Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers'
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1
Cole, John. "What boosts? What drags? A study of teacher views about the HALT certification process provided by the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2021. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2461.
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The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has offered certification for teacher career progression to Highly Accomplished and Lead teacher status since 2012. By 2020, about 800 teachers (from an Australian teacher workforce of 300,000) had achieved certification. At the same time, AITSL leadership has advocated for a HALT in every school – which would require 10,000 certified teachers. This research examines the views of teachers from one education sector, in one Australian territory, regarding teacher certification. This research identifies major factors encouraging these teachers to consider certification; drag factors encountered by the teachers during their consideration of certification; and major factors discouraging these teachers from considering certification. The study used focus group interviews with secondary teachers from independent schools in the Australian Capital Territory. Participants were asked about their experiences and interactions with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in terms of their view of the profession and career progression. Findings highlight that the participant-teachers had little appetite to engage with the Standards and saw few connections for the Standards in their daily work or for their career development. This group of teachers saw applying for certification as a threatening and onerous task which provided limited (if any) benefit to their career or their day-to-day teaching. They were unable to quantify the contribution of certified teachers to their sector of education. The study highlights the need for additional research in this area, particularly in other sectors, other states and other settings, to secure evidence of teacher views. Further research is essential to inform the direction for development of the Standards in Australia.
2
O'Donnell, Brian Charles, of Western Sydney Macarthur University, and Faculty of Education and Languages. "A model for registering teachers, accrediting teacher education and awarding advanced certification in Australia : a means for advancing the status of teaching as an autonomous profession." THESIS_FEL_XXX_O'Donnell_B.xml, 1999. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/78.
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Teaching in Australia is acknowledged as a profession. The public, however, generally perceives teaching as a poorly paid occupation whose practitioners exert little control over their own standards of practice. Consequently, the professional status of teachers is low, and very few of the most capable school leavers and high ability university graduates are attracted to teaching as a career. Furthermore, teachers' perceptions that the public does not appreciate their work have led to low morale, high rates of resignations, and early retirements among experienced practitioners. These factors will contribute to serious shortages of teachers in the new millennium. In the past Australian employers in both government and non-government school sectors have attempted to circumvent teacher shortages by reducing qualifications required for teaching. This anti-professional practice has contributed to the belief that teaching is something that anyone can do. It is argued in this thesis that the status of the teaching profession in Australia must be enhanced if teaching is to attract capable new recruits and retain knowledgeable, experienced practitioners. This could be achieved by giving teachers greater responsibility for their profession's standards through a system of statutory regulatory boards, comprised largely of practising teachers. The boards would be responsible for establishing and enforcing standards for registration of teachers, accreditation of teacher education, and provision of advanced certification. Furthermore, such regulation of the profession should be on a national basis to ensure that all children in all schools in Australia have access to competent, professionally qualified teachers, and to overcome the problems of interstate mobility of teachers. The thesis concludes by calling on all stakeholders to acknowledge teaching as a full profession. This could be achieved by accepting that teachers should regulate their professional standards in the same way that other professions do. A model to achieve that end is presented.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
3
Wacha, Arlene Jean. "Teachers' Perceptions of School District Professional Development Alignment with National Standards." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7208.
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Despite ongoing delivery of teacher professional development (PD), educational leaders in the local district did not have an objective evaluation whether their implementation of the Marzano causal teacher evaluation model and the iObservation tool training were aligned with accepted national standards for PD effectiveness. Using Vygotsky's constructivist theory as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this quantitative descriptive, correlational study was to describe teachers' perceptions of the alignment of the district's PD with national standards and the relationship between teachers' reported self-efficacy and attitudes toward the PD program. A purposive sample of 80 middle school teachers completed the Learning Forward's Standard Assessment Inventory and Kao, Tsai, and Shih's Self-Efficacy and Attitude Survey. The response rate was 33%. Descriptive analysis indicated that teachers perceived and were satisfied with the alignment of the PD to national standards. Correlation analysis revealed strong positive correlations (p < .01) between teachers' self-efficacy ratings and their attitudes toward the PD's alignment with national standards. These findings informed development of a training promoting a shared vision among educational leaders and teachers about the necessity of following national standards when designing and implementing PD. Alignment of teacher PD with national standards might result in positive social change by creating effective trainings for teachers which could, in turn, have a positive influence on educational outcomes over time.
4
Petrie-Waymyers, Nadine. "Teachers' Experiences with Web-Based Professional Development for Diffusing State Standards." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5646.
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School reform efforts ultimately affect the students, but what is seldom looked at is how they affect teachers. This phenomenological study examined the experiences of teachers with regards to web-based professional development during a systemic change. The purpose of this qualitative study was to generate an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of 6 teachers in a Southeastern state who had participated in the initial process of implementing organizational changes and the diffusion of the new state educational standards. Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory served as the study's conceptual framework. Research questions focused on the perspectives of teachers regarding the impact of web-based professional development on implementing the new state standards, and the perceived barriers and challenges faced in their attempts to make the implementation of the new state standards successful. Interview data were analyzed using first- and second-level coding to identify external and internal factors related to the research questions and themes that emerged across all interview transcripts. Key findings indicted that teachers perceived that they did not receive adequate professional development or planning time to implement the new standards. This study has implications for social change on an organizational and individual level. On an organizational level, districts can provide K-12 teachers with an implementation process that allows adequate planning time and proper professional development that enhances their pedagogical needs by using a framework more aligned to the diffusion innovation theory. Teachers can then better plan instruction with ample time to acquire, process, and implement new knowledge, allowing them to improve their pedagogical practice.
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Coughlin, Dominic James. "The development of the Teachers' Standards in England and Professional Standards for Teachers in Scotland : determining the pedagogic discourse and recontextualising principle." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2016. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/the-development-of-the-teachers-standards-in-england-and-professional-standards-for-teachers-in-scotland-determining-the-pedagogic-discourse-and-recontextualising-principle(eb87c89d-2460-4c94-adc2-e15ed2d1dbeb).html.
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Teaching standards have increasingly been used to identify and categorise the work of teachers across educational systems for the purpose of certification and licencing, as performance indicators and, in some cases, to map out professional development. Accordingly, in both England and Scotland, teaching standards have been a central tenet in attempts to regulate the work of teachers. Most recently in England this has resulted in the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2012b), and in Scotland the Professional Standards for Teachers comprising of The Standards for Registration (GTCS, 2012h), The Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning (GTCS, 2012f), and The Standards for Leadership and Management (GTCS, 2012g). This research provides a comparative analysis of the recontextualising principle and pedagogic discourse (Bernstein, 2000), the rules and regulations, which led to the production of these most recent sets of standards in England and Scotland. A mixed qualitative approach was taken to the research questions composing documentary analysis and interviews with those involved with the reviews. The analysis of text drew on Basil Bernstein’s Pedagogic Device (Bernstein, 2000) combined with Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 2003) to provide a single theoretical lens. CDA was ‘put to work’ (Chouliaraki & Fairclough, 1999, p.2) within the Pedagogic Device to tease out the discursive practices of the reviews of teaching standards through the examinations of the documentary and interview data. The Professional Standards for Teachers in Scotland look to Hoyle’s (1974) ‘extended professionality’ and Sachs’ ‘activism’ (2003a) as the model for teacher professionalism, whereas the Teachers’ Standards in England, developed in the controlled environment of the Department of Education (DfE), represent a more passive teacher at the restricted end of Hoyle’s continuum. In regards to the development of teaching standards, the DfE approaches the review process as a ‘classic bureaucracy’ (Dimmock, 2007) in tightly regulating the drafting of the Teachers’ Standards. The General Teaching Council for Scotland adopts two identities to the development of the Professional Standards for Teachers. First, it integrates, through an interlocking committee structure, with the Scottish Government and their associated institutions. Second, it adopts an ‘informal’ organisational approach to writing the standards.
