Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Reappraising The Aitsl Professional Engagement Domain: Clarifying Social Capacity Building For School Leaders To Enhance Overall Teacher Job Satisfaction And Career Longevity, Geoffrey M. Lowe, Peter F. Prout, Christina C. Gray, Sarah Jefferson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2018) stipulate what teachers should know and do through each career stage. School leaders are complicit in promoting the Standards are met by all staff, including Professional Engagement (Standards Six and Seven). While the Standards emphasise content and pedagogical capacity building, we contend that teaching is a social enterprise. Although social capacity building is implied in the Professional Engagement domain through terms such as ‘collegiality, collaboration and dialogue’, we question the degree to which it is understood by school leaders. We ask this in light of influential studies by Waldinger (2010) and Vaillant …

Indonesian Teachers Beliefs On The Gap Between Educational Research And Practice, Yoppy Wahyu Purnomo, Puri Pramudiani, Tian Abdul Aziz, Amrita Kaur, Siti Noor Ismail, Ishaq Nuriadin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers' beliefs towards educational research has become one significant factor in explaining the gap between research and practice. The present study aimed at reviewing the scale to measure teachers' beliefs about the causes and problems related to research-based practices, describing beliefs that teachers appear to hold, and examining its relation to their demographic characteristics. The study involved 466 in-service teachers in Jakarta Province. The study employed the 24-item scale developed by Broekkamp and van Hout-Wolters (2007). The study indicated that 20 out of 24 items of the scale were valid and reliable to measure the teachers’ beliefs. The scale consisted …

Professional Growth: How Do Cooperating Teachers Grow Through The Experience Of Having A Student Teacher?, Ashton D. Coppley

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Cooperating teachers and student teachers share a unique internship that allows the development of skills for both individuals. The literature states that cooperating teachers can grow from student teachers; however, there are a few sources that state the areas in which this growth occurs. The purpose of this study was to determine if growth or impact happened in the areas of instructional practices, coaching skills, and self-efficacy during the student teaching process. This mixed methods study included a survey, focus group interview, and single interviews to determine whether any change was made. The survey created descriptive statistics, a Pearson correlation …

Collaborative Professional Learning In Early Literacy: The Impact On Teacher Knowledge, Actions, And Beliefs, Jaime Henderson Dawson

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Literacy is the foundation for individual success and economic independence. Early literacy development is an area of importance; thus, professional learning in early literacy is critical and significant. This study examined the impact of a collaborative professional learning model in early literacy on teacher knowledge, actions, and efficacy and how learning transfer resulted in changes to instructional practices. The study utilized an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Data were collected from participants in a specific collaborative professional learning model, the Early Literacy Professional Development (ELPD) model. Quantitative data were collected through surveys to identify professional learning topics perceived as having …

Do Advanced Degrees Matter? A Multiphase Mixed-Methods Study To Examine Teachers’ Obtainment Of Advanced Degrees And The Impact On Student And School Growth, Mei-Lin Chang Dr., Ivan M. Jorrín Abellán, Jim Wright, Jihye Kim, Rachel E. Gaines

Georgia Educational Researcher

Teacher quality has been found to offset the adverse effect of racial and socioeconomic differences in academic achievement; and teacher quality is often thought to be the product of a quality education. However, existing literature has produced mixed results regarding the relationship between student achievement and teachers’ possession of advanced degrees (ADs). Despite these mixed results, ADs are often the most efficient (if not the only) way for teachers to earn certification and salary upgrades. A longitudinal, multiphase mixed-methods explanatory study aimed to bridge shortcomings of existing research on the effects of teachers obtaining ADs. Associations between teacher credentials and …

Accelerating Professional Socialization With An Undergraduate Proseminar Course, Carrie Anne Platt

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Guiding students on their professional paths, from selecting a major to pursuing a particular career after graduation, can be a significant challenge for faculty and program leaders. Students, particularly those in broad fields like Communication, rarely know what the major involves, or how their studies will translate into a meaningful career. This uncertainty makes it harder for students to see connections between their coursework, campus resources, and extracurricular activities, a disconnect that impacts engagement, academic performance, and retention. In this best practices article, I explain how an undergraduate proseminar can accelerate professional socialization and help students develop more integrated perspectives …

