<p> The purpose of this study was to determine school personnel&rsquo;s perceptions of safety in their school building as well as determine their confidence in their abilities to respond to an active intruder incident. The participants of this study were school personnel from a suburban, Southwestern Illinois PreK-12 school district. The study captured perceptions of safety and school procedures within the district&rsquo;s nine buildings. The sample of participants were obtained through purposeful and convenience sampling. The participants were then assigned into five categories of participants, purposely identified: Administration, Teachers/Faculty, Support Staff (e.g., paraprofessional, aides, secretaries), Other Staff (e.g., custodians, caf&eacute; workers, bus drivers, monitors), and Substitutes (for all positions). In addition, the school&rsquo;s current documented policy on school safety and active intruder response procedures was reviewed. The qualitative design of this study included interviews and document analysis. The study was a phenomenological study with triangulation that included research questions addressing school personnel perceptions of safety and their preparedness in the event of an active intruder situation, comparing these responses among the identified categories, and identifying the type of active intruder training provided to school personnel. The seven themes that emerged from the interviews were limited safeguards, sense of safety, training, response issues, supplies and equipment, handbook awareness, and improvements. Additional research is needed to determine if other schools in Illinois require improvements in their active intruder response plans, procedures, and provided training.</p><p>

<p> The current qualitative study focused on understanding the process of learning to teach. Using interviews of teacher educators, the study explored the importance of a set of teaching activities developed as part of the Teacher Self Efficacy Survey (Tschannen-Moran &amp; Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) as well as the inclusion of instructional and assessment strategies for the teaching activities and the quality of beginning teacher performance of the activities. </p><p> Data were collected from interviews of 15 teacher educators. A process of open, axial, and substantive coding was applied to the data to inductively identify and categorize data relevant to the purpose of the study and to allow comparisons among and between categories. </p><p> Findings suggested that teaching activities are critically important to and a comprehensive description of effective teaching, and that beginning teachers struggle with differentiation and applying their learning to their practice. Further, findings suggested that the source of beginning teacher struggles was found within the teacher education program, within school contexts, and between the two institutions. In addition, findings suggested that beginning teachers perform the student engagement activities and those related to instructional strategies more proficiently than classroom management activities, and that all three teaching activity categories were included in the curriculum, but to different degrees and not all as part of curriculum design. A variety of pedagogies were used to prepare preservice teachers; however, there was no reported knowledge of assessment instruments used to measure preservice teachers&rsquo; readiness for teaching and to obtain data on the performance of their graduates. Lastly, this study revealed that teacher education program leaders were reluctant to participate in a study that sought to draw direct connections between the skills taught in the program and how well beginning teachers perform them. </p><p> Based on the findings, the researcher recommends further studies to determine the viability of the teaching activities as a comprehensive and accurate definition of effective teaching. Further the researcher recommends that teacher education programs and school districts adopt the teaching activities as a consistent framework for providing preservice education, for setting school district expectations, and for conducting teacher evaluations.</p>

<p> Teacher preparation programs are facing increased pressure to report on the outcomes of their graduates, including their job placement rates. Prior research on job placement for teachers establishes that a variety of factors are related to whether or not individuals apply for and receive jobs. This research study explored these factors through quantitative analysis of three cohorts of teacher preparation program completers within the institutions of the University of Maine system, using logistic regression to identify the individual and contextual characteristics that are most predictive of job application and hiring.</p><p> Of the factors studied, the most influential factors in job placement in public schools in the state were (1) in-state residency status, (2) preparation in a teacher shortage area, (3) completion of a post-baccalaureate preparation pathway, (4) receipt of financial assistance that requires completion of future teaching service, (5) institution attended, (6) GPA relative to other graduates, (7) year of graduation, and (8) age at the time of completing the program. However, these combined variables provide less than 20% of the potential predictability in job placement outcomes. This suggests that additional work is needed to identify the factors influencing beginning teacher placement. Job placement rates for preparation programs should be interpreted with caution, as at least some of the related factors are not within the control of preparation programs (e.g. year of graduation). Furthermore, the use of job placement rates to make high-stakes decisions may provide incentives to programs to implement policies that may not be ethical (such as preferential admission of younger applicants) or that may not be advisable for other reasons.</p>

<p> The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study was the identification of teachers&rsquo; perceptions of professional development during the transition to and implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in the classroom. National reform efforts driven by an increased need for skill acquisition applicable to diverse needs in an ever-expanding global economy and increased demands for teacher accountability in the realm of student achievement requires additional teacher professional development. This study applied the constructs of social learning theory and constructivism in developing both the research questions and subsequent interview questions used during the data collection phase. Identification of overarching themes and patterns in participant responses provided crucial information relevant to the ongoing development of teacher professional development training opportunities from which teachers improve and expand pedagogical knowledge while applying CCSS in classroom instruction. The key emergent these derived from data analysis include, Theme 1: Sharing informational resources; Theme 2: Engagement and active participation; Theme 3: Collaboration enhances implementation; and Theme 4: Implementation and support. This study has the prospective to provide positive progress in the development and delivery of professional development aligned to teachers&rsquo; stated interests and concerns.</p>

