The educational practice known as inclusion, which is based on values of equal opportunity and diversity, enables students with disabilities to attend the same general education classes as typically developing peers. Inclusion is a legal requirement in the United States and South Korea, but factors facilitating inclusion likely differ across countries. The purpose of the study was to examine PreK-6 school teachers' beliefs about inclusive practices in the United States and South Korea and to present a more informed direction for the future of inclusive education in both countries. Seventy-four teachers from the US and 54 from South Korea participated via email for this study employing surveys. Teachers provided their beliefs about inclusion items on the My Thinking About Inclusion (MTAI) scale, a 28-question instrument, and also provided information about their own gender, years of experience, education level, and teaching practices. A statistically significant difference was found between the teachers of the two nations for the full survey scale. The teachers' training area (i.e., general education or special education) in the US was significantly associated with the belief toward inclusion, and special education teachers in both countries were more agreeable to inclusion than general education practitioners were as shown by the MTAI scale. A strong relationship between accommodation and preparedness for disabilities was found. Most of the barrier factors to practicing inclusive education were considered substantial obstacles, but more so for South Korea teachers than US teachers. University coursework was the least preferred method for improving inclusive practices according to teachers in both countries. Based on the outcomes of the two nations' teachers' beliefs about inclusion, the author suggests that supportive practices, including collaboration between educators, professional development, partnerships with parents and families, and peer supports, be implemented within the two countries for the upkeep of inclusive practices.

In 2008, the topic of “evolution” was introduced into the Life Science syllabus for the first time in South African schools. Evolution is a controversial topic in most countries and the controversy will be experienced in South African schools. This controversy results from the erroneous belief that teachers and most people have that religion and evolutionary theory contradict each other. This research study explored the difficulties faced by teachers with strong religious beliefs when they teach evolution. Eight teachers with strong religious beliefs were identified. Teachers of the Muslim and Christian faith who taught at either religious or secular schools formed part of the research study. The teachers were subjected to an in-depth interview where they were questioned about their religious beliefs and their opinions about creation and evolution. They also described how they taught evolution and explained how they coped with the conflict of faith and science that they experienced when they taught evolution. These teachers also experienced myriad difficulties when they taught evolution. These difficulties were described to me as the researcher. The findings indicated that all of the Muslim teachers and three of the four Christian teachers interviewed are Creationists. This leads to personal conflict that some of the teachers interviewed experience because of their belief that evolution and religious belief contradict each other. Two of the teachers in this study also experience a lack of confidence with the subject knowledge because they lack training in evolutionary theory. Due to this lack of training there are some teachers who harbour misconceptions about evolutionary concepts and who pass these misconceptions to learners. There is also pressure placed on teachers to teach creationism or to teach creationism alongside evolution from some religious leaders, some parents and certain members of the community. A few teachers with strong religious beliefs could teach evolution very superficially or these teachers could even sabotage their teaching of evolution. Teachers also experience difficulties teaching the learners in their class. The findings indicate that learners in religious schools may refuse to learn about evolution and learners in certainschools choosenot to do Life Sciences from Grade 10 to avoid learning about evolution. There are certain strategies that teachers employ to minimise the conflict they experience when teaching evolution. Learners were told they had to study evolution in order to pass the matriculation examination. Teachers also explained to learners that they needed to study evolution so that they could argue for Creationism from a position of knowledge and not ignorance. Certain teachers interviewed taught learners that science needs to be considered separate to religion. The conflict of faith and science that teachers experience when they teach evolution causes difficulties for these teachers.This conflict could arise from personal conflict with their faith or they could experience discord from learners, parents and members from the community in which they teach.

