The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the first two years of beginning teachers' professional development and learning. The study sought to document and understand the conditions and discursive practices of seven purposely selected schools that were implementing robust beginning teacher induction programmes. The focus was on induction, located in a comprehensive national system, to reveal the practices and tensions experienced by beginning teachers as they advanced their learning and development. It is anticipated that the seven case studies, along with the working theory of sound induction will add to the body of knowledge in the field of teacher learning and professional development and contribute to the debate about teachers' work and quality teaching. Few studies have investigated beginning teacher (BT) induction in comprehensively resourced systems. Much of the research investigates fragmented parts of BT experiences. The literature shows that when a holistic examination of induction is carried out it tends to be predominantly in the secondary school context. In-depth research into year one and year two teacher learning and professional development in sound primary school induction programmes was not found. The study provides a working theory of beginning teacher learning and, as Renwick (2001, p. 33) suggested, exemplars to maximise the effectiveness of schools to employ and support beginning teachers . Sound induction has the potential to positively influence teacher practice as research evidence indicates early career experiences affect future practice. The research is a multi-site collective case study that takes an interpretative, qualitative stance drawing on constructionism to inform the interplay between sociological and psychological theoretical disciplines, which make the information visible in different ways. The case studies scrutinise in depth, individual school contexts and are instrumental in providing better understanding and theorising about the collective case of beginning teacher induction. The primary sources of data were individual and focus group interview transcriptions. In addition, there were the accompanying notes and related school documentation. i Data analysis was an iterative process of inductive and deductive reasoning to make meaning that moved beyond description to identify categories and themes that emerged both within schools and across schools. Evidence of sound BT induction was found although variation in induction practices between schools was noted. Beginning teacher induction went beyond advice and guidance to incorporate educative mentoring in collaborative, collegial schools where high expectations prevailed. The findings suggest that teacher learning should be informed but not constrained by lock-step models of learning and development. Aspects of development as a professional were advanced and, in other respects, marginalised by the education policy focus on children's achievement. Feedback and children's learning and achievement underpin beginning teachers' judgements about their development as teachers. The socio-economic school contexts were less important than the quality of leadership, school cultures, expectations and the confidence of individual novice teachers. The study raises questions about the nature of teachers' work and teacher, government and societal expectations. It is anticipated that these findings will increase understanding of, and provoke debate about beginning teacher learning and their development as professionals.

Contextual factors linked to behaviour problems in schools include leadership, organisational culture (within individual schools), and levels of teacher stress. Efforts to improve the school environment, reduce teacher stress, and improve student outcomes often have a singular focus on behaviour management policy. The aim of this research concerns the direction of effects from these variables, and offers an alternative perspective on the environment-behaviour equation. That is, while student misbehaviour is viewed as a 'producer' of teacher stress, it may also be perceived as a 'product'. An initial qualitative investigation (Study 1) invited behaviour management staff (N = 23) to participate in focus groups, where three questions were posed in relation to the overall research aims. Content analysis was performed on the transcribed focus group data, and revealed that the hypothesised direction of effect between the variables of interest appeared probable. Participants for the main studies (Studies 2 and 3) were teaching staff (N = 136), school administrators (N = 17) and students referred for behavioural problems (N = 1432) at seven Brisbane metropolitan schools. Teachers and school administrators completed both the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Organisational Culture Inventory, while teachers also completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Student data was collated from school records, and grouped according to categories of referral frequency per student. In Study 2, high referral rates were associated with transactional leadership, and the Oppositional aspect of Aggressive-Defensive culture. Low and medium referral rates were associated with transformational leadership and the Dependent, Approval, and Avoidant aspects of Passive-Defensive culture, and the Affiliative aspect of Constructive culture. Regression tests found further support for the proposed path model and the hypothesised direction of effects. Transactional leadership and the Passive-Defensive and Aggressive-Defensive culture types were most influential in prediction of referral rates for student misbehaviour. Unexpectedly, teacher stress was non-significant in explanation of referral rates for student misbehaviour. Study 3 examined hypothesised differences in perception between school administrators and teaching staff, according to the leadership and organisational culture dimensions. Both groups endorsed transformational leadership as the dominant style, although results differed by degree for each group. In terms of school culture, differences between groups were again evident, as teachers' perceptions of school culture were significantly more negative compared to school administrators. Overall, qualified support was found for the hypothesised direction of effects from school environment variables on referral rates for student misbehaviour. Leadership style and school culture emerged as most important for the student outcome variable, and may be important in consideration of school-based approaches to behaviour management. Additionally, teacher stress, while related to school leadership style and organisational culture, appeared to have no effect on student referral rates.

This research identifies those practices and/or conditions that facilitate (or hinder) school and/or system based innovation in ACT high schools. It examines teachers� ways of making meaning of change in their working lives. It draws on narrative inquiry and teacher in-depth interviews. The work story is used to engage teachers� individual agency as a way to conceptualise the requirements of innovation. The data is represented as teachers� narrative categorized as the Red Hots and Unfreezables. The primary themes or motifs emerging in the teachers� talk�teacher agency, resistance and leadership�provide collective insight into teachers� working lives and the capacity of schools to cope with change. Analyses of the �lived experiences� of teachers suggest that innovative practice is linked to teacher agency and the presence of professional learning communities, and that those leading change must focus on the realities of the teachers implementing change. This study also explores the culture of teacher resistance, supporting the research that school cultures are characteristically and strongly resistant to change from within the organization. As a result of this study, we have an improved understanding of the conditions that contribute to effective school change, and the importance for teachers to conduct their own research. This study contains important recommendations for governments and education systems implementing change initiatives.

