The aim of this study is to investigate and understand the types, prevalence, and potential impact of teacher candidates’ struggles, as well as factors and contexts that may relate to the occurrence of struggles. The mixed methods study was carried out in three stages – qualitative, quantitative, qualitative – with teacher candidates and teacher educators from a large Canadian teacher education program as participants. Based on participants’ descriptions and experiences of struggles, I developed a taxonomy of 19 struggles, 10 of which were identified by both teacher candidates and their educators. The struggles included a wide range of behaviours, emotions, skills, and conditions. Teacher candidates also discussed which support systems they use in times of struggles, while instructors explained how they help teacher candidates who struggle. The study positions struggles in a broader and multilayered context that involves teacher candidates, their educators, the preparation program, its structure and elements, policies, social dynamics, and professional norms and expectations. The causes, triggers, consequences, and remediation of struggles are considered in relation to a combination of individual, institutional, and structural factors. The study has implications for teacher education programs, policymakers, and the teaching profession.

This thesis is a content analysis designed to determine whether Democratic presidential candidates Gary Hart, Walter Mondale, and Jesse Jackson received equal coverage in nine selected Indiana newspapers during the month prior to the state primary in 1984. The researcher expected the candidates would receive equal coverage in Democratic, Republican, and Independent newspapers based on the findings of previous similar studies. The study was conducted using three content analysis techniques--space measurement, headline value classification, and evaluative assertion analysis. Nine papers, three from each political group, were selected at random for the study. The data collected was comprised only of news stories. In assessing whether the three candidates received equal coverage, each story relating to one or more of these men was measured using a basic space unit measurement. The amount of space received by the individual candidates in each newspaper group was converted to percentages and chi-square goodness of fit and contingency table tests were applied. Separate totals were maintained throughout for stories about individual candidates and summary stories that were about all three. Headlines concerning each candidate were accorded points based on size and placement. The resulting totals also were subjected to chi-square analysis.The evaluative assertion analysis was. conducted only on news stories that were locally generated. Two sets of coders transcribed assertions and analyzed each for the following: attitude expressed (positive or negative); strength of verbs; and associative or disassociative nature of verbs.The study showed that while the candidates were treated highly similarly by newspapers in the three groups--Hart received the highest percentage of coverage and Jackson the lowest in each case--they were not treated equally. In the individual news stories, Jackson was given significantly less coverage than the others, except in the case of Republican papers in which there was no difference. The headlines followed the same pattern. In the summary stories, there was no significant difference in the coverage received by the three, but for the headlines, Jackson again received significantly less exposure. This was most evident in the Democratic papers. These findings strongly indicate that there was bias in the nine papers in favor of Hart and Mondale and against Jackson.In the evaluative assertion analysis, the coded results all fell into a single category--most of the verbs used were strong and associative and most of the attitudes expressed were positive. This may be more indicative of the writing styles of reporters than of an editorial preference being evidenced by the newspapers.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2007. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2004. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 207-212). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 315-326). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 315-326). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 11, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-196).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 177 p.; also includes graphics Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-177). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center