Although STSE has recently received attention in educational research, policy, and science curricula development, fewer strides have been made in moving theory into practice. There are many examples of STSE-based and issues-based teaching in science at the elementary and secondary levels, which can be found in the literature (Alsop, Bencze, & Pedretti, 2005; Hodson, 1993, 2000; Pedretti & Hodson, 1995), yet little has focused specifically on physics education. This doctoral thesis will examine pre-service physics teachers’ beliefs and perceptions, challenges and tensions which influence their adoption of STSE education in the context of a pre-service physics education course (Curriculum and Instruction in Physics Education at the B.Ed level). An interpretive case study design as described by Merriam (1988) has been employed for this research (Merriam, 1988; Novodvorsky, 2006). The specific phenomena this case study examined and explored were the pre-service physics teachers’ beliefs and perceptions, challenges and tensions influencing their adoption of physics curricula that explicitly emphasizes an STSE orientation to physics education. The pre-service physics teachers’ evolution of perceptions and attitudes show growth in the areas of curricula understanding and implementation issues, potential student concerns, and general fit of the subject within the context of a student’s learning journey. This study contributes to our understanding of the challenges pre-service physics teachers face when considering teaching physics through an STSE lens, and provides some implications for both pre-service and in-service teacher education.

Cette recherche vise à décrire comment a évolué l’évaluation de la compétence à écrire dans les épreuves uniques d’écriture de 5e secondaire, en portant spécifiquement le regard sur la composante linguistique de cette compétence. Une recherche documentaire a permis de recueillir des épreuves et autres documents les concernant pour une période allant de 1971 à 2012. Bien que notre étude porte en particulier sur les épreuves uniques d’écriture, implantées en 1986, nous avons pu remonter plus loin dans le temps afin de brosser un tableau le plus large possible de l’évaluation certificative de l’écriture en 5e secondaire. Plusieurs aspects sont analysés : le contexte des épreuves, les tâches qu’elles contiennent, les paramètres encadrant leur correction, ainsi que les seuils de réussite relatifs à la langue, les épreuves entières, la compétence à écrire et la matière français, langue d’enseignement. Nous avons également pu observer, à l’échelle provinciale, l’évolution des résultats des élèves aux épreuves uniques d’écriture. À l’aide de divers concepts théoriques reliés à l’évaluation de la compétence écrire et sa composante linguistique, un cadre méthodologique a été développé pour permettre l’analyse des épreuves d’écriture. Celle-ci révèle notamment que la nature des tâches et leurs paramètres sont restés assez constants dans le temps, particulièrement depuis 1986. Le nombre d’erreurs linguistiques permises a augmenté, alors que les résultats des élèves sont restés stables. De plus, le regard historique de cette étude montre comment le ministère de l’Éducation accorde à notre époque une grande importance à l’écriture et à la correction de l’orthographe. / This research aims to describe the ways in which the evaluation of written French has evolved within the “épreuves unique” of secondary 5. More specifically, it analyzes the evolution of evaluation methods regarding written language conventions in these examinations. A documentary research has allowed us to collect examinations and other related documents for a time span stretching from 1971 to 2012. Although our study specifically looks into the “épreuves uniques”, which were implanted in 1986, we have chosen to go back further in time in order to depict a larger portrait of certificate evaluation of French writing in secondary 5. Many aspects are analyzed: context of examinations, tasks contained within them, scoring parameters and pass levels regarding language conventions, examinations as a whole as well as writing and the French language. We have also observed the province-wide evolution of students’ results for these examinations. Using a variety of theoretical concepts related to the evaluation of written language conventions, a methodology was developed in order to allow the analysis of writing assignments. The latter notably reveals that the nature of such tasks and their parameters have remained relatively constant in time, particularly since 1986. The number of allowed language-related mistakes has augmented, whereas students’ results have remained stable. Furthermore, the historic perspective of this study illustrates how the ministère de l’Éducation nowadays allows a great importance to writing and the correction of spelling mistakes.