[pt] O professor iniciante e o início de sua carreira têm merecido pouca atenção por parte dos pesquisadores brasileiros, embora seja uma fase importante para a construção da identidade e desenvolvimento profissional do professor. O objetivo mais amplo desta pesquisa foi compreender como o professor iniciante constrói sua aprendizagem profissional no ciclo de alfabetização de modo a se desenvolver profissionalmente. Parti, para realizá-lo, das ideias de que o professor é um sujeito ativo no seu processo de aprendizagem, capaz de relacionar suas experiências formativas e práticas (MARCELO GARCIA, 2009) e de que, ao ser inserido na carreira, ele passa por um ciclo de aprendizagem profissional (HUBERMAN, 1992). A pesquisa foi realizada com 6 professores, com tempo de experiência profissional variando entre 2 e 4 anos, que atuavam ou tinham atuado no ciclo de alfabetização na fase de iniciação (HUBERMAN, 1992), em escolas públicas – municipais e federais – e privadas do município do Rio de Janeiro. Adotei o procedimento metodológico de entrevistas semiestruturadas, entendidas como espaços de produção de narrativas que, como texto que são, abrem-se a múltiplas interpretações (KRAMER, 2002). Compartilho com Emilia Freitas de Lima (2006) o pressuposto de que a formação de professores é um processo contínuo, sem um fim estabelecido a priori, do qual fazem parte a experiência acumulada durante a passagem pela escola enquanto estudante; a formação profissional específica – formação inicial –; a iniciação na carreira e a passagem de estudante a professor e a formação contínua. A primeira parte das análises se concentrou nas trajetórias dos professores na educação básica, passando pela formação – inicial e contínua – e chegando até suas atuais experiências e práticas como professores em início de carreira. As análises foram fundamentadas nos conceitos de campo, habitus, capital e estratégias da Sociologia de Pierre Bourdieu (2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013). Destacam-se a opção pela docência marcada por uma não escolha (LELIS, 1996) e a presença da família incentivando, apoiando, influenciando ou rejeitando essa opção (NOGUEIRA, 1998). A segunda parte se estruturou a partir de dois eixos que emergiram das narrativas como significativos para a compreensão do problema de pesquisa: o início e os meios. Com relação ao primeiro, foi possível chegar à conclusão de que as dificuldades inerentes ao início da carreira, tais como mau comportamento dos alunos, competição entre os colegas e interferência dos pais são mais facilmente superadas com o apoio da equipe gestora da escola. No que diz respeito aos meios foram relatadas práticas pedagógicas de leitura e escrita, bem como autores de referência em torno da alfabetização, enfatizando a centralidade desse período do ensino fundamental, que demanda conhecimentos específicos tanto da parte de quem ensina, quanto da parte de quem aprende. Considerando o início da docência como uma fase diferenciada, com características e necessidades próprias, que demanda apoio e formação específicos (MARCELO, 1999, 2011; MARIANO, 2006; PAPI E MARTINS, 2010), a pesquisa destaca a necessidade de viabilizar um maior apoio institucional ao professor (alfabetizador) iniciante nas escolas, aliado a programas e políticas de iniciação/inserção e formação. / [en] Despite of being an important stage for the development of its professional identity, the early stages of professor s professional career seems to be yet underexplored by Brazilian researchers. From the perspective that professors have an active role on their learning process, able to connect their practical and theoretical experiences (MARCELO GARCIA, 2009), and once initiated on their careers they go through a professional learning cycle (HUBERMAN, 1992), the broader aim of this research is to understand how professors on their early stages build their professional learning at the literacy cycle, connecting its theoretical and practical experiences in order to obtain professional development. Present research was completed with six professors with professional experience between 2 and 5 years, that have currently or past experience at the literacy cycle on the initiation stage (HUBERMAN, 1992); at public schools – municipal and federal – and private schools within Rio de Janeiro city. Interviews were used as a methodological tool. Interviews, understood as narrative production spaces, give room for multiple interpretations (KRAMER, 2002). Based on Lima s (2006) assumption that professor s development is a continuous process, without a firm established end, in which takes part its own experience as a student; specific professor formation – undergraduate degree - ; career commencement and its passage from student to professor to continuous development, first phase of the analysis was concentrated on the professors paths at the basic education, passing through formation – initial and continuous – up to their current practices and experiences as early stage professors. Analysis were completed having Bourdieu (2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013) concepts of habitus, strategy and capital as drivers. It should be highlighted the option for a professorial career as a nonoption (LELIS, 1996) and family s influence, either supporting or rejecting this option (NOGUEIRA, 1998). Second phase was structured based on three axis that arose from the narratives as important for the research problem understanding: early stages, learning and literacy cycle. Regarding the early stages it was possible to conclude that difficulties associated with early stages of the career, such as students behaviour; competition among colleagues and parents interference are easily overcome with support given by school managerial team. In connection to the learning process, professor were unanimous in point the insufficiency of their degree, highlighting their relationship with their pairs – either within the school and outside the school as a privileged element of its professional learning. Finally, regarding the literacy cycle, pedagogical practices such as reading and writing, together with prestigious authors and public policy associated with literacy, highlighting the key importance of such period of the fundamental cycle, which demands specific knowledge (TARDIF, 2007) have been described by professors interviewed. Considering the early stages of a professor career as a differential stage, with particular characteristics and needs, demanding specific support and education (MARCELO, 1999, 2011; MARIANO, 2006; PAPI E MARTINS, 2010) current research highlights the need for a major institutional support for the literacy professors in the early stages of their career, complemented by induction/ introduction policies together with continuous developing programs.