6
Taylor, Adam J. "Teachers' experience of professional standards for teachers: A case study of the enactment of teaching standards in a high performing school system." Thesis, Australian Catholic University, 2016. https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/download/88c1cc876f37deec6a6860bb34aef687c44be9c397f2d1dcce2c3e0e95ebac00/20239759/Taylor_2016_Teachers_experience_of_professional_standards_for_teachers.pdf.
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The focus of this thesis is professional standards for teachers. In particular, teachers’ experiences of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s (AITSL) Australian Professional Standards for Teachers are addressed as one example of similar professional standards found throughout the global metropole. There is a bountiful literature on professional standards written from a theoretical perspective, but no notable international literature on practitioners’ experience of professional standards and the professionalism which they enunciate. The literature review of this thesis takes a wide purview of the multiple discourses that have contributed to the genesis of professional standards. Understanding the context of professional standards thereafter allows for the problematising of professional standards and the teacher quality discourse in which they are situated. This inquiry adopted an original, multi-layered phenomenographic approach in seeking to understand the intersubjective space between teachers and professional standards. Semi-structured interviews with 71 secondary school teachers in a high performing school system formed the evidentiary base of this thesis. This was supported by a series of extended critically reflexive debriefs with a panel of peers. This generative process allowed for the construction of a phenomenographic outcome space that describes the finite number of ways in which teachers conceive professional standards. The outcome space provides the basis for the subsequent discussion of the impact of professional standards on the professional identity of teachers. The inquiry finds that the discourses of quality assurance and quality improvement dominate the arena of professional standards, and that the quality assurance discourse is seen by teachers in the current study as heavily outweighing the discourse of quality improvement. This has concomitant negative effects on the capacity of professional standards to fulfill their stated intention to improve the quality of teaching and raise its status. It further finds that while the AITSL Standards describe the epistemological dimensions of what teachers should know and be able to do, they largely ignore the ontological dimension of the human person that teachers become. This research seeks to stimulate reflection, dialogue and debate on the significance of the ontology of teaching, suggesting that the deepening of teacher ethics, by teachers and for teachers, holds the greatest promise for doing this in a way which connects the threads of teacher professional standards, teacher professionalism and teacher ontology.
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Young, Francine. "Identifying teachers' perceptions of professional development during the transition to Common Core Standards." Thesis, University of Phoenix, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3738977.
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The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study was the identification of teachers’ perceptions of professional development during the transition to and implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in the classroom. National reform efforts driven by an increased need for skill acquisition applicable to diverse needs in an ever-expanding global economy and increased demands for teacher accountability in the realm of student achievement requires additional teacher professional development. This study applied the constructs of social learning theory and constructivism in developing both the research questions and subsequent interview questions used during the data collection phase. Identification of overarching themes and patterns in participant responses provided crucial information relevant to the ongoing development of teacher professional development training opportunities from which teachers improve and expand pedagogical knowledge while applying CCSS in classroom instruction. The key emergent these derived from data analysis include, Theme 1: Sharing informational resources; Theme 2: Engagement and active participation; Theme 3: Collaboration enhances implementation; and Theme 4: Implementation and support. This study has the prospective to provide positive progress in the development and delivery of professional development aligned to teachers’ stated interests and concerns.
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Gaddis, Lynn Moss Rita Kay. "Candidate decision-making through the development of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards portfolio." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 2002. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p3064512.
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Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2002.Title from title page screen, viewed March 2, 2006. Dissertation Committee: R. Kay Moss (chair), Barbara Nourie, Kathleen Crawford, Michelle Mueller, Barbara Heyl. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-199) and abstract. Also available in print.
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Daniels, Carol. "Teachers' learning: Experiences of professional learning in a West Australian government secondary school." Thesis, Daniels, Carol (2011) Teachers' learning: Experiences of professional learning in a West Australian government secondary school. Masters by Research thesis, Murdoch University, 2011. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/5797/.
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The purpose of this research is to explore teachers’ perceptions of professional learning. For the purposes of this study the terms professional learning and professional development are synonymous. They go hand in hand in describing the processes that occur which include deliberate learning activities undertaken by individual teachers or groups of teachers to improve policy, curriculum or their own professional knowledge and skills with a view to improving the learning outcomes of students. This study aims to reveal that professional learning of teachers is a process of continuing personal and professional growth.
This study reviews a professional learning module offered by the West Australian Department of Education in 2005 in terms of its relevance to teachers; its effectiveness; its usefulness to teachers’ professional practice and its impact on teachers’ personal and their professional lives. The study was conducted in a metropolitan West Australian Government Secondary School. The findings of this study seek to add to the existing body of knowledge surrounding professional learning of teachers in particular to the knowledge surrounding the ‘traditional’ approach to professional development and in particular, professional development offered by the Department of Education.
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Fitzhardinge, Jocelyn, and n/a. "Secondary teachers' perceptions of selected professional development needs and delivery mechanisms." University of Canberra. Professional & Community Education, 1996. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060710.122615.
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This study highlights the professional development needs and perceptions of secondary
teachers in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) as these relate to teacher promotion
level, years of teaching experience, and subject specialisation. The study also
investigates the delivery mechanisms best suited to these needs and perceptions.
In a devolving education system, effectiveness of teachers' professional development
will depend on finding an appropriate balance between the systems' needs, the schools'
needs and the needs of individual teachers. A mismatch appears to exist between the
provision of professional development and teachers' perception of their professional
development requirements.
This study was conducted in secondary government high schools and colleges in a
selected school region of the ACT. It involved circulating, collecting and analysing a
survey which included seven questions related to four selected themes on professional
development. These are
� teachers' participation in professional development activities by time and provider
� teachers' perception of the effectiveness of formal and informal professional
development in and away from the workplace
� teachers' preferred delivery system of professional development
� professional development and the role of the Advanced Skills Teacher classification.
The overall findings of this study indicate that the professional development needs of
secondary teachers in the ACT are as multifaceted and diverse as those found in other
studies such as Logan (1990), DEBT (1991), Boomer (1988) and the Schools Council
(1990). A less centralised more devolved system of professional development has a
greater chance of meeting the varied needs of individual teachers according to the
DEBT (1991) study and the ACT review (ACTDET, 1993: 52).
In the ACT a centralised program of professional development is provided by the
Professional Development Section of the ACT Department of Education and Training
(ACTDET). This centralised model of professional development delivery is the most
used provider of professional development services and programs within the ACT,
although 43% of the respondents in this study did not attend any courses offered by the
Professional Development Section.