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction / F. Todd Goodson / In the past, literacy was viewed solely as the basic, functional skills of reading and writing. However, with the New London Group’s (1996) proposal of multiliteracies and the more recent push for a plurality of literacies (NCTE, 2011), teachers have been urged to expand their definitions of literacy. This qualitative study explores how secondary-level social studies and science teachers perceive literacies and identifies their instructional literacies practices. Data were collected through a pre- and post-questionnaire, three focus group sessions, classroom observations, field notes, and artifacts. This study solicited nearly one hundred secondary social studies and science teachers from three Midwestern school districts. Eight educators (four social studies and four science) participated in the study that took place in the spring of 2015. Furthermore, a generous grant from a local chapter of Phi Delta Kappa partially funded this research. After applying initial and holistic codes to the data, nine themes emerged: conventional, progressive, hesitant/emerging, collaborate, calibrate, perform, practice, interdisciplinary, and intradisciplinary. The nine themes were further classified by how they appeared in the data: dispositional themes, behavioral themes, and bridge themes. Throughout the data analysis, contemporary genre theory guided the study (Devitt, 2004). Descriptive codes, derived from contemporary genre theory, further revealed that the situational, social, historical, and individual aspects of genre influence teachers’ pedagogical practices related to multiple literacies across disciplines. Therefore, the ways in which teachers perceived multiple literacies and implemented them into classroom instruction are multifaceted and vary depending on grade level, content area, and teaching location. However, teachers’ dispositions regarding literacy move beyond a traditional mindset of functional reading and writing as they engage in professional learning opportunities and collaborate within and across disciplines and grade levels. This study provides secondary educators insight into the prominence of multiple literacies present across content areas while also revealing the teaching methods and instructional strategies that foster multiple literacies.

L’implantation du programme d’éthique et culture religieuse (ECR) en septembre 2008 au Québec a généré d’importants besoins de formation chez les enseignants, et ce, particulièrement à l’égard du volet culture religieuse. Les plans régionaux de formation déployés au moment de la mise en oeuvre du programme n’auront pas suffi à répondre aux différents besoins. Certaines activités de formation continue se sont poursuivies dans quelques régions suivant la volonté de conseillers pédagogiques, mais cela demeure une tendance peu répandue. Compte tenu de l’offre limitée de formation proposée par les commissions scolaires à l’égard du volet culture religieuse, les enseignants doivent le plus souvent initier des démarches individuelles d’autoformation pour répondre à leurs besoins. Parmi les moyens jugés efficaces et accessibles se trouvent les manuels scolaires. Jusqu’à quel point les manuels scolaires peuvent-ils contribuer à répondre aux besoins de formation des enseignants d’ECR au secondaire à l’égard de la culture religieuse ? Ce mémoire vise à explorer en quoi et comment les manuels scolaires constituent des instruments d’autoformation pour les enseignants à l’égard du volet culture religieuse du programme de formation en ECR au secondaire, et ce, pour trois principaux objectifs : le rapport qu’entretiennent les enseignants avec le savoir disciplinaire en culture religieuse, les représentations qu’ils ont des manuels scolaires comme outils de développement professionnel et l’expérience d’utilisation qu’ils ont acquise en cours d’emploi. La collecte de données a été effectuée auprès de quatre enseignants via un sondage électronique et des entretiens individuels durant lesquels les manuels ont été examinés par les enseignants en lien avec les besoins qu’ils ont identifiés. Nos résultats montrent que quels que soient la formation initiale et le nombre d’années d’expérience, il existe un déficit de formation en culture religieuse chez les enseignants. De plus, bien que les manuels scolaires constituent des outils utiles et intéressants pour l’autoformation, ils ne suffisent pas à combler les besoins des enseignants. Enfin, les manuels scolaires, bien qu’ils soient destinés aux élèves, sont très souvent utilisés par les enseignants interrogés dans la phase préparatoire de leur enseignement. / Implementing the program of ethics and religious culture (ECR) in September 2008 in Quebec has generated important needs of training among teachers, and particularly concerning the religious culture element. Regional training plans developed at the time of the implementation of the program will be insufficient to meet the different needs. Continuing training activities are pursued in some regions at the request of academic advisors but still not widespread. Given the limited training offered by the school boards towards the religious culture, teachers have to initiate more individual self-study approaches to meet their needs. Some textbooks are accessible and efficient. To what extent textbooks can contribute to meeting teachers training needs in secondary schools concerning the religious culture of ECR? This essay intends to explore on what and how textbooks are self-training tools for teachers with respect to the aspect of religious culture in the ECR program in secondary school, and this, according to three main orientations: teachers relationship with the knowledge of religious culture discipline, images they have about textbooks as professional development tools and the experience they have acquired in continuous training. Finally, we are exploring some contributions and barriers related to the use of textbooks to meet potential training needs among surveyed teachers. The data to be fed will be collected among four teachers via an electronic survey and personal interviews during which manuals will be reviewed according to the needs identified by the teachers. Our results show that textbooks, intended for students, are very often used by teachers interviewed in their preparatory stage, mainly in terms of programs and training content for the upper secondary level.