This thesis is an exploration of a head teacher's experience of Lesson Study. It aims to consider how Lesson Study develops teacher learning through consideration of collaboration, expertise and professional conflict. The methodology embraces the lived experience of introducing a collaborative method of teacher development, Lesson Study into a primary school and exploring its impact. The research is conducted through an exploratory layered method, considering the Lesson Study teams, the whole school and the head teacher's thoughts and reflections on and about Lesson Study. The exploration in this thesis found that Lesson Study is far from breath-takingly simple (Dudley, 2013) and that there are many complexities and variables within each Lesson Study group that need to be considered carefully in order to enhance any opportunity for teacher learning. This thesis describes how these different elements, collaboration, expertise and professional conflict, interacted in two different Lesson Study teams. These findings, are presented alongside the head teacher's reflections. Building on these reflections the thesis starts to articulate how Lesson Study could offer teacher learning opportunities and which elements of school culture, teacher expertise and understanding would need to be developed, honed and considered in order to create an outcome which results in teacher learning. This research provides an exploration how teacher learning may be generated through Lesson Study work. It extends the current literature on teacher learning in Lesson Study by identifying and exploring professional conflict alongside collaboration and expertise. Teacher learning opportunities are not simply created in the context the research took place. It concludes that while teacher learning can be generated through Lesson Study; the conditions and culture of a setting, alongside the skills, knowledge and expertise of the teachers involved in each team are also crucial.

abstract: In this dissertation I employed a culminating cycle of action research following two earlier ones to facilitate the creation of a professional learning community (PLC). My research took place at an elementary school in an urban area of the American southwest. As principal of this school I had initiated the policies and procedures that were often recommended to create PLCs. However, observations of teachers in PLC meetings indicated that conversations focused on logistical planning issues, rather than on the in-depth pedagogical discussions that characterize high functioning PLCs. To address this problem I introduced a form of peer observation into the PLC meeting. This was achieved by showing short video recordings of teachers in their classrooms. I used a mixed methods approach to investigate how this innovation influenced three constructs associated with PLC meetings: professional learning, the sharing of tacit teaching knowledge, and collaboration in the PLC. Quantitative data consisted of responses to a survey given as a pre-, post-, and retrospective pre-test. Results showed significant gains for all three constructs between the retrospective pre-test and the post-test, but no significant gain between the pre- and post-test. Analysis of qualitative data produced four assertions. First, the process of peer observation during a PLC meeting benefitted the personal learning of teachers. Second, peer observation benefitted teacher teams' abilities to demonstrate the critical behaviors of a true PLC. Third, the process of facilitating peer observation through video recordings evoked negative emotions. Fourth, the degree to which teachers were able to learn from a video was influenced by their perceptions of the video's authenticity and similarity to their own classrooms. In the discussion, complementarity of the quantitative and qualitative data was described and results were explained in terms of previous research and established theory. Additionally, practical lessons that were learned, limitations, and research implications were described. In a concluding section, I discussed my personal learning regarding leadership, innovation, and action research; the purpose of the doctorate in education; and strengthening connections between research and practitioners. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2015

