This study explores the perspectives of associate teachers (also known as cooperating teachers, host teachers, mentor teachers) during the preservice practicum. The study was conducted over the span of one school year (2008-09) in one school district. Ten associate teachers consisting of primary, junior, and intermediate elementary teachers, who had been associate teachers during the 2008-2009 school year, were interviewed once for approximately one hour. Based upon the responses of the participants and related literature, the study reveals that overall associate teachers found the practicum experience to be positive. However, the varied responses also reveal that there is room for improvement. The findings indicate that the practicum experience would be greatly enhanced through allowing associate teachers more input into the preservice program, and increasing the collaboration amongst university supervisors, teacher candidates, and associate teachers. The findings also indicate that associate teachers seek a more defined and structured role description, which takes into account the reality of classrooms and their emotional work. Further, the study highlights the need for preservice programs to rebuild and promote professional practice that supports on-going learning for associate teachers. Suggestions for improvements in the preservice practicum are given as well as implications for future research. It is concluded that associate teachers need to be considered as real partners in preservice education, which can be achieved by preservice programs seeking programmatic coherence, rethinking institutional patterns and re-envisioning the role of associate teachers. It is suggested that a collaborative and innovative direction is required that takes into account the complex work of teachers and associate teachers.

This study explores the perspectives of associate teachers (also known as cooperating teachers, host teachers, mentor teachers) during the preservice practicum. The study was conducted over the span of one school year (2008-09) in one school district. Ten associate teachers consisting of primary, junior, and intermediate elementary teachers, who had been associate teachers during the 2008-2009 school year, were interviewed once for approximately one hour. Based upon the responses of the participants and related literature, the study reveals that overall associate teachers found the practicum experience to be positive. However, the varied responses also reveal that there is room for improvement. The findings indicate that the practicum experience would be greatly enhanced through allowing associate teachers more input into the preservice program, and increasing the collaboration amongst university supervisors, teacher candidates, and associate teachers. The findings also indicate that associate teachers seek a more defined and structured role description, which takes into account the reality of classrooms and their emotional work. Further, the study highlights the need for preservice programs to rebuild and promote professional practice that supports on-going learning for associate teachers. Suggestions for improvements in the preservice practicum are given as well as implications for future research. It is concluded that associate teachers need to be considered as real partners in preservice education, which can be achieved by preservice programs seeking programmatic coherence, rethinking institutional patterns and re-envisioning the role of associate teachers. It is suggested that a collaborative and innovative direction is required that takes into account the complex work of teachers and associate teachers.

This thesis is an exploratory investigation of how apprenticeship instructors in two of Ontario's colleges perceive and have experienced professional development over the duration of their careers and the role their employer-colleges, played in that professional development. As the primary agents for skills and knowledge transfer, the instructors of apprenticeship training provide a key role in preparing competent, skilled-trade workers for a complex and changing work environment. This research is relevant at this time because of the many changes to the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology since their inception in the mid-nineteen- sixties. The original mission of the colleges, to deliver occupation preparation programs has evolved to a much-expanded mandate to include degree granting. Other changes include a much more diverse student population with diverse needs, backgrounds and values. Have the apprenticeship instructors received the requisite training and development to deal with changes in technology, student needs, teaching and learning strategies and the evolving complexities of the college environment? This study contributes to the literature of professional development in the apprenticeship professoriate by examining the perceptions, attitudes and behaviours concerning professional development. The findings reveal that there are issues of physical location, discourse and methods of instruction, unique to apprenticeship training, which have a profound impact on the apprenticeship instructors' disposition and participation in professional development. Data were attained from a series of in-depth interviews, which revealed that the apprenticeship instructors are a dedicated and motivated group of educators who are committed to providing the highest quality of education to their students. However, the professional development offered or supported by the college-employers attracts very little, if any, participation by the apprenticeship professoriate. The findings indicate that changes to facilitate the active participation in professional development, creating a more inclusive environment between the apprenticeship instructors and other faculty members and restructuring the professional development programs to include review and evaluation of every faculty member's needs would create a more comprehensive and continuing enhancement of instructors' capabilities and student learning outcomes.

