The purpose of this study was to understand the current situation of junior high school teachers¡¦ perception and actual use of services or support provided by Compulsory Education Advisory Group in Kaohsiung Municipality, and to investigate the relationship between the perception and actual use of junior high school teachers. This researcher, through this study, aimed to offer related suggestions for Compulsory Education Advisory Group in Kaohsiung city in order to improve its operation model in the future. The methodology of this study was a questionnaire survey. The subjects of the study were certificated junior high school teachers in Kaohsiung city. ¡¥¡¥Questionnaire about perception and actual use of the services or support provided by Compulsory Education Advisory Group in Kaohsiung city¡¦¡¦, which was developed based upon literature review, was adopted as tool for this survey. 700 questionnaires were issued while 569 valid questionnaires were received, with valid sample rate of 81.3¢H. The collected materials were analyzed to obtain conclusions through a variety of statistical methods, such as descriptive statistic, T-Test, One-Way ANOVA, Pearson Correlation, and Simple Regression Analysis. The main conclusions of the study are as follows: 1. Junior high school teachers¡¦ perception of services by Compulsory Education Advisory Group in Kaohsiung Municipality are below the middle level, with the highest on the domain of ¡§holding curriculum and teaching workshops¡¨. 2. Junior high school teachers¡¦ use of services provide by Compulsory Education Advisory Group in Kaohsiung Municipality are below the middle level, with the highest on the domain of ¡§holding curriculum and teaching workshops¡¨. 3. Teachers of male, social study field, with part-time administration chores and in smaller schools, have generally higher degree of perception of Compulsory Education Advisory Group¡¦s services. 4. Teachers of male, aged between 31 and 50, years of teaching between 6 and 20, social study field, with part-time administration chores and in smaller school, have generally higher degree of use of Compulsory Education Advisory Group¡¦s services. 5. There is a positive correlation between junior high school teachers¡¦ perception and actual use of services provided by Compulsory Education Advisory Group in Kaohsiung Municipality. 6. Junior high school teachers¡¦ perception of services by Compulsory Education Advisory Group in Kaohsiung Municipality has a significant prediction of their actual use, with the highest with the domain of ¡§providing teachers teaching materials¡¨. Based upon the above conclusions, the researcher offers several related suggestions to the education authority, Compulsory Education Advisory Group, junior high schools, advisory group members, and junior high school teachers as references to operate the Group more effectively in the long run.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-223). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

This study sought out the perceptions of middle school (any combination of grades 5-9) educators in 19 states regarding the specific learning experiences that should be included in the curriculum for the preparation of junior high/middle school teachers, the skills or characteristics that are needed by a junior high/middle school teacher to best meet the needs of the early adolescent, the desirability of a discrete middle school certificate and the reasons why or why not. Using the data collected, a paradigm was designed for a junior high/middle school teacher training program that reflected the best thinking of these educators. This middle school study utilized a modified Delphi Technique in surveying the perceptions of administrators, teachers holding secondary certificates and teachers holding elementary certificates currently employed at junior high/middle schools, North Central Association associate state chairmen, and college of education professors. The three primary points emerging from this study are (1) that the lines of communication need to be opened between educators in the junior high/middle schools and those at institutions where policies, teacher preparation programs and certification requirements regarding middle school education (and educators) are being formulated, (2) that those same policies, teacher preparation programs and certification requirements be formulated on the basis of research data gathered directly from those educators in junior high/middle schools, and (3) that a middle school teacher's characteristics are considered by those involved currently in middle school education to be more important than his/her skills.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-201).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-201). Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Quality Circles (QC) took root in Japan during the 1960s and was introduced into the U.S. in 1974. Today, many people believe QCs can increase teacher and school effectiveness. Beyond the realm of opinion, however, little research supports this belief. This study had three purposes. The first was to review QCs' literature. The second was to identify QC structures and problem solving procedures. The third was to test QCs in an educational setting and to analyze their effects on the attitudes of teachers. Methodology. QC groups and comparison groups were established at four school sites. Two measurement instruments, the Work Environment Scale (WES) and the Group Environment Scale (GES), were selected. Both the QC group and the non-QC group were pre tested using the WES. QC experience (treatment) was provided for the QC group. After six months, post testing was conducted to identify attitude changes regarding the work environment. The QC group was pre and post tested using the GES in order to identify change in participants' attitudes regarding relationships within the QC group and attitudes about the group's effectiveness. Findings. Hypothesis One: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about their work environment. In eight out of ten WES subscales, QC attitudes changed in the predicted direction. In only two cases, however, was the change statistically significant. Hypothesis Two: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about their work environment as compared to non-circle members. In eight of the ten WES measures, attitude improvement for the QC group exceeded that of the non-QC group. In only three cases was this improvement statistically significant. Hypothesis Three: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about other circle members. In four of five measures, change occurred in the direction predicted. In only one case was this change statistically significant. Hypothesis Four: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about the effectiveness of the group. All five measures of group effectiveness showed statistically significant change. Conclusions. (1) QCs can operate successfully in an educational setting. (2) The attitudes of QC participants toward their work environment improved when compared to the attitudes of non-participants. (3) QC problem solving QC worked effectively in the educational sites. (4) QC participation improved personal relationships.