Doctor of Education / Department of Special Education / Warren J. White / The current study, based solely on teacher-report, provides descriptive data regarding current transition-related instructional practices among Kansas special educators of secondary-aged youth with emotional and behavioral disorders. Students with E/BD are the least likely of all students with disabilities to gain and maintain positive post-school outcomes in the areas of employment, personal-social skills, and community and independent living. Students who demonstrate functional life skills and self-determination skills independent of instruction and directive generally report a higher quality of life than those who are unable. Transition-related instruction specifically addressing functional life skills and self-determination skills may assist these students in their quest for positive post-school outcomes. Research indicating what, if any, transition skills instruction these students receive is not available. Teachers (N = 165) reported a desire to provide transition skills instruction to youth with E/BD (N = 1,076) yet reported having very little transition training (fewer than eight clock hours) and providing very little instruction (less than two hours weekly). Teachers reported that many students with E/BD do not demonstrate life skills and self-determination skills independent of instruction or directive, yet fewer than 11% of the student population had, within their IEP, a goal addressing the specified transition skills. IDEA 2004 regulations mandate that teachers address the transition needs of students with disabilities within a statement of needed transition services, which is not happening with any regularity. The self-determination skills of demonstrating positive social interactions, making appropriate choices and decisions, and employing self-regulation, though often deficits of youth with E/BD, were among the skills mentioned least frequently within the goals of these students. Based on the Pearson r correlation-coefficient analysis no significant relationship was indicated between the number of years of experience of the teachers and the number of minutes of transition instruction teachers provided to this student population. Very few significant relationships existed between the level of independence students reportedly demonstrate each life skill and self-determination skill and a) the amount of transition training the teacher had received and, b) the amount of transition-related instruction teachers reportedly provide. The teacher’s focus has frequently shifted from transition to educational reform.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Gerald Bailey / The purpose of the study was to research, develop, and validate a step-by-step guide for museum and public school partnerships that wish to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials in high school social studies. Museum and Public School Partnerships: A Step-by-Step Guide for Creating Motivational Standards-Based Curriculum Materials in High School Social Studies was developed using the research and development methodology of Borg and Gall (1989). The research and development process used in this study included seven steps: 1) research analysis and proof of concept, 2) product planning and design, 3) preliminary product development, 4) preliminary field testing, 5) revision of the prototype, 6) main field testing, and 7) revision of the final product. A prototype of the guide was produced and then evaluated by museum and public school experts in the preliminary field test. Revisions were made to the guide based on their feedback. The guide was then distributed to practitioners in the main field test. The reviewers in the main field test were museum staff or high school history educators; or museum, curriculum, or technology directors in the United States. Feedback from the main field test was used to create the final product. Major conclusions of the study were: a) there was a lack of literature specifically for museum and public school partnerships that wished to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials for high school social studies, b) museum and public school personnel benefit from quality resource step-by-step guides, c) educational guides developed through research and development methodology offer museum and public school personnel practical and valuable products for improving education, d) a step-by-step guide is a useful tool when museums and public schools partner to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials for high school social studies, e) this study produced the first step-by-step guide for museums and public schools that wish to partner to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials for high school social studies.

