Published Article / The problem statement to be proposed in this article is that student employability suffers as a result of the fact that students do not make use of the available employment skills training, offered by the CUT, which will enable them to present themselves in a professional manner to prospective employers when entering the labour market. Certain suggestions will be offered in this publication of how the CUT could go about creating opportunities for students to enable them to successfully enter the labour market, after the completion of their studies.

This mixed methods case study described and analyzed the 2004-2006 district-based principal preparation programs in Virginia. This dissertation explored goals stated in proposals for funding as well as program director and program completer perceptions of goals, content, processes, and outcomes for the 10 principal preparation programs that stemmed from the Commission to Review, Study, and Reform Educational Leadership. Data collection employed three phases: Phase I focused on the 10 grant proposals; Phase II involved semistructured interview questions centered on perceptions of nine participating program directors; Phase III investigated perceptions of 75 program completers who responded to a web-based survey. Data collection was conducted by coding proposals, transcriptions of directors’ interviews, and open-ended survey responses were coded to explore key terms that would be used to identify themes within and across all data sets. Findings from qualitative data analyses revealed themes related to program goals, content, processes (i.e., program delivery, elements), and outcomes. Program directors’ and program completers’ perceptions of the identified themes (e.g., practitioner-oriented, real life) were found to both differ and have similarities. Instructional content received minimal discussion from most program directors; program completers generally perceived needs for more content instruction in school law, special education, and finance. Practitioner-oriented program processes were perceived as valuable by both groups. Mentorship, portfolio projects, and SLLA test preparation were perceived as critical. Diverse perceptions were found particularly in the personal interactive component of the eight elements. Program directors and completers shared the same outcome goal; both groups were focused on fully prepared, highly qualified principals. Both groups wanted a definition of standards for acceptance into district-based principal preparation programs. Outcomes of the 10 programs included unintended consequences as well as challenges, particularly the ongoing need to balance theory and practice to reform principal preparation programs. Three of the 10 programs have continued with redefined partnership roles. Universities provide the preparation and involved school divisions annually select their cohort of students and provide some funding.

It seems reasonable to assume that the realization of the doctoral degree denotes that one is proficient in college teaching. However, the literature indicates that doctoral programs are failing to adequately prepare doctoral students for teaching in collegiate settings. The seminal work on doctoral student experiences suggests that doctoral programs are adequately preparing doctoral students for their research function, but concerns emerge around teacher preparation. Four bodies of literature inform this study: (a) the literature on the teaching role in higher education (b) the literature on doctoral students’ experiences as it relates to their teaching preparation (c) the literature on new faculty socialization (d) and the literature on the nature of academic disciplines and their differences as it relates to faculty work. The study fills a gap in the literature by examining junior faculty perceptions of their doctoral level teaching-related preparation by taking a cross disciplinary approach of eight disciplines (four high consensus and four low consensus). The omnibus question this study seeks to address is whether or not there are discipline differences in junior faculty perceptions of their doctoral level preparation for college teaching. The study employed a quantitative approach in collecting data using a survey design. The sample for the study was delimited to junior faculty in political science, sociology, psychology, economics, physics, chemistry, biology and geology from the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Four-Year 1 institutions. An instrument developed by Hall (2007) which measures counselor educators’ perception of their doctoral level teaching preparation was modified for the purpose of data collection. Contact information for junior faculty in selected disciplines was collected from SREB Four-Year 1 institutions. Findings reveal an anti-teaching culture embedded within research institutions and also significant discipline differences in overall perceptions of doctoral level teaching preparation. The findings of this study provide higher education leaders and faculty with empirical results which could inform the training of doctoral students for their college teaching role.

