Professional development includes the planned and unplanned activities that teachers engage in throughout their career to enhance the quality of instruction in their classrooms (Day, 1997). The attentive processes of engagement are described as being physically, emotionally, and cognitively present (Kahn, 1992). Engagement in professional development is strongly related to the level of commitment teachers have to their teaching profession (Rothwell & Herbert, 2007). Being engaged in professional development is necessary because it requires that teachers take responsibility for their learning, and believe that professional development practices will positively contribute to their career (McDonald, 2009). The purpose of this research was to understand the role of colleagues in teachers’ engagement in professional development. This study is situated within the conceptual framework of school culture. School cultures are sustaining patterns built over time through rituals, traditions, and accomplishments that enforce actions, feelings, and thought patterns of members (Deal & Peterson, 2009). One cannot have strong and effective professional development without a thick culture (Hopkins, 1994; Little, 1982). Thickness in culture is often forgotten but foundational for engagement in professional development activities (Glover & Coleman, 2005). This study is an examination of teachers’ perceptions in two schools: one school that showed exemplary collaboration among its staff and one school that was becoming a more collaborative school. Collaboration is understood as working in cohesion to achieve a common goal (Deal & Peterson, 2009; Fullan & Hargreaves, 1996; Little, 1982; Schlechty, 2009). One focus group with teachers at each school, with follow-up individual interviews, provided the data explaining colleagues’ influences on engagement in professional development. The findings of this study suggest that colleagues have an important effect on teachers’ engagement in professional development. Participants indicated that colleagues were a factor of engagement because they increased engagement through fulfilling their desire for face-to-face instruction, through their appreciation of being worked with, rather than worked on (Morewood & Bean, 2009), and through networking. As teacher participants worked together in professional development, they increased their school’s organizational capacity (Mitchell & Sackney, 2001). / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-05-25 18:03:15.505

The purpose of the study was to describe factors that make teachers feel safe in their classrooms and school buildings. An in-depth exploration of contributing factors to feelings of safety for teachers will assist the field of education when planning facilities and preparing current and future school administrators in leading schools with a healthy and safe climate for teachers. For this study, the researcher surveyed all teaching personnel in a school division which was a total of 133 full-time, fully licensed teachers employed by a rural school division in Southside Virginia. A survey instrument with both quantitative and open ended questions was developed to investigate perceptions of safety in participants' responses regarding the physical characteristics of school buildings and classrooms, the influence of colleague relationships, and administrative practices and school division policies that influence teachers' feelings of safety. The quantitative survey questions utilized a Likert-scale format for participants to indicate degrees of agreement with statements with responses that ranged from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The opened ended questions provided for qualitative investigation by allowing participants to provide answers in their own words regarding the four research sub-questions. Findings from the study indicated that teachers in the study generally felt safe in their schools. Teachers indicated perceiving that the greatest violence risk was posed by outside intruders and concern for safety was not generally caused by student behavior. Teachers' perceptions of safety were influenced by the presence of a resource officer in their school building, locked exterior doors, the use of surveillance cameras, the presence of a supportive and visible school principal, and the support of their teacher colleagues. / Ed. D.

This thesis explores the strong support for collaboration in schools’ while synthesizing literature already conducted on the subject. The primary objectives of this thesis is to discuss possible scenarios as to why educators are not collaborating, explore characteristics and implementations of collaboration with three specific groups including colleagues, stakeholders, and practicing professionals, and identify four key benefits of collaboration which include improved health, pedagogy, autonomy, and time. Evidence supports the idea that teachers who work in isolation can hinder growth within their profession. Additional evidence provides conclusive evidence that supports the benefits of collaboration by adding responsibilities to key contributors by holding them accountable for student learning.

This thesis is in the form of a novel about three work colleagues who, as part of their job, have to drive long distances together. The story is told from the perspective of all of them but mainly from one of the women who tells the story in the first person. The man and two women are so different from each other in personality and outlook on life, and the basis of the novel is their interactions with each other, the frictions within their relationships, and the thoughts that go through their heads while they are driving. These people spend long hours together in the car and in motel rooms yet they never get any closer to each other. The only one of them who seems to get anything from the experience is the woman who is in the first person, as she achieves a greater sense of her own identity. The other two regard the experiences as just another job and of no great importance in their lives. / Master of Arts (Hons)