Doctor of Philosophy / Secondary Education / Diane McGrath / Technological advances affect the very fabric of our world, from the way we do business to the way we educate children. The National Education Association (2005), predicted that by 2006, most school children would take at least one course online before graduating from high school. The Peak Group estimated that by 2006, one million K-12 students would enroll in online courses (Davis & Niederhauser, 2007). In March, 2006, Michigan passed legislation requiring high school students to have at least one online educational experience to graduate (eSchoolNews, 2006). Online classes open doors to educational opportunities students might not otherwise have due to lack of sufficient student interest in a subject, school budgets, or teacher expertise. The quality of programs, in terms of academic rigor and compliance to state educational standards, varies widely. Research examining and documenting online education explicitly in K-12 settings has only recently been conducted and published (Blomeyer, 2002) and there is very little of it. This dissertation is a case study of three virtual high school programs, two well established programs and one that is only two years old. Administrator and teachers were interviewed and an examination of program documents to define what attributes and characteristics indicate a high quality program, what commonalities are found among online high school programs, and what online teachers and programs do to assure a high quality learning experience for students. Findings include: Extensive descriptions of each program regarding course design, teacher training, program organization and funding, and administration. Common themes across participating programs included concerns related to collaboration, high quality courses – whether vendor provided or faculty written, professional development of online teachers, finding ways to control quality of courses from design to student learning and student satisfaction, and the importance of competent and enthusiastic teachers. Recommendations, based on the findings of this study, are that administrators considering joining an online high school program should look at course catalog, professional development, quality control, teachers, service and support, any additional benefits from joining the program, and ability to access administrators and teachers currently using the program or references.

Nous appuyant sur le fait que la communication est essentielle à l’activité mathématique et qu’elle apparaît pourtant souvent négligée dans l’enseignement secondaire, nous avons cherché à concevoir et à mettre à l’essai une séquence de situations en algèbre pour des élèves de 2e secondaire visant à ce qu’ils développent et déploient une communication mathématique en classe. Nous avons fait l’hypothèse que cette communication pourrait offrir, du même coup, un matériau utile à l’enseignant pour rétroagir. Une séquence de six situations portant sur l’algèbre (principalement la mise en équation et la résolution d’équations) a ainsi été conçue. Une analyse a priori a permis de formuler des hypothèses quant au potentiel des valeurs des variables didactiques identifiées pour solliciter une communication mathématique. Ces situations ont été ensuite préexpérimentées afin de les améliorer et pour développer une grille permettant d’analyser le travail de communication des élèves au sein de l’activité mathématique. Elles ont, par la suite, été expérimentées auprès de deux classes d’une même enseignante. Les résultats montrent que le jeu sur certaines variables, notamment la position attribuée à l’élève et celle de son interlocuteur, apparaissent des leviers intéressants pour permettre à l’élève de déployer une communication riche. La position « d’élève-enseignant », par exemple, joue sur la responsabilité de la validation du résultat assumée par l’élève et, en conséquence, sur le caractère a-didactique de la situation. Les résultats montrent aussi que la mise en œuvre des situations a donné à l’enseignante un accès renouvelé aux raisonnements des élèves lui offrant un matériau qu’il lui a été possible d’exploiter en classe. / Given the fact that communication is essential in the mathematical activity, and since it appears to be often neglected at the secondary school level, we wanted to create and put to the test a sequence of algebra situations for students in the second year of their secondary education in order for them to develop and expand their mathematical communication in class. We made the assumption that such a communication could offer, at the same time, a useful tool for the teacher to retroact. A sequence of six situations, based on algebra (mostly putting into equations and solving equations) was thus created. An a priori analysis made it possible to formulate hypothesises related to the potential of didactical variables values to encourage a mathematical communication. These situations were then pre-experimented as a means to improve them, if deemed necessary, and to create a grid that would serve to analyse the students’ communication within the mathematical activity. They were then tested in two classes under the same teacher. Results show that some values of variables, among others the respective positions of student and teacher, appear to be interesting triggers that help the student in getting into a rich communication. The “student-teacher” position, for instance, has an incidence on the responsibility of the validation of the result assumed by the student and, consequently, on the a-didactical character of the situation. Results also show that the implementation of the situations offered the teacher a renewed access to the students reasoning, thus providing her material that she was able to use in her class.

