The aim of this study was to describe co-construction processes in large group discussions. Co-construction, as used here, is a process by which the teacher and the students work together to construct and evaluate mental models of a target concept. Data were collected for an in-depth case study of a single teacher instructing middle school students with an innovative curriculum on human respiration. Data came from transcripts of video taped lessons, drawings, and pre- and post-test scores. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted. In the quantitative analysis, differences in gains between one and two standard deviations in size were found between the pre- and post-test scores indicating that the students increased their understanding about human respiration. In the qualitative analysis, a generative exploratory method followed by a convergent coded method was conducted to examine teacher-student interaction patterns. The aim of this part was to determine how learning occurred by attempting to connect dialogue patterns with underlying cognitive processes. The main outcome of the study is a hypothesized model containing four layers of nested teaching strategies. Listed from large to small time scales these are: the Macro Cycle, the Co-construction Modes, the Micro Cycle, and the Teaching Tactics. The most intensive analysis focused on identifying and articulating the Co-construction Modes—Accretion Mode, Disconfirmation Mode, Modification Mode, Evolution Mode, and Competition Mode—and their relations to the other levels of the model. These modes can either describe the construction and evaluation of individual model elements or of entire models giving a total of ten modes. The frequency of these co-construction modes was then determined by coding, twenty-six hours of transcripts. The most frequent modes were the Accretion Mode and the Disconfirmation Mode. The teacher's and the students' contributions to the co-construction process were also examined. It was found that both the teacher and the students generated ideas in approximately equal proportion to build the models, that the teacher usually evaluated the ideas, and that both modified or disconfirmed the ideas. Thus the study is an attempt to develop a vocabulary for describing strategies that facilitate student model construction.

The study reviews the history of education in Francophone West Africa from the post-colonial era to the current period. It gives primary attention to the conflicting goals of formal and Islamic education, the place of nonformal education during colonial period and looks at the attitude of policymakers towards nonformal education after independence. Furthermore, it examines the role of international partners of development, the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF and bilateral cooperation in shaping education policies in Third World countries; presents the background of the Education for All (EFA) movement, its goals, and rationale; and analyzes the Fast-Track Initiative (FTI), the place of nonformal education in the movement, and its implications in Third World education policies. The study focuses on the Sénégalese experience. After presenting the education system and the strategies of the government to achieve Education for All in 2015, the author, drawing on field research using interviews, focus groups, surveys, and observations, describes different models of community-based schools and contrasts government and NGO schools. The study analyzes the attitudes of parents, students, and teachers, officials of the Ministry of National Education, the Delegate Ministry of Professional Training, Vocational Education, Literacy and National Languages and NGOs towards community-based schools and raises the issues of girls' education, religious education, and teacher's training. At the end, the author highlights the challenges that community-based schools face and provides recommendations for the state, communities, and school administrations to improve access and to assure the relevance of education to local populations.

Much of the service-learning literature in higher education assumes that community service linked to classroom learning is inherently connected to concerns of social justice. While some service-learning practice aims to alleviate oppressive or unfair circumstances and promote "more just relationships," there is little research that examines the effectiveness of service-learning in developing that commitment. The purpose of this qualitative research is to understand how students' experiences in service-learning contribute to their understanding of and commitment to social justice. The program investigated is a four semester critical service-learning experience, named the Citizen Scholars Program, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Written assignments and interview transcripts from 11 women who participated in the program comprise the data for this dissertation research. This secondary data set was analyzed using grounded theory methodology to explore connections between students' participation in service-learning and their understandings of and commitments to social justice. The findings from this research suggest that participants in this study did develop more complex conceptions of social justice. Through the critical service-learning experience provided by the Citizen Scholars Program, students report being able to: develop authentic relationships with community members, question the distribution of power in society, and deepen their commitments to social justice. The study identified six properties of social justice sensemaking that appear to influence students' understanding of and commitment to social justice. Reflection on the self and experience, introduction to new information, contradictory experiences, relationships with peers and community members, and the idea of plausibility were all shown to spur students' social justice meaning construction. The findings of this study were used to develop a conceptual framework that charts how the critical service-learning experience of the Citizen Scholars Program facilitates social justice sensemaking. This framework can guide the work of scholars and practitioners who aim or hope to encourage social justice commitments in students. Students left Citizen Scholars with confidence in their views of social justice and a willingness to take action in alignment with those views. This research demonstrates that critical service-learning can foster a greater sense of agency to act in support of social justice.

