did not. No differences between children who go to primary school and secondary school were found in how much they want to know about the brain. Also, the themes they would like to know more about were quite the same, mostly focused on general brain knowledge and brain development. This is the first study that focuses on neuromyths and brain knowledge in children. It is important that more research is done on the effect of believing neuromyths and the influence it has on children’s behavior.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
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Achieving universal primary education is both promoted as a global development goal and as a priority for the Tanzanian government. To reach this goal, the government is committed to making primary...Show moreAchieving universal primary education is both promoted as a global development goal and as a priority for the Tanzanian government. To reach this goal, the government is committed to making primary education accessible for as many children as possible by making it both compulsory and free of charge. Nevertheless, there is still a problem with absenteeism in Tanzania. This ethnographic research explores the range of factors and reasons, besides tuition fees, that influence children's absenteeism through a case study of three primary schools in rural northern Tanzania. It analysesthe collaboration between these three schools and the Dutch-Tanzanian NGO Kamitei Foundation in addressing this issue. Based on interviews with teachers, parents, and pupils themselves, the main argument of this thesis is that the different roles that children have within rural households have consequences for their level of attendance. These household activities differ according to gender, and to the extent of how indispensable the children are within their household. Moreover, I found that differences in classroom pedagogy and in schools' policies of dealing with absenteeism also influenced the rate of absenteeism among pupils. Based on my findings, I argue that punishment or ignorance by the teachers as a response to not being present at school is one of the main factors that makes absence recurring, which makes it hard to reduce it. The Kamitei Foundation and the schools try to reach a consensus on this issue by working together to offer good quality education, even though it can be hard to reach the same level of understanding.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
closed access
The thesis is based on empirical fieldwork that investigated a disaster-induced relocation project in eastern Indonesia. Choosing an actor-focused approach that followed development brokers of a...Show moreThe thesis is based on empirical fieldwork that investigated a disaster-induced relocation project in eastern Indonesia. Choosing an actor-focused approach that followed development brokers of a Christian NGO in the course of the project, enabled the author to expose multiple conflicting interests and agendas between and within government, the NGO and the 'host-community'. In this complex and contested discursive arena, brokers were strategically translating and shifting interests to create common realities and alliances from heterogeneous networks. By adapting and transforming objectives of the 'good governance' discourse, they were able to unify groups and win over supporters, despite the poor implementation of the project. How these translations competed with interpretations of other actors and how they influenced the brokers' positioning towards the goverment was of particular interest within this research. Applying visual methods has shed light on the performative and emotional dimensions of these translation processes. The ethnographic film 'Fighting for Nothing to Happen', which is the main part of the thesis, is accompanied by the multi-media pdf file that employs different interacting media and provides historical, political and socioeconomic background to selected sequences of the film. The different media inform and contest each other in a rhizomatic structure that produces a multi-layered and comprehensive understanding of the complexity of brokerage and development in Indonesia.Show less
