Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of West Florida, 2009. / Submitted to the Division of Teacher Education. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 185 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

As many of the founding full-time community college faculty began to retire, colleges across the nation intensified their full-time faculty recruitment and retention efforts. They began to replace the retiring full-time faculty with the new generation faculty cohort. The purpose of this study was to understand the role that a comprehensive orientation program played in the socialization process of new community college faculty. Additionally, the study examined the choice of orientation tactics used to socialize the new faculty. Relying on the reported socialization experiences of seven full-time faculty members from six of the seven colleges that comprised a community college district, the study explored how an orientation program facilitated their adjustment process. Finally, the researcher sought to identify ways to improve full-time community college faculty socialization experience. Most of the faculty in this study, although having no specific training to teach at the community college, were able to build relationships outside their individual colleges, acquired new skills, and gained access to valuable district resources, as a result of their participation in a yearlong comprehensive orientation program. Three significant findings resulted from this study. The first major significant finding of this study was that the incorporation of a social apparatus, such as the “retreat” into an orientation program, facilitated group cohesion and identity among the new faculty. The social structure of the retreat provided new faculty with an opportunity to connect with one another at an emotional level. They were able to expand their social networks beyond their immediate colleges. A second significant finding was that faculty became more confident and comfortable in their teaching roles as a result of the skills they acquired following their completion of the comprehensive orientation program. The monthly sessions, which were held every 4th Friday provided the faculty the opportunity to acquire and develop new skills to effectively discharge their responsibilities. The third major finding of this study was that because faculty had access to district resources, to develop their skills, they became more closely tied to their institutions. Finally, recommendations are made to improve new faculty socialization experience during their adjustment process. / text

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

No description available.

This study explored how rule systems evolved in two high school social studies classes. To accomplish this, detailed descriptions and analysis of the practices and processes by which teachers established and maintained rules were conducted in two classrooms over a nine-week observational timeline. In addition, the teachers were interviewed at the beginning, middle, and end of the observation period to gain insight into how they thought about their classes and reacted to the daily experiences they were having in these settings. Findings indicated that the teachers utilized the same enactment practices to uphold their management and rule systems, however, each operationalized these practices in dissimilar ways. This was largely due to the fact that the teachers' goal structures and beliefs about the function of management and classroom rules affected their implementation practices. Both set similar goals for managing the classroom and fostering self-discipline and student responsibility, yet each experienced problems attempting to balance student affordances for responsibility with teacher surveillance and interventions. One system thrived on explicitness and enforcement, while the other was dedicated to helping students develop autonomous morality. In reaction, both teachers had mixed feelings and/or satisfaction regarding the outcomes. This contrast was especially useful in demonstrating the inherent tensions in classroom systems that attempt to orchestrate students' personal responsibility. Such systems depend upon general norms and/or rules to guide student behavior. When students do not accept these norms, a teacher is constrained from imposing explicit rules and consequences because such practices take responsibility away from students and thus undermine the very system the teacher is attempting to implement. Overall, further research on this inherent tension is needed to better understand how teachers can orchestrate student responsibility in schools and classrooms.

There is no further training in management in teacher education programs, which can create uncertainty among teachers in terms of management. According to the curriculum, the teacher should base it on a democratic approach, but how does it look in real life? The purpose has been to investigate how practicing teachers perceived management and their own leadership style, whether they made conscious choices and if so, whether they then had any purpose in their leadership style. Teachers' views of a good leader and how much influence students have on the teaching, enter into these issues. The survey is based on a qualitative research approach, based on interviews with four active teachers. Although observations were made they did not play any major role in this investigation. They did however provide me with an important context for the interviews conducted. The theoretical basis is drawn from Christer Stensmos books Leadership styles in the classroom and Classroom management. From these books, I have picked out what’s relevant for my essay and summarized it. The democratic and the authoritarian leader, six different leadership styles and their effect on the five dimensions of tasks Mr. Stensmo have written about, has been the foundation of this essay. These five dimensions are: control, motivation, grouping, individualization and planning. I have come to the conclusion that the interviewed teachers believed that their management has an important significance in the classroom, but the teachers, however, may be insecure in their leadership style. The majority of the teachers interviewed had not made conscious choices of leadership styles. One conclusion that has been drawn is that teachers can work with leadership issues, without being fully aware of them.

This dissertation presents a case study of a grade one-two class in the suburbs of Vancouver. The twenty-two students are diverse in terms of academic ability, culture, language, age, and personality. Participatory Democracy is researched. Participatory Collaborative Action Research is the methodology. The researcher, classroom teacher, and the students themselves, are immersed in the research setting as partners. Participatory Democracy is an inclusive arrangement where classroom members contribute to decision-making affecting the classroom. Therefore, the research methodology and the research topic are the same activity in which reflection by the participants yields both data and learning outcomes. The research and the classroom community develop together. Within this social orientation, autonomy and responsibility are investigated. An analysis of each concept and their relationship is offered. Possibilities for shared authority are also examined. These and other elements are conceptually intertwined and not easily separated. Complexity Theory is presented as a way of framing classroom research. A Participatory Democratic classroom is conceived of as a dynamic adaptive system, similar to an organism or society. This community is understood ecologically. It is self-organizing and continually coevolving. The importance of a sense of community as a context for learning about social elements becomes evident. An understanding of autonomy, responsibility, shared authority, and their relationship is demonstrated by children through their friendships and sometimes through verbal expression. The students and teacher establish negotiated, dynamic boundaries in which students express their autonomy within the limits of responsibility to the community. Since participation depends on discourse, non-verbal active discourse is encouraged in this community as legitimate communication and a support for language development. Authority, understood as embedded in the community, with the teacher as its interpreter, is shared with students. Rule setting is complex and dynamic, not absolute. Rules are explained and negotiated. An effort to achieve consensus forms the basis of decision-making. Within a democratic community that promotes participation and appreciates the complexity of social structures, the teacher must promote a sense of community, negotiate curriculum, negotiate frames for behavior and learning, plan and assess collaboratively, and reflect on the constantly changing complexity of the classroom community.

Studiens syfte är att beskriva och analysera lärarstudenters uppfattningar om ledarskapet under utbildningstiden, samt att undersöka om det för dessa studenter finns några särskilda förutsättningar, som underlättar för utvecklandet av ett väl fungerande ledarskap, och vilka i så fall dessa är. Den metod som används i studien är dokumentanalys av lärarstudenters texter i form av reflektionsblad över sin praktik under fyra praktikperioder, dvs alla praktikperioderna studenterna har i det allmänna utbildningsområdet i sin lärarutbildning. Resultatet visar att nästan alla studenterna uppfattar ledarskapet som oerhört komplext i lärarrollen. I huvudsak beskriver lärarstudenter ledarskapet ur ett relationellt perspektiv och som  komplext. Detta kan upplevas komplicerat, när man skall hantera sitt ledarskap, eftersom detta också uppfattas situationsbundet. Två särskilda förutsättningar, har kunnat identifieras för ett väl fungerande ledarskap. Det handlar om förutsättningarna makt, i termer av legitimitet och auktoritet, och identitet, i termer av självkänsla och självförtroende. Sökord: Pedagogiskt ledarskap, classroom management, makt, legitimitet, auktoritet, identitet, självkänsla, självförtroende, auktoritärt ledarskap, demokratiskt ledarskap