This study was undertaken to assess outcomes of a teacher training program whose goal was application of the 4MAT Learning Style Model (McCarthy, 1987) to the design of lessons which foster student creativity. Results derived from the analysis of data in this study indicate that the training program met its objectives of content mastery, attitudinal change, and application of theory, within the context of a case study involving 27 subjects undergoing 36 hours of training. Goals of the training program included: (1) developing understanding of basic learning style and creativity concepts; (2) increasing positive attitudes regarding the significance of diversity and creativity; and (3) applying concepts taught through construction of 4MAT lesson plans. Training program content was based on topics covered in the introduction and literature review including the importance of accommodating diversity and developing creativity in society today; an explanation of the 4MAT Model; an overview of typology and creativity research; and examination of implications for education. Outlined in detail are scope and sequence of the training program, as well as measures of evaluation which included a content pre/post-test, a retrospective attitudinal survey, a lesson rating scale, and anecdotal commentary. Results were analyzed quantitatively not only in terms of new learning acquired, degree of attitudinal change, and quality of lesson plans, but also with regard to patterns of performance emerging among sub-groups categorized according to sex, grade level taught, work experience, previous training, learning styles, and attendance. Results indicate that (1) during the course of the training there was a significant increase in positive attitude regarding the importance of accommodating diversity and creativity in educational settings; (2) that the training program prepared the majority of participants to develop lessons which integrated creativity and learning style theory, while satisfying 4MAT criteria; (3) that performance on lesson plan design correlated more closely to attitude than to content; and (4) that gender and learning style of participants appeared to significantly affect assessment scores.

Researchers have discovered that native speakers (NSs) and non-native speakers (NNSs) of Mandarin Chinese use different strategies in recalling visual-based texts. Since written Chinese can be represented in logograph, syllabary, and alphabet, it is important to know how and to what extent a representational system (RS) will affect the processing of Chinese texts by both NSs and NNSs. The two surveys in this study explored the effects of RSs on text processing by NSs and NNSs of Chinese. Native groups consisted of subjects from Taiwan and China and were asked in the first survey to match Chinese vocabulary items in pinyin and in characters to their closest English equivalents in meaning. Subjects in the second survey, which included two native and one non-native groups, identified Chinese syllables in either pinyin or zhuyin version, discriminated the differences of sounds of identical characters, and chose the right words to fit in the phrase-level contexts. Two conceptual hypotheses were proposed and tested: (1) NSs of Chinese will demonstrate better performance than NNSs in comprehending texts represented in Chinese characters, and (2) NNSs of Chinese will demonstrate better performances than NSs in comprehending texts represented in pinyin in terms of accuracy and speed. The findings show that (1) Beginning and intermediate non-native learners of Mandarin Chinese benefited from alphabetic representation of the Chinese language in terms of processing speed and accuracy rate--requiring less time and achieving higher performances; and (2) Native Chinese who learned either zhuyin or pinyin as a primer demonstrated lower performances in processing texts represented in either zhuyin or pinyin in terms of speed and accuracy. The findings suggest that logographic representation might provide more rapid and precise access than syllabic and alphabetical representations for text processing at the advanced level. One particular pattern is apparent: An RS which is more efficient at the beginning level will become less efficient at the advanced level and vice versa. This implies that instructors should teach both RSs, logographic plus syllabic or alphabetic systems, to beginning readers, and switch to logographic representation once the learning of the two systems become balanced.

Historically, the dominant approach to instruction has been for teachers to break down information and present singular facts and behaviors to receptive students. An instructional environment where the teacher disseminates information portrays the learner as a passive agent in the learning process. Conversely, educational researchers have described a complex ecology when teachers, students and tasks interact to complete academic work (Doyle, 1977, 1983). While much attention has been directed at how teachers and students interact as the learning ecology evolves, less attention has been dedicated to the examination of the interaction between learning tasks or experiences and students (content-embedded accountability) in the evolution of this complex ecology (a program of action). The purpose of this qualitative case study was twofold. First, was to examine the learning ecology created throughout an adventure education unit in the physical education curriculum. Second, was to examine the role of content-embedded accountability in the developing program of action. Participants included Ivana, a 23 year veteran physical education teacher and her physical education class (N=19). Data were collected throughout an adventure education unit (N=8 classes) using qualitative research techniques (e.g. field notes, formal interviews, informal conversations). Data were inductively coded through a method of constant comparison. Multiple processes of open and axial coding were completed to develop major themes and supporting categories. Overall, the strong program of action (PoA) was co-created by Ivana and her students. Structures within the adventure education model provided a framework that allowed the teacher to align content, instruction and assessment and students to focus on their learning to be civil and self-directed. Ivana was influenced by structures in the adventure education (AE) model to (a) bridge the global school initiative for teaching civility with student learning, (b) select activities based on student engagement with relevant content, (c) implement instructional methods that included students' social participation and (d) align assessment with the content and her instructional methods. A significant feature in this ecology was the role of content-embedded accountability, which helped to shape the PoA. Ivana's role as a facilitator and structures in the adventure model for learning tasks held students accountable for their self-directed engagement with the content espoused in the AE model. The structure of content embedded in learning tasks eventually defined how Ivana facilitated student learning. Instructional models such as AE can assist teachers to define content, align instructional methods and create learning tasks that initiate a system of accountability. Future researchers could benefit from considering the connection between a teacher seen as a "technical virtuoso" and the instructional model from which they operate.

