Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / Teachers have a powerful impact on student achievement, yet high attrition rates hinder schools in their ability to provide quality instruction. Attrition rates are highest for schools serving low-income, minority students and among small private schools, including Catholic schools. Attrition is especially prevalent among new teachers. Very few studies have focused on the problem of early leaving or the problem of retention in Catholic schools. This study seeks to understand better why public and Catholic school teachers leave teaching early. A mixed methods approach was used. This included 50 in-depth interviews with 15 public and 10 Catholic school teachers who left within the first 5 years. In addition, statistical analyses of public and Catholic school early leavers' responses in the Schools and Staffing and Teacher Follow-Up surveys were used to contextualize and compare the experiences of the 25 teachers interviewed to the larger population of early leavers. This dissertation argues that, to understand why teachers leave early, an approach that examines teachers' entire experiences throughout their short time in the profession is required. A framework informed by sociocultural and commitment theories and prior research on retention and the culture of schools was developed through systematic analysis of the interview and survey data. This analytical framework provides a complex approach for examining the phenomenon of early leaving, which included three aspects: entering commitment, teaching experience, and the decision to leave. Findings suggested that teachers' decisions to leave were influenced by multiple factors within their various contexts. These contexts and factors were constantly changing, making the decision to leave extremely complex. For Catholic school teachers, the decision was even more complicated, influenced not only by the same factors and aspects of early leaving as public school teachers, but also their changing identities as Catholics. Findings also called into question common assumptions about why teachers leave: teachers do not always leave because they are less committed to teaching, or are dissatisfied with teaching or with their salaries. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis advisor: Dr. Lauri Johnson / This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of novice teachers and central office leaders in one Massachusetts school district about the job satisfaction of novice teachers. Data was gathered from interviews with school and district leaders and novice teachers as well as through the analysis of district documents in order to identify central office practices that contributed to novice teachers’ job satisfaction. The findings indicated a strong connection to the district’s mentoring practices and novice teachers’ job satisfaction. However, while central office leaders also cited the positive role of the induction program, novice teachers did not perceive it provided a high level of support. Recommendations are made for central office leaders to establish greater organizational clarity and to differentiate the induction program to better meet the varying needs of novice teachers. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

The above research investigates what incentives and disincentives are present within the education system and how these factors impact on educator satisfaction. Increasingly, educators are becoming dissatisfied with their status in society as well as with their working environment. The research looks at a small group of Johannesburg based South African educators and, through an in-depth questionnaire, compares the situation with educators from the United States as well as from China in order to find similarities. A number of authors work was researched that looked at what “satisfaction” is and, how it affects the workplace. Various educational authors were also looked at in order to gain a historical and sociological view. Various news articles and media reports were also taken into consideration as a number of educators felt that the media reflected the education system in a negative light. It is evident from the research conducted that, increasingly, educators are becoming more despondent and less satisfied with their careers and a large degree of this dissatisfaction appears to stem from the organisational structures within education. Using South African based work, similarities were also established between the United States as well as China. The similarities and findings suggested that a more structured approach needs to be taken in terms of the organisational structure, not only in South Africa but perhaps within the United States and China too. If these changes were to be instituted, educators may experience improved satisfaction.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a legal workshop which could be used to provide information relative to professional rights and responsibilities to elementary and secondary school teachers. To accomplish this purpose, a review of literature was done of legal cases involving classroom teachers, federal and state statutes, Constitutional rights of teachers, administrative rulings, and workshop and instructional design. Workshop content was drawn from six legal knowledge areas: Federal Statutes and Constitutional amendments; freedoms in and outside of the classroom, pursuant to classroom teachers; major Supreme Court decisions; tort liability; rights and responsibilities of Florida teachers; and Florida teacher certification. The 8-10 hour workshop was presented to 66 volunteer inservice educators from two rural north Florida districts. Materials used included the pretest instrument consisting of a personal data questionnaire, 69-item legal knowledge segment, and a component to determine perceptions of legal education and its effect. The posttest instrument included the same 69-item legal knowledge segment and perceptions of legal education; an additional category was included to see how participants viewed the workshop treatment, and a write-in section elicited comments from the workshop participants. Statistically significant gains were made in each of the six selected categories of school law. The greatest gains were found in Category II, teachers' rights and responsibilities inside and outside of the classroom. Of the workshop participants, 97% agreed that the workshop increased their awareness of the rights and responsibilities of teachers, both within and outside of the classroom. Responses to the evaluative instruments supported the use of the workshop format and materials tested as effective means to provide legal knowledge to inservice teachers. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-03, Section: A, page: 0765. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The purpose of this study was to design and validate an instructional module structured to assist associate (student) teachers in implementing the requirements of P.L. 94-142. A further purpose was to test the effectiveness of the module based upon the tenets of the Florida Teacher Certification requirements. This was facilitated by comparing the knowledges and perceptions about handicapped persons held by associate (student) teachers who completed the instructional module with those who did not. / A 3-hour workshop, based upon the state related competency requirements, was presented to the 29 member experimental group of associate (student) teachers placed in west central Florida. Their knowledge and perceptions were compared to the 24 members of the control group who received no treatment. Materials used included: a trainer's manual, an associate teacher packet, and an evaluative device. The latter had three sections: demographics, the Attitude Toward Disabled Persons (ATDP), a 30 item 6-point Likert-type device, and a 38 true-false item test (HKT) based upon the following subskills of Florida's 24th Competency: characteristics of exceptional children, resource availability, referral process knowledge, teacher role and responsibility, varying teaching strategies, development of reporting skill, and promotion of integration and social acceptance. With the exception of the ATDP (Yuker and Block, 1970), the materials were developed by the researcher. / The entry level knowledge of the sample was relatively high, therefore significant gains could not be expected. Both groups demonstrated increases in six of seven subskills. The knowledge gains for the experimental group were greater. In the affective domain, the treatment proved to be an effective means of improving attitudes toward the handicapped. The experimental group scores were significantly greater than those of the control group. Elementary education majors had the greatest increases in achieving a more positive attitude. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-07, Section: A, page: 2319. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The purpose of this study was to develop a set of guidelines to improve the preservice education of the urban elementary school teachers of Iran. The guidelines include criteria for: (1) Goals of preservice teacher education in Iran. (2) Admission requirements. (3) Organization of elementary teacher education. (4) Curriculum. (5) Student teaching program. (6) Evaluation. (7) Qualifications of teacher educators. / The data for this descriptive study were obtained from an analytical review of the literature which addressed: (1) Urban elementary preservice teacher education in Iran. (2) New programs and projects of teacher education in selected developing countries. (3) Successful innovative teacher education programs in the developed countries. (4) Consensus of educational experts in reference to the essential components of preservice teacher education. / The developing countries selected were nations with institutions and beliefs comparable to those of Iran. The developed countries selected were those which have made substantial contributions in the field of teacher education, and have been pioneers in implementing many innovative projects and models in their preservice teacher education programs. / The data were compiled by making summary tables of the seven basic components of teacher education for each of the developing and developed countries included in the study as well as a summary table indicating the experts' consensus of these components. The data contained in these summary tables were comparatively analyzed for the purpose of developing the guidelines for improving urban elementary preservice teacher education in Iran. The aim was to adapt, not adopt, these ideas to the Iranian way of life, taking into account the availability of resources, and other existing constraints. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-12, Section: A, page: 3662. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

The government of Venezuela has mandated a restructuring of the educational system. The six years of compulsory schooling, under the Organic Law of Education (1980) now in effect, will become nine years of compulsory education--the Basic School level. Elementary school teachers, formerly required to have only a secondary level degree, must now obtain a higher education degree. / The Ministry of Education has determined the competencies defining the new teacher's profile. Thus, the study sought to answer: (1) What are teachers' perceived needs regarding the legislatively mandated Basic Education competencies? (2) What level of inservice education do teachers feel is required for these competencies? (3) What are teachers' preferences concerning the strategies to be used in inservice education? / Venezuelan elementary school teachers generally agreed that the professional competencies are highly necessary, and that considerable inservice education opportunities are needed to acquire them. Teachers' preference is for the traditional strategies of inservice education--formal education in higher education institutions, combined with workshops, seminars and study groups. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-11, Section: A, page: 3361. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

