Obtaining Cultural Competency Skills: Perceptions From Supervisors In Higher Education, Veronica Gomez Vilchis

All Master's Theses

A program evaluation was done on the supervisor training at Central Washington University to obtain the perceptions of supervisors on cultural competency. Eighteen supervisors were interviewed. The results demonstrated supervisors’ support of incorporating cultural competency as part of their professional development. However, supervisors indicated the current supervisor training does not give them tools to interact effectively with diverse populations. Implications for including cultural competency skills for supervisors in higher education are discussed.

Early Career Principal Development: A Qualitative Case Study Of Principals' Perceptions Of Participation In The Institute Of Engaged Principal Leadership, Teri Marie Preisler

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the perceptions of the participants in the Institute of Engaged Principal Leadership at the start and conclusion of their first year of sessions. The study used a single case study qualitative research approach incorporating semi-structured interviews questions, researcher observations, and review of documents throughout the 2012-2013 initial year of the Institute. The results indicate themes of growth within the participants' beliefs, confidence, focus on equity and student-centered school climate, and a need for networking within the educational leadership roles. Based upon these results, recommendations are provided for future Institutes as well as preparation programs for teachers and …

Preliminary Evaluation Of The Friends For Life Program On Students’ And Teachers’ Emotional States For A School In A Low Socio-Economic Status Area, Cristina A. Iizuka, Paula M. Barrett, Robyn Gillies, Clayton R. Cook, Welber Marinovic

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the FRIENDS for Life program on students’ and teachers’ emotional outcomes in a school serving a high-poverty population. The focus of the intervention was to train/coach teachers with strategies to develop social and emotional skills for students. A single group, pre/post-test design was used to conduct a preliminary investigation of the intervention to improve participants’ social and emotional outcomes. At the end of the intervention, students who were at risk showed significant decrease in their anxiety levels and teacher’s demonstrated significant improvements on their emotional resilience.

Enhancing Playful Teachers’ Perception Of The Importance Of Ict Use In The Classroom: The Role Of Risk Taking As A Mediator, A. Lin Goodwin, Ee Ling Low, Pak Tee Ng, Alexander S. Yeung, Li Cai

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In today’s world, teaching and learning processes inevitably involve the application of information and communication technology (ICT). It seems reasonable to expect personal attributes such as cognitive playfulness to be associated with consistent application of ICT. Using survey responses from Singapore students in a teacher education programme (n = 450), structural equation modelling (SEM) found that the effect of cognitive playfulness on the perceived importance of ICT was mediated by risk taking orientation, but the mediation effect was not observed with perceived competence in ICT use. Academic self-concept had negligible relation with the two ICT variables. As personal attributes …

The Curious Schools Project: Capturing Nomad Creativity In Teacher Work, Mary Ann Hunter, Sherridan Emery

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Curious Schools project is a teacher professional learning initiative that aims to provide an insight into – and resource for – creativity in Tasmanian schools. It offers an alternative to conventional models of teacher professional learning by engaging teachers in multi-modal methods of documenting and reflecting on their work as the basis for an online community of practice and public showcase for creativity in education that takes place ‘behind the scenes’. The authors, as coordinators of the project, describe the rationale behind the project and the ways it embraced discourses and practices of curiosity as a means of making …

Preparedness Of Pre-Service Teachers For Inclusive Education In The Solomon Islands, Umesh Sharma, Janine Simi, Chris Forlin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Recent policy changes in the Pacific Islands have seen a strong emphasis on implementing inclusive education. Preparing teachers for this change in education will be essential if they are to have the knowledge, skills and understandings so that they can become inclusive practitioners. Pre-service teacher education will play a critical role in supporting this process. This paper considers the perceptions of pre-service teachers undertaking the first year of the Diploma of Teaching in the one university in the Solomon Islands. This is the only university that prepares teachers to work across the entire archipelago. Data are collected pre and post …

A Stem Narrative: 15 Years In The Making., Susan Blackley, Jennifer Howell

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Since its inception in the late 1990s, STEM has continued to attract attention and sizeable funding in the US, UK, and Australia. This paper narrates the development of the STEM movement, and analyses both the influences that have progressed its evolution and those that have stymied authentic STEM practices. The pervading rhetoric of “STEM crisis” is considered through a global lens, and is resolved as a geo-political phenomenon. The strident voice of the US in the STEM narrative is tempered by investigating the approach to STEM in European, Asian, and developing countries. Two perspectives are described in the narrative: the …

Teacher Wellbeing In Neoliberal Contexts: A Review Of The Literature, Renae Acton, Patti Glasgow

