There has been a recent increase in the use of graphic symbols in school settings (Abbott and Lucey, 2003). However, the use of graphic symbols in schools remains, to date, an under-researched area. In order to address this and develop understanding of practitioners’ experiences of using graphic symbols in school settings, exploratory research was conducted investigating the experiences of a range of practitioners using symbols in Foundation Stage school settings. A qualitative research design was used drawing upon an interpretive phenomenological philosophical framework. The research sample consisted of three groups of practitioners; teachers, early years practitioners (teaching assistants, learning support assistants and nursery nurses) and speech and language therapists. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews which were conducted face-to-face by the researcher. In the interviews participants were encouraged to explore their experiences of using graphic symbols and their associated beliefs and attitudes about this topic. Interview data was analysed using thematic analysis which was facilitated by the use of qualitative data management software QSR NVivo2. Prolonged engagement with the data led to the development of a theoretical framework based on a set of themes and subthemes. Four major themes were identified: practitioners’ beliefs about which children to use symbols with; practitioners’ thoughts about children’s understanding of symbols; practitioners’ accounts of the ways symbols are used; and, practitioners’ experiences of the implementation of symbols. Interpretations of the data were extended further to develop two original theoretical constructs; ‘models of reasoning’ and ‘perceptions of professional roles’. These constructs were developed to provide an over-arching framework depicting the researcher’s interpretations of the data set as a whole. The findings suggest that practitioners go through a process of reasoning and decision making surrounding the use of symbols. Practitioners in this study also appeared to be influenced by their perceptions of their own professional role and those of others in their decisions surrounding the implementation of symbols. The theoretical model may provide some explanation for the ways in which individual practitioners interact and work alongside practitioners from the same and different professional groups. The findings of the research were related to existing literature in the fields of symbolic development, symbols and literacy, and, collaborative working. The findings led to the development of five suggestions for future research.

Only two years after graduating themselves, speech and language therapists are asked to act as placement educators and supervise student speech and language therapists. The role of the placement educator is to supervise, teach, support and assess the student in the clinical environment and as such is a complex and demanding role. Some previous research has suggested that the training and support provided to developing placement educators does not adequately prepare them for the role. However, the development of speech and language therapists as placement educators is a relatively under-researched area in the UK. This interpretive study explores how ten speech and language therapists feel they develop the necessary skills to be successful as placement educators, through the stories they tell about their experiences. This exploration of clinical education and professional development is set within a social constructivist perspective on learning. The participants talked at length of their own early experiences as students and described these as the starting point for their own enactment of the placement educator role. They also emphasised the importance of continuing to learn and develop their skills as they gained experience in the placement educator role itself. The themes of talk, collaboration, reflective practice and experiential learning were central to the stories told by the participants and underpin how these speech and language therapists learnt to be placement educators. It is suggested that in describing how she felt she learnt to be a placement educator each participant created a unique and dynamic map of that learning. This study contributes to the on-going discussion about the role of critical reflection in understanding and challenging established practice and reinforces the place of reflective practice as integral to both the clinical and placement educator aspects of the SLT’s role. The findings highlight the importance of peer support and shared opportunities for critical reflection with colleagues in ensuring that placement educators do not feel isolated or disillusioned.

This thesis explores the relationship between physicians’ clinical and educational roles in the context of UK General Practice (GP) education by investigating the experiences of seven GP trainers through an ethnographic approach employing Activity Theory (AT). The Introduction considers the philosophy and structures of GP education and outlines the author’s professional biography to provide context. The Literature Review focusses on the development of medical education as a discrete field and identity formation in medical educators, concluding that: specialist medical educators are a relatively new group; and there is a paucity of knowledge regarding the impact on physicians of occupying dual clinical and educational roles. The thesis then focusses on three Research Questions (RQs), namely: 1. What is the impact of GP trainers’ clinical practice upon their educational work? 2. How does GP trainers’ educational practice influence their clinical work? 3. What are the social contexts for GP trainers’ clinical and educational practice? These questions are addressed within a pragmatic theoretical framework to build up an ethnographic description of the participants’ experiences. Data collection is through semi-structured interviews and observation of video-recorded teaching. Ethical issues associated with the study are discussed in detail, in particular the challenges of “insider” research. Four approaches are used for data analysis: global impressions; word cloud analysis; thematic analysis; and analysis shaped by AT. In answer to RQs 1 and 2, the study finds that GP trainers experience their dual roles as intimately linked, intuitively transferring their skills between their clinical and educational practice. The study also finds that GP trainers reconstruct their professional identities through teaching. With regard to RQ 3, engaging in teaching can lead to internal conflict for GP trainers and tensions with their colleagues, trainees and regulators. These findings are discussed in relation to medical education research methodology and the impact the study on the researcher is explored. The thesis closes by considering the conflicted position the participants occupy, concluding that teaching offers physicians the opportunity to reconstruct their professional identities so they can approach tensions in their practice with a sense of agency and optimism.

