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Full-Text Articles in Education
Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Development Around Assessment, Mary Sue Durr
Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Development Around Assessment, Mary Sue Durr
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
The significance of professional development (PD) is acknowledged in research studies as essential to implementing rigorous state standards. Although the literature recognizes that PD is a crucial component in improving teachers' knowledge and skills, some teachers at a midsized urban public elementary school in the southern United States did not see the benefit of attending PD. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary special education teachers' perceptions of PD around assessment. Guided by a framework based on Chen and McCray's whole teacher approach to teacher PD, this basic qualitative study was designed to understand how these elementary special …
Early Childhood Education Trainers' Knowledge And Use Of Andragogical Principles, Kimberly Thornton
Early Childhood Education Trainers' Knowledge And Use Of Andragogical Principles, Kimberly Thornton
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Early childhood education (ECE) teachers often lack the experience and skills to provide children with supports necessary to foster academic and social skill development. Professional development can improve ECE teachers' skills, but ECE trainers often lack understanding of adult learning principles, known as andragogy. Knowles' conceptual framework of andragogy was used to explore the knowledge and use of andragogical principles of 8 ECE trainers selected via criterion-based purposive sampling. The research questions focused on ECE trainers' knowledge and use of andragogical principles. Three cases, each consisting of 2 or 3 live professional development trainings for early childhood educators, were used …
How High School Teachers Perceive The Quality Of Professional Development, Leslie Puente-Ervin
How High School Teachers Perceive The Quality Of Professional Development, Leslie Puente-Ervin
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
New Jersey is 1 of 46 states to enroll in President Obama's Race-to-the-Top Initiative. Participating states must adopt national standards, revise teacher evaluation procedures, and administer new state assessments. States are prioritizing quality professional development (PD) to prepare teachers for these rapid shifts. The overall problem studied was how high school teachers perceive the quality of PD in a high school in New Jersey. While substandard PD alone is not enough to lose tenure, it has recently become one of the evaluative measures for teacher performance according to a new tenure law signed in 2012 by Governor Chris Christie. Such …
Teacher Education In Central Equatoria, South Sudan, Catherine Hahs Brinkley
Teacher Education In Central Equatoria, South Sudan, Catherine Hahs Brinkley
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Without education, many South Sudanese will continue living in poverty. There are numerous factors that limit their educational opportunities including tribal warfare, colonialism, missionary malpractice, civil wars, a high illiteracy rate, low government funding, and threats of war. These factors have left a substantial deficiency in available training for teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the pedagogical needs of the teachers of South Sudan. Within a conceptual framework of participatory action research, this qualitative study examined educators' view of the effectiveness of the teacher education that they had received, the pedagogical needs of teachers, and the ideal …
Professional Development Of Head Start Teachers In Emotional And Instructional Support, Marilyn Mcleod Harris
Professional Development Of Head Start Teachers In Emotional And Instructional Support, Marilyn Mcleod Harris
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
In the southwest region of Tennessee, a local Head Start program classroom assessment scoring system's (CLASS) scores fell in the lowest 10% among national Head Start programs in emotional and instructional support. Since 2012, the Office of Head Start has released reports showing that the average Head Start program has low performance CLASS emotional and instructional support scores. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to investigate the professional development of local Head Start teachers with low CLASS scores in emotional and instructional support. Knowles's adult learning theory of andragogy was the overall conceptual framework and the concentrated theory …
Factors That Impact African American High School Equivalency (Hse) Students' Pursuit Of Higher Education, Jamiyla Chandler-Melton
Factors That Impact African American High School Equivalency (Hse) Students' Pursuit Of Higher Education, Jamiyla Chandler-Melton
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
African Americans account for a disproportionate percentage of students who pursue college education in comparison to European Americans. Indeed, a considerable number of African American High School Equivalency (HSE) students are not enrolling in college once they earn their HSE diploma. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine 3 African American HSE students' perceptions about factors that influenced their pursuit of higher education at the selected HSE study site. These 3 students were selected for their inclusion because of their ethnicity, enrollment in the HSE program, academic underpreparedness and lack of pursuit of higher education, and strong …
Exploring The Efficacy Of School-Based Professional Development, Michele Theresa Glynne
Exploring The Efficacy Of School-Based Professional Development, Michele Theresa Glynne
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
No method exists for evaluating the effectiveness of professional development (PD) for teachers in Boston Public Schools. Often PD does not contribute to teacher quality, which can hinder student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of PD among K-8 teachers and to examine the alignment of PD in the schools with the 4 prerequisites of professional learning outlined by Learning Forward. These 4 prerequisites served as the conceptual framework. Of the research questions, 4 reflected the topics of the 4 prerequisites: commitment to students, readiness to learn, collaboration, and learning styles. The …
Exploring The Impact Of Wyoming's Pathways To Professional Development Program On Childcare Providers And Quality Early Childcare, Colleen Kay Bartlett
Exploring The Impact Of Wyoming's Pathways To Professional Development Program On Childcare Providers And Quality Early Childcare, Colleen Kay Bartlett
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Childcare programs that provide high quality care can strengthen children's early development. One component of a quality program is having providers who are knowledgeable in child development; however, despite the understanding of these known predictors of child development, Wyoming does not require childcare providers to complete any training before beginning to work with children. Guided by the constructivist theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, Dewey, and Bruner, this objectives-based program evaluation investigated the Pathways to Professional Development program to determine participants' perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the program. A researcher-produced survey was created based on the objectives of the program …