Thesis advisor: Katherine L. McNeill / The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) represent a significant shift in the goals of U.S. science education. Instead of a focus solely on content acquisition, the NGSS aim to engage students in the practices of science. Teachers will require substantial support, in large part from science leaders at the district level, to change their instruction to accomplish this vision. However, little is known about how these leaders conceptualize the NGSS. Therefore, this dissertation utilizes a sensemaking theoretical framework to explore the beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of district science leaders about one of the NGSS science practices, scientific argumentation. Greater understandings of these constructs can aid in designing appropriate supports for district leaders and meeting the challenges of implementing the NGSS. Fifty-three district leaders from states that have adopted the NGSS participated in a survey focused on their beliefs and PCK for argumentation. After the administration of the survey, 10 district leaders who represented a range of states and beliefs were selected for follow-up interviews. These interviews were semi-structured and focused on the same areas of belief as in the survey. The findings from the surveys and interviews indicate that most district science leaders are supporters of the NGSS and believe that scientific argumentation offers important benefits for students. Many leaders referenced one or more of the NGSS science practices in their descriptions of effective science education and asserted that they believe that the NGSS will require teachers in their districts to make substantial changes in their current instruction. However, some leaders also maintained their beliefs in the effectiveness of traditional instructional methods that are not compatible with the NGSS, and few leaders mentioned critique as an essential component of argumentation. In addition, many leaders demonstrated challenges in their PCK for argumentation, specifically related to evidence and reasoning in scientific arguments and the role of critique in dialogical interactions. Therefore, supporting leaders to develop more accurate conceptions and knowledge of the NGSS and argumentation should be a priority for districts nationwide. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Studien avser att förklara riksdagspartiernas inställning mot Natomedlemskap över tid. Därför utförs en policyanalys inom ramen för ''The Advocacy Coalition Framework'’. Detta genomförs genom att kategorisera riksdagspartierna till relevanta advocacy coalitions utifrån deras beliefs. Studien använder sig av utrikespolitiska debatter för att avgöra respektive riksdagspartis beliefs. Genom att undersöka riksdagspartiernas normative och empirical policy core beliefs över tid kan studien finna likheter och skillnader mellan advocacy coalitions. Vad studien kommer fram till är hur riksdagspartierna tar en annan ställning inom säkerhetspolitiken och hur gemensamma beliefs kan förekomma mellan advocacy coalitions. Med åren går det även att se hur riksdagspartier börjar värna mer om militära medel för svensk säkerhet. Studien erbjuder också ett teoretiskt intressant inlägg genom att lyfta upp hur empirical policy core beliefs binder också advocacy coalitions varifrån tidigare forskning visar hur oftast normative policy core beliefs avgör strukturen i advocacy coalitions. Riksdagspartiers ställningstagande antingen för Natomedlemskap eller mot Natomedlemskap blev relevant för vilken advocacy coalition riksdagspartierna blev kategoriserade inom.

This is a report of an investigation of aspects of preservice teachers� perceptions of teaching and learning English and mathematics and factors influencing them. The participants of the investigation were primary preservice teachers from two tertiary institutions of Victoria, one located inner city, and the other in a regional centre. Of the 349 participants, 163 were commencing and 186 were graduating from their degrees. Preservice teachers completed questionnaires indicating their intentions to use particular practices in their literacy and numeracy lessons. Thirty-one of the 349 surveyed voluntarily discussed key issues arising from the survey during semi-structured audiotaped sessions. Five lecturers responsible for the planning of the compulsory English and mathematics education units at both institutions were interviewed about the survey data and provided written documentation for their units as evidence of their coursework. Data analyses indicated that preservice teachers often considered practices equally appropriate for literacy and numeracy teaching and intended to use them in similar ways. It seemed that preservice teachers enter their degrees with strong opinions about teaching and learning based not only on their recollections of experiences as learners but also from more recent relevant experiences such as their dealings with children as babysitters, tutors, and classroom helpers. They also gained knowledge about teaching contexts from their informal but regular conversations with friends and family who teach. From the examination of the documentation for coursework and discussions with lecturers, it seemed that the content of the literacy and numeracy education units at the two institutions were similar. Overall, the data indicated that many of the preservice teachers� intentions were consistent with the intent of coursework especially when they described general teaching practices. However, in cases where practices were discipline-specific there were limited changes in preservice teachers� intentions even after completing their courses. The prospective teachers reported that they considered their recent salient experiences of teaching and their observations of teachers� practices in schools more influential than coursework.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Abstract The purpose of this research was to explore, through interviews, miscue and retrospective miscue analysis, and retellings of stories, the oral reading performance of three English as a second language (ESL) students and their perceptions of the reading process, their knowledge of the English language cueing systems and their use of strategies in reading narrative and expository passages in English. The Burke Modified Reading Interview was administered to explore the students perceptions of the reading process and of themselves as readers. Additional interviews were conducted to obtain information about their schooling and literacy background. The students miscues while reading narrative and expository passage from an informal reading inventory were recorded, transcribed and coded using selected parts of Goodmans reading miscue inventory. Students listened to their miscues during retrospective miscue analysis sessions and engaged in self-reflection and exploratory talk to discuss why they made those miscues. The findings showed that the students perceptions of reading varied. The print-based readers relied heavily on graphophonic strategies and knowledge-based readers focused on semantic strategies in reading the selected passages. All of the participants read below their grade levels. The findings also revealed that these students created images and overarching schemata in their imaginations as they were reading the selected texts. The students performed better on passages about which they had strong background knowledge. Their relative performance with narrative and expository structures varied. It was concluded that ESL students need more instruction and experience in reading informational texts and need to learn new strategies for making inferences from the texts using their knowledge of the language cueing systems and their knowledge of the world. / Language and Literacy Education