Overall this study found very little variation occurred in teachers' beliefs about whether
professional development is more effective if conducted through formal courses, or by
informal associations with teachers, students and parents. The findings imply the need
for a balance between on-site and off-site delivery mechanisms of professional
development. Working with colleagues for professional development purposes is
supported by the respondents who agreed with involving the proposed Advanced Skills
Teacher 2 classification (AST 2) with specific organisational and leadership
responsibilities for professional development.
This study found that respondents in Health/PE and Science had very low participation
rates in courses offered by the Professional Development Section, compared to other
key learning areas, and they perceived that they improved their knowledge and skills to
a greater degree 'on' the job, that is, at school. Teachers with extended teaching
experience perceived formal courses to be a more effective means of improving their
skills and knowledge.
In conclusion this study raises the question of balancing the needs of the individual
teacher with those of the school and the system. It has highlighted the need for a more
structured professional development plan for ACT teachers so that funding and
programs do not focus solely on system priorities or school priorities at the expense of
the individual teachers' needs and priorities.
11
Lusk, Mandy E. "Teachers of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders’ Perceptions of Professional Standards of Practice." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2012. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc149634/.
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In recent decades, there has been renewed interest in examining the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs. Unfortunately, researchers have found that there is limited empirical research on the effectiveness of quality special education teacher preparation programs, specifically those programs specializing in the education of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the largest special education organization, conducts research on the standards needed by teachers who serve children and youth with exceptionalities. These CEC standards are recommended to serve as a guide for teacher preparation programs in special education. Utilizing the CEC standards delineated for preparation programs in EBD, the present study sought to determine how graduates of one program perceived the importance of the standards and their perceived proficiency in using the standards in their work with students with EBD. Results indicated that graduates viewed the standards as Important to their work with students with EBD. Further, they viewed their proficiency in using the standards to be above average. In addition, the present study examined the relationship between graduates perceived importance and perceived proficiency in using the CEC standards. Results indicated that graduates who had higher score ratings on their perceived importance of the standards tended to have higher ratings on their perceived proficiency scores.
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Amritt, Maxine Tracey Ann. "Teachers' Experiences with Professional Development for the Application of the Common Core State Standards." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/737.
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At one local school site in Georgia, a subgroup of students did not achieve a score of at least 800 on the state's Criterion Referenced Competency Test in math. To improve student success, the local site implemented professional development (PD) for teachers. Successful PD has been shown to promote effective teaching practices, which in turn, have resulted in improved student learning. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore 5th grade teachers' lived experiences of PD and its influence on their application of the Common Core state standards. Bandura's social cognitive theory of self-efficacy guided the study. In-depth interview data were gathered from 5 teachers who taught 5th grade and experienced at least 3 PD sessions. Data from the interviews were transcribed, open coded, and then analyzed with the interpretive model in search of common themes. The 5 teachers' narratives identified ineffective and irrelevant PD and insufficient math resources for teaching the state's math standards. Based on the findings, 3 original PD sessions on the planning and implementation of the state standards were created and additional training and resources were recommended to the local site. This study may promote positive social change by helping local teachers improve their instruction of the state's mathematics standards, thereby improving the mathematics education of students.
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Schwenk, Kaye Louise. "A study to design an effective professional employee rating form by using teacher perceived needs as rating scale criteria." Instructions for remote access. Click here to access this electronic resource. Access available to Kutztown University faculty, staff, and students only, 1990. http://www.kutztown.edu/library/services/remote_access.asp.
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Brizendine, Laora Dauberman. "The effects of teaching in a professional development school and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Professional standards." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 1999. http://etd.wvu.edu/templates/showETD.cfm?recnum=1175.
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Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 1999.Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 114 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 84-87).
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ALSHAHRI, ALI. "THE EXTENT TO WHICH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS TEACHERS IN TABUK CITY ARE AWARE OF AND USE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS IN MATHEMATCS." OpenSIUC, 2016. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/1242.
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The purpose of this study is to examine the awareness and use of professional standards in mathematics by elementary mathematics teachers in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia. The researcher used a mixed-method (survey and focus group discussion), which consisted of three main questions for the survey and eleven questions for the focus group. The group sampling consisted of 137 male elementary math teachers in Tabuk City for the survey and 10 male elementary math teachers in Tabuk City for the focus group discussion. The research focused on eight professional standards in the study: lesson planning, teaching, learning environment, assessment, interaction, enrichment, innovation, and creativity. In addition, the researcher looked at 31 sub-standards of the general eight standards. The survey results showed that the elementary mathematics teachers in Tabuk City ranked quite low in all eight standards. In addition, the focus group discussions revealed that the elementary mathematics teachers lacked an awareness of the importance of using professional standards and that they did not use the standards in their teaching. There were no statistical significant differences among the responses of the teachers based on their years of experience in the classroom. There were also no significant statistical differences among the responses of the teachers based on their educational levels.
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Robinett, Susan Kirby. "Perceived Professional Development Needs of Business Education Teachers in West Virginia." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/37912.
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This study identified the perceived professional development needs of secondary business educators in West Virginia related to professional and business education content competency areas. A population of 408 secondary business educators was randomly assigned to two groups to evaluate their perceived professional development needs. A total of 104 (51.40% of 202) respondents reported their perceived need for professional development for professional competencies based on Policy 5310: Performance Evaluation of School Personnel of the West Virginia Department of Education. Also, a total of 89 (43.0% of 206) respondents indicated their perceived need for professional development for business education content competencies based on the NBEA's National Standards for Business Education.
Data analyzed using frequency analyses revealed that the highest rated perceived professional development needs related to professional competencies were found in the areas of Programs of Study, Classroom Climate, and Instructional Management Systems. It was further determined that the highest rated perceived professional development needs related to business education content competencies were found in the areas of Information Systems, Career Development, and International Business.
The one-way ANOVA analyses did not find differences among teachers' perceived professional development needs based on years of teaching experience or educational level for professional competencies or for business education content with the exception of the competency areas of Accounting and Business Law. In both of these areas, the post-hoc statistical analysis revealed differences among the educational levels of teachers, with respondents who had an Ed.S degree reporting a higher level of need than those with bachelor's or master's degrees. Overall, teachers perceived a higher need for professional development activities in the business education content areas than in the professional competencies.
Findings of the study indicate that professional development activities should be relevant to teachers' needs. This study found specifically that business education teachers were most interested in technology-driven subject matter, technology integration into classroom learning, and general economic awareness and career awareness of international and technological occupations. In addition, all areas of methodology, professional competencies and content area competencies, should integrated into professional development activities to prepare teachers to effectively disseminate the content to ensure student learning.Ph. D.
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Hundley, Emily B. "Support mechanisms as influences of success in the certification process of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards." Huntington, WV : [Marshall University Libraries], 2005. http://www.marshall.edu/etd/descript.asp?ref=529.
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Sheffield, Rachel. "Facilitating teacher professional learning : analysing the impact of an Australian professional learning model in secondary science." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2004. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/811.