Considerando a pouca quantidade de dados e o tempo limitado para a preparação do intérprete de conferência, o objetivo desta pesquisa é propor uma metodologia para a elaboração de glossários bilíngues, inglês/português, voltados às necessidades de preparação deste profissional, no modo de Interpretação Simultânea, utilizando as ferramentas da Linguística de Corpus. Apesar do crescente número de publicações sobre Estudos de Interpretação, ainda não existe uma extensa bibliografia, em português, que apresente material de suporte para a preparação do intérprete. O modelo de glossário proposto tem como objetivo incluir não apenas termos técnicos e acrônimos, mas também colocados de termos, nomes próprios e paráfrases, e até mesmo pronúncia, quando relevante, pois o acesso a tais informações não somente permite que a Interpretação siga as normas da convencionalidade da língua de chegada, como também poupa o intérprete de depender tanto de um conhecimento intuitivo da língua, reduzindo, dessa forma, a carga cognitiva. Devido ao pouco tempo para a preparação do intérprete, é impraticável fazer uma leitura detalhada de grande quantidade de material de estudo. A Linguística de Corpus, por permitir o estudo de grandes coletâneas de textos e possibilitar a análise dos padrões de linguagem em textos naturais, foi utilizada na elaboração dos glossários. A metodologia descreve a elaboração de glossários para quatro trabalhos com tópicos distintos, sendo que os corpora coletados têm como base as informações enviadas pelo contratante do serviço, biografias de palestrantes, resumos de palestras e outros documentos relacionados aos eventos. Os corpora foram explorados com o programa WordSmith Tools, e, ao final, os glossários foram avaliados em relação a sua eficácia para o evento de Interpretação estudado, tendo como base a transcrição das palestras proferidas. / Given the lack of data and the limited time available for the preparation of Conference Interpreters, this research aims to propose a methodology for the preparation of English/Portuguese bilingual glossaries, based on the preparation needs of professionals in the simultaneous interpreting mode, using Corpus Linguistics tools. In spite of the growing number of publications on Interpreting Studies, there is still no extensive bibliography in Portuguese that can provide support material for the preparation of interpreters. The proposed glossary model aims to include not only technical terms and acronyms, but also collocates of terms, proper names and paraphrases, including their correct pronunciation, whenever relevant. By having access to this information, Interpreters can follow the norms of language use of the target text, while depending less on their intuitive knowledge of the language, thus reducing the cognitive load. Interpreters have little time to prepare and, therefore, are unable to read large quantities of studying material. Corpus Linguistics enables the analysis of a large number of documents and language patterns in natural texts, which makes it very useful for the preparation of glossaries. The methodology describes the preparation of glossaries on four different topics and the collected corpora were based on information sent by the parties contracting Interpreting services, such as speakers biographies, lecture summaries and other documents related to the events. The corpora were explored with WordSmith Tools software and assessed with regard to their efficacy for the Interpreting event studied, based on the transcription of the lectures given.

Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / The number of autistic students receiving special education services increased 478% between the years 2000 and 2013 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). U.S. schools and teachers are educating more autistic students with complex educational needs resulting from differences in communication, social interaction and behavior. As a result, schools need increasing numbers of teachers who are equipped to educate them. Quality special education teacher preparation is critical for teachers of autistic students, because it can affect the quality of education and outcomes for this highly unique student population. Very little research has been conducted to determine the extent to which special education teacher preparation programs provide teachers with preparation to teach autistic students, or about the extent to which special educators feel prepared to teach this population at the point of conclusion of their preparation programs. This study used a mixed methods sequential explanatory design to examine the perceptions of special educators about their preparedness to teach autistic students based on preparation program/licensure, specialized autism coursework, and on-the-job experiences after licensure programs. A researcher-created survey was followed by interviews to explore participants’ survey responses more deeply. Survey data (n =121) were used to inform both question construction and participant selection for a purposive sample of follow-up interviews (n= 10). Regression analyses, means, summary scores, and thematic coding were employed to analyze the survey data. Results indicated that the majority (77%) of special education teachers felt unprepared to teach autistic students at the end of their licensure programs. However, specialized autism coursework was a significant predictor of teachers’ sense of preparedness. Limitations of the study and implications for special education teacher preparation and education are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / The clinical experience of future urban teachers is increasingly regarded as one of the most important aspects of teacher preparation (NCATE, 2010; NRC, 2010). However, there is widespread agreement that further knowledge must be acquired on what constitutes rich clinical experience, and on the influence of such learning opportunities especially in urban, high-needs contexts (Anderson & Stillman, 2013; Levine, 2006; Picus, Monk, & Knight, 2012). This dissertation aims to increase our understanding of clinical experience. Based on sociocultural and socio-constructivist perspectives, and drawing on Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theories of learning within communities of practice, this dissertation employed qualitative research methods to examine the phenomenon of content coaching during an urban teacher residency program. This dissertation argues that residency content coaching provided a context within which residents could integrate what they were learning about “ambitious teaching” (Lampert & Graziani, 2009; Newmann & Wehlage, 1993) into their own practice through ongoing negotiations with their coaches. Coaching interactions were by and large responsive to individual resident’s learning needs, and guided residents to begin to place their students’ learning at the center of decision-making when planning, teaching, and assessing. The dissertation further investigates the actual and aspirational characteristics of coaching in this context. Overall findings suggest that content coaching addresses several persistent problems of traditional pre-service fieldwork supervision (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Featherstone, 2007), and offers a more coherent approach. Consequently, this dissertation contributes to our collective understanding of clinical experience in preparing teachers to teach ambitiously in urban classrooms. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Considerando a pouca quantidade de dados e o tempo limitado para a preparação do intérprete de conferência, o objetivo desta pesquisa é propor uma metodologia para a elaboração de glossários bilíngues, inglês/português, voltados às necessidades de preparação deste profissional, no modo de Interpretação Simultânea, utilizando as ferramentas da Linguística de Corpus. Apesar do crescente número de publicações sobre Estudos de Interpretação, ainda não existe uma extensa bibliografia, em português, que apresente material de suporte para a preparação do intérprete. O modelo de glossário proposto tem como objetivo incluir não apenas termos técnicos e acrônimos, mas também colocados de termos, nomes próprios e paráfrases, e até mesmo pronúncia, quando relevante, pois o acesso a tais informações não somente permite que a Interpretação siga as normas da convencionalidade da língua de chegada, como também poupa o intérprete de depender tanto de um conhecimento intuitivo da língua, reduzindo, dessa forma, a carga cognitiva. Devido ao pouco tempo para a preparação do intérprete, é impraticável fazer uma leitura detalhada de grande quantidade de material de estudo. A Linguística de Corpus, por permitir o estudo de grandes coletâneas de textos e possibilitar a análise dos padrões de linguagem em textos naturais, foi utilizada na elaboração dos glossários. A metodologia descreve a elaboração de glossários para quatro trabalhos com tópicos distintos, sendo que os corpora coletados têm como base as informações enviadas pelo contratante do serviço, biografias de palestrantes, resumos de palestras e outros documentos relacionados aos eventos. Os corpora foram explorados com o programa WordSmith Tools, e, ao final, os glossários foram avaliados em relação a sua eficácia para o evento de Interpretação estudado, tendo como base a transcrição das palestras proferidas. / Given the lack of data and the limited time available for the preparation of Conference Interpreters, this research aims to propose a methodology for the preparation of English/Portuguese bilingual glossaries, based on the preparation needs of professionals in the simultaneous interpreting mode, using Corpus Linguistics tools. In spite of the growing number of publications on Interpreting Studies, there is still no extensive bibliography in Portuguese that can provide support material for the preparation of interpreters. The proposed glossary model aims to include not only technical terms and acronyms, but also collocates of terms, proper names and paraphrases, including their correct pronunciation, whenever relevant. By having access to this information, Interpreters can follow the norms of language use of the target text, while depending less on their intuitive knowledge of the language, thus reducing the cognitive load. Interpreters have little time to prepare and, therefore, are unable to read large quantities of studying material. Corpus Linguistics enables the analysis of a large number of documents and language patterns in natural texts, which makes it very useful for the preparation of glossaries. The methodology describes the preparation of glossaries on four different topics and the collected corpora were based on information sent by the parties contracting Interpreting services, such as speakers biographies, lecture summaries and other documents related to the events. The corpora were explored with WordSmith Tools software and assessed with regard to their efficacy for the Interpreting event studied, based on the transcription of the lectures given.