<p> For centuries, education policymakers have sought to identify the most effective way to assess a potential teacher&rsquo;s readiness to enter the classroom. These assessments evolved from multiple choice examinations to performance-based assessments focused on teacher actions. The latest iteration of these performance-baed assessments is edTPA. </p><p> edTPA&rsquo;s structure mirrors that of the assessment for National Board Certification (NBC) designed for veteran teachers. The NBC assessment has shown to be educative for teachers who complete it, leading to positive changes in their post-assessment practice (Athanases, 1994; Hattie &amp; Clinton, 2010; Sato, Darling-Hammond and Wei, 2008; Steeley, 2003). This study examines whether edTPA has similar educative impacts on early career teachers. </p><p> Since edTPA is relatively new, little research has been completed on its impact on teacher practice. Most of the current literature on edTPA focuses on its implementation or on pre-service candidate perceptions of completing the assessment. This interview study also examines candidate perceptions but focuses on whether they felt completing edTPA was educative and impacted their current practice. </p><p> This study includes twenty teachers who participated in two hour-long interviews given roughly six months apart. All of the participants were recent secondary mathematics education graduates from one university. This study is among the first studies of edTPA to include teachers who both completed edTPA and have been teaching for at least two years. Another unique strength of this study is that, prior to the second interview, candidates reviewed their actual edTPA portfolio to help recall components of the assessment and to potentially make clearer connections between edTPA and their current practices. </p><p> The study results support the notion that edTPA can be educative and influence a teacher&rsquo;s current practices around planning, instruction, and assessment. The level of influence that completing edTPA has on a teacher&rsquo;s practices may be impacted by school or district policies that either hinder or support high-scoring edTPA practices. The results demonstrate how edTPA can not only be seen as a summative tool at the end of pre-service teaching, but also a formative tool that impacts the teaching practices of early career teachers.</p><p>

<p> The opportunity for the nation&rsquo;s students to secure gainful employment and economic stability is becoming increasingly tied to the attainment of postsecondary education (OECD, 2016). Student postsecondary success is tied to students&rsquo; level of college and career readiness, which can be partially attributed to the quality of education received in their K-12 studies. Current standards-based reform policy connected to the Common Core State Standards has been developed to promote college and career readiness through the provision of equitable standards for all students. The introduction and successful implementation of the CCSS requires teachers to shift their instruction to assist students with mastering the standards. As these changes are implemented across the nation, it becomes imperative that teachers understand the changes required of students as well as instruction tied to the standards, and can implement them, enabling students to master the concepts and skills associated with their grade and preparing them for the postsecondary studies needed to assist with the attainment of educational equity and a foundation for postsecondary success (Rothman, 2011). The CCSS are now 7 years old, and Louisiana educators have been using them as a basis for instruction for the past 5 years. Are Louisiana teachers fully aware of what instruction aligned to the standards truly means, and their role in advancing equal educational opportunities for students and the achievement of postsecondary success? </p><p> This phenomenological case captures data regarding teachers&rsquo; experiences with and understanding of the CCSS, the types of thinking required of college and career ready students, the instructional shifts needed for students to successfully access the standards, and the roles of teachers and of the standards in advancing equal educational opportunities for students. Based on the analysis of data from interviews and focus group discussion, the researcher found that (1) teachers are aware of the types of thinking and instructional shifts required of the CCSS, but are still experiencing a steep learning curve, and (2) although equity and equal educational opportunity are the intent of the standards, it may not be the reality. The reality is that the teacher makes the difference and provides the opportunity.</p><p>

<p> Policy changes influence various aspects of art education such as K-12 art education curricula, state licensure systems, and contexts of art teacher preparation. Despite strong relationships between art education policy and practical fields, few studies have attempted to understand art education from the perspective of policy analysis. This study explores the connections between art education policy and the field of art education through a focus on art teacher preparation in Indiana. Additional attention was paid to perceptions of the appropriateness of alternative licensure routes in relation to policies of academic and quality standards and the extent to which visual art teachers&rsquo; sense of identity as teachers and artists is affected by appropriation of these standards.</p><p> The theoretical framework of this study is the need to understand policy appropriation of standards (including visual art and art teacher preparation standards) as an on-going process, that is continually influenced and changed by internal (human level) and external (institutional level) factors. The appropriation process is effectively expressed through practices, narratives, and texts of practitioners.</p><p> To understand the status and factors of the art education policy appropriation in art teacher preparation, I collected data as printed or digital documents, and as interviews with faculty members and pre-service art teachers in two traditional visual art teacher preparation programs in Indiana. I analyzed external (institutional level) and internal (human level) factors to adopt and work with state and national standards. While national standards for visual art education (were adopted by many states and presented as voluntary policy, in Indiana the national standards were built into the Indiana&rsquo;s Academic Standards for Visual Art Standards for K-12 students. Visual art teachers were required to complete a traditional teacher preparation program and pass examinations to become licensed to teach art.</p><p> Findings reveal that faculty of higher art teacher education programs in Indiana paid attention to the national and state standards in K-12 visual art and the standards for teacher education when preparing students to become licensed K-12 art educators. External motivations were accreditations system for teacher preparation requested by Indiana Department of Education related to NCATE. Schools and districts could be external motivations that pre-service art teachers adopt the standards in order to succeed in a job market. Internal factors were respects of roles and leaders of art education associations, desires to train/be qualified teachers and attain balanced knowledge between art studio and art education. Alternative routes to licensure were viewed as economically advantageous but not supportive of high-quality education. Policy had little impact on issues of identity. I concluded with recommendations for improvement in art teacher preparation that were needs of supportive policies for pre-service teachers&rsquo; teaching and teaching licensure including traditional and alternative licensures.</p><p>

This study utilizes an alignment-crosswalk of metro-Los Angeles public K-12 school districts’ teacher evaluation items and the California Teacher Performance Expectations to determine which local school district evaluation items do not align with pre-service preparation course work standards, and which pre-service preparation course work standards are not assessed by local school districts. Findings initially indicated that many districts utilize the California Standards for the Teaching Profession, a set of standards defined by the same California regulatory body which responsible for developing and authorizing the California Teacher Performance Expectations. Initial findings also included school district evaluations not aligned to the California Standards for the Teaching Profession which were also crosswalked with the Teacher Performance Expectations to determine their alignment and non-coverage areas. Content analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis were performed to determine what gaps exist between preservice teachers’ preparation standards and in-service early-career evaluation standards.

<p> In the summer of 2011, the Studied School District (pseudonym) initiated teacher-training on the Focused Adaptable Structure Teaching (FAST) framework, a Direct Instruction model. RISE Educational Services provided the training and additional coaching continuously until the Spring of 2014. During this period of over 2 years, the FAST framework was the standard practice for delivering instruction in the Studied School District. </p><p> The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was multi-faceted: (a) to gather recollections of implementation of the FAST framework from teachers who experienced it as a discontinued school reform measure, (b) to have these teachers describe their own practices and perceptions of their peers&rsquo; practices during implementation of the FAST framework in order to assess Fidelity of Implementation (FOI), (c) to have these teachers describe the framework&rsquo;s influence on their beliefs about teaching and learning, and (d) to have these teachers describe the framework&rsquo;s influence on their current instructional practices. </p><p> Data for this exploratory research study were collected via semi-structured interactive interviews. The 10 participants were generated from a pool of teachers who were employed in the Studied School District at the time of training and implementation who were able to provide recollections of the experience from a practitioner&rsquo;s perspective. The interviews consisted of four prepared interview questions combined with unplanned clarifying questions that allowed for deeper reflection and analysis from the participants. </p><p> After a review and analysis of the findings and conclusions, two recommendations were produced from the study. First, when implementing new instructional programs, school districts should provide extensive introductory training prior to assigning teachers the task of putting the program into practice. The second recommendation is for the supervisors of instruction to ensure the expectations of implementation are communicated clearly and consistently at the district level and school sites.</p>

Although successful integration of technology into classrooms has proven beneficial to the learning process, little is yet known about how teachers respond to the introduction of technology and why some choose to use it while others do not. Using Sandoltz' stages of teacher technology adoption as a framework, this multiple case study utilized historical data that captured the experiences of teachers in 2001--2002 to determine the process of teachers' adoption of innovations into existing classroom practices. Participants included a purposive sample of eight 5th- and 6th-grade teachers from 3 schools. Data sources included teacher interviews, classroom observations, and video recordings of classroom practices for each teacher. Analysis included deconstruction by research question to identify patterns and emerging themes. The findings in this study showed that the voluntary nature of participation in technology integration activities contributed to students' success. It also indicated that teachers who received on-going grant support had greater success integrating technology into instructional practices. This study contributes to positive change by providing a tool that can be used by policy makers and staff developers to better improve the adoption of current and future technological innovations where resistance may occur.