The lives and careers of teachers have been studied from several perspectives (e.g., teacher career stage development, adult development, and the organizational context of teachers). Teacher career stages have been the focus of much educational research since Fuller (1969) first outlined her stages of teacher concern. Over the course of the next three decades multiple models of teacher career development were proposed and tested. Teacher career development, as conceptualized by Burke and colleagues, emphasizes the influence of teachers' organizational (i.e., work) and personal (i.e., adult development) contexts on their development as teachers (Burke, Christensen, & Fessler, 1984; Burke, Christensen, Fessler, McDonell, & Price, 1987). Taking into account contexts in which teacher career development occurs provides a dynamic lens through which to view teacher development. Therefore, the teacher career cycle model served as the theoretical framework for this qualitative study of the lives and careers of urban physical education teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was twofold. First, it was designed to understand how veteran urban physical education teachers experience their lives and careers. Second, it explored ways in which the factors influencing the lives and careers of these physical education teachers affected their career longevity in urban schools. Participants included 9 (4F, 5M) urban physical education teachers who had between four and 31 years of teaching experience in urban schools (mean = 10yrs.). Data were collected through observation and in depth interviews. Data analysis consisted of open and axial coding to identify themes and categories across participants. Results indicated that for this group of teachers, organizational context, personal context, and their development as teachers influenced their work lives and careers. In addition, as this group of teachers gained experience in urban schools, they developed skills necessary to maintain order to facilitate learning in their dynamic work environments. This study has implications for teacher education and professional development. As we learn more about the teachers who stay in urban schools we will be better able to prepare them to meet the needs of working in urban school contexts.

This study examined teacher and student beliefs about physical education by addressing the following questions (a) what beliefs about physical education do the teacher and students bring with them to class? (b) are there differences between the beliefs held by the teacher and those held by the students? and (c) what role does context play in facilitating or inhibiting the translation of these beliefs into action? Participants in this case study were one high school physical education teacher and twelve students from the same physical education class. Methodology included qualitative field notes taken during observations of two activity units (volleyball and team handball), five interviews with the teacher, four interviews with each student, and administration of the repertory grid. Data were analyzed concurrently using constant comparison to identify common themes. Throughout the study data were returned to the participants for their responses. The teacher's beliefs formed an intricate, multi-dimensional system with the core belief that, "physical education should provide an equitable environment for all students." Secondary level beliefs included for example, "the teacher is responsible for creating a safe atmosphere," and, "physical education should be recreational." The two student belief systems were, "gym class is not important now or in the future," and "it's really important to have friends in gym class." There were five key differences between teacher and student beliefs focused on the following issues, (a) the importance of physical education, (b) whether it should be mandatory, (c) the definition of learning, (d) the importance of equity, and (e) the role of the teacher. Although the teacher and students held very different beliefs about physical education, they co-existed in the same class by manipulating the context to facilitate the translation of their beliefs into action. While the teacher acted on her beliefs, she never explained them in class and the students left this program with no understanding of how the teacher viewed physical education or why she believed it to be important. Instead, students' beliefs were strongly influenced by other contextual factors and they embraced the marginal status of physical education promoted by parents, administrators, and teachers.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

No description available.

This study collected information from 100 student teachers participating in programs at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst between 2001–2004. The data was gathered by using a combination of surveys, interviews, and notes from seminar discussions. The information about the experiences of these new teacher candidates in the schools was used to determine the critical decisions that student teachers must make each day. The responses have been separated into five areas or spheres of influence. These five spheres are teacher education, school setting, educational policy, teen culture, and individual experience/personality . Each critical decision or choice made by these new teacher candidates was influenced by one or more of these spheres of influence. Based on the study's findings, five critical choices have been determined, the consideration of which may help student teachers prepare for their experience. Five critical choices. (1) How to successfully implement classroom management strategies and teaching methods together in the classroom. (2) How to address “high stakes” tests and other standardized testing concerns. (3) How to build productive working relationships with a cooperating teacher and other school colleagues. (4) How to motivate and relate to adolescents. (5) How to manage the stress and uncertainty of the student teaching experience. Listed below are some additional findings from this study that could impact teacher education. (A) Combining classroom management and lesson planning proved to be crucial to successful lessons and to a successful student teaching experience. (B) Understanding one's lesson planning role as it applies to assessment and preparation for standardized tests has become an important component to successful teaching. (C) Nearly all new teacher candidates stated that establishing relationships with students was the most rewarding aspect of their student teaching experience. (D) The majority of new teacher candidates reported that managing stress (combining teaching, college obligations, and a job search) was one of the most difficult aspects of student teaching. It is hoped that with additional research, teacher education programs can continue to determine how to best prepare new teacher candidates to make the best decisions when faced with these critical choices.