Denna kvalitativa studie har med utgångspunkt i det sociokulturella perspektivet undersökt fenomenet samspel mellan kollegor. Studiens syfte var att undersöka uppfattningar om gott kollegialt samspel, utifrån några undersköterskors perspektiv, och urvalsgruppen bestod av sju yrkesverksamma undersköterskor från fem olika arbetsplatser. För att genomföra studien användes en fenomenologisk ansats och metoden fokusgruppssamtal och empirin analyserades tematiskt. Studiens resultat utgjordes av fem gemensamma teman, som kallades samspelsnycklar: Att investera och se varandra i arbetet, Att sträva efter att vara ett lag, Att arbeta utifrån tillit och jämlika samspelsvillkor, Att kunna förmedla och variera arbetsattityd, Att kunna ge och be om hjälp med respekt. Resultatet analyserades med begrepp från Wengers teori Communities of practice och genom det framkom att uppfattningar om ett gott kollegialt samspel i omvårdnadspraktiken kan sägas innehålla samma grundfaktorer som utgör en etablering och utveckling av en praktikgemenskap. Detta på grund av att det i alla samspelsnycklarna förekommer utsagor som kan förstås genom Wengers begrepp område, gemenskap och praktik. Resultatet kan även förstås utifrån det sociokulturella perspektivets antagande att språket är ett centralt medierande redskap för lärande i en social kontext. / This qualitative study has, on the basis of the sociocultural perspective, examined the phenomenon of interaction between colleagues. The study's purpose was to examine perceptions of good interaction, based on some enrolled nurses ' perspective and the selection group consisted of seven professional enrolled nurses from five different workplaces. The study used a phenomenological approach and focus group discussions, and the research data was thematically analyzed. The results of the study consisted of five core themes, called interaction keys: Investing and see each other at work, To endeavor to be a team, To work on the basis of trust and equal interaction terms, To convey, and vary work attitude, To be able to provide and receive assistance with respect. The results were analyzed using the concepts from Wenger's theory Communities of practice, and thru that it was revealed that perceptions of a good collegial interaction in enrolled nursing practice can be said to contain the same basic elements that constitute and develops a Community of practice. This is because all interaction keys include statements that can be understood by Wenger's concept area, fellowship and internship. The result can also be understood on the basis of the sociocultural perspective's assumption that language is an essential mediating tool for learning, in a social context.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

Gold mining in South Africa has played a significant role in the economic development of the country over the past 120 years. The continued focus on productivity, recruitment and consolidation in the South African gold mining industry will result in a decline in production. Much of the decline can be attributed to natural attrition as the industry has moved from a mass employer of limited, contract, unskilled labour, to an employer of more permanent, mostly semi-skilled or skilled labour. The objective of this research was to investigate the reliability of measuring instruments of social support, role overload (qualitative and quantitative), job satisfaction and turnover intention for employees in the mining industry. Further objectives included empirically determining whether social support has a moderating effect on the relation between role overload and job satisfaction and turnover intention. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A random sample was taken from a South African mining company (N=250). Gender and age were included as control variables. Individuals on Paterson grading E band to C Upper (managers) were part of the sample. Five measuring instruments were administrated. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results obtained for the five scales proved the measuring instruments to be reliable. The results show that when an employee feels that his/her work is more than he/she can accomplish in the time available (quantitative role overload), the employee will most probably also feel that his/her work requires skills, abilities and knowledge beyond that of their own (qualitative role overload). It is also indicated that social support from the supervisor increases the employee's positive attitude or pleasurable emotional state towards his/her job or job experience (job satisfaction), as well as heightens the probability of social support from colleagues. Furthermore, the more positive the employee's attitude towards the job, the less the intention to stop working will be (turnover intention). This intention to stop working will also be less when social support from the supervisor is more and/or when the employee experiences less feelings that his/her work is more than he/she can accomplish in the time available. Turnover intention was predicted by social support from supervisor. Job satisfaction was predicted by role overload (quantitative) and social support from supervisor. By way of conclusion, recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The purpose of this study was to explore elementary second-stage teachers’ (4–10 years experience) career decisions and the teaching and working conditions associated with those decisions. Retaining teachers is of extreme importance to public schools because chronic turnover is financially, organizationally, and instructionally costly. The study was conducted in two phases: (1) the collection and analysis of quantitative Teaching Empowering Leading and Learning Massachusetts (TELL Mass) (2014) survey data and (2) the collection and analysis of qualitative findings from interviews and a confidential questionnaire to obtain background and demographic information. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the survey results. A thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of the interview transcripts was conducted to identify themes. Both school leadership and instructional practices and support proved to be important to survey respondents. However, the responses to the survey did not show that elementary second-stage teachers had markedly different immediate professional plans than their novice and veteran counterparts. Further, according to the survey data, there were no significant differences in the teaching and working conditions that affect the immediate professional plans of novices, second-stage, and veteran teachers. The elementary second-stage teachers interviewed identified the importance of the social aspects of teaching––students, colleagues, and school and district leaders––over any other teaching or working condition, when making career decisions. Even in challenging environments teachers noted how leaders and colleagues can impact decisions positively. These results, while not generalizable, can inform administrators, schools, and districts seeking to decrease elementary second-stage teachers departure from the classroom. Implications for practice and policy and for future research are suggested.

<p>Syftet med denna studie är att få en förståelse för hur mäklare uppfattar att de förhåller sig till, och tillämpar, lagar och etiska riktlinjer i sin yrkesutövning.</p> / <p>The purpose of this essay is to understand how estate agents interpret and how they relate to, and applies, laws and ethical guiding lines in their practise.</p>

Syftet med denna studie är att få en förståelse för hur mäklare uppfattar att de förhåller sig till, och tillämpar, lagar och etiska riktlinjer i sin yrkesutövning. / The purpose of this essay is to understand how estate agents interpret and how they relate to, and applies, laws and ethical guiding lines in their practise.