Education Commons^™

We Shall Not Be Moved: Finding Hope In The Stories Of Elementary School Teachers In Rural Georgia, Allison Beasley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many perceive education and teaching as hopeless, so why do some teachers stay in the profession? This dissertation is focused on the stories of veteran public elementary school teachers in rural Georgia who continue to teach in spite of the current seemingly hopeless state of education at the local, state and national level.

The theoretical framework of this inquiry builds upon a wide array of works such as the work of Freire (1994, 1998) and Fromm (2010) on critical hope, as well as, multiple theorists’ work on versions of hope (West, 2004; Giroux, 2013; Duncan-Andrade, 2009; Lear, 2006); the work …

Moral Purposes Of Successful Teachers, Richard H. Aubrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the moral purposes of successful teachers. Moral purpose was defined as the values and beliefs associated with serving society and serving individuals other than oneself Key informant interviews were conducted with the 18 finalists for Tennessee Teacher of the Year. Interviewees, were asked four basic questions: (1) Why did you choose teaching as a career? (2) How would you describe your moral purpose in teaching? (3) Has your moral purpose changed over time? (4) How would you describe the teacher's role in society? Data were analyzed qualitatively. Detailed profiles of each of …