Applied research project (D. Min.)--School of Theology and Missions, Oral Roberts University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-153).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2004. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-178).

Abstract not available.

This qualitative study explored four Eastern Ontario public school teachers' experiences of implementing inclusion through collaboration. The framework for investigating these experiences was Nonaka's (1994) theory of organizational knowledge creation, the crux of which is the mobilization and conversion of tacit (or experiential) knowledge. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed inductively. The findings showed that these teachers wanted to collaborate to implement inclusion, but the organizational structures and culture were not in place to promote this activity. Although Nonaka's (1994) theory has the potential to describe how teachers create knowledge through collaboration, it did not occur in this research. Practical implications and future research are discussed. Keywords: inclusion, collaboration, Nonaka, tacit knowledge, knowledge creation

From the social network theory perspective, this qualitative study attempts to gain understanding regarding how heads of departments manage, maintain and develop interpersonal relationships with educators within the organisational context of different schools and departments. Based on existing literature, a detailed discussion is provided on what interpersonal relationships are, the difference between managers and leaders, the structure of subject departments, distributed leadership, teacher leadership, subject departments as communities of practice, conceptualising interpersonal relationships, the link between interpersonal relations and communities of practice, the role of interpersonal relationships in schools and a look at the social network theory. Prior research indicates that interpersonal relationships play a vital role in the implementation of learning and teaching in a classroom. Research generally focuses more on the interpersonal relationships between educators and the principal or educators and their learners. Limited research has been conducted on the interpersonal relationship between HODs and their departments. A qualitative approach has been used in this study to explore the perceptions and understanding of interpersonal relationships between educators and teachers. A multiple case study design has been used. Three secondary schools were purposefully sampled and three participants from each school have been invited to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of the participants. The findings confirm that there is an indelible link between the HOD and the educator’s relationship regarding work ethics and motivation. We cannot ignore that a head of department is a key link between principals and the teachers in their classrooms. / Mini Dissertation (MEd (Education Leadership))--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd (Education Leadership) / Unrestricted

<p> Collectivism and individualism are widely recognized as the most important aspects of culture and communication impacting the highly human relational fields of psychology, social work, and education. In the field of education, collectivism is attracting recognition as a determinate consideration impacting educational outcomes, classroom management, and the purpose of teaching and learning, particularly relevant in light of increasing economic inequity, institutional racism, and the decline of social cohesion. Collectivism affirms interdependence, other-interestedness, mutuality, equity, and care for holism and sustainability, which includes ecological sustainability and embraces communitarian values (Hofstede, 1980; Triandis, 1989; Lodge, 2009; Greenfield, 1994; Trumbull, Rothstein-fisch, &amp; Greenfield, 2000). </p><p> The purpose of this study was to contribute to the development and promulgation of pedagogy promoting collectivist worldview. It examines the impact of Democracy Education pedagogy, a self-transformation through a social participation approach to teaching and learning developed by Roy Wilson, at the Institute for Community Leadership (ICL). Education aims at strengthening democracy as a means for rectification of disparities in academic achievement and meaningful civic/social engagement, evidenced by prevalent race and class divides in the U.S. educational system. The research draws on 16 years of programming provided by the ICL, in 62 predominately low-income, racially diverse, urban, rural, and tribal school districts of Washington, Oregon, California, and Florida. Former student and teacher participant survey data were collected and analyzed for transformative and emancipatory relevance. A mixed method, quantitative and qualitative research approach provided a complementary, iterative-analytic assessment, optimizing elaboration, illustration, and clarification. A survey measuring collectivism and individualism (Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk, &amp; Gelfand, 1995) was included in the student survey. </p><p> The research findings support the hypothesis that collectivist worldview can be taught and learned. Evidence of increased collectivism was found in correlation to increased length of time student participants were in the Democracy Education program. Above-average collectivist scores were registered by 86.4% of the student respondents. This indicated a high associational value favoring teachability and learnability of collectivism. The study illuminates conduct, character, and consciousness affiliated with collectivist worldview and documents the impact of their acquisition. Analysis of impact was organized around four themes: significance for the individual learner; educational method and practice; educational philosophy and worldview, and the relationship between collectivism and individualism. Collectivism is weighed as an essential consideration for the sustainability and advancement of democracy.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to understand the life history of a female teacher by examining her beliefs about leaving a teaching legacy and by analyzing the narratives of four educational leaders as they reflect on the generative behaviors of this teacher. The research questions guiding this study were: (a) What elements of this teacher's life history contributed to creating a legacy of educational leaders? (b) What are the perspectives of the educational leaders impacted by this teacher as they relate to crafting an educational legacy? (c) How do the life stories of the teacher and educational leaders intersect to reveal narrative resonance - the ability of stories to interact in such a way that they influence other stories? </p><p> A review of relevant literature examined legacy creation or generativity. In addition, this study critiqued scholarship that extends narrative research approaches, specifically, fictional research texts. Since fictional research products can be catalysts for reflection and discussion, the final chapter of this study is presented as a fictionalized research-narrative that emerged from analysis of the data. </p><p> The data in this study included interview texts, participant artwork, reflections from the participant's journal, excerpts from the researcher's journal, and poetry written both by the participant and the researcher. The data were analyzed by using open and focused coding, employing the constant comparison process, and through artifact analysis. The data analysis of this qualitative study resulted in specific findings. First, the main participant demonstrated generative traits contributing to a legacy of educational leaders. Her compassion for all students, her passion for teaching/learning, her content knowledge, and her flexibility in the classroom all manifested themselves in the lives of the educational leaders participating in this study. Additionally, the narratives from the participant demonstrated narrative resonance, Stories, it seems, have their own legacies.</p>

