published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

This is an explorative study into the challenges and ethical dilemmas that practitioners face when assessing the intellectual functioning of black learners. Participants were registered psychologists and intern psychologists involved in assessing black African learners. Data were collected by means of an interview schedule that had been designed for this purpose, based on the literature in the field. All participants were interviewed individually. The psychological practitioners interviewed in this study reported linguistic barriers, limited cultural knowledge, and lack of scientific validation as posing the major challenges for them in assessing black African learners. Among the ethical dilemmas that were reported were confidentiality and informed consent which were sometimes compromised by their dual responsibilities to the client and the schooling system or another third party. Forming discussion forums, development of new and appropriately normed assessment tools and incorporating relevant skills in training programs were recommended as some of the strategies to overcome these challenges and ethical dilemmas. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Professional development for educators has been defined as the process or processes by which teachers achieve higher levels of professional competence and expand their understanding of self, role, context and career (Duke and Stiggins, 1990). Currently, there is limited research literature that examines the effect a professional development course, which uses David Kolb’s experiential learning model, has on the professional growth and teaching practice of middle school science teachers. The purpose of this interpretive case study is to investigate how three science teachers who participated in the Rivers to Reef professional development course interpreted the learning experience and integrated the experience into their teaching practice. The questions guiding this research are 1. What is the relationship between a professional development course that uses an experiential learning model and science teaching practice? 2. How do the Rivers to Reef participants reflect on and describe the course as a professional growth experience? The creation of the professional development course and the framework for the study were established using David Kolb’s (1975) experiential learning theory and the reflection process model designed by David Boud (1985). The participants in the study are three middle school science teachers from schools representing varied settings and socioeconomic levels in the southeastern United States. Data collected used the three-interview series interview format designed by Dolbere and Schuman (Seidman, 1998). Data was analyzed for the identification of common categories related to impact on science teaching practice and professional growth. The major finding of this study indicates the years of teaching experience of middle school science teachers significantly influences how they approach professional development, what and how they learn from the experience, and the ways in which the experience influences their teaching practices.

Darbe atlikta teorinė pedagogo profesinių kompetencijų, pedagogo profesinio kryptingumo analizė. Anketinės apklausos metodu buvo atliktas tyrimas, kurio tikslas – atskleisti specialiųjų pedagogų kompetencijų ir profesinės motyvacijos ypatumus. Interviu metodu buvo siekiama papildyti gautus tyrimo rezultatus, atskleidžiant mokyklos vadovų požiūrį į specialiųjų pedagogų motyvavimą, jo formas bei svarbiausias profesines kompetencijas, jų tobulinimo galimybes. Tyrime dalyvavo 77 specialieji pedagogai, dirbantys bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose. Taip pat 14 bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų vadovų (pavaduotojų ugdymui). Empirinėje dalyje nagrinėjama specialiųjų pedagogų nuomonė apie jų profesinės veiklos ypatumus ir kompetencijas, profesinės veiklos motyvavimą. Taip pat bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų vadovų nuomonė apie specialiųjų pedagogų profesinės motyvacijos ypatumus ir kompetencijas. Svarbiausios empirinio tyrimo išvados: 1. Tyrimo duomenimis dauguma specialiųjų pedagogų svarbiausiomis profesinėmis kompetencijomis laiko gebėjimą bendrauti ir bendradarbiauti specialistų ir tėvų komandoje, taip pat dalintis žiniomis ir patirtimi. Daugiau nei septintadalis specialiųjų pedagogų teigia, kad svarbiausia yra gebėti parengti individualaus ugdymosi programą, padėti specialiųjų ugdymosi poreikių vaikams mokytis. Tiek pat pedagogų teigė, kad svarbiausia yra suprantamai teikti mokomąją medžiagą bet kurių specialiųjų ugdymosi poreikių turinčiam vaikui. 2. Daugiau nei pusė specialiųjų pedagogų, dirbančių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Summary In the paper, we have done theoretical analysis of professional expertise and professional single-mindedness of a pedagogue. By the method of questionnaire, there has been done the research, which aim was to reveal peculiarities of expertise and professional motivation of special pedagogues. By the method of interview, we tried to supplement the obtained results of the research by revealing attitude of headmasters towards motivation of special pedagogues, its forms and main professional competencies and possibilities of their development. 77 special pedagogues working in comprehensive schools and also 14 headmasters (assistant managers for education affairs) of comprehensive schools participated in the research. In the empirical part, we analysed the opinion of pedagogues about peculiarities of their professional activity and expertise, and motivation of the professional activity. There is also the analysis of the opinion of headmasters of comprehensive schools about the peculiarities of special pedagogues’ professional motivation and expertise. Main Conclusions of the Empirical Research: 1. Under the research data, the majority of special pedagogues ability to communicate and collaborate in a team of specialists and parents and also to share knowledge and experience consider to be the main professional expertise. More than one seventh part of the special pedagogues state that the most important thing is to be able to prepare a scheme of individual learning, and... [to full text]