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Les perceptions qu’ont les élèves des relations qu’ils entretiennent avec leurs enseignants, ainsi que des attitudes des enseignants à leur endroit, sont reconnues pour être associées à la réussite scolaire des élèves, notamment des élèves issus de l’immigration. Malgré l’accroissement de l’immigration et l’intérêt porté au vécu scolaire de ces élèves, un nombre limité de recherches quantitatives s'est penché sur leurs perceptions à l’égard de leurs enseignants au Québec. Cette étude a donc pour objectif principal de mieux comprendre les perceptions qu’ont les élèves du secondaire de la chaleur et des conflits dans les relations avec leurs enseignants, ainsi que des attentes de réussite et de la rétroaction négative des enseignants envers eux. Plus précisément, l’étude cherche à déterminer s’il existe des distinctions dans les perceptions entre les élèves de 1re, 2e et 3e génération, d’une part, et entre les élèves d’origine haïtienne, nord-africaine et canadienne, d’autre part. Elle cherche aussi à connaître s’il existe un effet d’interaction entre le statut générationnel et la région d’origine sur les perceptions des élèves. Les données ont été recueillies auprès de 819 élèves dans 8 écoles secondaires de la province de Québec. Les résultats montrent que les élèves de 2e génération, comparativement à leurs pairs de 3e génération, considèrent leurs relations avec les enseignants comme étant moins chaleureuses. Aussi, les élèves de 1re génération perçoivent des attentes de réussite légèrement plus élevées chez leurs enseignants que les élèves non immigrants. Ils ont aussi l’impression de recevoir davantage de rétroactions négatives de la part des enseignants. De plus, les élèves originaires d’Haïti rapportent moins d’échanges chaleureux avec les enseignants et une diminution des attentes de réussite de la part de leurs enseignants chez les élèves de 2e génération. Les implications de ces résultats pour la pratique et la recherche sont discutées. / Students' perceptions of their relationships with their teachers and their attitudes towards them are known to be associated with student academic success, particularly for students with an immigrant background. Despite the increase in immigration and the interest in the academic experiences of these students, a limited amount of quantitative research has examined how these students perceive their teachers’ attitudes and practices in Quebec. The aim of this study is, therefore, to examine students’ perceptions of the level of closeness and conflict in their relationships with teachers, as well as their perceptions of teachers' expectations of success and negative feedback towards them. More specifically, the study examines whether there are distinctions in these perceptions between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation students and between students of Haitian, North African and Canadian origin. It also explores whether there is an interaction between generational status and the region of origin on students' perceptions. Data were collected from 819 students in 8 different high schools in the province of Quebec. Results show that 2nd generation students, compared to their 3rd generation peers, consider their relationships with teachers to be less warm. Also, 1st generation students perceive slightly higher expectations of success among their teachers than non-immigrant students. These students also feel that they are receiving more negative feedback from teachers. In addition, students from Haiti report less closeness with teachers and, for students of 2nd generation, they are more likely to perceive lower teachers’ expectations toward them. The implications of these results for practice and research are discussed.