Thesis (Ed.D.)-California State University San Marcos ; University of California, San Diego, 2010. / Abstract: leaves ix-xi. Committee members: Katherine Hayden (chair), Jennifer Jeffries, Alan Daly. Bibliography: leaves 184-190. Also issued online

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009. / Prepared for: School of Education. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 112-123.

The purpose of study was twofold. The primary purpose was to describe and explain the perceptions and lived experiences of high school teachers through their involvement in a Professional Learning Community, as defined by Hord (1997). Teachers' experiences within a Professional Learning Community were examined for patterns of cultivated leadership and social capital. The second purpose of the study was to identify the influencing variables connected with how the participants viewed themselves as leaders as a result of their participation in a professional learning community. One influencing variable in particular that was examined was the influence of social capital in professional learning communities. Hord's explanation of a professional learning community was the conceptual framework for this study, which states that such communities are made up of five essential dimensions: (1) Shared and supportive leadership, (2) Shared values and vision, (3) Collective learning and its application, (4) Shared personal practice, and (5) Supportive conditions. Online survey research method was used in order to investigate teacher leadership in Professional Learning Communities and the underlying variables associated with participation in such communities. The findings of this study indicated that teachers have varying perceptions of their work with professional learning communities. Overall, the data suggested that teachers' experiences and perceptions negatively correlated with their development as a teacher leader. Although most teachers in this study did not experience empowerment as a teacher leader, most gained some sense of social capital through their collaborative efforts within their learning communities. The data reflected that most teachers felt connected to the colleagues within their communities. School leadership is vital to the sustainability of professional learning communities and towards the professional growth of teacher leaders. Consequently, this study suggests that future research is conducted to examine the influence of school leaders on teacher leadership development and the impact that professional learning communities have on such development for teachers.

The purpose of this study was to explore how public elementary school principals develop teacher leadership capacity within their schools, as well as the effect of this effort on a school's performance. After examining a variety of sources, such as journal articles and web-based search engines, the researcher determined that there was scant information explaining the process principals undergo to create teacher leadership roles in an effort to develop a high-performing school. To accomplish the goals of this study, salient reports in the field of teacher leadership were reviewed. The insights afforded from these reports guided the researcher in developing a field-based investigation focusing on school leaders and teachers employed in three high-performing elementary schools in central Florida. The researcher explored features of teacher leadership that were evident in high-performing schools and sought to discover the characteristics principals seek in selecting new teachers. Also investigated were the teacher leadership opportunities created by the principals and the ways in which these roles helped to sustain the elementary schools' high performance. Furthermore, recent school-based decisions made by the school leaders were studied. Throughout the data, school administrators provided opportunities for teacher leadership within their schools, primarily by forming school-based committees. The results showed that principals solicited opinions from teachers, especially when it came to curriculum and instructional concerns. In addition, when sharing best practices or participating in staff-development opportunities with colleagues, teachers felt satisfied with their work environments. School leaders and teachers understood the roles they played in the overall success of their schools. Based on the results of this qualitative study, principals can build leadership capacity at schools by first establishing a culture of trust, honesty, and professionalism between themselves and the teachers. Next, school leaders provide and support opportunities for leadership by aligning teacher strengths and roles. The researcher recommends that future research in teacher leadership examine whether the principal's impact on teacher leadership has an affect on retention at the school level.

