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Full-Text Articles in Education

Turkish And Lithuanian Efl Instructors' Professional Development Experiences: Worth The Effort, Or Waste Of Time?, Servet Celik, Nemira Mačianskienė, Kübra Aytin Dec 2013

Turkish And Lithuanian Efl Instructors' Professional Development Experiences: Worth The Effort, Or Waste Of Time?, Servet Celik, Nemira Mačianskienė, Kübra Aytin

Servet Celik

Effective EFL instructors must have a good command of English, as well as sound pedagogical knowledge and adequate communication and classroom management skills. Professional development has been indicated as significant in developing these attributes. This comparative study was designed to analyze the viewpoints of EFL professionals working in Turkey and Lithuania using a scalar survey. The results revealed that Turkish instructors found their professional development experiences to be largely irrelevant, while the Lithuanian instructors perceived professional development as beneficial. In both groups, obstacles such as financial concerns and heavy teaching loads impaired the participants’ ability to grow professionally. The findings …


Theory Guided Professional Development In Early Childhood Science Education, Soo-Young Hong, Julia Torquati, Victoria J. Molfese Nov 2013

Theory Guided Professional Development In Early Childhood Science Education, Soo-Young Hong, Julia Torquati, Victoria J. Molfese

Soo-Young Hong

The importance of early and developmentally appropriate science education is increasingly recognized. Consequently, creation of common guidelines and standards in early childhood science education has begun (National Research Council (NRC), 2012), and researchers, practitioners, and policy makers have shown great interest in aligning professional development with the new guidelines and standard. There are some important issues that need to be addressed in order to successfully implement guidelines and make progress toward accomplishing standards. Early childhood teachers have expressed a lack of confidence in teaching science and nature (Torquati, Cutler, Gilkerson, & Sarver, in press) and have limited science and pedagogical …


Head Start Classrooms And Children’S School Readiness Benefit From Teachers’ Qualifications And Ongoing Training, Seung-Hee Claire Son, Kyong-Ah Kwon, Hyun-Joo Jeon, Soo-Young Hong Nov 2013

Head Start Classrooms And Children’S School Readiness Benefit From Teachers’ Qualifications And Ongoing Training, Seung-Hee Claire Son, Kyong-Ah Kwon, Hyun-Joo Jeon, Soo-Young Hong

Soo-Young Hong

Background Teacher qualifications have been emphasized as a basis of professional development to improve classroom practices for at-risk children’s school readiness. However, teacher qualifications have often not been compared to another form of professional development, in-service training. Objective The current study attempts to investigate contributions of multiple types of professional development to school readiness skills of low-income preschoolers. Specifically, we examined the significance of teachers’ education level, degree, teaching certificate, teaching experiences as well as specialized in-service training and coaching support as these teacher trainings are linked to preschoolers’ school readiness through proximal classroom practices. Method We used a multi-level …


The Methods Course Revisited: From A Skills-Based To Multiliteracies Approach., Heather W. Allen Oct 2013

The Methods Course Revisited: From A Skills-Based To Multiliteracies Approach., Heather W. Allen

Heather Willis Allen

No abstract provided.


The Digest Edition 2010/1 : Successful Professional Learning, Marion Meiers, Sarah Buckley Jul 2013

The Digest Edition 2010/1 : Successful Professional Learning, Marion Meiers, Sarah Buckley

Dr Sarah Buckley

This edition of The Digest is focused on research into teacher learning and professional development. Teacher learning includes not only activities such as conferences and workshops, but also includes participation in many formal and informal learning activities. Recent research has focussed, amongst other things, on characteristics of successful professional learning, and on the connections between teachers’ professional learning and improvements in student learning. This research has the potential to assist teachers and schools in selecting and planning for professional learning, so that it will maximise the benefits for participants. The first section of this digest presents some research findings on …


Professional Development Of History Content And Skills: Measuring Effects On Teachers And Students, Teresa J. Wanser May 2013

Professional Development Of History Content And Skills: Measuring Effects On Teachers And Students, Teresa J. Wanser

Teresa J Wanser

National and local standards in history are evolving from standards on history content to standards on critical thinking and analyzing historical documents. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of professional development received by K-12 teachers on infusing historical thinking skills into their history instruction. Changes in teacher use and application as well as impacts on students’ self-efficacy were examined. Forty-eight (48) teachers from a mid-western public school district participated in an accredited masters of historical studies degree program at a mid-western liberal arts university. The two and one-half years masters degree program infused historical thinking skills …


Case Example Of The Implementation Of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support In A High School Setting, Hank Bohanon, Pamela Fenning, Kimberly Thier Apr 2013

Case Example Of The Implementation Of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support In A High School Setting, Hank Bohanon, Pamela Fenning, Kimberly Thier

Hank Bohanon

The purpose of this case study was to expand the literature base regarding the application of high school schoolwide positive behavior support (PBS) in an urban setting for practitioners and policymakers to address behavior issues. In addition, the study describes the use of the Change Point Test as a method for analyzing time series data that are dependent in nature. The researchers used an existing case study example to guide the implementation of the intervention. The overall implementation of PBS reached full fidelity during the final year. Focused professional development may have been related to changes in statistically significant office …


An Exploratory Study Of Teacher Empowerment And Technical Education In Kentucky, Lee Wall Apr 2013

An Exploratory Study Of Teacher Empowerment And Technical Education In Kentucky, Lee Wall

Lee Ann Wall

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of empowerment and principal use of power within career and technical education in Kentucky. The researcher posits that, with the continual process of educational reform, principals need to understand what empowers teachers to perform as additional expectations and responsibilities are being mandated. The researcher used a mixed methods design to examine power bases that career and technical education teachers perceived were used by their principals to identify teachers’ perceived empowerment, as well as influencers and barriers. Data were collected with a survey and two open-ended questions from …


Research As Collaborative Act: A Latherian Approach To Collaborative Analysis Of Race-Based Professional Development With K-12 Educators, Susan Adams Mar 2013

Research As Collaborative Act: A Latherian Approach To Collaborative Analysis Of Race-Based Professional Development With K-12 Educators, Susan Adams

Susan Adams

Paper presentation at the 12th American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 24-27, 2013.