Inquiry is a learning stance that affords students with a variety of engagements to learn about a concept. It is a collaborative process where students think together, work together and talk together to develop their understanding of the issue they face. Inquiry supports teachers in creating highly recommended learning environments for students. Educators know the importance of the relationship between teachers and students and the influence on students' learning development and achievement in school. These goals can be reached through understanding classroom environments and informing teachers about an inquiry approach in teaching. This understanding will also improve teacher’s knowledge and help him/her professionally interact with students. This research explored the experiences and perspectives of eleven Saudi female educators on their learning experiences as students and as teachers in two different settings, Saudi Arabia and the U.S., and two different teaching strategies, a traditional teaching approach and a learning centered approach. I used a qualitative approach to design this study to ask my participants about their learning and teaching experiences before and after studying abroad. In-depth interviews allowed me to access their perspectives and how they created meaning out of experience. I used in-depth interviews, using focus group interviews for the third question only with the participants in Tucson because I wanted to explore an inquiry related to a group of people linked by their background culture. Throughout this study, the data was gathered and analyzed to answer three general questions: 1. What are the teaching and learning experiences of Saudi teachers? 2. How do the experiences of Saudi teachers impact their thinking about teaching practices and the curriculum in their classrooms? 3. What are the perspectives of Saudi women who either are teaching or have teaching experience on the type of learning experiences needed for Saudi Arabian pre-service and in-service teachers? The findings revealed that the participants in this study supported developing and working toward achieving reforms in education in Saudi Arabia. The participants' previous experience impacted them in thinking about their own teaching in their classrooms. All of the participants supported development of the education of teachers in Saudi Arabia. The participants' responses to this question revealed the need for ongoing professional development and redesigning teacher preparation programs around key principles of engagement and inquiry.

The problem of this study was to ascertain the relationship between secondary school principals' evaluation of professional behavior patterns of secondary teachers and these teachers' self-descriptions.

The problem of this study was to develop and analyze a useful approach to the professional development of faculty members in schools of business through the technique of self-appraisal. This study contained the following subdivisions: (1) a review of current college faculty development practices, (2) a review of current executive development practices within industry, (3) an explanation of the philosophy and technique of self-appraisal in professional development, (4) an application of the technique in six institutions of higher education, and (5) an analysis of results obtained from these institutions along with some suggestions for further research.

The purpose was to investigate the role of influential persons in the professional socialization process of music educators as musicians and teachers. The problems were to determine: who encouraged subjects toward music and teaching during pre-college, college, and post-college years; and the interrerationships of gender and teaching specialty with influential persons in subjects' lives.

To impact student learning, educators’ implementation, or transfer, of new knowledge, skills, dispositions, and practices to daily work is the primary purpose of professional learning. The purpose of this study was to assess the multivariate relationship between individual and work environment characteristics as measured by the Collective Efficacy Scale and Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire, respectively, and learning transfer factors as measured by the Learning Transfer System Inventory. The sample consisted of 249 PK-12 grade school- based instructional staff members of an education association. Canonical correlation and commonality analyses required using the two individual and work environment characteristics of learning culture and collective efficacy as predictor variables of the five learning transfer factors of performance self-efficacy, transfer-effort performance expectations, performance outcome expectations, performance coaching, and resistance to change to evaluate the multivariate between the two variable sets. Learning culture and collective efficacy demonstrated a relationship to resistance to change and performance outcome expectations. Learning culture and collective efficacy were insufficient to transfer-effort performance expectations, attend to performance self-efficacy beliefs, and increase support for transfer (i.e., performance coaching) factors. These findings might guide the decisions and practice of individuals with responsibility to plan, implement, and evaluate professional learning, and provide the conditions necessary for changing educational practice while increasing support for and building educators’ confidence about implementation. Further research may confirm the findings and enhance generalizability.

The purpose of this study was to understand professional development for paraprofessionals supporting students with ASD in Virginia. This understanding was reached through explanatory, sequential mixed methods design. Surveys and interviews provided insight into training practices, training needs, and training barriers. An interpretation of their professional development was developed through considering the perceptions of paraprofessionals supporting students with ASD, teachers of students with ASD, and directors of special education. Findings revealed a lack of supervision, training, and skills. The lack of training and supervision resulted in paraprofessionals learning through trial and error. Paraprofessionals supporting students with ASD felt qualified to complete their duties as a result of personal disposition and effective supervision. Paraprofessionals supporting students with ASD desired individualized training concerning behavior management. The results of this study provide several recommendations for training content and delivery format. It also provided a theoretical framework for explaining how paraprofessionals supporting students with ASD experience training.

The growth of the aging population has warranted increased training and education to prepare professionals with the specific knowledge needed to best serve older adults. Gerontology, as an academic discipline, provides professionals with the conceptual knowledge and the skills necessary to address the complexities of working with a diverse aging population. Little research has been done of the characteristics of professionals both with and without formal education in gerontology that are working with the aging population. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of career motivation, job satisfaction, attitudes about aging, career commitment, and professional identity among those working with older adults. An exploration of the characteristics of gerontological professionals has implications for the development of best practice approaches in student and staff recruitment, retention, curriculum design, and training practices. Participants were recruited from volunteers invited from a convenience sample of approximately 7,000 members signed up to receive emails from the Department of Gerontology at a Southeastern University, and a snowball approach with the link to the survey being distributed by various organizations and institutions (e.g., assisted living facilities, Southern Gerontological Society, Therapeutic Recreation Association). Professionals’ age and job satisfaction significantly predicted professional identity. Participants’ career motivation, job satisfaction, and exposure to formal gerontological education (MSE) significantly predicted career commitment. Self-identified professional identity in aging groups did not moderate the relationship between MSE predictors and career commitment. However, aging anxiety mediated the relationship between job satisfaction and career commitment. Finally, age and higher perception of the value of teamwork predicted both level of professional identity and job satisfaction. This study sheds lights on perspectives of professionals working with older adults and highlights areas for future research and training with this population.