This study examines the articulated vision of a new Catholic primary school in order to describe and assess its developing organisational culture. The following questions provide the major focus of the study: I How and to what extent does the Vision Statement describe the developing Catholic school culture at St Clare of Assisi Primary School? 2. What are the common beliefs and values underlying the Vision Statement at St Clare of Assisi Primary School? A review of the literature reveals that many educational researchers stress the importance of schools developing a strong, coordinated, cohesive and positive culture. The need for this culture to be based on a clearly articulated vision, embodying shared values and beliefs is also indicated and this provides the rationale for the study. A number of frameworks for school culture are examined and adapted to develop a conceptual framework for the study. The resulting Model for Developing Catholic School Culture provides a structure which enables collected data to be sorted and analysed, so that the research questions can be addressed. This study utilises the methodology of ethnographic research. Data collection strategies include participant observation, interviews, surveys, and other sources including school records and documents, photographs, artefacts and memorabilia. The findings are organised under five headings, each of which represents a belief articulated in the school's Vision Statement. These beliefs are examined to see how they are enacted verbally, visually and behaviourally by the school community Conclusions are drawn as to the relevance of the Vision Statement to the school community Other significant values and beliefs evident from an examination of the data are also identified The study concludes that the Vision Statement effectively describes the developing culture of the school for there is congruence between its beliefs and actions. What emerges of particular significance from this study is the importance of a school community articulating a shared vision. A school's Vision Statement serves a dual purpose It is the filter which allows the shared beliefs and values of the school community to be articulated, while at the same time serving as a scaffold for checking if these shared beliefs and values are being enacted by the community.

No description available.

<p>The purpose of this study was to find out whether young women´s conceptions on femininity are based on school culture or other possible factors. The theory chosen for this study is the sociological perspective. A theory where sociologists such as Emile Drukheim, Talcott Parsons and Pierre Bourdieu are all prominent. The discussion links to <em>Habitus </em>and their theories on social, cultural and collective groups. A qualitative method has been used. Ten young women have bee interviewed and their answers have been compared and analyzed for results. The women has been divided into two segments. One consisting of the ethnically Swedish young women and one out of non-ethnically Swedish young women. In conclusion, the ethnically Swedish group of young women are all involved in building up the norm at the particular school examined. Furthermore, the non-ethnically Swedish young women are followers of this norm. Conceptions on the current heterosexual norm that exists within the school culture are built based upon the different social groups.</p><p><em> </em></p>

No description available.

The aim of this study is to describe and analyse norms of behaviour in rhetoric and practice in Swedish classroom cultures with the aid of theories of gender and power. The study is based on observations of and interviews with pupils and teachers in three ninth form classes. On the basis of the six themes of the thesis, common norms of behaviour are on the whole discernible. The relation between rhetoric and practice may be summarised in the following way: the pupils and teachers express a desire for order and clear rules that are followed. If the rules are not followed, the pupils demand consistent and motivated consequences. The study shows, however, the everyday life at school does not work in this way but that there is some discrepancy between practice and rhetoric. The values stated in the curriculum, for example respect, solidarity and taking responsibility, are expressed in both the pupils’ and the teachers’ rhetoric. The values are used to describe a certain action or to motivate the norms of behaviour that are described as desirable. / Denna studies syfte är att med hjälp av teorier om kön och makt beskriva och analysera uppförandenormer i retorik och praktik i svenska klassrumskulturer. Studien är baserad på observationer och intervjuer med elever och lärare i tre niondeklasser. Utifrån avhandlingens sex teman framträder i huvudsak gemensamma uppförandenormer i de tre skolorna. Relationen mellan retorik och praktik kan sammanfattas på följande sätt: elever och lärare uttrycker en önskan om ordning och tydliga regler som efterföljs. Om reglerna inte följs, efterfrågar eleverna konsekventa och motiverade påföljder. Studien visar dock att skolvardagen inte fungerar på det viset, utan det råder en viss diskrepans mellan praktik och retorik. Läroplanens framskrivna värden, exempelvis respekt, solidaritet och ansvarstagande, framträder i både elevers och lärares retorik. Dessa värden används för att förklara ett visst handlande eller motivera de uppförandenormer som beskrivs som önskvärda.