The purpose of this study was to identify the educational stressors that are the predominant sources of teacher distress and burnout, discover and classify the common and persistent distressful situations in the educational environment, and illustrate a variety of coping strategies that can be practically implemented at the secondary school level. The analyses of data were accomplished through the statistical use of t-tests, one-way analysis of variance tests, and qualitative exposition. The sample consisted of 446 secondary school instructors, selected senior high school and junior high school respondents from five high schools and five junior high schools in the Tucson area. The examination of 54 educational stressors was conducted under the auspices of six research hypotheses which identified the variables on which senior high school teachers and junior high school teachers differed. The independent variables that were investigated were: sex (male and female teachers), teaching experience (0 to 4 years of completed teaching experience, 5 to 9 years of completed teaching experience, 10 to 16 years of completed teaching experience, and 17 to 38 years of completed teaching experience), age (21 go 30 years of age, 31 to 40 years of age, 41 to 50 years of age, and 51 to 67 years of age), marital status (married, single, widowed, divorced, and separated), and types of college degrees (bachelor's, bachelor's plus, master's, and master's plus or doctorate). An additional 63 educational stressors were named by the secondary school participants and listed in the study. For the purpose of this study the researcher developed the Teacher Stress Survey which was given to the 10 Tucson secondary school teaching faculties. The survey consisted of five parts: (1)15 demographic items, (2)54 educational stressors and their degrees of discomfort, (3)common and persistent distressful educational situations in the secondary school environment, (4)the coping strategies used to reduce or dispel the stress in the distressful educational situations and their levels of effectiveness, and (5)more appropriate or better coping strategies that might have been used. Over 70% of the secondary school instructors responded. The immediate crises' situations involving teaching materials and personnel seemed to be more distreeful to junior high teachers than high school teachers whose primary concerns were centered on the school's misuse of power and authority and the teacher's struggle with inadequate salary and unrealistic educational expectations. The 20 educational stressors identified by female teachers involved all areas of the educational spectrum--from paperwork to the future of education--while male teachers evinced concern with the lack of adequate salary and inconsistent educational methods and philosophies. The teachers with the least experience showed the most distress, particularly in the areas of school policy and populace. The teachers with the most experience were concerned about teacher representation, salary, and materials. The oldest teachers had the greatest distress in their lack of control over assignment, salary, and subject matter as well as their feelings of lack of self-esteem through professional stagnation. The marital status of the teachers did have a significant effect derived from their dissatisfaction with salary, the power of the school board and the superintendent, lack of teaching materials, lack of job security, the derogatory public view of education, and the paperwork overload. The teachers with the least amounts of educational preparation had the greatest distress in school policy formulation and ineffective parental support while the secondary school teachers with the advanced degrees were most distressed about the assignment of school duties.

This thesis develops a discipline-based ceramic instruction using art history, art criticism, aesthetics and art production, which will be used to train Nigerian junior secondary school ceramic teachers. Concepts of discipline-based art education, materials, and techniques of ceramics production will be used to make a systematic, sequential, written curriculum of activities that will be used in the class.

Abstract The aim of this study is first to present the current situation in computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, computer coping strategy and computer literacy in elementary and junior high school teachers, then to observe the variance resulting from teachers having different backgrounds, and finally to explore the relationships among the four factors. The subjects in this study are 452 elementary and junior high school teachers from Taipei city/county and Kaohsiung city/county, including 318 female and 134 male teachers. ¡§Computer literacy scale,¡¨ ¡§computer self-efficacy scale,¡¨ ¡§computer coping strategy scale,¡¨ and ¡§computer anxiety scale¡¨ are adopted as methods of analysis in this study. Data analysis are carried out by mean, standard deviation, t-test, Hotelling¡¦s , one-way ANOVA, multivariate analysis of variance, stepwise multiple regression, correlation and discriminant analysis. The findings can be summarized as follows: 1.In terms of the variables: personal background, factors of gender, age, degree(s) achieved, field of study, availability of computers, frequency and amount of computer use per week, and out-dated computer hardware tend to make subjects experience high computer anxiety and/or low computer self-efficacy. For example, an experienced female teacher with a B.A. degree in history had little contact with computers leading her to become anxious about computer use and poor on computer self-efficacy. 2.As for performance in computer coping strategy and computer literacy; they are related to teachers¡¦ competence in computer self-efficacy and computer anxiety. Teachers with high computer anxiety tend to show frequent avoidance of computer use and poor coping strategies in problem solving, support seeking, and self-adjustment, and a shallow understanding of computers and computer-assisted instruction. 3.The dominance of computer coping strategy and computer literacy over the degree of computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy can be validated with the validity of 60% above. 4.For elementary and junior high school teachers, their computer anxiety, computer self-efficacy, and computer coping strategy are significantly related to their computer literacy. 5.Teachers¡¦ computer self-efficacy, and computer coping strategy in solving problems and seeking support are implications for performance in computer literacy. Based on the conclusion of this study, some suggestions are made for future study: In terms of teachers¡¦ computer competence 1.Familiarity with computers can reduce teachers¡¦ computer anxiety 2.Positive experiences in computer use will enhance teachers¡¦ computer self-efficacy 3.Proper guidance given to teachers aids their computer coping strategy 4.Assistance provided builds teachers¡¦ confidence and application ability in computer-based instruction. 5.Requirements of teachers can be satisfied with related computer conferences and workshops. Regarding future study 1.Scope of subjects can be enlarged. 2.Variables in computer competence and performance can be added. 3.Tools of analysis can be improved. 4.Quantity and quality of the methodology should carry the same weight.