Research As Collaborative Act: A Latherian Approach To Collaborative Analysis Of Race-Based Professional Development With K-12 Educators, Susan Adams Jan 2013

Research As Collaborative Act: A Latherian Approach To Collaborative Analysis Of Race-Based Professional Development With K-12 Educators, Susan Adams

Susan Adams

Paper presentation at the 34th Annual Ethnography in Education Research Forum, Philadelphia, PA, February 23, 2013.


What Happened To The National Statement For The Teaching Profession?, Lawrence C. Ingvarson Jan 2013

What Happened To The National Statement For The Teaching Profession?, Lawrence C. Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

In 2003, 15 teacher associations put together a National Statement from the Teaching Profession on Teacher Standards, Quality and Professionalism. It recommended that A nationally coordinated, rigorous and consistent system should be established to provide recognition to teachers who demonstrate advanced standards . . . The enterprise bargaining process between employers and unions will be an important mechanism for providing recognition for professional certification. All employing authorities should be encouraged to provide recognition and support for professional certification as the process comes to demonstrate its credibility and its effects on professional learning. (p. 4) The Statement was the culmination of …


The Diversity Dialogue: Rethinking Pedagogical Practices To Provide Hope For Pre-Service Teachers, Mildred M. Pearson Dr., Samantha Cantu Jan 2013

The Diversity Dialogue: Rethinking Pedagogical Practices To Provide Hope For Pre-Service Teachers, Mildred M. Pearson Dr., Samantha Cantu

Mildred M. Pearson Dr.

This study examines how a diverse dialogue addresses cultural differences and social injustices and how cultural responsiveness helps teachers approach education more equitably. When teachers use a diverse dialogue, they are able to create a classroom curriculum that includes all voices, experiences, and activities and satisfies the needs of all learners. The study also suggests that teachers adjust their pedagogical practices to the ever-changing multicultural classrooms. Through an examination of best practices, teachers will be able to invest in more creative and diverse approaches that will not only benefit the individual student, but also the entire classroom. Applying positioning theory …


A Brimming Cup: The Life Of Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth Kleinhenz Dec 2012

A Brimming Cup: The Life Of Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth Kleinhenz

Dr Elizabeth Kleinhenz

Kathleen Fitzpatrick, born in 1905, was the grand - daughter of Melbourne real estate agent JR Buxton, whose investments in land and housing brought him wealth and significantly influenced much of his city's early development. In her memoir, Solid Bluestone Foundations, described by her great friend Manning Clark as 'a magnificent book of memories', Kathleen painted an evocative picture of family life at her grandparents' mansion Hughenden in Middle Park, and of middle - class living in early twentieth - century Melbourne. In adulthood she went on to become a brilliant academic and teacher whose former pupils became some of …


Evaluation Of The School Centres For Teaching Excellence (Sctes) Initiatives : Final Report, Glenn Rowley, Paul Weldon, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Lawrence Ingvarson Dec 2012

Evaluation Of The School Centres For Teaching Excellence (Sctes) Initiatives : Final Report, Glenn Rowley, Paul Weldon, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Lawrence Ingvarson

Dr Elizabeth Kleinhenz

No abstract provided.


Learning On The Spot: Site Based Teacher Education In Australia, Elizabeth Kleinhenz Dec 2012

Learning On The Spot: Site Based Teacher Education In Australia, Elizabeth Kleinhenz

Dr Elizabeth Kleinhenz

In recent years, some Australian schools and universities have been moving away from traditional modes of teacher education in which pre-service teachers typically undertake their practicums in ‘blocks’ of about four weeks a couple of times a year, to newer models in which they become attached to a school, spending at least two days a week there, undertaking extra-curricular duties and participating in a variety of activities so that they become more like a teacher who actually works in that school than a visitor. In some site-based models, neighbouring schools have joined in clusters or partnerships together with the university …


In-Service Teachers’ Understanding And Teaching Of Humane Education Before And After A Standards-Based Intervention, Stephanie Itle-Clark Dec 2012

In-Service Teachers’ Understanding And Teaching Of Humane Education Before And After A Standards-Based Intervention, Stephanie Itle-Clark

Stephanie Itle-Clark, Ed.D., CHES

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which credentialed educators conceptualized, understood, and perceived humane education, as well as their intent to include humane education in personal practice and their knowledge of strategies for integrating humane education concepts into their classroom work. The group of 25 educators participated in an online eight-week professional development course and completed pre- and post-surveys. The participants consisted of educators from the United States, British Columbia, and Vietnam. Participants were 11 secondary educators, 10 primary educators, 2 substitute teachers, 1 administrator, and 1 librarian. Results indicate that after an eight-week professional …