A study of two hundred and fifty (250) public school teachers employed in a partial regional school district was conducted in order to examine their attitudes toward various forms of parent participation with the schools. Teachers were asked to respond to a fifty (50) statement survey investigating seven categories of parent involvement. These categories included: parent and teacher relationships; parents as supporters; parents as an audience; parents as decision makers; parents as advocates; parents as tutors for their children; and parents as learners. The purpose of the study was to determine if any differences in attitude existed among these teachers concerning parent participation in the schools. Comparisons were made among the teachers according to grade level, educational background, age, family status, formal training for parent involvement, years of service, and gender. Several interesting patterns emerged from this investigation. The results indicated that there are significant differences among teachers at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels toward parent involvement with the schools. Elementary school teachers revealed more positive attitudes toward parent involvement than junior high and high school teachers in the areas of parent and teacher relationships, parents as supporters of the schools, and parents as tutors assisting their children with school related activities. Significant differences surfaced between elementary school and the junior high teachers concerning parents as an audience for school activities. High school and junior high teachers disagreed concerning the role of parents as learners in the schools. Other factors also influenced teacher attitudes toward parent participation. A significant difference surfaced between teachers who had received training for parent involvement activities and those who had not participated in any training programs. Teachers who are parents also held views that differed from those who are not parents concerning parent involvement. Examination of the teacher responses by gender revealed that the attitudes of male and female teachers differed concerning parent participation with the schools. Age, years of experience, and educational background did not significantly affect the attitudes of the teachers toward parent involvement with the schools.

Students need creative thinking, problem solving skills, and knowledge about the future to equip them to deal with our rapidly changing world. At the same time, Proposition 2$1\over2$ and a decrease in state aid are causing school systems to seriously tighten their budgets. Any programs considered "extras" are being eliminated or reduced, especially those targeted for our most able students, the gifted. One of these affected programs is the Future Problem Solving Program (FPSP). There is an unfortunate lack of information about the program and the impact it has on its participants. Although it has been implemented in various schools in Massachusetts since 1979, no studies have been undertaken about the FPSP in this state. Therefore, for this dissertation, an investigation was conducted into the roots, history, and impact of the program. Questionnaires were sent to all adults who had registered as coaches for the FPSP in Massachusetts for the 1988-89 school year. Students who participated during the same year were sent questionnaires through their coaches. Forty-six coaches (43.4%) and 513 students (75.66%) from grades four through twelve participated in the study. The questions in the surveys addressed information about demographics, perceptions of the impact of the FPSP on the student skills that the FPSP aims to develop, and the opinions and reactions of the coaches and students to the FPSP itself and their participation in it. The respondees reported an increase in students' critical and creative thinking, communication skills, awareness of the future, and teamwork due to the FPSP. Research skills were also affected but to a lesser degree. A variety of statistical tests were run on the collected data. Trends were noted and discussed such as the reported advantage in attainment of some skills by females and the positive impact of being on a FPSP team. The FPSP was shown to fulfill its objectives in its participants in Massachusetts and should continue to be offered through the schools.

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the oral narrative production of students in the course of their normal school day in a northeastern middle school. Oral narrative is defined as spoken language that takes place in a social interaction in which one intent of the speaker is to interpret or make sense of the present by telling about past events. Reviews of the literature provide the rationale for not only studying student oral narrative but also valuing it. Qualitative analysis and an ethnographic approach to collecting data form the methodology of the dissertation. I was a participant observer on a seventh-grade team of sixty students and four teachers. I recorded their talk and my observations in settings which included homeroom, study periods, core classes, interviews, small group discussions, and field trips. Through a process of rereading, coding, charting, and condensing the data, I was able to describe episode-specific and underlying discourse rules which were most often operative just prior to the emergence of student narrative. I found that student oral narrative was most likely to occur just after the discourse rule context made clear that language could be recorded for further study. Students were more likely to narrate just after they were supported in their using language for a variety of purposes including to answer questions and to express emotions. When students could initiate the topic of talk, speak spontaneously, and talk with small groups of peers, oral narrative was also more likely to occur. Pedagogical implications include the need for educational leaders to design in-service education that familiarizes current practitioners with a research base for decision making in the area of developing students as oral communicators and thereby as narrators. One of many recommendations for further research is that k-12 language arts curricular be examined in terms of how they address students as speakers/narrators.

This dissertation examined the personality types of ten selected teachers with one or more year's experience in the Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc.'s residential schools to determine whether certain personality types were more effective than others in working with at-risk special education students in a classroom setting. This study also described how these types performed in the classroom, as well as their interactions with students outside of the classroom, giving consideration to the kinds of affect, approaches, and teaching styles utilized by each. The central focus of this study was an interpretive perspective of these teachers, with data generated by participant observation and in-depth interviews. All teachers were given the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and five were selected by their supervisors and their peers as the most effective teachers, while five more were selected who were not so designated, to function as the control group. Although the findings of the study did not substantiate the validity of specific personality types as effective teachers, there was a high correlation between the characteristics of the effective teachers and the body of research on effective teaching. A more in-depth study, with a larger population sample, and the use of the newly developed more comprehensive MBTI, might yield better results toward finding clusters of specific effective teacher personality types.