This thesis seeks to gain greater knowledge of the process of transition and development that beginning primary teachers undergo over their first year of teaching. The research focus is on investigating and understanding this process from the standpoint of the beginning teacher. Of particular interest is an examination of how the teacher preparation programme, contextual features of the school, and participants' own beliefs and biographies influence and impact on their transition to teaching and their professional and identity development as first year teachers. This longitudinal study takes an interpretive approach to investigate the first year teaching experiences of 12 beginning teachers in 11 primary schools. The qualitative methodology used in this thesis shares characteristics with a case study approach and utilizes procedures associated with grounded theory. Data were gathered systematically over a year by way of 48 semi-structured, individual interviews, two focus group interviews, and 48 questionnaires, supplemented by field notes. The collected data were analyzed, coded, and categorized, and explanations and theory that emerged from this process were grounded in the data. The findings of this study have three broad sets of implications for the education and induction of beginning teachers. Firstly, they question the role that practicum plays in the transition from student to teacher. The findings suggest that the practicum component of teacher preparation programmes should be re-conceptualized and redesigned to provide authentic opportunities for student teachers to be exposed to the full range of work demands and complexity that they will encounter as beginning teachers. Secondly, becoming a successful teacher appears to depend on the quality of the school's professional and social relationships, particularly in terms of the frequency and type of formal and informal interactions that ii beginning teachers have with colleagues. While the major source of satisfaction and self-esteem came from seeing the children whom they taught achieving socially and academically, the beginning teachers also had a strong need for affiliation, which was enabled through positive, structured interactions and relationships with colleagues. The study also indicates that employment status influences the way that the beginning teachers view their work and themselves as teachers, with those in relieving positions displaying greater variability in terms of emotional reactions and a sense of professional confidence than those employed in permanent positions. The third set of implications relate to beginning teacher induction. The study points to variability in the quality of induction experiences and challenges policy makers and principals to ensure that all beginning teachers are provided with sound and systematic advice and guidance programmes which are necessary for their learning and development. While the study confirms the critical role played by tutor teachers in beginning teacher induction, it suggests that the focus is on emotional and practical support rather than on educative mentoring to enhance new teachers' thinking and practice. This thesis provides a comprehensive and nuanced view of how beginning to teach is experienced and interpreted. It paints a complex picture of the relationship between biography, beliefs, preparation, and context in the process of learning to teach. The study contributes to the literature on the education of beginning teachers. It highlights the need for developing a shared understanding amongst policy makers, teacher educators, and schools regarding the multiplicity and complexity of factors that influence the transition and development of beginning teachers.

There are two main portions to this study. In the first portion (Chapters I-III) we identify policies, procedures, programs, and pedagogical practices in public school districts in Texas that increase levels of college preparation among black and Hispanic students across a range of educational settings (rural, suburban, and urban). We identify these practices by interviewing school administrators at twenty-two school districts throughout the state. The school districts were selected by using education production function models to identify the highest and lowest performing school districts on a variety of college preparation measures. The first portion of the study is largely descriptive and qualitative in orientation. In the second portion of the study we identify high college preparation levels among minority students as a positive externality. Because college attendance benefits students as individuals, regardless of the beneficial aspects of college attendance for society at large, students, parents, and others will request that school districts increase college preparation levels to some degree. However, given the nature of positive externalities, we explore the possibility that the reason why some school districts have higher college preparation levels among minority students than others is that they are led by an official policy-maker (the superintendent) who is committed to acting in the long-term interests of society (in other words, whose representational style is to act as a trustee). The second portion attempts to extend the causal chain back one link by exploring the possibility that superintendent representational style affects the types of policies, procedures, programs and pedagogical practices adopted and the district’s commitment to implementing them, which in turn affects college preparation levels among minority students. The relationship between superintendent representational style and minority student preparation for college is tested using two data sources: a survey of public school superintendents throughout Texas gathered by the Texas Educational Excellence Project and college preparation measures gathered by the Texas Education Agency for all public schools in Texas.

There are two main portions to this study. In the first portion (Chapters I-III) we identify policies, procedures, programs, and pedagogical practices in public school districts in Texas that increase levels of college preparation among black and Hispanic students across a range of educational settings (rural, suburban, and urban). We identify these practices by interviewing school administrators at twenty-two school districts throughout the state. The school districts were selected by using education production function models to identify the highest and lowest performing school districts on a variety of college preparation measures. The first portion of the study is largely descriptive and qualitative in orientation. In the second portion of the study we identify high college preparation levels among minority students as a positive externality. Because college attendance benefits students as individuals, regardless of the beneficial aspects of college attendance for society at large, students, parents, and others will request that school districts increase college preparation levels to some degree. However, given the nature of positive externalities, we explore the possibility that the reason why some school districts have higher college preparation levels among minority students than others is that they are led by an official policy-maker (the superintendent) who is committed to acting in the long-term interests of society (in other words, whose representational style is to act as a trustee). The second portion attempts to extend the causal chain back one link by exploring the possibility that superintendent representational style affects the types of policies, procedures, programs and pedagogical practices adopted and the district’s commitment to implementing them, which in turn affects college preparation levels among minority students. The relationship between superintendent representational style and minority student preparation for college is tested using two data sources: a survey of public school superintendents throughout Texas gathered by the Texas Educational Excellence Project and college preparation measures gathered by the Texas Education Agency for all public schools in Texas.