Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2009. / Title from title page (Digital Archive@GSU, viewed July 29, 2010) Joyce E. Many, committee chair; Peggy Albers, JoAnna White, Dana L. Fox, committee members. Includes bibliographical references (p. 394-408).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 143 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-143). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-98). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2004. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 18, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Tami S. Martin, Roger Day (co-chairs), Johnny W. Lott, Beverly S. Rich. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-115) and abstract. Also available in print.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Education (Management) at the Durban Institute of Technology, 2003. / This research investigates the induction of newly appointed educators at four selected rural secondary schools in the Port Shepstone Region KwaZulu-Natal during the period 2001 to 2003. This study explores the notion of induction as a means of allaying fear, insecurity and uncertainty and any sense of unfulfilled expectations that newly appointed educators experience. This study also intends to apprise education departments of the need to make induction a more effective professional experience for the benefit of newly appointed educators / M

New teachers begin the school year with optimism and enthusiasm, but their excitement quickly wanes as they encounter the realities of the everyday life of a teacher. When they do not experience the successes they predicted, many begin to doubt their capabilities, which results in a lowered sense of teaching efficacy. This descriptive study was designed to identify the contextual factors novice teachers perceive as influences on personal teaching efficacy and to examine the relationships between the factors. Two groups of novice teachers who were concurrently enrolled in a post-baccalaureate accelerated educator preparation program and working as first-year teachers were the participants in the study. Data were gathered for the study through focus group activities, twice weekly journal entries completed during the teaching year, and a culminating “lessons learned” paper written during the last month of the first year of teaching. Each of the two focus groups identified nine contextual factors they perceived to affect personal teaching efficacy. Six factors were identified by both groups: parental involvement, support from administrators and colleagues, classroom discipline, testing results, teaching strategies and outcomes, and relationships with administrators and colleagues. The groups, however, perceived the relationships between the contextual factors differently. The generalists perceived recursive relationships between the factors, while the content group perceived a linear relationship.

The North Dakota Teacher Support System (NDTSS) mentoring program is available to 1st-year teachers employed in the state public schools. Because there has been limited research on the topic, the purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of how participation in the mentoring program affects the experiences and developing effectiveness of 1st-year teachers in rural schools, which is important because teacher retention and recruitment are a concern in rural schools. This study was set within a conceptual framework of andragogy and constructivism and guided by 2 research questions that inquired about the experiences of teaching in a rural school and working with an NDTSS mentor through the 1st year of teaching. This descriptive, embedded, single case study focused on 11 new teachers in rural schools who participated in the NDTSS program. Through constant comparison, 11 interviews, 6 sets of conference logs, and 5 performance rubrics were analyzed for the sample as well as NDTSS survey data completed by 154 new teachers. The results led to 11 themes that revealed each participant had unique experiences working with a mentor. Additionally, working with a mentor provided support to deal with challenges and develop teaching effectiveness, especially when there was a positive relationship between the mentor and new teacher. These findings guided the development of a professional development project for rural NDTSS participants, aimed at providing additional support to new teachers as they work with their mentors to develop their teaching identity and effectiveness. The results of this study contribute to positive social change by increasing the understanding, appreciation, and support of the experiences of 1st-year teachers, especially in rural schools, which holds the potential to strengthen teaching and learning in the state's rural schools.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The presented study contributes to growing and necessary research compilations that include the field of Deaf Education and First Year Composition. The central goal of this study is to better understand what d/Deaf students, American Sign Language interpreters, and writing instructors currently experience when working together in a mainstream writing classroom to conduct clear communication among all participants. To address the support of d/Deaf students in such environments, a review of current literature that intersects the fields of Deaf Education, Disability Studies, and Writing and Rhetoric was conducted. Then, an IRB approved general interview study was conducted with culturally Deaf students, mainstream writing educators, and a nationally certified interpreter of the Deaf. Although this research touches just the very edges of an entire situation of inquiry and discourse, it offers a starting point from which educators and researchers alike can continue to develop further analysis of communication techniques to support d/Deaf writers in the writing classroom at the college level.

In their various works, researchers, writers, and scholars regularly discuss the public school building level principal. The principal’s role and the tasks performed by the principal are generally recognized as valuable to the educational community. For the most part, the general public has little idea of what the principal’s role entails. Building level principals complete training for the principalship, but their readiness for the principalship is debatable. There is little literature that discusses the first-year principal; the principalship of small, rural schools; and the principalship as experienced by a first-year principal. This study identified what the first-year principal of a rural school encountered during his first year. The study documented events that included school stakeholders such as community members, board members, teachers, students, and central office personnel. The documented events are presented chronologically, beginning with appointment to the principalship and concluding with the final week of the first school year. Events included school finance, student discipline, and curriculum. The research was conducted as an autoethnography, which allowed documentation of the events of the first-year principal from a first-hand perspective. The intricate details provided insight to the first year of administrative duties. Findings determined that the principal’s readiness for assuming the principal’s role had little to do with prior educational training, but more to do with personal qualities and prior job experiences as a coach, teacher, and assistant principal. Discussion and recommendations include the need for preparation programs for rural administrators to recognize they cannot prepare administrators for all decisions they will make, but can prepare them to be decision-makers and leaders. Many duties of this first-year principal were learned on-the-job, including financial matters concerning the handling of school funds, the relationship with the school secretary, and the handling of athletic events.

The National Reading Panel (2000) asserts that there is a lack of research related to beginning teachers once they enter the classroom for the first time. The purpose of this study was to understand how a first year teacher, who was a student in the researcher’s reading and language arts courses, used the knowledge she gained in her undergraduate program during her first year of teaching reading. Five research questions were posed for this study: (a) How did a first year teacher implement components associated with balanced literacy instruction, which she was taught in her undergraduate coursework? (b) How well prepared for teaching reading did a first year teacher perceive herself to be? (c) In what aspects of reading instruction did a first year teacher believe she needed support? (d) As the year progressed, how did the first year teacher’s implementation of balanced literacy instruction change? (e) How did the school context influence how the first year teacher taught reading? A qualitative case study design was used in this research study. The researcher was the instrument for data collection. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and teacher artifacts. One first year teacher participated in this study who was teaching for the first time during the 2006-2007 school year. Constant comparative analysis yielded five themes. The themes were balanced literacy instruction, preparedness, concerns, change, and enhancers. Balanced literacy instruction was implemented similar to the way the first year teacher was taught in her undergraduate coursework. The first year teacher believed she was prepared to teach reading, although she demonstrated personal initiative and desired to learn more during her first year. The areas of concern for the first year teacher were related to reading instruction and general concerns. Although her classroom instruction did not change, she did change her schedule. School-related contextual features such as coaching, mentor teacher, district workshops, and collegial peers supported teacher’s reading instruction. Recommendations for teacher educators and school administrators are described.