Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Teaching has a primary focus on engagement with students, but paradoxically, it can be experienced as lonely, private work, in classrooms behind closed doors, with an accompanying sense of deep disconnection from peers. When six experienced teachers sought to counteract this isolation, they formed a group which embarked on a shared journey of reflection and conversation, with the purpose of increasing selfknowledge, clarifying a sense of self as teacher, extending understanding of the selfhood of other teachers, and exposing the deeper sources of meaning underlying the vocation of teacher. This study sought to describe the information, opinions and beliefs which were exchanged among participants within the group and to describe the dynamics within the group. Furthermore, it sought to identify and describe the self-perceived impact of the experience of such a group, on the vocational vitality of each of the participants. Within an interpretivist epistemology a qualitative phenomenological research approach was adopted for the study. Data were obtained from two sources, consisting of transcripts of conversations from the meetings of a collaborative reflective group and from semi-structured individual interviews with group participants. These were analysed using an inductive approach with the aid of qualitative data analysis software: Atlas ti®. Findings from the study show that a high level of trust and a sense of safety were created through the use of guiding principles for meetings. Content chosen for reflective conversations and the general experience of meetings was perceived as providing a rare opportunity for participants to discover their selfhood as teachers. They reported that this understanding was further broadened by exposure to the selfhood of other teachers. Furthermore, members of the talk group reported that participation had resulted in a lowering of their sense of professional isolation and a renewal of vitality in their teaching. It is hoped that the findings from the study will inform an understanding of the experience of dialogue in a reflective, peer group where teachers focus on exploring together “who they are” as teachers. It provides valuable insights of the personal and professional transformations which can take place for teachers participating in conversations which focus on their inner landscape. Furthermore, the study has the potential to inform South African teacher professional development programmes with approaches which focus on teacher vocational renewal and vitality.

The major purpose of the study was to determine whether there are observable differences in the interactions of day care supervisors with three and four year old children whom they perceive as behaviourally different and with children who are not perceived in this manner. It was hypothesized that a day care supervisor's interaction with three and four year old children perceived as behaviourally different would be unlike that supervisor's interaction with children who are not perceived in this manner. The interactions of six day care supervisors with 48 three and four year old children were recorded on video tape in a natural day care setting. A questionnaire completed by the supervisors, was used to identify children they perceived to be behaviourally different and behaviourally adapted. As a result, eight children from each center were selected; two girls and two boys identified as behaviourally different, and two girls and two boys identified as behaviourally adapted. Video-taped observations were subsequently coded using the Brophy and Good Teacher-Child Dyadic Interaction System (1969). After minor modification of the codes, 61 codes were employed to describe the interaction of the day care supervisor with each child. Thirty-three variables were selected by combining codes; the variables were grouped into nine clusters for analysis. The nine clusters are: Total support, child created support, teacher created support, total non-support, child created non-support, teacher created non-support, child created praise, teacher created praise, and response opportunities. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the hypothesis. The results revealed that some interactions had not been observed. Some clusters of interactions were not differentiated between behaviourally different and behaviourally adapted children by the day care supervisor, and some clusters of interactions were significantly differentiated between behaviourally different and behaviourally adapted children by the day care supervisor. The sex of the child did not affect the day care supervisor's interaction with the child in any way. The findings indicate that day care supervisors do respond differently to young children whom they perceive to be behaviourally different and to those they perceive to be behaviourally adapted. Behaviourally different children receive less total support, and less nurture; they receive more total non-support and criticism than behaviourally adapted children. In general it is concluded that if day care supervisors are given knowledge about the nature of their interactions with children they will be able to enhance the quality of care they provide each child and to provide optimal opportunities for acceptable behavioural responses by virtue of their own supportive interaction with children. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

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published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) the relationship of Flanders' Interaction Analysis (Flanders) to the attitudes of students in released-time seminary classes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) as measured by the Student's Evaluation of Seminary Instrument (SES) and (2) the relationship of scores on the SES before and after training in Flanders. Released-time seminary teachers of the LDS Church from the Tucson and Phoenix areas were asked to participate in this study. From those who agreed to participate, half were randomly assigned to a control group, and half were assigned to an experimental group. SES scores and tape recordings of class discussions were obtained from two of the classes of each teacher. The teachers in the experimental group attended training sessions on Flanders. After training in Flanders, SES scores and tape recordings of class discussions from the same classes described above were obtained. The tape recordings were coded and ratios were figured. From Flanders ratios and SES scores, t-tests and Pearson's Product-Moment correlations were used to produce the test statistics. The findings of this study were: (1) there was no significant correlation between Flanders and the SES; (2) there was, however, enough correlation to show that (a) Flanders ratios which indicate indirect teacher influence are related to relatively high scores on the SES and (b) Flanders ratios which indicate direct teacher influence are related to relatively low scores on the SES; (3) there was no significant increase in Flanders ratios among the experimental group receiving the training in Flanders as described in this study; and (4) the training in Flanders described in this study had no apparent relationship to SES scores. There appears to be a relationship between direct and indirect patterns of teaching influence, as defined by Flanders, and student attitudes in the released-time seminary classroom of the LDS Church, as measured by the SES. Further studies are necessary to investigate the extent of this relationship. Further studies that investigate the relationship between teacher behavior in the seminary classroom and a more vigorous training program in Flanders are also recommended.

This thesis has examined the effects of forced choice, peer relations and teacher-pupil relations on the self-concepts of forty-eight pupils in a Speech I class at Muncie Central High School, Muncie, Indiana. The pupils were divided equally into two groups: control group and experimental group. The control group was taught in a traditional, rigid manner. The experimental group was taught in a pupil-oriented, relaxed manner.To analyze how the two groups were affected six instruments were utilized: Anecdotal, Record, Classroom Questionnaire, Weekly Report Sheet, Observation Guide, Interview Guide and Self-Response Questionnaire. All data obtained from the preceding instruments were treated descriptively except for the latter instrument. Data from it were analyzed by comparing t-test scores of differences between pre-test and post-test responses of the two groups and by analysis of covariance.Data obtained indicated that pupils in the experimental group: (1) identified themselves in more positive ways, (2) identified others in more positive ways and (3) worked more cooperatively with others than did pupils treated in the control group.

This mixed methods study investigated teacher, parent, and school leader perceptions of the impact of parent communications and expectation on teacher practices, focusing specifically on four categories: grading, communication, instructional, and curriculum practices. Quantitative data were collected through online surveys from 25 teachers in second through fifth grades, as well as 96 parents of second through fifthgraders, in five private Jewish day schools located in the Southeastern United States. Qualitative data were collected from ten teachers, ten parents, and three school leaders who provided interviews, where they elaborated on the nature of parental communications and expectations at their own schools and their perceptions of their impact on teacher practices. The findings indicated that parent communications take place with high frequency, and are initiated fairly evenly between parents and teachers. Parents and teachers differ on their perceptions of negativity of communications, with teachers reporting more negative communications than parents. A t-test was conducted on the survey items that corresponded with the four categories to compare parent and teacher responses. There were some statistically significant differences in the perceptions of parents and teachers of the impact of particular types of parent communications on teacher practices in private Jewish day schools. These included requests for reviews of a child's grade or a grade change, as well as requests for changes in the content of homework. However, the qualitative data overwhelmingly indicated that parents and teachers have similar perceptions of the impact of parents communications and. They felt that parents occasionally request certain changes, but that these changes have minimal impact in the classroom, outside of isolated, individual events. expectations The school leaders who participated in the study agreed that, for the most part, the dayto- day practices of teachers were not greatly impacted by parent communications. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.