abstract: Though National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in Arizona have been identified as leaders on a national level, they do not have comparable opportunities to lead within their local contexts or engage in leadership and collaboration activities that align with Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Standard 10. The purpose of this sequential, mixed-methods study was to explore how the development of a teacher leadership community of practice for NBCTs might influence their perceptions of themselves as leaders. Social constructionism, action research, and communities of practice guided the innovation and a mixed-methods approach was used for data collection and analysis. Data illustrated NBCTs’ dichotomous feelings about leadership on local and national levels. Findings revealed that NBCTs need continued professional learning opportunities, beyond National Board Certification, to resolve feelings of isolation and fully meet all of the leadership and collaboration indicators for InTASC Standard 10. Participating in a teacher leadership community of practice (a) provided a professional learning opportunity for NBCTs, (b) improved NBCTs’ perceptions of teacher leadership and helped them define it as an active process of learning, reflection, and action, and (c) increased NBCTs’ readiness to take action as teacher leaders within their local contexts to evoke positive change. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2016

abstract: In an effort to better prepare K-12 students for college and career readiness, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) has created a college and career readiness system that is implemented in schools across the United States and in many international locations. Part of this system of schoolwide transformation, is the AVID Elective class, designed for students in the academic-middle. In the AVID Elective, students are supported in their efforts to attend four-year universities. A critical aspect of the AVID Elective class is the weekly implementation of AVID Tutorials, ideally led by trained college tutor/mentors. The purpose of this action research study is to investigate support structures of AVID Tutors beyond the current tutor training system, in order to see how additional methods can contribute to continual improvement of the tutor training system. Findings from this study indicate that expanding current tutor-training practice to include a blended-learning, on-the-job model, might be beneficial for AVID Tutors and AVID Students. Through a mixed methods action research study, both qualitative and quantitative data collection tools were employed to help understand the effect of additional tutor training supports. Interviews, tutor assignments, observations of tutorials, and pre- and post-tests provide the bulk of the data studied. Further, this study could provide critical information for key AVID stakeholders who seek to offer training to tutors in AVID. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2018

This study is an investigation of Libyan English language novice teachers' experiences during their first three years after qualifying. Its aim is to inform the development of an induction framework for supporting newcomers to the profession in secondary schools. In this mixed methods study I employed a two-pronged approach: quantitative methods for mapping the territory and to see the wider picture, and qualitative methods to gain an in-depth understanding of the teachers' experiences and thoughts during their first three years of teaching. Quantitative data were generated by a survey questionnaire, while qualitative data were derived from open-ended questionnaire items and interviews. The vast majority of novice teachers in this study reported serious shortcomings in the quality of their induction. Two hundred and twenty-seven teachers from Alzawia and Al-Niqat Al-Khams districts were surveyed, including 21 teachers who participated in interviews. One hundred and ten had graduated from Faculties of Arts in universities where the main focus of study was to develop research. One hundred and seventeen had completed a degree at a teacher training institution. Findings from this research indicate that they encountered diverse challenges in relation to curriculum delivery, integration into the school community and communication with students’ parents, as well as financial difficulties. The key issues that emerged from this research were:• Support for novice teachers is limited, inconsistent and inadequate.• Teacher professionalism requires further development.• The concept of mentoring warrants further consideration to be of benefit to novice teachers and their pupils. This study provided evidence that support at school and district level is essential in order to assist novice teachers of English as a foreign language in their transition from student teacher to professional practitioner. With the aim of enhancing the quality of teacher induction in Libyan secondary schools, the findings of this study have been used to inform the development of a set of recommendations for novice teachers, school principals, mentors and senior staff in district education departments.

