Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Social Emotional Competence And Teacher Stress, Leslie Carole Forcina

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Teacher stress and continuing high attrition rates for the teaching profession have significant multiple impacts, although arguably the most important is student achievement. Research indicates that as teacher stress increases to high levels, teacher effectiveness decreases. Attempts to reduce stress have historically focused on organizational or systemic change with minimal success. There remains a clear and distinct call to pursue individual factors that may influence teachers’ abilities to moderate stress. Social emotional competence (SEC) is a set of skills that allows individuals to understand themselves, their emotions, the social context as well as relationships and decision making. Existing research has …

Perceptions Of Middle School Teachers On The Quality Of Professional Development, Safurat Anike Giwa

Dissertations

Professional learning and professional development are the essential tools employed in schools, districts, and universities in order to increase teachers' knowledge and skills. To gain the most from professional development in middle schools, the experiences and activities must be based on standards. Few researchers explore how teachers think about the context, process, and content of current professional development at the middle school level. This dissertation examines how teacher learning is demonstrated in professional development activities and experience and assesses whether middle school teachers' perceptions of their professional development experiences is aligned to the standards of Learning Forward (2001) (formerly the …

The Influence Of An Adapted Physical Education Course On Preservice Teacher Instruction: Using A Self-Determination Lens, Dana Perlman, Cindy Piletic

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Current federal mandates and policies have increased the focus on providing students with disabilities (SWD) a pedagogically appropriate learning experience (No Child Left Behind, 2001). Teacher education programs are attempting to provide all future teachers with experiences that enhance the pedagogical ability to teach students with a variety of needs. As such, the concept of motivation has been deemed a crucial aspect of effective instruction. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the development of PTs during a semester adapted physical education course, from a self-determined perspective. Two intact adapted physical education classes (N=46; Male=25, Female= 21) were …

Understanding L2 Speaking Problems: Implications For Esl Curriculum Development In A Teacher Training Institution In Hong Kong, Zhengdong Gan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports the result of a study that aimed to identify the problems with oral English skills of ESL (English as a second language) students at a tertiary teacher training institution in Hong Kong. The study, by way of semi-structured interview, addresses the gap in our understanding of the difficulties ESL students encountered in their oral English development in the context of a Bachelor of Education (English Language) programme. Insufficient opportunities to speak English in lectures and tutorials, lack of a focus on language improvement in the curriculum, and the input-poor environment for spoken communication in English outside class …

Developing Preservice Primary Teachers’ Confidence And Competence In Arts Education Using Principles Of Authentic Learning., Deirdre E. Russell-Bowie

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Arts education research over the years has highlighted the situation of non-specialist preservice primary arts teachers as having little confidence in their own artistic ability and their ability to teach the arts to children. Added to this, problems such a lack of resources, confidence, priority, time, knowledge and experience appear to inhibit the regular teaching of the arts by generalist classroom teachers while at the same time, face-to-face hours for preservice primary arts education have decreased significantly over the recent years. This paper describes how one subject within a Primary Teacher Education course responded to these challenges. This subject was …

Student Teaching Practice In Two Elementary Teacher Preparation Programs, Ping Liu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examines student teaching of elementary teacher preparation programs in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the United States of America (USA). Two programs comparable in program design, course requirements and goals were selected for exploration. The key aspects that were studied about student teaching include its unit ratio in a program, features of placements, written work by student teachers and evaluation. Findings indicate that these programs share the same basic elements related to student teaching but differences exist in student teaching sequence, focus on candidates’ practice to assume teaching responsibilities, participation in evaluation and level of peer …

Cultivating Teachers’ Morality And The Pedagogy Of Emotional Rationality, Minkang Kim

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers are expected to act ethically and provide moral role models in performing their duties, even though teacher education has often relegated the cultivation of teachers’ ethical awareness and moral development to the margins. When it is addressed, the main theoretical assumptions have relied heavily on the cognitivist developmental theories of Piaget and Kohlberg. A major pedagogical problem in adopting these theories of moral reasoning is that they may not help teachers to act as moral agents in real-life classrooms. This paper argues that one underlying difficulty is the insufficient attention given to the role of emotion in moral reasoning, …