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is an increasing awareness that the wellbeing of a workforce is an important consideration in any organisation. Within the context of education, possibilities for supporting teacher wellbeing are mediated by neoliberal policy technologies that are incongruent with key aspects of wellness. Reviewing the literature, it appears there is value in prioritising teacher wellbeing as an intentional inclusion in both the professional development of practising teachers and within pre-service teacher education programs. This inclusion will empower teachers to better negotiate these imposed systemic constraints. Education for teachers regarding key facets of wellbeing - including managing emotional labour and the importance …

The Views Of Mathematics Teachers On The Factors Affecting The Integration Of Technology In Mathematics Courses, Gül Kaleli-Yilmaz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The aim of this study is to determine the views of mathematics teachers on the factors that affect the integration of technology in mathematic courses. It is a qualitative case study. The sample size of the study is 10 teachers who are having postgraduate education in a university in Turkey. Current study was conducted at the three stages. At the first stage, software and learning objects were introduced to the teachers. At the second stage, the activities were performed to the teachers. At the third stage, teachers practiced a technology assisted course in a real classroom environment. After all stages …

Creating And Sustaining Professional Learning Partnerships: Activity Theory As An Analytic Tool., Dianne Bloomfield, Hoa Thi Mai Nguyen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Significant attention has been paid to the forms and practices of effective school-university partnerships in recent times as they are commonly seen as a key element to improve the quality of teacher education programs and thus graduate teachers. However, analysis of the effectiveness of such partnerships has not been so evident. This article critically reviews the notion of partnership and its practice in Australia, then presents a conceptual lens via activity theory through which to analyse opportunities and challenges, particularly with respect to school-university partnerships, within the current climate. A Professional Learning Partners Program in a specific context in Australia …

Teacher-Based Scaffolding As A Teacher Professional Development Program In Indonesia, Bujang Rahman, Abdurrahman Abdurrahman, Budi Kadaryanto, Nurlaksana Eko Rusminto

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Improvement of teachers’ content knowledge has long been regarded as a priority in Indonesian school systems, and has been the goal for many teacher professional development programs. In this paper we report the evaluation of a professional development program to improve content knowledge for 147 Indonesian teachers. The teachers were divided into three experimental groups, and each group was treated to one of the three professional development models frequently used in developing countries. The results showed that all three models led to improvement in the teachers’ content knowledge; however, the teacher-based scaffolding model proved to be the most effective. In …

Navigating Discourses Of Cultural Literacy In Teacher Education, Kelsey Halbert, Philemon Chigeza

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Pre-service teachers’ understandings, skills and dispositions as global, culturally literate citizens and agents of change have arguably never been more important. Professional standards, systemic policies and frameworks and a broad range of scholarly perspectives on culture position pre-service teachers to take up cultural education in sometimes conflicting ways. It is these orientations to culture within a teacher education program and how they sit alongside potentially incongruent policies, practices and worldviews that are the focus of this paper. The practitioner research draws on cultural identity theories, policies and student experiences in the teaching and learning of an undergraduate education subject entitled …

Promoting Student Teachers' Reflective Thinking Through A Philosophical Community Of Enquiry Approach, Fufy Demissie

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract

This article outlines how student teachers’ experiences of a philosophical community of enquiry (PCoE) facilitated their pedagogical reflections. Although reflection occupies an important place in teacher education curricula and pedagogy, it is a contested and problematic concept. In this study, a group of second year student teachers took part in a module based on Matthew Lipman's Philosophy for Children (P4C) programme, designed to improve children’s thinking through a PCoE. Using data from a series of reflective activities and an in-depth interview, I examined if and how student teachers’ experiences of PCoE facilitated their readiness to reflect on pedagogical concepts …

Partnerships With Cultural Organisations: A Case For Partnerships Developed By Teacher Educators For Teacher Education, Narelle Lemon, Jacolyn Weller

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

New ways of working in teacher education are currently being highlighted, especially in relation to partnerships. One type of partnership that is under utilised is that with cultural organisations. This paper reports on two projects where the authors work with pre-service teachers in partnership with a wildlife sanctuary and a national gallery. Common project elements included research into the value for pre-service teachers in professional engagement of their own teaching and insight into ongoing professional development. The data showed that ownership, empowerment, and meaning can be experienced by stakeholders. The research not only challenges new ways of working with partnerships …

Ethnodrama As A Path To Teacher Euphoria: How Might Ethnodrama Influence Teachers' Perceptions Of Themselves And Promote Teacher Euphoria?, Rodney W. Grist