abstract: This mixed methods participatory action research study explored how an instructional coach influenced a state mandated curriculum adoption at a Title 1 urban middle school. The purpose of this study was to identify ways in which an instructional coach supported a veteran staff during the adoption of new curriculum standards. The instructional coach/action researcher employed a three pronged coaching approach that incorporated individual and team coaching sessions and increased networking to encourage and support the development of social capital. This study was informed using Vygotsky's Social Learning Theory, Wenger's Communities of Practice, Coleman's Social Capital Theory, and Hall and Horde's Concerns-Based Adoption Model. The study is heavily weighted in favor of qualitative data which includes participant reflections, coach individual session and team session reflections, field-notes, team meeting videos, and exit interviews. Several themes emerged supporting the use of a differentiated coaching approach, the promotion of social capital, and the identification of initiative overload as a barrier to curriculum adoption. The quantitative data analysis, pre and post study Stages of Concern Questionnaires, produced evidence that participants experienced minor shifts in their concerns relating to the adoption of Common Core State Standards. Results were used to inform coaching decisions based on individual participant needs as well as to augment the qualitative findings. Ideas for further research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2014

abstract: ABSTRACT Education policymakers at the national level have initiated reforms in K-12 education for that past several years that have focused on teacher quality and teacher evaluation. More recently, reforms have included legislation that focuses on administrator quality as well. Included in far-reaching recent legislation in Arizona is a requirement that administrators be evaluated on a standards-based evaluation system that is linked to student outcomes. The end result is an annual summative measure of administrator effectiveness that impacts job retention. Because of this, Arizona administrators have become concerned about rapidly becoming proficient in the new evaluation systems. Administrators rarely have the explicit professional development opportunities they need to collaborate on a shared understanding of these new evaluation systems. This action research study focused on a group of eight administrators in a small urban district grappling with a new, complex, and high-stakes administrator evaluation that is a component of an all-encompassing Teacher Incentive Fund Grant. An existing professional learning time was engaged to assist administrators in lessening their concerns and increasing their understanding and use of the evaluation instrument. Activities were designed to engage the administrators in dynamic, contextualized learning. Participants interacted in a group to interpret the meaning of the evaluation instrument share practical knowledge and support each other's acquisition understanding. Data were gathered with mixed methods. Administrators were given pre-and post-surveys prior to and immediately after this six-week innovation. Formal and informal interviews were conduct throughout the innovation. Additionally, detailed records in the form of meeting records and a researcher journal were kept. Qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated to validate findings. Results identified concerns and understanding of administrators as they attempted to come to a shared understanding of the new evaluation instrument. As a result of learning together, their concerns about the use of the instrument lessened. Other concerns however, remained or increased. Administrators found the process of the Administrator Learning Community valuable and felt their understanding and use of the instrument had increased. Intense concerns about the competing priorities and initiatives led to the administrators to consider a reevaluation of the competing initiatives. Implications from this study can be used to help other administrators and professional development facilitators grappling with common concerns. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Leadership and Innovation 2014