Stereotypes And Self-Perceptions Of Physical Education Pre-Service Teachers, Michael Spittle, Felicity Petering, Peter Kremer, Sharna Spittle

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Stereotypes and self-perceptions are important in understanding how people develop their self-knowledge and social identity, become members of groups, and view groups and their members. While we have some understanding of the stereotypical view of the physical education teacher, we currently have little knowledge of how physical education pre-service teachers (students studying a physical education degree) are stereotyped, and also if there is any relationship between these stereotypes and how physical education pre-service teachers perceive themselves. The purpose of this study was to examine the stereotypes and self-perceptions of physical education pre-service teachers. The aims were to describe how physical …

Empowering Equity In Postsecondary Transition For Marginalized Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students With Disabilities By Implementing A Culturally Responsive Summary Of Performance Teacher Training And Support Program, Rebekka Joanne Jez

Doctoral Dissertations

Marginalized culturally and linguistically diverse students with special needs often struggle after high school. Many special educators are unaware of legal mandates and best practice in postsecondary transition, especially the intricate needs when working this group. The culturally responsive Summary of Performance (CRSOP) training and support program was designed to inform and support teachers in self-determination and culturally responsive practices while transitioning students from high school. Five teachers and seven students in a large urban district were interviewed and surveyed before and after the CRSOP training and support program to evaluate the effectiveness of the CRSOP teacher training. Teachers reported …

Teacher Retention: What Motivates Highly Qualified Urban Teachers To Stay?, Orlando B. Milligan

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide insight into what motivates highly qualified teachers to remain in urban schools. Research has shown that the single most important factor in a child’s education is the teacher. Consequently, the issues related to teacher recruitment and retention rank as serious problems facing urban schools and the achievement of their children.

The purpose of this study was to examine what motivates highly qualified teachers to remain in urban schools and to identify factors that may contribute to the retention and recruitment of an urban teaching corps. This study also sought to determine if there …

A Phenomenological Study Of Teaching Endangered Languages Online: Perspectives From Nahua And Mayan Educators., Dustin De Felice

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Language and culture teaching has always been a complex and challenging task. For many educators, their teaching experiences are rooted in their earlier preparation, their classroom situations and their curriculum. In this study, indigenous educators recount their lived experiences with teaching their language and culture at a distance. These educators belong to either Nahua or Mayan speech communities where endangered languages are maintained. Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, my participants described and explained their perspectives and experiences with teaching, studying, and integrating technology. I focused the interviews, the reflective writing tasks and their artifact sharing on their experiences in an …

Multiple Intelligences In The Text: Examining The Presence Of Mi Tasks In The Annotated Teacher's Editions Of Four High School United States History Textbooks, Carey Mullican

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current state of the social studies classroom comprises one of uninspired students using unexciting textbooks as their guide for learning U.S. history (Hope, 1996; NCES, 1993; Banks, 1990; Wakefield, 2006). With multiple intelligences gaining popularity in education, renewed hope exists for social studies to produce quality textbooks with differentiated instruction to reach all learners. The purpose was to design a rubric for measuring the presence of multiple intelligences structured tasks in teacher's editions of four 11th grade U.S. history textbooks. Using 1995 to 2007 as a purposeful sample of consistent authorships and similar publications, the study looked at teacher's …

Examining Teacher Identity And Prospective Efficacy Beliefs Among Students Enrolled In A Precollegiate Urban Teaching Academy (Uta), Marsha Simon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teacher recruitment and retention challenges facing urban school contexts provided the impetus for this study. High percentages of historically marginalized students, plagued by high poverty rates and low academic performance, as well as substandard facilities and inadequate material resources, serve as causative factors inhibiting recruitment and retention of credentialed teachers in urban schools (Education Commission of the States [ECS], 1999; Guarino et al., 2006; Horng, 2009; USDOE, 2003; 2004; Wirt et al, 2004). Schools and districts attempt to meet chronic teacher shortages in hard-to-staff urban schools by creating innovative teacher preparation schemes, such as the Urban Teaching Academy (UTA). This …

A Head Start To Learning: Exploration Of A Parent-Directed Intervention To Promote Early Literacy Skill Development, Ashley Nicole Sundman-Wheat