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In education, innovations are frequently introduced to promote changes to the curriculum, teachers' practice, and the classroom environment, however, these initiatives are often implemented without sufficient evaluation to monitor their impact and effectiveness in bringing about the desired changes. This thesis analyses the impact of a teacher professional learning program on lower secondary science teachers' practice. It examines the relationship between teachers' concerns about the strategies incorporated in the Collaborative Australian Secondary Science Program (CASSP) and teachers' ability to understand the strategies, on their ability to utilise those strategies in the classroom. It also seeks to determine teachers' beliefs about their current science teaching practice and how this is different from their beliefs about ideal science teaching, and also, how these beliefs direct teachers’ classroom practice. Finally this study describes a number of primary and secondary factors found to impact on teachers' professional learning. 11tc CASSP model encapsulates the primary factors of curriculum exemplars (curriculum resources), explanation und modelling (professional development), and reflection (participative inquiry). The secondary factors include ensuring adequate time for change to occur, student support and participation, peer teacher support, support from lenders including-heads of department, support from the school administration and support from state education officers. This study has demonstrated that teachers’ professional learning is a complex process that is strongly influenced by teachers' beliefs, concerns and understandings, and is impacted by the primary and secondary factors identified by the research. Teachers must be able to envision the advantages of incorporating new strategies into their existing practice, and consequently seek to make these changes to their teaching. This study has shown that students are also an important influence the implementation of an innovation, without their support, teachers are unlikely to make successful changes to their teaching practice. lmplications of the research include the need to elaborate the CASSP professional learning model to include the secondary factors identified in the study, and the need to inform students about innovations so that they can see the benefits for them in terms of improved learning outcomes.
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Bassett, Jonathan Anderson. "National board certified teachers: the new professionals?" Thesis, Boston University, 2004. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/33403.
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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston UniversityPLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.
Supporters of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), founded in 1987, hoped that its certification process would create a cadre of publicly recognized master teachers who would take on professional roles that have traditionally been the responsibility of administrators rather than teachers. Such a change would allow teaching to become a true profession, regulated collegially instead of bureaucratically. A national survey of national board certified teachers (NBCTs) administered in 2001 found little evidence that they were in fact taking on new professional roles. This study examines fifteen schools with large numbers of NBCTs in three North Carolina school districts to determine if NBCTs in these exceptional places are gaining new professional roles, and what factors are enabling or preventing that change. Telephone interviews were conducted with state level officials in North Carolina, district level officials in each of the school districts, and one NBCT, the principal, and one non-NBCT at each school. Interviews were transcribed and coded for analysis. The results indicate that NBCTs in these schools are not taking on significant new professional roles as a result of their certification, and suggest two reasons for this lack of change. One is structural: the NBPTS, the state of North Carolina, and the three school districts studied appear to have narrowed the focus of national board certification so that it is concerned primarily with identifying and rewarding excellence in classroom teaching. This study found few explicit attempts to use NBCTs in professional leadership roles or to provide them with opportunities for professional leadership in addition to classroom teaching. Another concerns the perceived validity of the certification process: board certification is not broadly accepted among study respondents as a consistent and accurate designation of teaching excellence. The results of this study also raise questions about the persistence of egalitarian norms among teachers in schools with significant numbers of NBCTs.
2031-01-01
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Bolt, Melanie A. "Teachers'' Perspectives on the Standards of Learning School Reform in Virginia." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/27398.
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This study discussed the need for a broader public discourse on high-stakes accountability-based school reform that underscores teachersâ perspectives. Also, the study discussed the need for fuller disclosure of the possible undesirable classroom effects of the reform. To address these needs, the study described teachersâ perspectives on the Standards of Learning (SOL) school reform in Virginia, focusing upon teachersâ views on the reformâ s classroom effects. The domains of interest were (1) the adequacy of curriculum and the diversity of teachersâ instructional strategies, (2) the quality of student learning, (3) teachersâ sense of professional autonomy and level of teacher tension, and (4) school quality. The study examined whether there are differences in teachersâ views based the income level of the school locale where teachers teach (low-, middle-, or high-income), the school type (elementary, middle, or high school) in which they teach, and teachersâ status on whether they teach a SOL-tested subject (yes/no).
The participants of the study included 360 randomly selected teachers who were listed as members of Virginia Education Association (VEA). A survey research design was employed. The instrument included 80 Likert-type items, eight demographic items, and three open-ended questions. Inferential and descriptive statistics were reported for eight scales of the survey as were thematic trends in the qualitative data. The studyâ s results suggested that the SOL program contributes to a hurried, high-pressure classroom culture that depletes the potentiality of the very ends of education the program is intended to achieve.
Teachers tended to report (1) an inadequacy of the SOL content standards, (2) a reduction of teachersâ use of diverse instructional strategies and an inability of the SOL program to meet diverse student needs, (3) arbitrary SOL test cut-scores, (4) an inadequacy of the SOL pass rates to represent school quality, (5) a lack of diagnostic usefulness of SOL test scores, (6) an inadequacy of SOL testing and SOL test scores to hold schools accountable, (7) teachersâ sense of diminished professional autonomy, and (8) teachersâ mounting tension in the classroom. These results were juxtaposed to the views of policymakers and business leaders, the public at large, parents, and scholars in the field of education concerning the issue of high-stakes accountability-based school reform. Finally, the study discussed a conflict related to the purpose of public schooling between a prevailing narrative of many policymakers and business leaders and what have been the marginalized views of classroom teachers.Ph. D.
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Young, Whitney Nash. "Supporting Elementary Teachers In Effective Writing Instruction Through Professional Development." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1637.
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Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for writing have created a challenge for teachers at an urban elementary school as they struggled to provide effective writing instruction to support the rigorous expectations of the standards. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary teachers' lived experiences of instruction and better understand instructional writing procedures and strategies. The conceptual framework of this study was based on Dennick's work for incorporating educational theory into teaching practices, which combined elements of constructivist, experiential, and humanist learning theories. Research questions investigated how teachers perceived the impact of the CCSS writing standards on their practice and what kinds of support they needed in order to effectively support writing instruction. A phenomenological design was selected to capture the lived experiences of participants directly associated with CCSS writing instruction. The study included 6 individual teacher interviews and a focus group session of 6 teachers who met the criteria for experience in Grades 3-5 at the elementary school. Data were coded and then analyzed to determine common themes that surfaced from the lived experiences of teachers including the need for training in writing instruction, the impact of common core standards on the increased rigor of current writing instruction, a lack of PD at the local school, and instructor challenges with differentiated writing instruction. A job-embedded professional development model was designed to support teachers with effective writing instruction and improve teacher practice at the local school, the district, and beyond. When fully implemented, this professional development may provide elementary teachers with research-based writing strategies that will support the rigor of CCSS standards and college and career readiness.
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Holbert, Romena M. Garrett. "Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Cooperating Teachers as Teacher Educators: Development of Standards Based Scales." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1292943698.
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Gwatkin, Jan. "Investigating the viability of a national accreditation system for Australian piano teachers." University of Western Australia. School of Music, 2009. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2009.0099.