Abstract The general aim of this research was to explicate what kind of a process ‘doing things differently’ in the context of literacy practices is from the teacher agency perspective. The research was based on development work on literacy practices, which I as a teacher-researcher conducted in a Finnish first grade classroom during one school year. I based the new literacy practices on the concepts of a broad conception of text and the communicative view of language presented in the Finnish national core curriculum 2004. The new practices mirrored the affordances of ‘new literacies’ involving use of technology, diversified texts and collaborative learning. They deviated from the traditional Finnish ones, which are based on the use of text- and workbooks and teacher-directed interaction, and therefore their implementation brought forth a change process. The meaning was not only to challenge the prevailing practices content and mode wise, but also to transform the social structures of the classroom community towards being more pupil-centred. It became evident that my agency involved the change in organising the possibilities for new kinds ways of working. The change also influenced my subjective level of being a teacher. The act of ‘doing things differently’ became a reflective learning process for me involving a struggle against traditional practices. The social structures changed in connection with literacy practices towards increased pupil participation and emancipation. The teacher agency transformed from instructor to guide, offering the pupils opportunities for learning. The findings showed that the change in the literacy practices was based on the choices I as a teacher made during the process, creating in this way a style for it. The style was characterized by relativity and ‘becoming’, as well as by the need for both professional and personal support. The experiences of these kinds of change processes are currently topical in Finland. This is especially because there is a new curriculum coming out in 2016 and the principles and contents in it will emphasize the use of new technologies and their benefits towards practices and collaborative learning in even more extensive scale than the current one. Educators need knowledge of what kind of process the implementation of these principles and contents will be and what kinds of professional learning it involves. / Tiivistelmä Tämän väitöstutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli tarkentaa tekstitaitojen käytänteiden muutosprosessi opettajan toimijuuden näkökulmasta. Tutkimus perustuu kehittämistyölle, jonka minä opettaja-tutkijan roolissa toteutin suomalaisella ensiluokalla lukuvuoden ajan. Tekstitaitojen käytänteiden kehittämistyö perustui Suomen perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteiden 2004 laajaan tekstikäsitykseen ja yhteisölliseen näkemykseen kielestä. Tältä perustalta luodut käytänteet sisälsivät monilukutaidollisia ulottuvuuksia rakentuessaan erilaisten tekstien ympärille ja sisältäessään teknologian käyttöä ja yhteistoiminnallisia työskentelytapoja. Nämä käytänteet poikkesivat perinteisistä suomalaisista käytännöistä, jotka enimmäkseen perustuvat opettajajohtoiseen työ- ja oppikirjojen käyttöön. Tarkoituksena oli siis sekä muuttaa tekstitaitojen käytänteiden sisältöä ja välineitä, että myös vaikuttaa luokkahuoneyhteisön sosiaalisiin rakenteisiin oppilaskeskeisyyttä lisäämällä. Tutkimusprosessin aikana kävi selväksi, että toimijuuteni oli tärkeä osa työskentelytapojen mahdollisuuksien järjestelyissä, mutta muutos vaikutti myös subjektiiviseen käsitykseeni itsestäni opettajana. Muutostyöstä tuli minulle reflektiivinen oppimisprosessi, jossa pyrin pois perinteisistä käytännöistä. Prosessin aikana luokkayhteisön sosiaaliset rakenteet muuttuivat tekstitaitojen käytänteiden mukana kohti kasvavaa oppilaiden osallisuutta ja emansipatorista vuorovaikutusta. Opettajan toimijuus muuttui ohjaavaksi, tarjoten oppilaille mahdollisuuksia oppimiseensa. Tulokset antavat ymmärtää, että muutos muotoutui prosessin aikana tekemistäni valinnoista, jotka loivat muutokselle omaleimaisen toteutuksen. Tätä omaleimaista toteutusta karakterisoi monitasoisesti suhteellisuus ja ’joksikin tulemisen’ käsite sekä opettajan ammatillisen ja henkilökohtaisen tuen tarve muutostyössä. Kokemukset tekstitaitojen käytänteiden muutosprosessista ovat tällä hetkellä erittäin ajankohtaisia Suomessa, sillä uusi opetussuunnitelma tullessaan voimaan 2016 painottaa monilukutaitoa. Kasvatuksen ja koulutuksen ammattilaiset tarvitsevat tietoa siitä, millainen prosessi uusien käytänteiden toteuttaminen on luokkahuoneyhteisön tasolla ja millaista ammatillista oppimista prosessi opettajalta vaatii.

Undertaken from a distributed leadership theory perspective, this qualitative study attempts to gain understanding regarding how heads of department develop educators within the organisational context of different schools and departments. A Based on existing literature, a detailed discussion is provided on what professional development is, the conditions needed for effective professional development, professional development strategies, distributed leadership theory and the functioning of heads of department and subject departments within the current policy framework for professional development in South African Schools. Two fee-paying and two non-fee-paying schools were selected and interviews were conducted with heads of department from single subject (unitary) and multi-subject (federal or confederate) departments in each school. The data was transcribed, coded, inductively analysed and related to the research question(s). A full description and analysis of the data is provided. The findings confirm that with change being demanded from above and from outside schools, it cannot be ignored that heads of department are a key link between principals and the teachers in their classrooms. This supports the view that heads of department have formal responsibilities and accountabilities and that they wield a horizontal and a vertical influence. Various recommendations are made to improve professional development practice by heads of department in particular and in the education system in general. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted