Education Commons^™

The Institutional Pillars Of China's National College Entrance Exam: A Case Study Of Gaozhong High School And Ncee Reforms, Mei Lan Frame

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is based on a case study of a Beijing high school (referred to as “Gaozhong”) during the initial wave of reforms to the National College Entrance Exam (NCEE). Using the conceptual framework of Richard Scott’s “three pillars” of institutions (2008) to analyze stake holder perception toward the NCEE (administrators, teachers, parents, and students), this study identifies and examines the regulatory, normative, and cultural-cognitive elements that comprise the NCEE. Congruent with Scott’s theory that these the combined strength and interdependency between institutional elements prevent institutional change, this study also analyzes the three pillars as barriers to the implementation of …

Giving Voice To African Immigrant Families: Perceptions Of African Immigrant Families About Their Children’S Experiences In U.S. Schools, J Hilary Gbotoe Jr.

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This qualitative ethnography case study examined perceptions of African immigrant families as it related to their children’s experiences in U.S. public schools. The primary research question that guided this study was, “What are African immigrant families’ perceptions of their children’s experiences in U.S. public schools?” This phenomenon was explored to uncover meanings African immigrant parents from Liberia attached to their children’s experiences in U.S. schools. The focus was on hearing stories the children told their parents about their experiences in U.S. public schools. Nonprobability sampling method was used to recruit participants. Eight families from Liberia, West Africa, were randomly selected …

"I'M Done!" Stories Of Veteran Teachers Driven Out Of The Profession, Jill L. Stassie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation inquiry builds upon the works of Nancy Hoffman (1977/2003), Madeleine Grumet (1981, 1988) and Dana Goldstein (2014) to examine the enduring effects of the feminization of teaching on the profession. My research question asks, “How do former teachers describe the emotional, social-political conditions that contributed to their exit of their teaching in public schools?” Utilizing narrative inquiry as the methodology, I interviewed four teachers who recently left the profession. I also collected archival data to provide the history and context of teaching.

This study provides a detailed account of what teachers face daily in their classrooms and schools …

Professional Development Needs Of Turkish Teachers In An Era Of National Reforms, Tuba Gokmenoglu, Christopher M. Clark, Ercan Kiraz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

An emerging consensus in the teacher education literature confirms that supporting educational reforms and improving designs for national programs can be accomplished simply by maximizing the match between teachers’ expressed needs and the content by which those professional development needs are met. This paper presents an interpretation of findings on Turkish teachers’ in-service training needs during an era of massive reform. The findings indicate that teachers do not report a strong need for any professional development program content. Analyses are based on survey data from 1,730 Turkish teachers from 352 primary schools. The results raise the discussion of whether teachers …

Analyzing The Structure Of Student Sustainability Knowledge Using Traditional And Holistic Concept Map Scoring Methods, Mary K. Watson, Joshua G. Pelkey, Caroline Noyes, Michael Rodgers

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019)

To properly initiate educational reforms needed to train sustainability-conscious engineers, methods are needed to assess conceptual understanding of sustainability. Concept maps (cmaps) have been proposed as useful tools for capturing the complexity and interconnectedness of sustainability; however, difficulties in scoring cmaps have limited their application as assessment tools. The goal of this project was to examine effectiveness of traditional and holistic cmap scoring approaches for characterizing student understanding of sustainability.

Cmaps were used to assess structure of student sustainability knowledge in a capstone design course and a graduate seminar in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Georgia Tech. Judges applying …

Challenges To Education In Tajikistan: The Need For Research-Based Solutions, Sarfaroz Niyozov, Stephen Bahry

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

Education in Tajikistan today is acknowledged by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tajikistan and by international agencies as facing many challenges. Infrastructure and materials need replacement or repair; curriculum needs to be adapted to changing conditions; professional development for teachers is required, while means to retain experienced teachers and attract new ones need to be found. At the same time, children's' meaningful access to education has been threatened by various factors that reduce their attendance and participation in education, keeping some youth out of school altogether. This chapter argues that research in education in Tajikistan and the …

Connecting Productive Schools And Workplaces For A Knowledge Society, Byrd L. Jones, Robert W. Maloy

New England Journal of Public Policy

As American education struggles to achieve new competencies for an emerging information age, popular reforms remain locked in industrial-era metaphors. Testing for basic skills, teacher professionalism, and school-business collaboration assumes that schooling prepares workers with skills for predictable roles. Meanwhile, computers and related technologies make possible low-cost information that is transforming learning and jobs. Hierarchical organizational structures that subordinated most employees have given way to flatter, flexible teams. Quasi-autonomous decision making by knowledgeable professionals extends to more and more workers. When businesses simply offer schools a few extra resources, they stunt interactive partnerships that enable youth and business cultures to …

Connecting Productive Schools And Workplaces For A Knowledge Society, Byrd Jones, Robert Maloy

Robert W. Maloy

As American education struggles to achieve new competencies for an emerging information age, popular reforms remain locked in industrial-era metaphors. Testing for basic skills, teacher professionalism, and school-business collaboration assumes that schooling prepares workers with skills for predictable roles. Meanwhile, computers and related technologies make possible low-cost information that is transforming learning and jobs. Hierarchical organizational structures that subordinated most employees have given way to flatter, flexible teams. Quasi-autonomous decision making by knowledgeable professionals extends to more and more workers. When businesses simply offer schools a few extra resources, they stunt interactive partnerships that enable youth and business cultures to …