Working on teams with professionals from other fields is often challenging. Researchers from the fields of Management and Writing Studies have frequently emphasized the tension and conflict experienced in such inter-professional, or cross-functional, teams. Whether studying engineering project teams, groups of medical professionals, or business teams, researchers have found that inter-professional work is often complicated by misunderstanding and miscommunication due to problems associated with inter-group professional identity. This interdisciplinary research draws from the fields of Management and Writing Studies in the exploration of a modern, inter-professional proposal writing team working at a commercial enterprise. A modified version of Grounded Theory, coupled with Rhetorical Genre Studies analysis, serves as a methodological framework for the study. The analytical framework is provided by the combination of Rhetorical Genre Studies, a model of successful team interactions, borrowed from Management Studies, and an expanded version of Wenger’s conceptualization of multiple communities of practice (CoPs). The research reveals the complexity of inter-professional team work. Professional identity of the team’s member is also presented as more complicated than previously anticipated. The study indicates that the team has been heavily influenced by a former, or an antecedent, CoP to which some of the team members belong. The genre and leadership preferences of the antecedent CoP are shown to moderate much of the predicted tension and conflict in the work of the team. The interdisciplinary study reveals the effects of antecedent CoPs and professional identity of the team members on the inter-professional team dynamics. Both researchers and practitioners may benefit from the findings of the study and a broader interdisciplinary approach used to investigate and interpret the dynamics of inter-professional teams.

Professional development has been recognized as one of the most promising and powerful routes to teachers’ professional growth and job satisfaction, yet current research challenges many of the traditional approaches widely used today. As an alternative, research has advocated for contextually anchored and collaborative models of professional development. Before any judgments on the relative power and usefulness of these approaches can be made, descriptions of how and where these models might work are necessary. In this thesis I describe a study that examines the viability of peer observation as a form of job-embedded professional learning for secondary teachers. A qualitative design was employed to capture and communicate the experiences of five teachers as they participated in peer observation of teaching. Data collection techniques included: (a) individual interviews before and after participation in the study, (b) group interviews during the peer observation cycles (pre- and post-observation meetings and debriefing sessions), and (c) written artifacts in the form of participant observation records and a researcher log. Most of the previous research investigating the effectiveness of peer observation as a form of professional development has been conducted at the post-secondary level. The experiences of the teachers in this study support those findings and extend them to the secondary level. Although the approach taken by the two groups were significantly different, peer observation was found to promote professional growth by promoting: (a) pedagogical knowledge; (b) professional dialogue; (c) skill development, specifically inquiry skills and reflective practice; (d) contextualized learning; and (e) collegiality and collaboration. This study contributes to our understanding of the potential for professional growth resulting from participation in peer observation. It also contributes to the body of Canadian educational research on professional development while providing empirical research relating to the effectiveness of peer observation at the secondary level. Finally, this study makes recommendations for future research addressing the role of the facilitator and some of the challenges and barriers teachers may experience during the peer observation process. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2009-08-21 16:22:15.25

No description available.

No description available.

Bakgrund: Sjuksköterskor verksamma inom psykiatrisk vård upplever svårigheter med att artikulera sin yrkesidentitet. Bakgrunden beskriver sjuksköterskans roll inom psykiatrisk vård ur ett historiskt samt nutida perspektiv. Bakgrunden visar att sjuksköterskor tenderar att lämna den psykiatriska vården när de upplever att deras kompetens inte tas tillvara, vilket i förlängningen även drabbar patienterna. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva hur sjuksköterskor yrkesverksamma inom psykiatrisk vård uppfattar sin yrkesidentitet Metod: Fem sjuksköterskor intervjuades med hjälp av ostrukturerade intervjuer. Kvalitativ design användes i studien. Resultat: Resultatet presenteras i temat en komplex yrkesidentitet samt tre kategorier: att vårda unika människor, att vara arbetsledare och den egna utvecklingen samt åtta underkategorier Diskussion: Resultatet diskuteras utifrån Imogene Kings begrepp roll, organisationer, auktoritet, makt, status och stress, samt utifrån genusteoretiskt perspektiv. / Background:Nurses working in psychiatric care experience difficulty in articulating their professional identity. The background describes the role of the nurse in psychiatric care from a historical and contemporary perspective. The background shows that nurses tend to leave the psychiatric care when they feel their skills are not utilized, which in turn also affects the patients. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe how nurses working in psychiatric care understand their professional identity Methods: Five nurses where interviewed with the help of unstructured interviews. A qualitative design was used for the study. Result: The results are presented in the theme a complex professional identity and the three categories: nurturing unique people, to be supervisors and their own development as well as eight subcategories Discussions: The results are discussed from Imogene King's conceptual role, organizations, authority, power, status and stress, and on the basis of gender theory perspective.