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The Federal education system has 12 nationally accredited and portable qualifications issued by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) which cover three sectors; Higher Education, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Schools. A mandatory minimum bachelor qualification together with education units, state registration and ongoing professional development is imposed for all classroom music teachers. In direct contrast, however, Australian studio piano teachers and school instrumental teachers may or may not have formal qualifications, registration with professional associations, or ongoing professional development. All teachers must be registered with State registration boards for Working With Children (WWC) but no monitoring controls exist for studio teachers. Qualifications are available from public examination boards, private enterprises and state Music Teacher Associations (MTAs) but these are not recognised within the national system and consequently have no status or portability, although they are used and recommended within the industry and higher education institutions as course prerequisites. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether a National Accreditation System (NAS) for Australian studio piano teachers could be a viable system, adding unprecedented professionalism to the field and drawing upon the existing systems of government, private industry and educational institutions. In the thesis, current systems of accreditation, education and training available for classroom music teachers, school instrumental music teachers and other recognised professions such as lawyers, engineers, accountants, health professionals and sports coaches were reviewed as a comparative basis upon which to assess similar contexts for studio piano teachers. Results are combined with a survey of Australian piano teachers' perceptions, from which the study ascertained the extent to which studio piano teachers' needs were being catered for and met in available systems of accreditation and training.
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Sheek, Lesley E. "A phenomological study of the impact of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards on early childhood teachers." Birmingham, Ala. : University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. http://www.mhsl.uab.edu/dt/2007p/sheek.pdf.
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Helding, Karen A. "Effectiveness of national board certified teachers in terms of classroom environment, attitudes and achievement among secondary science students." Thesis, Curtin University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/2502.
Full textAbstract:
A United States organization, called the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), was initiated to strengthen the pedagogy of teaching and, subsequently, improve student achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the NBPTS in terms of whether National Board Certified (NBC) teachers are effective in promoting positive classroom environments and student attitudes and in enhancing student achievement. The sample consisted of 927 Grade 8 and 10 science students from 12 secondary schools. Altogether, 443 students in 21 classes comprised the NBC teacher group and 484 students in 17 classes comprised the non-NBC teacher group. Students completed a learning environment questionnaire, the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC), and an attitude scale based on the Test Of Science-Related Attitude (TOSRA). Scores from the science portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test FCAT, a state-mandated examination, were collected to measure achievement. This research is unique in that it is the first time that a learning environments study has included a sample of National Board Certified (NBC) and non-NBC teachers in order to compare their effectiveness in terms of secondary students' perceptions of their science learning environment, attitudes toward science, and science achievement. The study revealed that the revised version of the WIHIC and the modified attitude scale are valid and reliable instruments for assessing perceptions of the classroom environment and attitudes toward science among secondary science students in Miami-Dade County, Florida.In addition, a much stronger association with learning environment was found for students' attitude than for students' achievement. The contributions and significance of this study are not only that it adds to the area of research that pertains to the efficacy of NBC teachers, but it also adds to the field of learning environments research. This study is useful because it could be replicated to provide additional empirical evidence about the effect National Board teachers have on students in the classroom and add to the growth of educational data on the impact of National Teacher Certification and classroom learning environments research.
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Hardy, Sandra L. "Constructing Exemplary Practice in the Teaching of Writing and Professional English Language Arts Standards: Implications for Novice Special Education Teachers." OpenSIUC, 2012. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/467.
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This qualitative dissertation research explored the case studies of four novice special education teachers who were the primary instructors for English language arts for students in grades three through eight with an I.E.P. This study addressed the teachers' perspectives, beliefs, practices, and related induction needs concerning their construction of exemplary practice in the teaching of wtiting. Exemplary writing instruction is defined by the inclusion of (a) the professional standards found in the state of Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, Illinois English Language Arts Standards for All Teachers and (b) the Exceptional Needs Specialist Standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Data were obtained over the course of three months from audio-taped, semi-structured interviews, three full class period non-participant observations, and an open-ended written questionnaire addressing the following primary research questions: (1) How do the descriptions by special education teachers of exemplary practice in the instruction of writing align with the professional standards? (2) What do special education novice teachers percieve as the role of teacher educators, mentors, other teachers, administrators, as well as classroom and school contexts, in learning and applying the professional standards in their writing practices? (3) How do novice special education teachers' beliefs about the learning and instruction of writing influence their acquisition of pedagogical knowledge pertaining to the professional standards in their writing practices? All data were transcribed and analyzed from a theoretical perspective of socially situated constructivist learning first by open coding and then coded by research question through cross-case analyses. Data were then analyzed by open-coding, followed by the coding of each research question utilizing a case-by-csae analyses. Data were further analyzed by comparative analyses of data collected by interviews, observations, and open-ended questionnaires to determine emerging patterns, categories, themes, and discrepencies. Findings indicated five emergent themes or issues and associated sub-themes of teacher as learner as common across cases and within- case findings were distributed throughout. These five major themes were (1) k-12 experience in learning to write, (2) learning to teach writing in teacher education programs, (3) learning to teach writing as practicing teachers, (4) preferred ways to learn to teach writing, and (5) novice special education teachers' beliefs about the learning and instruction of writing. The novice special education teachers' need for professional development induction support networks pertaining to the acquisition of pedagogical content knowledge for writing was another emergent category that was addressed in the findings for research question two. The findings were presented and discussed to illuminate the novice teachers' perspectives, beliefs, practices, and needs concerning teacher education, induction, and professional development in constructing exemplary writing instruction. Implications for teacher education, induction, professional development and further research were also discussed.
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Gantt, Anita Masha. "Teachers as professionals national board certification /." [Pensacola, Fla.] : University of West Florida, 2006. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/WFE0000037.
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Griffin, Robert Alvin Halpin Glennelle. "A survey of Alabama school principals' perceptions of the effectiveness of the National Board certification process." Auburn, Ala., 2006. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/2006%20Spring/doctoral/GRIFFIN_ROBERT_20.pdf.
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Unrath, Kathleen. "Reflection, the National Board certification process, and its potential impact on National Board Certified art teachers and their practice /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2002. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p3052225.
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Jin, Huifen. "Teacher educators’ and pre-service teachers’ preparedness to use ICT: a Western Australian perspective." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2019. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2269.
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With the ongoing development of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT), a wide variety of devices, software and apps are available that could be used in education. As a result, universities and schools are adopting different policies and strategies for integrating these new technologies. As teachers are a key element in the implementation of educational innovation, teacher educators and pre-service teachers need to be confident in using ICT effectively in teaching and learning.
This study proposed to investigate how teacher educators’ and pre-service teachers’ integration of ICT in their teaching and learning. A mixed methods design, that included both quantitative and qualitative methods, was employed in this research. Through conducting surveys and semi-structured interviews, the study examined teacher educators’ and pre-service teachers’ ICT ownership and self-perceived ICT skills along with perceptions of ICT use within the classroom. Document analysis was used to examine the current institutional ICT policies and infrastructure support for teacher educators and pre-service teachers at two of the largest teacher education providers in Western Australia and one Australia’s online university.