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how 16 secondary school physical educators working in three different schools described and made sense of the place in which they worked. Three broad views of the school as a workplace were identified in the literature: (a) the physical setting of the school, (b) how the school is organized, and (c) the culture in which teachers do their work. Teachers were asked to take pictures of their school as a workplace and then to describe their pictures. A minimum of three weeks was spent at each school. Field notes were taken during job shadowing and observations and transcripts of informal and formal interviews were generated. School profiles were developed to describe the physical, organizational, and cultural characteristics of each school. Although the profiles represent the job of teaching physical education in secondary schools, they represent three distinctly different work environments in which the job of teaching occurs. There were also broad similarities identified among the three schools. These similarities are represented in the form of the following themes: (a) teachers feel ambivalent about the effects of isolation, (b) teachers lack control over significant aspects of their daily work lives, (c) teachers seek rewards for activities other than physical education instruction, (d) teachers feel a vacuum in department leadership: like a boat without a rudder, (e) teachers are influenced more by students than by any other aspect of their workplace, (f) teachers' finite time and energy are drawn away from instruction toward other responsibilities. This study found that school context has a significant impact on teachers, their work and their behavior in the workplace and that schools have a strong role in defining the job of teaching physical education. Although the construct of teaching implies work that is common and well-known, work in schools varies in relation to the specific context of each school. Cultural variation among these schools defined their most important differences.

Nan Stein's report "A Gender At Risk" (1988), prepared for the Massachusetts Department of Education, noted a discrepancy in reference to the economic and gender related consequences of schooling, in particular to the Occupational Education programs. A comparison of female enrollment figures in Massachusetts Occupational Education in 1982 and 1985 indicated that female students continue to be disproportionately underrepresented in some of the more highly skilled and lucrative trade areas. This fact is alarming considering the long term economic consequences for females, or as defined in "Equity, Educational Reform and Gender" (Tetrault and Schmuck, 1985), 'the feminization of poverty'. Female students need to develop skills and competencies that will allow them to compete in jobs that offer competitive salaries and opportunities for promotion. The purpose of this study was to examine selected characteristics of female students enrolled in a comprehensive urban vocational education program during the 1988-1989 school year and to identify factors that influenced their selection process. Research included examination of identified characteristics of female vocational students; reasons cited by the female students for choosing vocational education; and the influence of family and school personnel in the students' selection. Thirty-five female students in a vocational program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, participated in this study. Information was gathered from student records, surveys and interviews. The findings were presented qualitatively and quantitatively. The research documented two primary influencing components. A combination of internal and external factors, including the student's interests and skill levels and the influence of parents and teachers, were the culminating factors effecting the student's decision to select a vocational program. Contributing factors included the students math and reading scores and special education needs. Factors that did not impact the student's choice included socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity and single versus two parent homes.

This study explores the experience of student teachers working in a track-system, and the meaning they make of that experience. A track-system purportedly separates students according to ability and interest. Most studies of tracking focus on the impact on students. This study focuses on tracking's impact on student teachers. In order to gain access to the meaning and understanding of the student teachers' experience with tracking, three, ninety-minute, phenomenologically based, in-depth interviews are conducted with each participant. This model of interviewing operates on the assumption that a person makes meaning of his or her experience after reflecting on the constitutive details of that experience. Of thirty-one participants, twenty-nine work in a track-system, while two teach in heterogeneous classrooms. The interviews reveal how student teachers' prior experiences with a track-system in high school influence their relationships with students. Some student teachers are uncomfortable working with students in the lower tracks. Some talk about how they do not understand the students in the lower track but feel more comfortable with students in the upper tracks. Student teachers discuss how their cooperating teachers inform them about the kinds of teaching tasks and activities students in different tracks are capable of. The cooperating teachers identify for student teachers those students who will succeed and those who will fail. The classroom students also affect the student teachers' attitudes. In the student teachers' eyes, students exhibit and model the "expected" behaviors of that track. These behaviors become the basis for how some student teachers respond to students. Student teachers often work in schools in which the policies of tracking remain hidden. These policies affect the content of their courses and their evaluation schemes. The two student teachers' experience of working in heterogeneous classrooms offer a qualitatively different experience from the participants working in a track-system. Their experience calls into question the role of the organizational context and the student teacher's biography in understanding student teacher socialization. This study shows how the track-system impacts on the emerging pedagogical practices of student teachers and has implications for teacher education programs.

Many new secondary teachers will begin their careers in urban schools because so many vacancies exist there. Because secondary urban teacher education programs are virtually extinct, many teachers will be unprepared to work in the urban classroom. Cooperating teachers may not be familiar with a wide variety of methods for managing urban classrooms. College/university supervisors, while some may be familiar with current research on urban teaching, do not usually spend enough time with student teachers. Full teaching loads also preclude both from devoting adequate time to student teachers. Urban student teachers may be left on their own. Many urban student teachers become frustrated and quit, or survive long enough to finish their practica, but do not seek employment in urban schools. Alternative methods must be found to prepare urban student teachers.

No description available.