Isaacson's (2004) dissertation chronicles the implementation of a constructivist instructional approach at Southwood Elementary School. Southwood's faculty experienced a change of principals, which the Tri-Partite Theory of Organizational Change and Succession, a theory of organizational entropy, predicts could lead to organizational entropy. This study examines the dynamics of the change in principal, as well as Isaacson's recommendation to study teachers' perceptions regarding the maintenance of the constructivist approach. This study answers three questions: 1) Are faculty still using constructivist strategies? 2) What are teacher perceptions regarding the maintenance and support of constructivist philosophy? 3) Is there congruence between what literature identifies as constructivist strategies and what teachers identify as constructivism and classroom practice? This study uses three sources. First, literature identified constructivist strategies and approaches. Second, teachers and principal were interviewed regarding an array of issues, such as their understanding constructivism, their perception of maintaining the constructivist philosophy, and student and teacher classroom roles. Third, classrooms were observed and scored using the Constructivist Teaching Inventory (CTI) as a rubric.The primary and an outside researcher identified four common themes that all support constructivist practices and philosophies: questioning, student-centered learning, active learning and the social influence on learning. Classroom observations, three for each of the interviewed teachers, were scored using the Constructivist Teaching Inventory.Southwood faculty and staff developed professional learning communities (PLC), which support and maintain constructivist strategies. PLCs are supports for new teachers in developing constructivist strategies. CTI results indicate that teachers are implementing constructivist strategies. Constructivist strategies could be impleme nted by telling teachers what to say or do, without understanding the why behind the actions. Although the principal, who initiated application of constructivist strategies retired and was replaced in 2004, constructivist strategies remain in use. The changes that occur with change in leadership, as predicted in the Tri-Partite Theory, were managed at Southwood by an internal replanning process of establishing PLCs. This study lends credence to the importance of professional learning communities as a constructivist change strategy, which finessed the entropy organizations face with leadership changes by establishing PLCs as a socialization process.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the direct effects of distributed leadership on teacher professionalism and the mediating effects of collective teacher efficacy, professional learning community, and teacher job satisfaction by using teacher data from the Korea Educational Longitudinal Study (KELS) of 2007, conducted by the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI). After scrutinizing theoretical foundations and reported evidence on the relationships between research factors, the research constructed a structural equation model. The research questions that guided this analysis are as follows: 1) Does the model of this research fit the observed data?; 2) Does distributed leadership practice directly influence teacher professionalism?; and 3) Does distributed leadership practice indirectly influence teacher professionalism mediated by collective teacher efficacy, professional learning community, and teacher job satisfaction? As a result, the initial hypothesized research model shows an inadequate fit to the data. The researcher revised the initial research model by using the results of modification indices provided by the output result of the AMOS program. The results of the study revealed that 1) the research model successfully accounted for the KELS data, 2) distributed leadership negatively influenced teacher professionalism, and 3) distributed leadership indirectly and significantly influenced teacher professionalism, mediated by collective teacher efficacy, professional learning community, and teacher job satisfaction. Additionally, the effects of these mediators also indicated significant relationships between study variables. Public schools cannot achieve their goals and sustain fundamental reform without considering the day-to-day lives of educators, leadership practice, and educators’ workload, and sometimes even re-culturing of schools. School organization should be a place where school members all collaborate with each other to achieve organizational goals and where teachers and students are learning through reciprocal cooperation. When we consider that teacher professionalism can be directly associated with student and parent satisfaction and student achievement, this study contributes to the creation of a model that improves teacher professionalism, and by implication student achievement and satisfaction. / text

School Psychologists may be well-suited to provide Professional Learning (PL) to assist schools in meeting increased student standards, responding to demands for accountability, and meeting the needs of a diversifying population. School psychologists possess a depth and breadth of knowledge and skills; and, certain aspects of the school psychologist role (e.g., flexibility in service delivery and scheduling) may enable them to reap the potential benefits of broader impact and preventive focus through PL. Little is known about the PL practices of school psychologists due to a lack of research. This study attempts to fill the research gap by exploring the perceptions and practices of school psychologists as related to providing PL. The research identifies situational and personal variables that might contribute to the likelihood of providing PL as a service. Finally, motivations for provid­ing PL and levels of satisfaction derived from the provision of PL are explored. The survey method for this study consisted of a three stage recursive process in which earlier stages informed modifications to later stages based on feedback. First, interviews informed the construction of an initial survey. The survey was piloted with two consecutive groups and amended to assist with clarification. The final survey was sent to a stratified, random, national sample of practicing school psychologists. Descriptive statistics were used to describe PL practices, the personal and situational variables under investigation, motivations for providing PL and satisfaction derived from PL delivery. Inferential statistics were used to investigate relationships between personal and situational variables and PL delivery.

This qualitative inquiry used a reflection-on-practice to examine my experiences facilitating professional learning within an Ontario public elementary school. My research revealed that my non-traditional approach to teacher professional development might constitute a form of Professional Learning Community (PLC). The data show that as a facilitator I found myself both inside and outside the communities I tried to form and support. Further, this inquiry exemplifies the ways I both nurtured and impeded professional learning as a result of my facilitation. I hope that the information and insights gleamed from this study may be broadened to include professional learning as it relates to occupations outside the realm of education. As a result, this thesis offers approaches to facilitation that might be able to transform professional practice through PD and consequently, improve student success.

A case study approach is used to examine two formative computer based assessments (CBAs) used in a School of Medicine and Faculty of Education at a Canadian university. Both assessments contained primarily scenario-based, multiple-choice items however the number of items and complexity was different. The formative CBAs were examined in terms of how feedback is provided to students, the effectiveness of different types of feedback, and the characteristics of items used for assessment. Feedback was channelled to students in one case, immediately following responding to an item and in the second case, at the end of a set of items. Feedback given to students immediately following an item was more effective given that the timing captured students’ construction of knowledge. The most favoured type of feedback provided additional information. Students also indicated that feedback using a live internet link to direct them to a resource would be acceptable. Although feedback that simply stated a response was correct or incorrect was previously shown to be ineffective, students from the School of Medicine indicated this type of feedback was acceptable for low cognitive items. In both case studies, students reported that more items were required and in one case study, students recommended these items be added at the higher end of the cognitive scale. / Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2009-01-28 13:55:37.823

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