It is anticipated that this research will have benefits for both teacher educators and pre-service teachers. It is hoped that the research outcomes will have both practical implications for current in-service teachers and students as well as having policy implications for university and future teacher education.
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Thompson, Cynthia J. "A multi-case examination of the impact of national board certification on the teaching profession." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/4848.
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Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on October 10, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.
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McKenzie, Lowery Nancy Ellen. "The Relationship Between National Board Certification and Teachers' Perceived Use of Developmentally Appropriate Practices." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2010. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1158.
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This study utilized a causal-comparative design to investigate a relationship between the independent variable, National Board certification, and the dependent variable, perceived use of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). A self-developed survey, the Early-childhood Teacher Inventory of Practices (E-TIP), was emailed to participants to collect data comparing differences in perceived use of DAP among early childhood teachers. Two hundred and forty-six Non-National Board certified (Non-NBCT) and 135 National Board certified (NBCT) early childhood teachers were surveyed. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyze scores to determine if there was a difference in the mean scores. Descriptives were reported for age, years of teaching experience, grade level currently teaching, ethnicity, degree type, certification type, and degree level. Multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) and univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to understand the differences between perceived use of DAP. NBCTs scored significantly higher than Non-NBCTs on the E-TIP in three of the four target areas and on the Total of the Scale. Pearson product-moment corelations were used to determine a relationship between years of experience or level of education and NBCTs' perceived use of DAP. Years of experience were significantly related, but level of education was not. The findings indicate that National Board certified teachers perceive they incorporate more developmentally appropriate practices into their teaching than Non-National Board certified teachers.
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Edwards, Samantha Jade. "The perceived ‘classroom readiness’ and support of Western Australian primary graduate teachers." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2020. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2314.
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Graduate teachers are expected to be ‘classroom ready’ upon graduation, yet research suggests they are not. The difficulties faced by graduate teachers in their first years of teaching often result in low self-efficacy and attrition, which in turn can affect the achievement of their students.
Since its establishment in 2010, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) have implemented a competency framework for both teachers and Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers, aimed at improving not only all teacher quality in Australia, but the quality of ITE, graduating teachers and the support structures provided to them. This research project investigated how six primary graduate Department of Education of Western Australia (DoEWA) teachers perceived their ‘classroom readiness’, in light of these reforms. A qualitative methodology based in phenomenology was employed, as the study sought to describe the experiences of these graduate teachers with regard to the formal and informal support offered to them, including mechanisms such as the Graduate Teacher Modules and In-Class Coaching. Interviews were undertaken with the six teachers upon commencement of their second year of teaching.
The findings revealed that graduate teachers did not perceive themselves to be ‘classroom ready’ upon ITE completion, however they did not expect to be, nor did it make them wish to quit the profession. Further, the Graduate Teacher Modules were perceived as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to graduate teacher professional learning, as opposed to targeting specific needs relating to the graduate teachers and their varied professional contexts. While the In-Class Coaching Program provided a small element of support to participants, overall it increased their workload and stress. This finding indicates the need for a review into the delivery of the In-Class Coaching Program. Ultimately, unofficial mentoring from colleagues was identified as offering the greatest form of support for the participants, suggesting the need to re-think the way schools and DoEWA offer support to graduate teachers.
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Hunzicker, Jana Lynn Crumpler Thomas P. "The influence of the National Board Certification experience on teacher and student learning." Normal, Ill. : Illinois State University, 2006. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1251861971&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1178889242&clientId=43838.
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Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006.Title from title page screen, viewed on May 11, 2007. Dissertation Committee: Thomas Crumpler (chair), Amee Adkins, Robert Dean, Lynn Gaddis, Kay Moss, Gary Weilbacher. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 441-446) and abstract. Also available in print.
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Higginson, Kelsey. "Investigating Teachers' Implementation of New Social and Emotional Learning Standards Through a Community of Practice." The Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1593171201789911.
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Joyner, Barbara Jean. "Intermediate Teachers' Perceptions of Reading Instruction Strategies and Professional Development Needs." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4300.
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In 1 urban Tennessee school, students in Grades 3 through 5 had not met adequate yearly progress in reading for the past 5 years. The purpose of this case study was to explore teachers' perceptions of current district-recommended teaching practice in reading. The research questions related to current instructional strategies, teaching practices, challenges, and perceptions of current instructional strategies and changes needed to improve students' reading achievement. This study was grounded in the constructivist theoretical framework of Vygotsky. Twelve educators from Grades 3 through 5 and a reading specialist participated in this study. The data were collected from interviews, minutes from professional learning community meetings, and the district guidelines for instruction. Data analysis included open coding to determine common patterns and development of common themes. Findings indicated that teachers described the district learning strategies and guidelines as aligned with the reading curriculum map, and they saw the reading specialist as a valuable resource. Teachers specified that although they were trained in district-recommended strategies, they needed more professional development and support to implement the reading strategies effectively. Teachers wanted job-embedded professional development (PD) to help them develop expertise in implementing effective reading instruction to increase student achievement. To address this, a professional learning community PD project was created. Participation in the PD project may help teachers to implement reading instruction using research-based strategies in accord with district guidelines to improve student reading achievement.
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Helding, Karen A. "Effectiveness of national board certified teachers in terms of classroom environment, attitudes and achievement among secondary science students." Curtin University of Technology, Science and Mathematics Education Centre, 2006. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=16716.
Full textAbstract:
A United States organization, called the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), was initiated to strengthen the pedagogy of teaching and, subsequently, improve student achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the NBPTS in terms of whether National Board Certified (NBC) teachers are effective in promoting positive classroom environments and student attitudes and in enhancing student achievement. The sample consisted of 927 Grade 8 and 10 science students from 12 secondary schools. Altogether, 443 students in 21 classes comprised the NBC teacher group and 484 students in 17 classes comprised the non-NBC teacher group. Students completed a learning environment questionnaire, the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC), and an attitude scale based on the Test Of Science-Related Attitude (TOSRA). Scores from the science portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test FCAT, a state-mandated examination, were collected to measure achievement. This research is unique in that it is the first time that a learning environments study has included a sample of National Board Certified (NBC) and non-NBC teachers in order to compare their effectiveness in terms of secondary students' perceptions of their science learning environment, attitudes toward science, and science achievement. The study revealed that the revised version of the WIHIC and the modified attitude scale are valid and reliable instruments for assessing perceptions of the classroom environment and attitudes toward science among secondary science students in Miami-Dade County, Florida.In addition, a much stronger association with learning environment was found for students' attitude than for students' achievement. The contributions and significance of this study are not only that it adds to the area of research that pertains to the efficacy of NBC teachers, but it also adds to the field of learning environments research. This study is useful because it could be replicated to provide additional empirical evidence about the effect National Board teachers have on students in the classroom and add to the growth of educational data on the impact of National Teacher Certification and classroom learning environments research.
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Stosich, Elizabeth Leisy. "Learning to Teach to the Common Core State Standards: Examining the Role of Teachers’ Collaboration, Principals’ Leadership, and Professional Development." Thesis, Harvard University, 2015. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14121780.