In previous research, measurement of deontological and utilitarian beliefs relied on responses to classic moral dilemmas. While use of these dilemmas has proven fruitful they are fraught with potential confounds. This thesis describes the construction and validation of the Consequentialist scale, a tool designed to directly measure the endorsement of both utilitarian and deontological beliefs. The Consequentialist scale was tested against variables previously associated with moral judgments, namely emotional reactivity, Machiavellianism, intrinsic religiosity, and political conservatism. Results indicate that the Consequentialist scale provides added explanatory power that helps to elucidate cornerstone processes involved in moral judgments.

In previous research, measurement of deontological and utilitarian beliefs relied on responses to classic moral dilemmas. While use of these dilemmas has proven fruitful they are fraught with potential confounds. This thesis describes the construction and validation of the Consequentialist scale, a tool designed to directly measure the endorsement of both utilitarian and deontological beliefs. The Consequentialist scale was tested against variables previously associated with moral judgments, namely emotional reactivity, Machiavellianism, intrinsic religiosity, and political conservatism. Results indicate that the Consequentialist scale provides added explanatory power that helps to elucidate cornerstone processes involved in moral judgments.

Breast cancer is a leading cause of mortality among women in the United States. Women with chronic disabling conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) are less likely to participate in routine mammography screening than women without disabilities due to multiple barriers. Underuse of mammography screening may lead to a diagnosis of a later stage breast cancer and consequently higher breast cancer mortality rate. This study examined the influence of several factors including, severity of MS-related functional limitations, demographic characteristics, family history of breast cancer, beliefs related to mammography screening and breast cancer, and personal resources on usual screening mammography in a sample of women with MS. The conceptual framework guiding this study was synthesized from The Explanatory Model of Health Promotion and Quality of Life in Chronic and Disabling Conditions and the Health Belief Model. Data from an ongoing longitudinal study (R01NR003195) focused on health promotion of persons with MS were combined with primary data for this prospective descriptive correlational study. The nonprobability sample consisted of 274 women ages 39-85 years who were primarily White (92%), married (66.1%), and unemployed (64.1%) with a 22 year average length of diagnosis with MS. Data were collected over two years using a mailed survey. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical logistic regression analyses were used to address the research questions. The annual mammography rate in this sample was 62%. Perceived susceptibility to breast cancer (AOR = 3.0, p < .05), family history (AOR = 2.5, p < .05), economic adequacy (AOR = 1.6, p < .05), and perceived barriers to mammography (AOR = .98, p < .05) significantly predicted mammography use, adjusted for severity of functional limitations. Though severity of limitations was negatively associated with mammography, it was not a significant predictor in the overall model. These findings suggest that for women with chronic disabling conditions, health beliefs, family history, and personal resources influence mammography screening. Clinicians need to continue to eliminate the barriers to mammography screening to improve screening and reduce overall breast cancer mortality rate in this vulnerable population. / text