Innan studiens start gav vi, två lärarstudenter, två skolor möjligheten att deltaga i ett interaktivt förändringsarbete. Efter betänketid tackade skolorna nej till erbjudandet. Detta fick oss att fundera över hur skolor ser på utvecklingsarbete som involverar externa aktörer. Syftet med studien var att framhäva möjligheter och hinder inom skolutveckling som är i interaktion med utomstående aktörer, i form av bland annat lärarstudenter och forskare. Vidare syftade studien till att studera vilka faktorer som påverkar en skolas personals inställning. Dessutom ämnade arbetet skapa vidare förutsättningar för ett framåtsträvande samarbete mellan skolan och övriga tänkbara aktörer. Utifrån kvantitativa enkäter, som genomfördes på den valda gymnasieskolan, kunde vi fastställa den allmänna inställningen till interaktivt utvecklingsarbete med utomstående aktörer. Utifrån enkätresultatet utformades och genomfördes kvalitativa intervjuer. Dessa intervjuer syftade till att komplettera och fördjupa några anställdas tankar kring en integrerad skolutveckling. Det samlade resultatet påvisade en positiv inställning till ett interaktivt samarbete med utomstående aktörer, men att det saknas erfarenhet samt kunskap inom området. De fyra stycken kvalitativa intervjuerna visade även på att respondenterna själva besatt kreativa idéer som de inte ansågs uppmärksammades av skolan. Uppsatsen avslutas med konkreta förslag på hur den valda skolan kan analysera den egna verksamheten och på ett bra sätt kunna skapa ett positivt förhållningssätt till ett utvecklingsarbete i interaktion med andra. / In the process of starting this study, the authors gave two schools the opportunity to take part in an interactive development work. After some thought, the schools chose to turn down our offer, which led us to consider on how schools in general look at interactive development work that involves external actors. The purpose of this study was to highlight possibilities and obstacles within school development, which is in interaction with outside parties, including teacher students and other researchers. The aim was likewise to study which possible affects there might be that could influence the personnel inside a school. We also aimed to promote and further a positive attitude towards this kind of change. Trough quantitative questionnaires, which were implemented on a chosen comprehensive school, we were able to pinpoint the general attitude towards development work in interaction with an outside part. Trough the collected answers we chose to design and carry out interviews of more qualitative character. Our aim was to complement and enter more deeply into some of the employer's thoughts about school development. The collected result showed a positive attitude towards an interactive cooperation with an outside part, but it also showed a lack of experience and knowledge within the topic. Through these four interviews our attention was drawn to our participants' creative ideas that they wished to develop. They also expressed that their ideas didn't get enough support from the school management. The conclusion of this study ends with concrete suggestions on how the selected school can analyze the organization, as well as find easy applicable ways on how to create a more positive attitude towards school development, in interaction with outside participants.

<p>The purpose of the study was to examine teachers perceptions of the impact of societal changes on teacher collaboration in schools within the period of independence of Ukraine (1991 2005). This study provided a description of teacher experiences in a context of large-scale philosophical, ideological, social, political, and economic changes of the post-Soviet era, and the teachers interpretation of the impact of related changes upon teacher collaboration in Ukrainian schools. Research questions were divided into two subgroups: first, questions inquiring into teachers perceptions of the nature of post-Soviet societal changes; and second, questions regarding the nature, external and internal impacts on teacher collaboration. Utilizing constructive postmodernism framework, this research examined teacher collaboration through micropolitical and cultural perspectives.</p> <p>This study adopted a naturalistic orientation, within which an interpretive constructivist approach to methodology prompted the use of qualitative methods of inquiry. The data collection techniques of document analysis, focus group interviews and individual interviews were utilized. Document analysis involved review of national and local acts, decrees, policies, and procedures that pertained to teacher collaboration issued during the period of 1991-2005. The participants in this study were elementary or secondary school teachers in the city of Chernivtsi, Ukraine who had been in the teaching profession within the education system of Ukraine during the period of time from 1991 to 2005. In total, fifty-five teachers from eight schools participated in eight focus group interviews and fifteen individual interviews. Documentary data and participants responses were analyzed according to the research questions and recurring themes with the help of ATLAS.ti qualitative data analysis software.</P> <p>The findings revealed the ongoing struggle between the forces of modernity and postmodernity in post-Soviet Ukrainian society. Gains of deideologization and freedoms of conscience, speech, and religion were counteracted by economic decline, political instability, and social insecurity. Societal transformations were seen as having direct impact on the system of education, resulting in a difficult transition period from the old Soviet to the new Ukrainian system of education.</p> <p>It was found that collaboration among teachers in schools was susceptible to transformations at the macro (societal), as well as micro (school) levels. Macro transformations affected the nature of teacher collaboration in a direct way through changing societal realities, while content and format were usually influenced indirectly through the impact on school structures, reforms and policies, school culture, and micropolitical interactions among professionals.</p> <p>Findings affirmed that in the times of uncertainty and radical changes, personal aspects of collaboration tend to gain more significance than the professional ones. Material welfare, spirituality and morale, social security, societal attitudes, social relationships, and shift in the systems of values and beliefs were found exerting significant impact on teacher collaboration. It was pointed out that discourse on collaboration required a balanced representation of individualistic and collectivistic perspectives. It was concluded that the development of collaborative cultures in Ukrainian schools needed to be a two-fold process, involving both instrumental shaping on the part of teachers and administrators and the presence of societal conditions conducive to collaborative relationships. A number of implications from the findings were derived for theory, practice, policy, further research, and methodology. </P>