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study is intended as a mini-pilot program, exploring the potential of ethnodrama to positively impact the burnout experiences of urban public secondary teachers. The current study holds small sample sizes and limited development time, yet an informant panel of nine teachers met in three sessions to discuss and reveal their personal stories, and to plan an ethnodramatic performance to be shared with the entire school faculty and administration (Mienczakowski, Handbook 468; Saldaña, Anthology 2). Informant panelists’ dispositions toward burnout was measured pre and post experience via the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and a small, non- participant group was also measured …

Adult Learner Engagement With Learning Supports In A Blended Learning Environment In Irish Insurance Education, Ian Griffin

Theses

This case study reports on the results and experiences of adult learner engagement when using learning supports within a blended learning environment (BLE) in Irish insurance education. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive research focusing on this area in the professional education sector. This research is of interest to educators who offer a blended ‘bricks and clicks’ model to adult learners within either a professional or a higher education programme. For instance, this blended learning approach model is used at an increased frequency by modern professional education with education programmes shifting from a tutor-centred to more learner-centred approach. From …

An Intrinsic Case Study Into The Appropriateness Of A Bespoke Training Model As An Approach To Supporting The Postgraduate Demonstrator In Developing Pedagogical Skills Suitable For Undergraduate Scientific Laboratories., Barry Ryan

Theses

Postgraduate demonstrators (PGDs) are crucial to the smooth running of undergraduate teaching laboratories; however, they are oftentimes exiled to superficial duties such as enforcing health and safety and procedural instruction. The aim of this intrinsic case study was to characterise the support required by postgraduate demonstrators (PGDs) to develop the key pedagogical skills that would assist them in effectively demonstrating undergraduate science teaching labs. Through supporting PGD development, it is hoped to centralise the PGD in the undergraduate teaching lab and set in place the foundations for a move towards undergraduate teaching labs that encompass aspects of tailored research in …

Our (Different) Place In The World Internationalising An Architectural Curriculum To Help Prepare Students For Professional Practice In A Transnational World, Johanna Cleary

Theses

Internationalisation of the Curriculum (IoC) is an idea whose time has come. The intention behind this educational agenda is to help prepare graduates for professional life in a transnational world characterised by diverse mobilities and cultural hybridity. The process of internationalizing a curriculum is context-dependent: IoC looks different in different disciplines, institutions and countries. A rapidly globalising world intimately affects the practice of architecture where the transnational flows of people, information and capital intersect in our cities presenting complex challenges to professional architectural practice. Yet the teaching of architecture is seen as anachronistic: national systems of accreditation and professional registration …

Participatory Action Research: Effect Of Emphasising Graduate Attributes On Work-Placement Reflection, Julie Dunne

Theses

This project aimed to investigate what the effect of activities to promote awareness of graduate attributes development introduced during 2014/15 would be on the quality of reflection displayed in student pharmacy technicians’ workplacement blogs. The project was undertaken in response to a deficit in critical reflection shown in earlier years. The work-placement blogs from 2013/14 were used as a comparison for this study. The theoretical perspective included a constructivist ontological position and an interpretivist epistemological position. The methodology was participatory action research involving the Pharmacy Technician students as co-researchers. The cycles of action and research aligned to three research objectives, …

“The Relationship Between Approaches To Learning And Assessment Outcomes In Undergraduate Optometry Students”, Linda Moore

Theses

A cross-sectional quantitative study was implemented to identify and analyse student approaches to learning (SALs) in the four stages of an undergraduate optometry honours degree programme. Study results will be used to inform optometric educators of the SAL trends of this student cohort. Seventy-three undergraduate optometry students participated in the study. Individual participant SAL scores were calculated using the shortened Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) for a semester-long academic module identified for each programme stage. Only R-SPQ-2F main scale SAL scores measuring the deep approach (DA) and surface approach (SA) were included in the final analyses, due to poor internal consistency …

Nice White Men Or Social Justice Allies?: Using Critical Race Theory To Examine How White Male Faculty And Administrators Engage In Ally Work, Lori D. Patton, Stephanie Bondi

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Numerous scholars have offered definitions and perspectives for White people to be or become social justice allies. The purpose of this study was to examine the complicated realities that social justice allies in higher education face when working on campus. Using a critical interpretivist approach grounded in critical race theory, the authors interpret participants constructions of allies and ally work and draw larger implications for these constructions and their capacity to disrupt and uphold systems of oppression and injustice. In examining the experiences of White male faculty and administrators who shared how they constructed and made meaning of the complexities …