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of a parent-led intervention focused on developing children's early literacy skills within the home setting. The lesson plans contain scripted steps for completing activities to teach letter names and phonological awareness skills. Archival data were analyzed from a study conducted with 26 families from three Head Start centers. Thirteen families completed the intervention and thirteen families were enrolled in a control condition which provided information on shared reading strategies. Children in the intervention group performed at statistically significant higher levels on measures of letter naming, phonological awareness, vocabulary/oral language, and comprehension. Parents rated both the …

Perceptions Of Hispanic Female Esl Students Toward First-Year College Writing Courses: A Phenomenological Examination Of Cultural Influences, Barbara B. Booker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The role of culture as a phenomenon guided this qualitative study, which examined the influence of diverse Hispanic cultures on the attitudes and perceptions towards college writing courses of female Hispanic students who are non-native speakers of English. With the increasing number of Hispanic immigrants coming to the U.S., the minority student population at our nation's colleges and universities has also risen. Community colleges have become the means through which many of these Hispanic immigrants obtain a college education.

The eight women who participated in this study self-identified as Hispanic. All were first generation college students who had been born …

A Multi-Perspective Exploration Of A Cross-Age Tutoring Initiative: An Analysis Of The Responses Of All Students, Ann Elizabeth Gillies

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study assessed the effectiveness of a cross-age tutoring intervention on adaptive behavior goals of three PreKindergarten/Kindergarten-aged students with labels of autism spectrum disorder. Data were collected in an inclusive environment; the school library. Three fourth grade general education cross-age tutors were trained to use a simple, naturalistic least-to-most prompting strategy to support the young students with individualized adaptive behavior goals while in the library. A mixed method design was utilized in this study; a quantitative single case multiple baseline across participants design to show performance outcomes of the young students as a result of the tutoring intervention, and …

Perceptions Of A Learning Organization And Factors Within The Work Environment That Influence Transfer Of Training In Law Enforcement, Yvonne Olive Hunter-Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine law enforcement officers' perception of factors within the workplace that influence transfer of training and their perception of the organization being a learning organization. The study actually had three parts. First, it intended to investigate the perception of law enforcement officers regarding factors within their work environment that influence or impede the transfer of training process (specifically, organizational support and transfer climate/culture). Second, it intended to determine the perception of law enforcement officers concerning the promotion of their organization's learning practices, learning culture, and the continuous learning environment at an individual, …

Teachers' Narratives Of Experience With Social Class, Natalie Elizabeth Keefer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Equality of educational opportunity has been a long elusive goal of public education in the United States. This narrative, phenomenological study conducted inquiry into how five teachers in Tampa, Florida construct meaning about social class and academic achievement based on their life experiences as members of a class-based society. Data produced descriptive, narrative stories that contextualize how meaning is constructed about social class based on participants' life experiences. This line of inquiry provides relevant insight into teachers' understandings of social class which may influence the provision of equal educational opportunities to all students. The following study includes a comprehensive analysis …

Increasing Parental Involvement In Early Childhood Education, Kendall Jeffries

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parental involvement during preschool has been linked with stronger pre-literacy skills, acquisition of mathematical skills, well-developed social skills, and positive attitudes toward school (Arnold, Zeljo, Doctoroff, & Ortiff, 2008; Powell, Son, File, & San Juan, 2010). Parents' active involvement in their children's learning is a recommended strategy in engaging families in children's education experiences (Henderson & Mapp, 2002). The purpose of the current study was to measure the impact of parents' active participation in a parent-directed early literacy intervention on parental home-based involvement, school-based involvement, and home-school conferencing among Head Start parents and their preschool-aged children. The study used a …

Changes In Attitudes And Behaviors Toward Physical Activity, Nutrition, And Social Support For Middle School Students Using The Afit App As A Suppliment To Instruction In A Physical Education Class, Thomas Andrew Watterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Finding ways to improve nutritional and physical activity components with today's adolescents is a significant problem. The obesity epidemic is over 10 years old and little research has been done on successful interventions that motivate today's students using the latest technology. A total of 140 middle school students and four physical education teachers participated in a 4-week study using a newly created application (AFIT app) for supplemental teaching in and out of the classroom. Combining a theoretical framework of Self-Determination and motivating strategies implored in today's mobile technology, significance was found using the PACE (2001) instrument in fruits and …