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Recent research on the relationship between standards and teachers’ practice suggests that teachers are unlikely to make changes to practice without extensive opportunities for learning about standards with colleagues. My dissertation extends this line of research, using a comparative case study of three-high poverty urban schools to examine the nature of teachers’ learning about the Common Core State Standards and the processes and conditions that support this work. I take a situated perspective, exploring how teachers engage in professional learning in their school context. Chapter one explores the potential for collaboration in teacher teams to support this learning. It argues that collaborative practices that encourage joint examination of instruction and student learning against standards support teachers in noticing and attending to differences between their current practice and standards. In addition, it examines the role of teachers’ instructional knowledge and principals’ leadership in supporting teachers’ collaboration around standards. Chapter two examines how principals encourage and constrain professional learning as they frame school improvement efforts. It argues that teachers are more likely to revise their instruction to align with the new standards when principals frame the challenge presented by standards as one that requires learning to work with students and content in new ways rather than simply one that requires teachers to execute specific pedagogical approaches. Finally, chapter three explores the efforts of a professional development network to build both teacher and school capacity for teaching the Common Core State Standards and proposes a set of principles to guide future efforts to design professional development that builds capacity for teaching to ambitious standards in high-poverty schools.
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Overton, Deidre, and n/a. "Understanding teachers' responses to educational change in ACT high schools: developing professional voice and identity." University of Canberra. Education & Community Studies, 2004. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20051205.130321.
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This research identifies those practices and/or conditions that facilitate (or hinder) school and/or system based innovation in ACT high schools. It examines teachers� ways of making meaning of change in their working lives. It draws on narrative inquiry and teacher in-depth interviews. The work story is used to engage teachers� individual agency as a way to conceptualise the requirements of innovation. The data is represented as teachers� narrative categorized as the Red Hots and Unfreezables. The primary themes or motifs emerging in the teachers� talk�teacher agency, resistance and leadership�provide collective insight into teachers� working lives and the capacity of schools to cope with change. Analyses of the �lived experiences� of teachers suggest that innovative practice is linked to teacher agency and the presence of professional learning communities, and that those leading change must focus on the realities of the teachers implementing change. This study also explores the culture of teacher resistance, supporting the research that school cultures are characteristically and strongly resistant to change from within the organization. As a result of this study, we have an improved understanding of the conditions that
contribute to effective school change, and the importance for teachers to conduct their own research. This study contains important recommendations for governments and education systems implementing change initiatives.
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Mndebele, Comfort Baphumuze Sikhumbuzo. "Professional vocational technical education competencies for Swaziland teachers of agricultural, commercial, home economics, and technical studies." Diss., This resource online, 1994. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-06062008-163822/.
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Vitale, Thomas M. "What is the relationship between national board certification and the achievement results of third grade students in a local Central Florida school district?" Orlando, Fla. : University of Central Florida, 2008. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002078.
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Loeb, Hilary. "National Board Certification as a support for work with historically underserved students : a case study of Washington State teachers /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/7580.
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Brown, Christopher J. "Developing a common understanding of a teacher competency framework through video analysis : experiences of Victorian regional independent middle school teachers." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2011. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/153.
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This study was deliberately focussed upon the careful examination of a model of professional learning for Middle School teachers, which has at its core, a Teaching and Learning Framework depicting essential elements of effective teaching practice. Set within the context of Middle School classrooms in a Regional Independent school, the intent was to research the impact of the framework on the professional learning of a group of teachers. Research was also undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of feedback and analysis structured around the framework, using video recordings taken from classroom observations.
A group of eight Middle School teachers participated actively in the study to determine how the use of video-stimulated reflective processes might affect improvements in their practice and professional learning. Professional learning opportunities were examined and explored in termsof the impact of the observation and feedback cycle on individual teacher’s progress and against rubric levels within the framework.
At a time when the issue of the tenuous links between professional learning and school improvement is at the forefront of the educational agenda in schools and school systems, it is of significant importance to be able to reflect on a range of models designed to improve teaching, and in turn student learning outcomes in schools. The Teaching and Learning Framework including its subsequent feedback and professional learning processes investigated within this study served to add valuable perspectives to these links.
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Grafton, Lee Geary. "The affectiveness of a standards-based, technology-connected staff development program." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2001. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1743.
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One role of an administrator is to provide and assess staff development programs. The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of a 120-hour standards-based, technology-connnected staff development program on participating teachers' instruction.
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Smith, Gregory William. "If teams are so good.. : science teachers' conceptions of teams and teamwork." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2009. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/31734/1/Gregory_Smith_Thesis.pdf.
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The focus of this study is the phenomenon of teams and teamwork. Currently the Professional Standards of Queensland’s teachers state that teams are critical to teachers’ work. This study uses a phenomenographic approach to investigate science teachers’ conceptions of teams and teamwork in the science departments of fifteen Queensland State secondary schools.
The research identifies eight conceptions of teams and teamwork. The research findings suggest that the team represents a collective of science teachers bounded by the Science Department and their current timetabled subject. Collaboration was found in the study to be an activity that occurred between teachers in the same social space. The research recognises a new category of relationship between teachers, designated as ‘ask-and-receive’.
The research identifies a lack of teamwork within the science department and the school. There appears to be no teaming with other subject departments. The research findings highlight the non-supportive team and teamwork policies, procedures and structures in the schools and identify the lack of recognition of the specialised skills of science teachers.
The implications for the schools and science teachers are considerable, as the current Professional Standards of Education Queensland and the Queensland College of Teachers provide benchmarks of knowledge and practice of teams and teamwork for teachers. The research suggests that the professional standards relating to teams and teamwork cannot be achieved in the present school environment.
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Hall, Claire. "Implementing a Reggio Emilia inspired approach in a mainstream Western Australian context: The impact on early childhood teachers' professional role." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1082.
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Reggio Emilia, an approach to early childhood that was developed in a Northern Italian city of the same name, is highly regarded as acknowledged by educators and researchers world-wide (Gandini, 1993). The Reggio Emilia philosophy is distinguished by the presentation of an image of children as being strong, rich and powerful learners (Hendricks, 2004; Millikan, 2003). This approach is marked as being adopted and adapted to suit particular cultural and educational settings. These situation sensitive approaches are noted as being Reggio Emilia inspired.
This qualitative case study investigated how the professional role of four early childhood teachers was impacted by the implementation of a Reggio Emilia inspired approach in a mainstream Western Australian context. As part of the investigation, the factors that facilitated the change process and those which inhibited it were identified.
The study was conducted in two schools, one private and the other government. The study participants were four pre-primary teachers who were implementing a Reggio Emilia inspired approach in their pre-primary settings. A school leader from each of the study schools was also interviewed. Qualitative data collection methods included observation, semi-structured interviews, field notes, reflective journals and document analysis. Data were analysed using thematic analysis procedures.
The study found that as the teachers engaged with the Reggio Emilia philosophy, they were challenged to change their pedagogical practices which, in turn, impacted on their professional role. These changes were found to conform to the Reggio Emilia approach as described by Fu, Stemmel and Hill (2002). While the factors that influenced the change process differed across the two cases, there were commonalities. The first of these was the influence of the school’s policies and governance. In one of the cases, the lack of support from the school leadership team, processes and policies impacted negatively on the change process and the teacher involved. In contrast, in the second case, a supportive leadership team and a whole school approach facilitated the change process.
