The thesis Att vara eller inte vara på rätt plats – Om statushierarkier bland skådespelare is a qualitative study, conducted by me, Therése Jirek, with the purpose of investigating the status hierarchies between actors educated at the public Swedish theater universities and actors educated at private/non public/other theater schools. The study also investigates how the hierarchies affect the work, social relations and dynamics between the actors. The study also looks at the professional pride and identity in relation to this.  The information was gathered using semi-structured interviews with six Swedish actors of different age groups and with different educational backgrounds. The theoretical framework with which the information was interpreted is the theories of the field and habitus by Pierre Bourdieu. The results and analysis are presented in three different parts (chapters): Part 1 – about production and reproduction of status, part 2 – about practices that preserve status and part 3 – about professional pride and identity. The study shows that the actors status is determined for the most part by his or her educational background and if and where he or she works. The status preserving practices are largely performed through silent agreements and self-regulatory behavior. The professional title is characterized by a strong sense of pride and is often rooted deep in the personal identity. / Uppsatsen Att vara eller inte vara på rätt plats – Om statushierarkier bland skådespelare är en kvalitativ studie utförd av mig, Therése Jirek, med syfte att undersöka de statusmässiga hierarkierna mellan skådespelare utbildade inom statlig svensk scenkonstutbildning, och skådespelare utbildade inom privat/ickestatlig/annan scenkonstutbildning. I studien undersöks också hur hierarkierna påverkar yrkesutövandet, de sociala relationerna och dynamiken kollegorna emellan. Vidare berör studien även skådespelarnas yrkesstolthet och identitet i relation till ovanstående. Informationen insamlades med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex svenska skådespelare i olika åldrar och med skiftande utbildningsbakgrund. Det teoretiska ramverk med hjälp av vilket resultaten har tolkats är Pierre Bourdieus teorier om fältet och habitus. Resultaten och analysen redovisas i tre olika delkapitel baserat på forskningssyftet: Del 1 – om produktion och reproduktion av status, del 2 – om statusbevarande praktiker och del 3 – om yrkesstolthet och identitet. Studien visar att skådespelarens status i största mån avgörs av huruvida hen har utbildats vid någon av teaterhögskolorna eller ej, samt om och vid vilken teater hen arbetar. De statusbevarande praktikerna sker till stor del genom tysta överenskommelser och självreglerande beteenden. Yrkestiteln är förknippad med en en stark yrkesstolthet och har ofta en solid förankring i den egna identiteten.

CPE un métier en tensions ? L'étude des représentations professionnelles de ce métier chez les Conseillers Principaux d’Education s'inscrit conceptuellement et méthodologiquement dans une discipline contributive aux Sciences de l'éducation: la Psychologie sociale. Cette recherche nous permet, dans une approche descriptive à visée compréhensive, de mieux appréhender ce métier polymorphe et d’alimenter par notre réflexion le champ des représentations professionnelles et leur relation aux représentations sociales, relation complexifiée dans ce domaine professionnel par le rapport hétérodoxie-orthodoxie. Questionné dans ses trois dimensions, informationnelle, attitudinale et champ de représentation, le métier de CPE renvoie à une action orientée vers l'élève et à une attitude positive à propos du métier versus mitigée à propos de la représentation du soi professionnel. Notre approche structurale nous permet de confirmer l'existence, dans ce « métier de l’humain » en co-construction au sein d'un collectif de travail (endogroupe versus exogroupe), d'éléments représentationnels communs : l'écoute auquel s'adjoint le conseil. La structure de cette représentation professionnelle s'ancre alors dans une dimension à la fois réflexive et pragmatique du métier, dans laquelle les CPE se positionnent en éducateur. Notre approche socio-dynamique révèle des prises de position divergentes, expressions de tendances attitudinales négatives versus positives et mitigées. Ces prises de position différenciées traduisent, par ailleurs, des tendances de pratique dévoilant de nombreuses oppositions : une représentation de la pratique renvoyant à un métier idéalisé et en tension (relationnel versus administratif) ; une représentation de la pratique renvoyant à un métier plus ou moins en lien avec la prescription (engagé versus mitigé) ; une représentation de la pratique renvoyant à un métier contraint (idéalisé versus non idéalisé). / CPE: a job under pressure? From a conceptual and methodological point of view, the study of the professional representations of this job among the Conseillers Principaux d’Education themselves is part of a discipline which contributes to the Sciences of Education: Social Psychology. This research allows us, in a descriptive approach aiming at understanding, to grasp this polymorphic job better and it provides food for thought about the scope of the professional representations as well as their links to the social representations, such links being made more complex in this professional field by the heterodoxy-orthodoxy ratio. This job is being questioned in its three dimensions: information, attitudes and field of representation, but being a CPE refers to a student-oriented action and to a positive attitude towards the job versus a half-hearted attitude towards the representation of professional self. Our structural approach allows us to confirm the existence, in this human-related job in co-construction within team-work (endogroup versus exogroup) of common representational elements: listening to students as well as advising them. The structure of this professional representation is then rooted in a dimension of the job which is at once reflexive and pragmatic and in which the CPE are regarded as teachers. Our socio-dynamic approach reveals differing stands which express negative trends concerning attitudes versus positive and mixed ones. Moreover, these diverse stands reveal trends of practice which underscore many oppositions: a representation of the practice referring to an idealized job under pressure (human relations versus administrative work); a representation of the practice referring to a job which is more or less related to instructions (commitment versus mixed feelings); a representation of the practice referring to a job under constraint (idealized versus non -idealized).

Nas últimas décadas, transformações políticas, sociais e econômicas alteraram as configurações do mundo do trabalho. A carreira, antes baseada em modelos organizacionais hierárquicos, começou a ser compreendida em termos da percepção individual sobre a sequência de experiências de trabalho no decorrer da vida. Se antes era possível estudá-la a partir de grandes escolhas iniciais, o foco passou a incidir sobre as decisões tomadas continuamente, ao longo de toda a carreira. Frente a esse cenário, surgiu uma demanda por estudos multidisciplinares que permitissem compreender a influência de fatores individuais sobre as decisões de carreira. A Psicologia Individual de Alfred Adler, com sua abordagem teleológica e de ênfase à subjetividade dos indivíduos, apresentou-se como uma perspectiva teórica adequada para esse fim. Dentre os constructos da Psicologia Individual, este estudo empregou a ordem de nascimento, em duas conceituações: posição do indivíduo na ordem de sucessivos nascimentos em sua família (ordem cronológica de nascimento) e interpretação do indivíduo para sua situação no quadro familiar (ordem psicológica de nascimento). Com o propósito de ampliar o conhecimento acerca dos motivos na tomada de decisão, realizou-se uma pesquisa descritiva e quantitativa com uma amostra não probabilística de 279 profissionais brasileiros que iniciaram suas carreiras há pelo menos 15 anos. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de questionário eletrônico e, para a análise inferencial dos dados, utilizaram-se testes não paramétricos (Friedman, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis e Qui-Quadrado). Os resultados das análises estatísticas revelaram associações significativas entre a ordem de nascimento - tanto cronológica como psicológica - e a importância atribuída a diversos motivos de decisão na carreira, reforçando a relevância das percepções individuais sobre situações vividas na infância na compreensão de motivações no desenvolvimento de carreira. A maior parte dos achados corroboraram descrições de Adler para as diferentes posições familiares de nascimento. Os resultados também destacaram a influência temporal sobre a importância atribuída aos motivos de decisão. Recomendam-se novas pesquisas para o aprofundamento dos achados, em outros arranjos familiares e grupos culturais, bem como a abordagem de outros constructos Adlerianos nos estudos empíricos do desenvolvimento de carreira. / In recent decades, political, social and economic changes have modified the settings of the working world. The career, which was previously based on hierarchical organizational models, has begun to be understood in terms of the individual perception about the sequence of work experiences throughout life. At first, it was possible to study careers from the big initial choices, but the focus has now shifted to the decisions continuously made throughout the career. Against such a background, it has emerged a call for multidisciplinary studies allowing for the understanding of the influence of individual factors on career decisions. The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler, with its teleological approach and emphasis on the subjectivity of individuals, was presented as an appropriate theoretical perspective for this purpose. Among all the constructs of Individual Psychology, this study has employed birth order on two different concepts: the individual\'s position in the order of successive births in the family (chronological birth order) and the way the individual interprets his situation in the family context (psychological birth order). With the purpose of increasing the knowledge about motivations in decision making, a descriptive and quantitative research was carried out with a non-probability sample of 279 Brazilian professionals who began their careers at least 15 years ago. Data collection was performed using an online survey and inferential data analysis used nonparametric tests (Friedman, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-Square). The results of statistical analysis demonstrated significant associations between birth order - both chronological and psychological - and the importance attributed to several motives in career decision, reinforcing the relevance of individual perceptions of childhood situations to the understanding of motivations in career development. Most research findings have corroborated Adler\'s descriptions to the different positions of birth in the family. The results have also highlighted time influence on the importance assigned to the various motives in career decision. Further research is recommended to explore these findings in other family arrangements and cultural groups, besides the approach of other Adlerian constructs in empirical studies of career development.

This study was designed for the purpose of quantitatively examining the significant elements of reform-based professional development and their relationship to teachers’ self-efficacies for inclusion. The theoretical frameworks for this study were drawn from Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy and social cognitive theory in addition to pre-existing research pertaining to professional development and teacher efficacy for inclusion. A web based survey was developed and made available for voluntary participation to a total population of 385 elementary school teachers in one East Tennessee school district. Data were collected from 79 elementary school teachers in 14 of the district’s elementary schools. Findings included no significant statistical correlation between teacher self-efficacy for inclusion scores and the amount of professional development completed during the current school year. Respondents did report a perception that inclusion was not significantly emphasized during professional development activities. Self-efficacy for inclusion scores of teachers with 11+ years of overall teaching experience were found to be significantly higher than teachers with 1-10 years of overall teaching experience. Additionally, there was no significant difference between self-efficacy scores of teachers who were required to take 1 or 2 special education courses for initial certification and 3 teachers who were required to take more than 2 special education courses for initial certification.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine PK-12 teacher perceptions of an individual professional learning plan (PLP). Specifically, the researcher examined the perceived benefits of the PLP as well as the whether the PLP helped focus teacher learning. Additionally, the researcher examined teacher perceptions of learning activities within the context of the PLP, teacher intent to implement new learning, and perceived impact on teaching practice. Participants in this study were teachers from 16 schools in a single eastern Tennessee school district. All data were collected using an online survey distributed to 525 teachers resulting in a 44% return rate with 238 respondents. Data collected from 24 survey questions measured on a 4-point Likert-type scale were analyzed using single sample t tests. Findings indicate that regardless of level of experience or grade level taught teachers have significantly positive perceptions of PLPs as well as the associated PD activities. Findings also indicate teachers have significant perceptions of the application of their learning and significant perceived impact from PD within PLPs.

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore teacher perceptions of Professional Learning Communities on the instructional climate at Flintville Elementary School in Lincoln County, Tennessee. Participants in the study included five teachers, the evaluation supervisor, and one parent from Flintville Elementary School. Through the analysis of interviews and a review of documents collected from Professional Learning Communities (PLC) meetings in grades Pre-K through 8, the investigator was able to extract meaning and code the data into categories that led to an understanding of the perceptions being researched. Professional Learning Communities at Flintville Elementary School have changed the instructional climate concerning teacher collaboration and teamwork as well as attitudes of teachers regarding students. The data from the interviews and documented PLC meetings indicated that teachers were working together to develop and analyze common assessments, cultivate individual student growth and success, and reach the standardized testing goals for the school. As a result of PLCs, teachers were having professional conversations on improving student achievement and increasing teacher effectiveness, which indicated a climate change. Teachers were also using PLC meetings as a source for developing in-house professional development activities. Teachers were developing skills in the school based PLC meetings that would allow them to conduct professional development activities. The results of this study were intended as a reference for schools that may be involved in the future implementation of Professional Learning Communities as a tool for changing instructional climate and as a way to improve student achievement through collaboration among teachers.

Accounting is a professional occupation that is continually evolving and requires a dedication to continuing education to meet the legal demands of new regulations and to maintain professional competency. Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is required by state boards for certified public accountants (CPA) to meet these requirements and to maintain professional competence. CPAs are responsible for complying with all applicable CPE requirements, rules, and regulations of state boards of accountancy, as well as those of other professional organizations. The purpose of this study was to determine the opinions of CPAs about the current requirements for CPE and to determine their level of satisfaction with the content and delivery of CPE instruction. CPE has come under scrutiny in recent years with some professionals questioning if the needs of accounting professional and the objectives of continuing education are being met. This survey research included 23 Likert-type items and 5 demographic questions. The survey was administered to 203 licensed certified public accountants to obtain their opinions about continuing education. The 5 dimensions of the survey were: Value (cost benefit), Delivery (methods and quality), Benefit to Self, Benefit to Others, and Barriers (to obtaining CPE). These dimensions were compared across the demographic variables of gender, years of experience, type of business, number of employees, and position with their employer. No significant differences were found among the 5 dimensions between gender or among different positions. Significant differences did occur among the Dimension of Value opinions based on years of experience, among the Dimension of Value opinions based on type of business, among Dimension of Benefit to Self based on type of business, among the Dimension of Value based on number of employees, and among the Dimension of Benefit to Others based on number of employees.

Literacy educators hold different beliefs about the best approaches to teach students how to read and about the reading process including a skills view of reading and learning to read versus a transactional, sociopsycholinguistic view of reading and learning to read (Weaver, 2002). Reading for understanding is an important skill to develop in students to promote overall success (Keene, 2008). When orally reading, readers occasionally say something differently than what is printed—which is called a miscue. Goodman, Martens, and Flurkey (2014) defined a miscue as “any response during oral reading that differs from what a listener would expect to hear” (p. 5). The purpose of this study was to teach a small group of fourth grade readers a process called Collaborative Retrospective Miscue Analysis, or CRMA (Costello, 1996), to help readers learn how to notice and analyze miscues during oral reading through small group collaborative discussions about their miscues and understanding during reading. In this CRMA study, the students’ teachers viewed video recorded student small group reading sessions to understand how students changed over the course of 14 weeks. A reading survey called the BIMOR, or Burke Interview Modified for Older Readers (Goodman, Watson, & Burke, 2005) was used before and after the study and student and teacher CRMA sessions were video-recorded to study what students thought about themselves as readers and keep track of changing views about reading. In addition, students orally read two different texts to determine if there were any changes in readers’ miscues over time through the use of the Miscue Analysis In-Depth Procedure Coding Form (Goodman et al., 2005). This analysis allowed a deeper understanding of the readers’ usage of the three cueing systems during reading including the syntactic (grammar) system; the semantic (meaning) system; and the graphophonic (letters and sounds) system (Goodman & Marek, 1996). As a result of the CRMA process, three themes emerged from the analysis of the data collected. Readers moved to a more meaning-based orientation to reading although the CRMA study students still employed the use of other less emphasized reading strategies such as sounding it out, using a dictionary, and asking for help. Students developed more self-efficacy as readers as they became more confident and aware of their reading process as they participated in the CRMA student sessions. Finally, teachers revalued readers through observing their students as readers with strengths, effectively using problem-solving strategies during reading, and by noticing, “what the reader’s smart brain does during the reading process” (Goodman, Martens, & Flurkey, 2014, p. 29). Implications for both classroom instruction and teacher professional learning are explored as useful applications of Collaborative Retrospective Miscue Analysis in schools and classrooms to help readers move to a more meaning-based orientation to reading and to help readers become more self-efficacious and aware of their own reading process, as well as revaluing readers.

The purpose of the study aimed at gaining a better understanding of how the intended Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum differs from the enacted curricula and what factors impact this. This understanding is important to make the professional development program more meaningful to the immediate needs of the teacher in the classroom. Identifying the factors that contribute to any emerging differences between the curricula helped fill the gap in research on teacher knowledge and beliefs about the use of science and mathematics content in the PLTW classroom. PLTW is an innovative hands-on pre-engineering curriculum designed for K-12 students based on project-based and problem-based learning. It tries to combine math and science principles to present engineering concepts to students in a way that tries to keep up with the rapid changes associated with technology in their everyday world. Multiple case sampling was used to select four teachers based on their years of teaching experience as well as background in science and math. They were interviewed about their knowledge and beliefs about project and problem-based learning. In addition, non-participant observations and teacher beliefs questionnaires were used to triangulate the data for more credible results. A fidelity of implementation rubric was also used to determine how well the teachers were implementing the curriculum. Findings of the study show that there were differences in the way teachers chose to enact the curriculum that were heavily influenced by the curriculum materials, the professional development training and their own personal beliefs about how the curriculum should be enacted. A conceptual model is developed that aims at improving the professional development experiences for the teachers that considers their beliefs.

Public schools teachers in the U.S. strive to reach the needs of all students in the elementary classroom. However, teachers are increasingly expected to follow standardized curriculum. Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris, 2012) pushes toward individualized educational practices and against the assimilationism embedded in standardization. This study considers the ways in which nine women-identified teachers, one Black, two Latina, six white, who teach elementary school in a Midwestern university town, experience, discuss, and implement Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in a professional development course, specifically through the lens of the following question: In a course on culturally sustaining pedagogy, how do teachers experience race, culture, families, and family literacies? Grounded in empirical research that considers teaching and learning through a sociocultural lens, and in the theoretical scholarship of Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Pedagogy, the purpose of this qualitative, narrative inquiry is to describe teachers’ learning and responses to culturally sustaining pedagogical practices in order to understand this process and its implementation. Data for this qualitative inquiry were gathered over five months in a professional development course setting using the qualitative methods of observations, interviews, audio recordings, photographs, detailed field notes, and participant self-reflections. The data collected was analyzed through descriptive coding (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014), narrative analysis (Schaafsma & Vinz, 2011), and Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 2015; Gee, 2014). Results from the study suggest that engagement in culturally sustaining practices is constrained by the standardizations of school, in addition to the discomfort and lack of knowledge of some teachers when talking about race and power in the elementary classroom. Findings also suggest that teachers’ explicit engagement with research and discussions regarding these constraints led to new culturally sustaining practices.