This thesis is an exploratory investigation of how apprenticeship instructors in two of Ontario's colleges perceive and have experienced professional development over the duration of their careers and the role their employer-colleges, played in that professional development. As the primary agents for skills and knowledge transfer, the instructors of apprenticeship training provide a key role in preparing competent, skilled-trade workers for a complex and changing work environment. This research is relevant at this time because of the many changes to the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology since their inception in the mid-nineteen- sixties. The original mission of the colleges, to deliver occupation preparation programs has evolved to a much-expanded mandate to include degree granting. Other changes include a much more diverse student population with diverse needs, backgrounds and values. Have the apprenticeship instructors received the requisite training and development to deal with changes in technology, student needs, teaching and learning strategies and the evolving complexities of the college environment? This study contributes to the literature of professional development in the apprenticeship professoriate by examining the perceptions, attitudes and behaviours concerning professional development. The findings reveal that there are issues of physical location, discourse and methods of instruction, unique to apprenticeship training, which have a profound impact on the apprenticeship instructors' disposition and participation in professional development. Data were attained from a series of in-depth interviews, which revealed that the apprenticeship instructors are a dedicated and motivated group of educators who are committed to providing the highest quality of education to their students. However, the professional development offered or supported by the college-employers attracts very little, if any, participation by the apprenticeship professoriate. The findings indicate that changes to facilitate the active participation in professional development, creating a more inclusive environment between the apprenticeship instructors and other faculty members and restructuring the professional development programs to include review and evaluation of every faculty member's needs would create a more comprehensive and continuing enhancement of instructors' capabilities and student learning outcomes.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Anthony Jurich / An exploration of parents’ critical role in their children’s career choices and aspirations was the primary focus of this paper. This includes a brief history of past career counseling techniques, which began in its formative years by assessing the client’s personality to determine proper occupational fit. It has now progressed to the postmodernist view that bases vocational interest and aspirations on constantly changing life roles. Previous research that examined parental influence on adolescent’s career choices, as well as research on the effects of socioeconomic status, gender, and race was included. The paper concluded with how career counselors and parents may use the strength of parental influence upon young adults to provide more effective career development techniques and create stronger partnerships with the young adult’s primary stakeholders.

Historically, vocational subjects have been a part of the Australian school curricula for 200 years. In early school curriculum the vocational aspect was considered to be related to the acquisition of manual skills such as domestic science or woodwork, rather than careers. From the 1950s to mid 1980s, vocational education, focused specifically on career and job training, was the responsibility of the technical colleges, which had been established to develop these skills. The concept of high schools targeting identified skills for the future work force, and hence becoming involved in the vocational skill development of youth, developed in the mid 1980s in Australia. Industry influence on governments to make educational decisions based on economic initiatives has increased over this time.Major growth has occurred in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in schools, with student participation rates in vocational education trebling in the past six (6) years (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training, 2004). This increase is predicted to continue as VET qualifications and the process of accreditation is improved and becomes increasingly user-friendly (Polesel, 2004). The focus on vocational education and industry needs is recognised as an economic necessity for Australia. Schools and teachers, however, need to balance the demands of industry and government with the holistic educational needs of the youth they are entrusted to teach.The school curriculum currently offers a broad range of subject choices that provide for diverse student needs. However the rapid growth of vocational education in schools has impeded effective reflective practices of current vocational programs. Vocational education is experiencing a boom due to the increasing popularity of vocational subjects. The planning and implementation of the diverse subject offerings at school level is often a response to immediate needs rather than in-depth analysis and evaluation. For this reason, it is timely for a critical analysis of the current Hospitality programs in schools to ensure currency and relevancy of content and implementation.The project was localised to one school to enable an extensive and thorough analysis of the Hospitality program. Marymount College is a co-educational Catholic College of approximately 1050 students. Located in the Gold Coast suburb of Burleigh, Marymount College offers a wide range of VET subjects ranging across the five (5) industry areas of Information Technology, Business, Marine Science, Industrial Skills and Hospitality & Tourism.The aim of the analysis will be to suggest what measures need to be implemented in the programs at Marymount College, Gold Coast, Burleigh, Australia, to ensure best practice in Hospitality vocational education. These measures can be constructively applied to other Queensland schools currently delivering vocational education and Hospitality, or to those schools considering introducing subjects associated with Hospitality.

Technological enhancements and economic gains are the dominant focus of normalized research of workplace e-learning programs. This is not, however, equivalent to discovering whether or not workers are actually experiencing any socially and culturally meaningful learning from workplace e-learning programs. This thesis advocates socio-cultural inclusiveness research on workplace e-learning programs. Socio-cultural inclusiveness research takes into account the learning needs of workers with respect to their various social differences and culturally unique identities that affect, mediate, and interpret workers’ learning. The intent is to transform perceptions of workplace e-learning programs, from technological artefact to ideational discourses. Discourse Analysis is applied as a socio-cultural approach to ten passages that have been extracted from ten examples of normalized research published over the past decade. This is done to explore whether a normalizing paradigm is noticeable and how such a normalizing paradigm might lead workplace e-learning programs to socially marginalize and culturally exclude workers. To discursively analyze the passages and identify a normalizing paradigm, this thesis applies ‘Discourse model’ as ‘tool of inquiry’. Discourse models reveal heuristic, taken-for-granted assumptions about what is socially normal and culturally representative in talk and text. The normalizing paradigm that does emerge from this cursory analysis, constructs normalized e-learning as the conflation three assumptions: technological proficiency; economic efficiency; and, training consistency. This normalizing paradigm socially justifies workers in the workplace through normalized e-learning. To promote democratized counter discourses, this thesis puts forward critical perspectives, taxonomies, and frameworks that enable praxis of socio-cultural inclusiveness research. This thesis relies on three critical perspectives to discursively resist three formal biases inherent in normalized e-learning that emerge from this normalizing paradigm. Using a critical pedagogy perspective, this thesis reflects on the formal bias of ‘standardization’ and its alignment with ‘training consistency’ to discuss ‘worker-worker’ alienation from ‘pedagogical standardization’. Taking a critical culture perspective, thesis hones in on the formal bias of ‘categorization’ and its alignment with ‘economic efficiency’ to elaborate ‘worker-work’ alienation from ‘cultural categorization’. With a critical history perspective, this thesis focuses on the formal bias of ‘operationalization’ and its alignment with ‘technological proficiency’ to expand on ‘worker-identity’ alienation from ‘ahistorical operationalization’.