<p> The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a better understanding of third grade math teachers' beliefs and practices regarding homework, to explain how teachers' beliefs and practices regarding homework aligned to the framework of the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy Cognitive Domain, and to determine the administrative influences on homework practices. The data were collected during October and November 2013. Six third grade math teachers (primary unit of analysis) and four principals (secondary unit of analysis) were interviewed from Dell School District. Each participant (teacher and principal) was interviewed for approximately one hour. A second meeting was set at a later time with the teachers. This second meeting was arranged in order to ask additional questions based on the interviewees' responses from the initial interview and also to collect homework samples. The follow-up meetings varied between 10 to 15 minutes. The interview transcripts were then transcribed. The data were analyzed to determine the themes: teachers' beliefs and practices of homework, alignment of homework items to the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy, and administrative influences on homework.</p><p> Three major themes emerged regarding teachers' beliefs about homework&mdash;extra repetition of practice, connection between home and school, and building responsibility. Four major themes related to teachers' homework practices were found&mdash; quantity of homework, type of homework, source of homework, and differentiation of homework. Overall, the majority of homework items, across all cognitive domain levels, were aligned to a low category (<i>remembering</i>, 68%); however, there were some variations among the distributions of homework. In comparing what teachers espoused about homework practices and what was actually assigned, the majority were aligned. Four major themes emerged from the principals' comments&mdash;school-wide expectations for homework, complaints about homework, principals' beliefs and value about homework, and cognitive domain of homework. The four major findings of the study included: homework was used primarily for low-level practice, more so than high-level thinking; teachers' homework practices were not part of the principals' leadership agenda, because principals took a &ldquo;hands-off approach&rdquo; to homework; teachers assigned low-level homework with little attention to Bloom's Taxonomy cognitive domain, because this allowed students to be successful and responsible for completing their homework and; homework was a lost art, because principals did not utilize the opportunity to talk with teachers about using homework more effectively to promote students' learning; therefore, teachers continued implementing their same homework practices from the past.</p>

Education for First Nations must be understood within the historical context which saw their cultural, linguistic, and traditional knowledge undermined and devalued (Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015). The conditions that exist for First Nations today are a result of First Nations people having been disadvantaged in a multitude of ways by colonization and nowhere more so than in the First Nations education system, because the structure of formal schooling has as its foundation colonial institutions (Battiste, 2013). It is for these reasons that I use a postcolonial theoretical framework to guide this study. As the education leaders in First Nations communities, I examine the nature of the work of First Nations Directors of Education working or who worked recently in First Nations band-operated on-reserve school systems in Manitoba, Canada. This qualitative research study explores selected aspects of their experiences, perspectives, preparation, and training. Through the eyes, voices, and stories of the participants, this study seeks to understand the milieu that is First Nations on-reserve education. The results of the study identify what can be done to bring about transformational change for First Nations students. The study found that the role of the First Nations Director of Education is multi-faceted and complex. The roles and responsibilities that the participants identified were categorized using Cuban’s (1988) typology of core roles: managerial, political, and instructional. Their work is influenced by many factors including underfunding, lack of resources, high teacher turnover, and the on-going impacts of the residential schools and colonialism. The study identifies the need for specific training and provides recommendations for practice and future research. / October 2016

This study explores how teachers think about the usefulness of shared knowledge they obtain from external sources, such as educational theories, research, professional programs, their colleagues, and how and why they use, modify, or did not use these resources. The author interviewed fifteen lower elementary teachers, asked them to generate examples of knowledge they had obtained elsewhere on their own, and gave them knowledge artifacts to evaluate. Teachers' self-described responses to these various resources suggested that their main goal was instrumental use of knowledge, but there were various ways of using it. In addition to instrumental uses, the teachers used shared knowledge to expand and change their perspectives on teaching and learning, used it as a source to develop and produce their own practical knowledge, used it to reflect on their practice, to confirm and justify their practice, and used it as a reminder of other ideas. The teachers also described varied types of instrumental uses: they used shared knowledge by replicating, specifying, extending, adding, reducing, and changing it. They either modified or did not use shared knowledge when they thought that there were reality constraints, when they thought the knowledge was not relevant to their contexts and students, when it did not fit their own philosophies and styles, or when it was perceived to be ineffective, or not valid.