Dissertation (Ed.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2009. / Directed by Carl Lashley; submitted to the Dept. of Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 13, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-150).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, School of Education and Human Development, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-248).

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / The period immediately after entering the teaching profession is of the utmost importance to the newly qualified teacher. These first impressions experienced have implications for the quality of his teaching, his professional image and his future job satisfaction. At the moment the newcomer finds himself in the unenviable position of being expected to accept full responsibility in the teaching situation, without having undergone a formally structured orientation programme. The sudden change from training to practice can lead to practice shock, occupational stress and possibly an early resignation. Educational managers should do everything in their power to guide newcomers towards fulfilment and self-development by implementing an efficient orientation programme. Only through continual and differentiated monitoring of the integration of the newcomer can he be helped towards feeling secure. This should result in optimal efficiency in educating every pupil, which in turn would help towards the beginner's own development. Furthermore orientation of the newcomer should form an integral component of his continual professional development. Such a strategy implies effective education and top-rate teaching. It appears that little local research has been done on orientating newcomers to the teaching profession. This contrasts sharply with research done overseas. During the initial training period, the dynamic character of the teaching profession should be secured by identifying problem areas which occur in classroom management, general organization and administration or didactic matters. Prospective teachers should also during their teaching practice have the opportunity of exploring all the facets of the school programme.

The problem of the study was to determine the effectiveness of an in-service education program as a means of providing qualified foreign language teachers for elementary schools. Specifically, the problem was concerned with a statistical comparison of the achievement of two groups of pupils. One group was composed of fourth-grade pupils who were taught Spanish by teachers who had had a maximum of three college hours in Spanish and who had participated in an in-service education program. The other group was composed of fourth-grade pupils whose teachers had had a minimum of twelve college hours in Spanish but had not participated in an in-service education program.

Cultivating preservice teachers' reflection on their practice has been a major objective in teacher education over the last twenty years. Teacher educators have designed a number of activities, usually related to coursework, to facilitate preservice teachers' reflectivity. These kinds of assignments might be described as asking preservice teachers to reflect on demand. Studies in the past have typically focused on the discussion of specific strategies used to elicit reflection or descriptions of reflective teacher education programs. This study explored how preservice and first-year teachers understand and engage in reflection in different contexts while learning to teach. A sample of seventeen respondents, education students enrolled in coursework, student teachers, and first-year teachers, was selected to participate in the study. The data consisted of interviews, classroom observations and the examination of related documents. Preservice teachers taking courses engaged in introspection or self-reflection. This time was spent exploring their emerging identities as teachers. As respondents got opportunities to work in school settings, they began to reflect more on content and students. First-year teachers applied some of the reflective strategies they learned during coursework in their own practice. Several factors appeared to enhance preservice and first-year teachers' ability to reflect as they moved from coursework into student teaching and their own classrooms: (1) building relationships with teachers and students in K--12 classrooms, (2) engaging in reflective dialogue with 'more knowledgeable others'---university faculty and practitioners, and (3) having opportunities to teach on a regular basis.

Virginia, like many states and school districts has enacted beginning teacher induction programs which include the assignment of an experienced teacher or mentor to assist each beginning teacher. Unique to Virginia programs is that while support for program development has been provided by the Virginia Department of Education, specific guidelines on mentoring activities have not been mandated. Instead, local school districts have had the autonomy to make their own decisions regarding the exact structure of the program. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mentoring activities and perceived benefits and concerns related to mentoring as reported by mentees and mentors in ten Virginia mentoring programs. Three hundred sixty-six mentor/mentee dyads representing K-12 general and special education teachers in ten school divisions throughout Virginia were contacted. Of them, 157 mentees and 198 mentors participated in the study. using survey research methods participants were asked on a 23-item questionnaire to describe activities, benefits and concerns related to mentoring and their mentor programs. Data collected through the written survey questions were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The results indicated that most mentees and mentors thought the mentoring program was beneficial. Many activities came about as a result of the mentoring relationship. These include collaborating and conferring about lesson plans, materials, classroom management, instructional techniques, and discussion of curriculum. The program provided a collegial relationship giving mentees emotional support and encouragement. In addition, mentees felt they learned new teaching techniques and strategies, better Classroom management, and how to pace instruction more effectively. Mentors liked the recognition they received from being selected as a mentor and enjoyed the sharing of professional information with mentees. The major concerns expressed by both mentees and mentors were a lack of release time to observe, have conferences or collaborate and the lack of specific role definitions for the job as mentor. Given these concerns, it makes sense that school divisions ought to give more direction to defining the role of a mentor and insure release time to give them more opportunities for professional development. / Ed. D.