This study focuses on an examination of (1) newly trained teachers in the context of the rural primary school, (2) the in-service teacher process, and (3) the implementation of the Community-Based In-Service Teacher Program (CBITP), an innovative program designed to improve teacher quality and thus contribute to educational development in rural Thailand. / In order to examine how CBITP worked in practice and what its effects were, qualitative data was gathered concerning the training process itself, teachers working in the rural setting, and the organizational/administrative support system; the CBITP cluster. / It was found that cultural and technological influences have dramatically transformed village life thus bringing into question a number of assumptions upon which CBITP is based. Most of the school teachers were found to view the opportunity to attend CBITP as primarily an opportunity to up-grade their credentials, thus qualifying them for promotion. Training content seemed to be inconsistent with the current professional needs of teachers. The effort by trainers to combine professional knowledge with the practical experiences of the trainees participating in CBITP was found to be not satisfactory. The standard curriculum of the CBITP overwhelmed the training process and local field condition input was largely ignored. / With regard to the aim of using the college cluster to improve and streamline teacher training for rural education development, it was found that, in the beginning, the cooperative agreement gained a high degree of recognition and acceptance that led to positive changes in such matters as curriculum flexibility. But later, the restructuring of primary education administration, the creation of a national distance learning university and the shut down of the extension centers had a negative impact on the operation of CBITP. / It is suggested, in this study, that rapid changes in the educational system and the modernization of village life have created conditions that render the CBITP approach problematic as an innovation that would enhance quality in the rural school. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-09, Section: A, page: 2844. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

The purpose of this study was to examine the following two general questions: What is the relationship between interns' teacher education regarding planning and the planning strategies they actually use? What are the relationships among interns' extent of using systematic planning principles, their subject matter knowledge, and student learning outcomes? / Both qualitative and quantitative data were obtained. Qualitative data were collected from 12 student teaching interns regarding their training in planning, their knowledge, and attitudes toward systematic planning, subject matter knowledge, and their lesson plans. The topics--attitudes toward systematic planning, subject matter knowledge, and lesson plans--were also measured by predesigned scoring plans. Criterion-referenced posttests were used to measure the interns' students' skills and knowledge. Surveys were used to measure students' attitudes toward instruction. / Results indicated that: (a) No conclusions were reached on the relationship between interns' training and their systematic planning knowledge due to the homogeneity of the training; (b) No conclusions were made on the relationship between interns' training and their attitudes toward systematic planning because there was no variance in training; (c) Interns who used more systematic planning techniques in their planning showed that they had more knowledge about systematic planning principles, especially concerning the knowledge of "identifying goals;" (d) Interns who had more positive attitudes toward systematic planning increased their use of systematic planning principles; (e) Students who received instruction from an intern who practiced systematic planning did not produce higher performance scores than students taught by an intern who used less systematic planning; (f) Students who received instruction from an intern who used more systematic planning did not express greater evidence of positive learning attitudes than did students of interns who used less systematic planning; (g) Interns who had more subject matter knowledge did not have students with higher performance scores than those of other students in the study; and (h) Interns with higher levels of subject matter knowledge had students with more positive attitudes toward the instruction. Recommendations for teacher education are then described, followed by suggestions for further research. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-09, Section: A, page: 3404. / Major Professor: Walter Dick. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This study utilized a research and development strategy to develop a participative decision-making and problem-solving training program based on the Quality Circle concept for implementation in a school setting. The study was carried out in four phases. Phases One and Two included the design, development and formative evaluation of the training program. Phase Three included the selection of a school for the field test and the training workshop for teachers involved in the study, using the program developed in the earlier phases. After the training session, Phase Three concluded with the implementation at the selected school of the process learned in the training workshop. Phase Three included formative and summative evaluation. Phase Four consisted of the final product revision. / The training program was devised so that participants were taught how: (a) To understand the basic steps of problem solving, (b) to use a variety of analytical tools in order to apply the steps successfully, and (c) to present a well organized and documented case to management in order to get their ideas implemented. / A seven step problem-solving program was used. Problem-solving techniques which were used in the training program include Brainstorming, Cause and Effect diagrams, Data Collection, Pareto Analysis, Graphic Representation of Data and Management Presentation. / The training program resulting from this study emphasizes procedures to follow before, during and after the management presentation and includes the following aids: (a) Member Guidelines, a brief overview of the problem-solving process; (b) Leader Guidelines, containing suggested activities, self-evaluations and steps to follow in presenting the problem-solving techniques to other team members; Visual Aids, including a slide-tape presentation for use in presenting each of the problem-solving techniques used in the training program. / Data collected during the training workshop and the implementation of the Quality Circle at the research school support the position that the program which has been developed can be effectively used in a school setting. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, Section: A, page: 1763. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.