There is a wealth of literature on the induction and support of provisionally registered teachers (Boreen, 2009; Bubb, 2007; Cameron, Lovett, & Garvey Berger, 2007) and the key skills of mentoring (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006; Glickman, 2002). However literature on how to meet the professional learning needs of curriculum leaders developing their mentoring skill set has largely been ignored in leadership literature. This study, informed by MacBeath and Dempster’s (2009)concept of ‘leadership for learning’, upholds the need for leadership work to focus on the improvement of student outcomes (Barber & Fullan, 2005) rather than traditional approaches to education which focussed on making resources available to students. In an outcomes-focussed model of education, the needs of the students are at the forefront of all learning. By focussing on teachers’ professional learning through mentoring and the use of a teacher inquiry model, the students’ learning needs are prioritised. The focus for my study is the skillset of curriculum leaders for their work with teachers within their learning areas. The participants for this study were five curriculum leaders, all from the same secondary school. This intervention study investigated the factors which contributed to the professional learning of the mentors, their views of their leadership role and the kinds of learning about mentoring which were beneficial to understandings about mentoring. By focussing on key adult learning principles, structures that support learning, and attention to a mentoring skill set, the participants were supported to develop their mentoring skills. The mentors participated in a professional learning experience, referred to as a Quality Learning Circle (QLC), over one and a half school terms, to co-construct their understanding of mentoring practice. In a QLC the focus is on the learners seeking and making changes to their practice in a collaborative, supportive environment (Lovett & Verstappen, 2003). The mentors collaboratively developed new understandings through deliberate talk in the QLC about their shared interest in mentoring. They also had opportunities for immediate and practical application of their new knowledge. While they participated in the QLC they co-currently developed their mentoring skills by working with a mentee who taught in the same subject area as themselves. This study features a qualitative methodology with an interpretive case study of experienced curriculum leaders. Data collection tools included a gap analysis survey which explored their understandings of their school’s current professional learning opportunities. A second data source was a career questionnaire which explored their teaching history and experiences of professional learning. This was followed by initial interviews which focussed on how they interpreted their role of a curriculum leader and the extent they could connect leadership with students’ learning. I also analysed transcripts of QLC meetings, and the teachers’ reflective journals. Four of the mentors worked with a provisionally registered teacher (PRT), while one mentor chose to work with a more experienced colleague. This study offered a new type of collegial interaction for the teachers. The mentors chose their own goals, a mentee to work alongside and the direction of their learning about mentoring. The QLC met five times during the study and the mentors and participant researcher (PR) also kept a reflective journal. In between the QLC sessions the mentors met with their mentees to practise their mentoring skills, such as questioning skills, and the use of observational tools for classroom observations. A typical QLC session focussed on each of the mentors talking about the mentoring practice they had undertaken. The group provided support and guidance on possible next steps of practice. Readings and practical resources were also discussed and there was an expectation that the mentors would practice an aspect of mentoring and report back to the group at the next meeting. At the close of the study the mentors were re-interviewed to compare their views of their leadership role and learning from their initial interviews. An iterative process was used so that emerging understandings of the data could arise. The data is presented according to the three broad themes of ‘effective professional learning’, ‘leadership role’ and ‘professional learning about mentoring’. The findings of this study highlight the importance of collaborative learning opportunities for teachers where they can state and resolve practical issues in a supportive group (Cochran-Smith, Feiman-Nemser, McIntyre, & Association of Teacher Educators., 2008). Among all of the findings there were four major findings about the development of curriculum leaders’ mentoring skills: the value of opportunities for deliberate talk, the importance of teacher agency, the need for specific tools in developing mentoring practice, and the necessity of understanding the curriculum leaders’ leadership role. My detailed account of the experiences of the five curriculum leaders offers a practical example of what the development of curriculum leaders’ understandings of mentoring might look like. This study serves to highlight the challenges for schools to provide support for teachers wanting to take responsibility for their own professional learning. In the absence of any formalised leadership professional learning about mentoring for curriculum leaders, this study proved to be a useful study to demonstrate the potential of the QLC approach to support curriculum leaders in their understandings and practice of mentoring. The key findings of this study validate the need for further research on what is needed for effective mentoring to be an integral part of every school.