Narratives Of Creativity Among Social Care Educators In Irish Higher Education, Louisa Goss

Theses

Research on creativity in the delivery of social care highlights growing evidence of its importance for the wellbeing and quality of life of those in receipt of care, as well as benefits for the workforce. However, what is less well understood and overlooked in the literature is how creativity is conceptualised and operationalised in practice and education. This thesis attends to this gap in research from the perspective of social care educators. With the aim of deepening understanding of higher education teachers’ construction of creativity, the study explores small stories about creativity from six educators teaching into an undergraduate degree …

Examining The Effects Of Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices Of Educators, Lenore Thompson

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This dissertation was designed to examine how experiences, education, and professional development informed culturally responsive pedagogy and influenced teacher beliefs in their ability to guide students to success when employing culturally responsive teaching practices. The research school district was located in the piedmont region of North Carolina. It was determined after reviewing the district’s historical student achievement data there was a trend of underachievement by marginalized groups of students. Licensed educators completed the Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) Scale and the Culturally Responsive Teaching Outcome Expectancy (CRTOE) Scale in order to determine their level of preparedness to teach students from …

Impact Of Positive Psychology In Pk-12 Settings, Daniel Paul Butler

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Educator burnout is threatening the well-being of society, having a financial impact on the United States, as well as influencing the optimal growth of students and the quality of our educational system. Overexposure to stress while trying to meet countlessdemands can lead to burnout and jeopardizeworkforceretention. Stress, burnout, and teacher attrition have reached alarming levels, threatening quality instructionand subsequent student achievement (Steinhardt et al., 2011). The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding ofthe effect of the Happiness Advantage | Orange Frog positive psychology framework and whether schools that employ these techniques experience a significant difference in their …

Educator Knowledge And Usage Of Evidence-Based Interventions For Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders In Special Education Programs Across California, Thelmisha Vincent

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which evidence-based interventions being utilized with students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) by general education teachers, special education teachers, and behavior interventionists working in K-12 special education programs on comprehensive public and non- public school campuses in California.

Methodology: This mixed method study identified commonly used instructional strategies for students with (EBD) in public and non-public school settings. Respondents were purposefully chosen from general education teachers, special education teachers, and behavior interventionists across California. The data from online survey and interviews were analyzed through factorial ANOVA, descriptive …

Perceptions Of Blended Learning In The High School Classroom, Kelli Murphy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As innovative technologies and accessibility increase in the K12 environment, teachers are offered opportunities to rethink the paradigm of the instructional and learning process. They are at the forefront of instructional change. One type of change is the use of technology as an instructional strategy. Blended learning is a type of instructional strategy which incorporates both online and face-to-face instruction.

The instructional choices a K12 teacher makes under their own volition to present new content in a technology-rich school is the focus of this study. A quantitative research study was performed in a high school with high technology accessibility. Teachers’ …

A Case Study Of An Online Teacher Study Group As A Digital Professional Development Tool, Jessica Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there appears to have been a shift in professional development approaches for teachers from short-term workshops to teacher communities of professional practice, which extend over a while and focus on the expert knowledge teachers need to use in their setting (Goya, 2014). A supportive approach to teacher learning communities is a teacher study group. An even more promising and flexible approach to teacher learning communities in a global aspect is an online teacher study group. An online teacher study group provided a universal and flexible venue to engage in collaborative discussion between general education and special education …

Facilitating Pedagogies Of Possibility In Teacher Education: Experiences Of Faculty Members In A Self-Study Learning Group, Jason K. Ritter, Rachel Ayieko, Christie Vanorsdale, Sandra Quiñones, Xia Chao, Christopher J. Meidl, Laura Mahalingappa, Carla K. Meyer, Julia A. Williams

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This collaborative self-study explores how seven members of a Faculty Self-Study Learning Group (FS-SLG) attempt to foster cultures of inquiry with teacher candidates. In so doing, we simultaneously describe a professional learning community of teacher educators engaging in reflective practice via the teaching, learning, and enacting of self-study methodology. Findings from this collaborative self-study highlight how we attempt to translate our own efforts to be more purposeful and reflective into our teacher education practice through modeling, as well as the tensions we felt in promoting a view of teaching as a process of critical inquiry. The discussion focuses on lessons …