In 1995 Bedford County Public Schools in Bedford, Virginia, hired eight former military men to teach from a federally sponsored program known as Troops to Teachers. Only one of the men hired had completed a teacher licensure program; the other seven were utilizing the alternate route to licensure allowed by the Virginia Department of Education. These men were hired and placed in the classroom without any program especially designed for them by the division to assist in their transition from military life to the classroom. This study focuses on their first year as teachers. For this study, twenty-nine individuals were interviewed who were involved in the Troops to Teachers' first year experiences. Those interviewed were the eight Troops, seven Principals, eight Mentors, four Professors from the teacher licensure programs in which they were enrolled, the school division Superintendent and the Director of Instruction. Case studies were conducted using interviews to gather in-depth information using the key sources who worked with the Troop to Teachers participants. The interview protocols were developed to correlate with the research questions formulated for this study. Data obtained through interviews were analyzed. The findings indicated that the Troop to Teacher encountered some adjustment problems that are indicative of first year teachers. A number of problems encountered were unique to the individual Troop. The reliability and validity were solidified through triangulation of the interview data. At least two individuals were interviewed concerning each troop. Their experiences were categorized as follows: adjustments to education, adjustments to students, adjustments to instruction, support programs, barriers faced, job satisfaction, and suggestions for activities for future Troops to Teachers hired by Bedford County Public Schools. This study presents clear implications for practice. / Ed. D.

This study examined the teaching performance, academic achievement, and perceived staff value of teachers recruited through the Chesapeake Career Commitment Program as compared to those teachers recruited through a more traditional method. The problem statement of this study was to determine what differences existed between the Career Commitment teachers and the traditionally recruited teachers. Grade point averages, scores on the National Teachers Examination, evaluation of teaching performance by the respective principals, evaluation of teaching performance by the central office evaluator, and the staff value of teachers expressed by ranking scores were analyzed for both the Chesapeake Career Commitment teachers and the traditionally recruited teachers. Additionally, the reasons stated of both groups for accepting employment with Chesapeake Public Schools, and the retention rate for both groups was investigated. The subjects in this study were the 1985 Career Commitment teachers and certain selected teachers who were matched with the career teachers. The matched teachers were selected because they had not taught before and were assigned to the same school as was a Career Commitment teacher. Related literature was examined regarding supply and demand of teachers, recruitment, the need for quality teachers, measures of academic achievement, teacher retention and the development of Chesapeakes' Career Commitment Program. The findings reveal a measurable difference between the performance of teachers recruited through the Career Commitment Program and those teachers recruited in the traditional method exists. Findings suggest that: (1) the Chesapeake Career Commitment Program is very successful and should not only be continued but expanded beyond the present scope, and (2) that it may, if properly structured be equally effective to recruit and hire teachers prior to conclusion of all classwork and student teaching rather than observe the traditional delay until all educational work is completed. The principals, as a group, viewed the Career Commitment teachers as being more of a staff asset than the traditionally recruited teachers. / Ed. D.

Social media is becoming an increasingly studied phenomenon in recent years, with a rise in users and the wide variety of content. Political socialization covers mass media and social media, though it only discusses the implications of how attitudes are developed from media forms. While politics and political content occur on different social media platforms, the literature and research of this subject is lacking. Life-altering events can work to change one's political outlook, where motherhood, traumatic experiences, and first-time experiences can affect political opinions. Converging the two together, with specific groups on social media platforms discussing politics, will help to expand the knowledge of how politics and social media work with one another. This study seeks to examine first-year teachers and teachers on social media platforms, the types of content they post, the types of political content they post, and how they work to discuss political topics. I scraped different first-year teacher posts on social media platforms, coded the posts into different categories, and analyzed the trends in these posts. Then I take these first-year teacher posts and compare them with Florida teachers in the same context. This will help to understand how each of these groups vary from another in discussions of political content. With these findings working to expand the previous knowledge of how political socialization is within social media, how different teachers discuss political content, and the types of possible interactions work to socialize children in schools.