The purpose of this study was to empirically support and elaborate upon an integrative theory of career development by examining the worklife adjustment and career development experiences of new Canadian immigrant professionals. In focusing on the participants’ subjective views, the study provided an understanding of the lived experiences of this unique life-career transition, and in so doing, aimed to elaborate upon existing theories of career development towards the development and empirical substantiation of a comprehensive, diversity- and culturally- sensitive integrated meta-theory of the career development of immigrants in Canada. A qualitative methodology was employed and transcripts of in-depth interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach to data analysis. The central themes within the narratives that emerged were contrasted against an integrative career development theory and career development theoretical constructs, with the goal of elucidating the role and function of such constructs in immigrants’ Canadian career development. The study’s findings and contribution of a diversity- and culturally- informed, integrated, and enriched meta-theory of career development have implications for career counselling, cross-cultural, immigrant, and vocational psychology literature and practice.

Technological enhancements and economic gains are the dominant focus of normalized research of workplace e-learning programs. This is not, however, equivalent to discovering whether or not workers are actually experiencing any socially and culturally meaningful learning from workplace e-learning programs. This thesis advocates socio-cultural inclusiveness research on workplace e-learning programs. Socio-cultural inclusiveness research takes into account the learning needs of workers with respect to their various social differences and culturally unique identities that affect, mediate, and interpret workers’ learning. The intent is to transform perceptions of workplace e-learning programs, from technological artefact to ideational discourses. Discourse Analysis is applied as a socio-cultural approach to ten passages that have been extracted from ten examples of normalized research published over the past decade. This is done to explore whether a normalizing paradigm is noticeable and how such a normalizing paradigm might lead workplace e-learning programs to socially marginalize and culturally exclude workers. To discursively analyze the passages and identify a normalizing paradigm, this thesis applies ‘Discourse model’ as ‘tool of inquiry’. Discourse models reveal heuristic, taken-for-granted assumptions about what is socially normal and culturally representative in talk and text. The normalizing paradigm that does emerge from this cursory analysis, constructs normalized e-learning as the conflation three assumptions: technological proficiency; economic efficiency; and, training consistency. This normalizing paradigm socially justifies workers in the workplace through normalized e-learning. To promote democratized counter discourses, this thesis puts forward critical perspectives, taxonomies, and frameworks that enable praxis of socio-cultural inclusiveness research. This thesis relies on three critical perspectives to discursively resist three formal biases inherent in normalized e-learning that emerge from this normalizing paradigm. Using a critical pedagogy perspective, this thesis reflects on the formal bias of ‘standardization’ and its alignment with ‘training consistency’ to discuss ‘worker-worker’ alienation from ‘pedagogical standardization’. Taking a critical culture perspective, thesis hones in on the formal bias of ‘categorization’ and its alignment with ‘economic efficiency’ to elaborate ‘worker-work’ alienation from ‘cultural categorization’. With a critical history perspective, this thesis focuses on the formal bias of ‘operationalization’ and its alignment with ‘technological proficiency’ to expand on ‘worker-identity’ alienation from ‘ahistorical operationalization’.

The purpose of this study was to empirically support and elaborate upon an integrative theory of career development by examining the worklife adjustment and career development experiences of new Canadian immigrant professionals. In focusing on the participants’ subjective views, the study provided an understanding of the lived experiences of this unique life-career transition, and in so doing, aimed to elaborate upon existing theories of career development towards the development and empirical substantiation of a comprehensive, diversity- and culturally- sensitive integrated meta-theory of the career development of immigrants in Canada. A qualitative methodology was employed and transcripts of in-depth interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach to data analysis. The central themes within the narratives that emerged were contrasted against an integrative career development theory and career development theoretical constructs, with the goal of elucidating the role and function of such constructs in immigrants’ Canadian career development. The study’s findings and contribution of a diversity- and culturally- informed, integrated, and enriched meta-theory of career development have implications for career counselling, cross-cultural, immigrant, and vocational psychology literature and practice.