The second factor found to support the change process was related to internal teacher qualities of commitment, knowledge, self-belief, resilience and self-reflection. These qualities were identified as influencing both the changes the teachers made in their pedagogical practices and in their professional roles. The study found that the internal factors were interrelated and supported the teachers to both undertake and persist in the change process.
Finally, it would seem that a weakness in some facilitating factors can be compensated by strengths in others. This was evident in the first case where the teacher was working in isolation and largely without the support of the school leadership, yet with high levels of commitment, knowledge, self-belief, resilience and self-reflection was able to resist considerable pressure to conform to a teacher-driven approach requiring more direct teaching. In the second case, even though a number of the teachers reported the negative influence of low levels of knowledge and self-belief, the change process was sustained through collegiate support and strong school leadership.
The findings of the study are relevant to those who are engaging with, or seek to understand the implementation and impact of a Reggio Emilia inspired approach in a different cultural, social and political context. Of particular note, is the recognition that pedagogical change impacts on the role of the teacher. Further, that the change process is either supported or impeded by the key factors of school policy and governance and internal teacher characteristics. The findings further suggest that the positive influence of these factors can be increased by professional learning, networking and access to collegiate support.
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Flanigan, Jacquelyn B. "In the critical tradition an examination of national board certified teachers in a Central Florida school district /." Orlando, Fla. : University of Central Florida, 2008. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002366.
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Galitis, Ingrid. "A case study of gifted education in an Australian primary school : teacher attitudes, professional discourses and gender /." Connect to thesis, 2009. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/5260.
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This thesis investigates the professional knowledge and views about gifted education held by teachers working in a suburban primary school in Melbourne, Australia. Examining discourses of giftedness and intelligence, it adopts a case study approach to explore teachers’ gendered understanding of these concepts four years after they undertook a program of professional development in gifted education during the late 1990s. The analysis of the case study is located in relation to historical as well as current policy and professional debates regarding the education of gifted children, and the context of broader contemporary educational reforms. During the 1990s, much educational reform in Australia, as elsewhere, was characterised by neo-liberal practices of devolution, and a greater emphasis on individual accountability that altered school management structures and directed curriculum practices towards a focus on outcomes-based education. The increasing scrutiny of teaching and learning became normalised as both teachers and students were regularly monitored and measured. Within the prevailing political and educational landscape, Victoria’s first gifted education policy was introduced in May 1995.The study examined how teachers negotiated educational reforms and policy initiatives during a time of significant change and translated them into their own professional common sense and working knowledge. A qualitative methodology is adopted, and the research design encompasses close analysis of teachers’ narratives and content analysis of school policies and programs as well as informal and formal documentation and reports. Examination of the case study material is informed by a feminist approach and concern with practices of gender differentiation and inequality in education; the analysis is also influenced by key poststructuralist concepts of “discourses”, “regimes of truth” and “normalisation” drawn from the work of the French philosopher Michel Foucault.
Three main lines of analysis are developed. First, I examine current meanings of, and discourses on, gifted education and their historical antecedents. I argue that gifted education practices emanate from modernist practices and that the constructs of intelligence and giftedness were enthusiastically adopted as technological tools to regulate and classify populations. I further argue that understanding these earlier views on intelligence and the “gifted child” remains important as these continue, often unwittingly, to infiltrate and shape teachers’ attitudes and knowledge, as well as the “regimes of truth” expressed in policy and professional discourses. Second, I propose that a deeply entrenched Australian egalitarian ethos has affected teachers’ views and practices, influencing how they navigate the field of gifted education, typically characterised as an elite form of educational provision. In some cases, this produces ambivalence about the value of gifted education, leading to educational practices that are at odds with gifted educational practices recommended by research. I argue that the program of gifted professional development did not alter deeply entrenched beliefs about gifted education, with teachers claiming personal experience and working knowledge as the crux to recognising and catering for difference. Third, I examine the socially gendered dimensions of these entrenched views and their impact on highly able girls. I argue that for teachers, the norm of the gifted child is gendered. Whilst girls can be bright or clever or smart, the idealised gifted child is more likely to be male.
This thesis offers an in-depth examination of the micro-practices of one school as it strives for excellence. It contributes insights into the impact of “topdown” policy and professional development on teachers’ working knowledge and professional practice. This study shows that while the imposed educational policies and gifted education programs provided information for teachers, they did not alter teachers’ fundamental belief systems, professional knowledge or gender differentiating teaching practices.
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Thompson, Christopher Michael. "An Exploratory Analysis of North Dakota Teachers' Attitudes Toward and Implementation of the Common Core State Standards: Recommendations for Professional Development Providers." Thesis, North Dakota State University, 2015. https://hdl.handle.net/10365/27624.
Full textAbstract:
Increases in global competition for student achievement have led to drastic changes within the field of education. In recent decades educational reforms such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top have placed a stronger emphasis on standardized testing and increased accountability for schools to promote student achievement with limited success. This has led to a state-initiated overhaul of previous educational standards in favor of a set of more rigorous, internationally benchmarked standards in math and English Language Arts (ELA) known as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Since 2010, adoption of the Common Core State Standards across the United States has left teachers and school districts scrambling to unpack, align, and add the new standards to their existing curricula. The author examined North Dakota teachers? attitudes and preparedness to teach using the Common Core State Standards providing recommendations for professional development providers.
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Williamson, Janet, and n/a. "Teachers and the use of computers in four ACT non-government primary schools." University of Canberra. Education, 1994. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20050816.150827.
Full textAbstract:
The case studies carried out in four non-government
primary schools in the ACT aimed to look at the way
teachers were using computers in classrooms in order to
shed light on the factors which may determine how
teachers chose to use computers to enhance learning. The
case study method allowed the researcher to use
triangulation to provide in-depth information about the
processes involved in the delivery of a lesson using a
computer.
The findings were positive in that more than half of the
teachers were found to be using computers at a high level
of adoption, predominantly running simulation programs.
In most schools, this was in spite of either hardware or
software constraints, inadequate professional development
opportunities or administrative obstacles. Whether the
teachers taught in a laboratory or had one computer in
the classroom did not seem to retard their enthusiasm for
finding the best strategies to effectively integrate
computer use.
Cooperative learning strategies had been adopted by most
of the teachers so their transition to computer use was
made easier since their students had already been
'routinised'.The data also pointed to formal Computer Education as a
possible determinant of a high level computer user.
However, research on a wider scale would be needed to
validate the result.
Differences in the way classes were managed in a onecomputer
classroom and a laboratory were evident.
Teachers spent most time with those students working away
from the computer in the one-computer classroom and most
time with those working at the computer in the laboratory
setting. Methods of evaluation were shown to be
necessarily different depending on whether work was
carried out in a laboratory or a one-computer classroom.
Finally, the study pointed to the need for non-government
schools and system managers to begin long-term planning
for hardware and software purchase and resource
management in order to provide teachers with the tools
needed to integrate computer use effectively. Such
planning would need to include provision for professional
development.