Emerging Teacher-Leaders For English Learners: A Professional Development Model In Rural Florida, Raisa Ankeny, Nidza Marichal, Maria Coady

School Leadership Review

This paper describes an ongoing Professional Development (PD) program that aimed to prepare teacher-leaders for rural English learner (EL) students. We delineate the theoretical underpinnings of the PD design and describe the two-year graduate coursework program with onsite coaching in rural schools in detail. We define rurality and the context of ELs in the rural partner school district and describe the PD coursework, which was adapted to meet the local rural educational needs of the participants. At its outset, participants reflected on the overall PD through online discussions, surveys, and focus group interviews. Data revealed that the participants found the …

Contextual Factors In Early Career Teaching: A Systematic Review Of International Research On Teacher Induction And Mentoring Programs, Benjamin Kutsyuruba, Keith D. Walker, Lorraine Godden

Journal of Global Education and Research

Early career teachers (ECTs) are situated in a dynamic contextual landscape that both influences their development and practice and dictates professional expectations for instruction and professional learning. This systematic review of international research literature sought to establish the understanding of teacher induction and mentoring program support of ECTs through the following research questions: 1) which nations and regions are represented in research literature that details formal or programmatic support of ECTs? 2) what international research evidence is there to describe various contextual factors that affect experiences of ECTs? and, 3) how do teacher induction and mentorship programs respond to the …

Teacher Evaluation Practices And Policy Implications: Effective Strategies For Changing Instruction, Scott Grens

Dissertations

This study is a program evaluation of the effectiveness of teacher evaluation practices in a small suburban elementary school district in Illinois from 2017-2019. The primary research question explored in this program evaluation is whether and to what extent the teacher evaluation process is changing teacher practices in Washington School District 25. Employing a qualitative research methodology, with data gathered from teacher interviews, school administrator interviews, and document analysis, this study identified several key components to the improvement of instructional practices for teachers. Policy implications and recommendations highlight the importance of the following: a common instructional framework, staff involvement in …

Happiness Advantage: The Impact On School Culture, Jillian Sagan

Dissertations

The purpose of this evaluation is to analyze the implementation of the Happiness Advantage principles (Achor, 2011) to address the mental well-being for all school district employees. In addition to Happiness Advantage Training (Achor, 2011), the study seeks to determine if the implementation of positive psychology principles affects school culture, teacher engagement and student achievement. The program design incorporates whole district training, ongoing professional development for employees and the autonomy to generate new ideas to sustain a positive mindset for individual schools sites and classrooms. The findings indicate that when positive psychology principles are implemented across a school district, teacher …

No Habla Espanol: Are Monolingual Teachers Getting The Support They Need?, Cristina Benavides

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For this Capstone Project, the researchers investigated how monolingual teachers view the support and resources they received to teach English Language Learners (ELL) and what they thought could be done to improve their teaching effectiveness. An evidence based argument is offered that monolingual teachers were not being provided with effective support and resources. More specifically, three themes emerged from an analysis of the data obtained from interviews of monolingual teachers and administrators. Based on the emergent themes, an action was undertaken to help monolingual teachers better address the needs of ELLs. This is an important issue for monolingual teachers because …

Supporting Parents In Title I Schools: A Qualitative Study Of Parent Engagement, Vanessa Sanchez

Master's Theses

This qualitative study focuses on how to improve parent engagement in Title I schools from parents’ point of view. The purpose of this project is to understand parent involvement in a Northern California school and how to improve it. This paper offers insights from parents’ perspectives how parents view the education process. The focus is on their experiences and how to support all parents. The lenses of the study is viewed through a critical pedagogy and social cognitive theory. All five of the parents being interviewed had suggestions on how to improve parent engagement in Title I Schools. The three …

No Habla Español: Are Monolingual Teachers Getting The Support They Need?, Natalie Correa

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For this Capstone Project, the researchers investigated how monolingual teachers view the support and resources they received to teach English Language Learners (ELL) and what they thought could be done to improve their teaching effectiveness. An evidence based argument is offered that monolingual teachers were not being provided with effective support and resources. More specifically, three themes emerged from an analysis of the data obtained from interviews of monolingual teachers and administrators. Based on the emergent themes, an action was undertaken to help monolingual teachers better address the needs of ELLs. This is an important issue for monolingual teachers because …