Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 187 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-164).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, IL, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 36-39).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 36-39).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, IL, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 36-39).

This research study has emerged as a result of my concern regarding many of my colleagues’ apparent low morale in the teaching profession. Since the new dispensation in 1994 the South African education system has undergone numerous and intensive curriculum changes as varying policies aimed at transforming education in South Africa have been implemented (Asmal, 2009). I, therefore, decided to investigate the lived experiences of Intermediate Phase teachers regarding curriculum renewal processes in South Africa over a fifteen year period from 1998 to 2012. This period encompasses the four curriculum renewal processes which have been implemented since 1994. The research undertaken was an empirical study and qualitative methods were used for data gathering purposes. Data collection tools included unstructured, individual, in-depth interviews and reflective journal entries. The qualitative data generated suggest that many teachers in the Port Elizabeth Metropole appear to be demotivated by the uncertainty around curriculum renewal and the impact this has on curriculum implementation in their respective classrooms. According to Ornstein and Hunkins (2004), the implementation process of a new curriculum requires extensive actions by the designers and implementers of the new programme and Smith (2008) asserts that managing change in education, and improvement in classroom instruction, are very complex tasks which teachers and learners face worldwide. The study revealed that the main obstacles to successful curriculum change initiatives are insufficient training of teachers, lack of support for teachers and time constraints under which teachers work. An investigation into the lived experiences of teachers regarding the post- apartheid curriculum renewal processes should make a valuable contribution to the debate in terms of providing insights for curriculum implementers of possible alternative curriculum implementation strategies for more effective curriculum renewal processes in the future.

Recent efforts to help teachers improve have centered on teacher evaluation. This qualitative dissertation explored how eight teachers from one middle school described and understood improving their practice Additionally, this study used purposeful developmental sampling to explore how, if at all, participants’ way of knowing (meaning their internal cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal capacities), as assessed by an expert developmental psychologist who employed the Subject-Object Interview (a reliable developmental assessment tool), might help with understanding how they teachers themselves describe and make sense of improving their practice. The participant’s way of knowing influenced their conceptions of improvement, as well as the supports and challenges they encountered. This study has implications for teachers themselves, as well as school districts and district leaders, as they work to improve teacher practice. This study is unique in that it focuses on the experiences and understandings of teachers, all of whom work within one middle school, as they strive to improve their practice. The research was set in a district with a unique teacher evaluation system through which teachers participate in setting evaluation goals and evaluations were not at all tied to standardized test scores. I recruited an expert developmental psychologist to conduct Subject-Object Interviews in order to develop a purposeful sample of eight participants with a developmental range from socializing to self-authoring way of knowing. Eight Subject-Object interviews and 24 in-depth, qualitative interviews (approximately 36 hours, transcribed verbatim) were the primary data source. Data analysis involved several iterative steps, including writing analytic notes and memos; reviewing, coding, categorizing data to identify key themes within and across cases; and crafting narrative summaries. For each of the connected dimensions of understanding improvement conceiving, recognizing, and supporting improvement participants’ way of knowing was intimately tied to how they described how they improved their practice. The key difference between the dominant socializing knowers and the dominant self-authoring knowers emerged that the socializing knowers were subject to external authorities and factors, while the dominant self-authoring knowers relied on their internal values and judgment. In describing their understanding of what it meant to improve, all of the participants described how they sought to improve their practice by deepening their PCK and improving rapport with students (8 of 8), with the dominant socializing knowers relying on external authorities and providing their descriptions from within their own experiences. The dominant self-authoring knowers had strong internal systems from which they evaluated external information to evaluate its relevance to their improvement. Participants also discussed their uncertainty recognizing improvement (8 of 8). For the fully socializing knowers, they were uncertain about their own improvement because of changeable external forces. Those participants who were dominant socializing knowers with full capacity for self-authoring ways of knowing, they expressed uncertainty in themselves, so the source was internal. The dominant self-authoring knowers had their own theories of the inherent uncertainties of measuring improving their practice, yet also described ways that they could gauge improvement. Almost all participants named both observing others (7 of 8) and time to meet with colleagues (7 of 8) as practices that supported improvement. The dominant socializing knowers valued time to observe others and to meet with colleagues as opportunities to take in ideas from external sources to help them improve their practice. In contrast, the dominant self-authoring knowers appreciated time to meet with and to observe colleagues so that they could problem-solve, evaluate ideas, and build community. In sharing their understanding of district initiatives and teacher evaluation plan, how participants described supports and obstacles for their improvement were qualitatively different based on their way of knowing. Some participants described district initiatives as helpful (3 of 8) for their improvement, but that all participants (8 of 8) said that the high volume and short life span of the initiatives created obstacles to their improvement. For the dominant socializing knowers, they described feeling judged and that they had to “keep up” with new initiatives. The dominant self-authoring knowers discussed initiatives as distractions from their self-determined improvement path. Importantly, the dominant socializing knowers in leadership roles expressed increased anxiety in having to represent new initiatives to colleagues. All participants (8 of 8) identified features of the teacher evaluation plan that were helpful for their improvement. For the dominant socializing knowers, they valued the external authority of guiding documents, whereas the dominant self-authoring knowers valued the time to discuss and evaluate their work with their evaluator. Most participants (7 of 8) also described ways in which the teacher evaluation plan created obstacles in their efforts to improve. For the dominant socializing knowers, they were concerned about feeling inadequate in their improvement, while most of the dominant self-authoring knowers expressed that the evaluation plan took away time and focus from how they thought they could best improve their practice. According to my research, teachers benefit from time to meet with and to observe their colleagues as well as transparency as to how to reconcile past and present initiatives. Additionally, to support teachers who are dominantly socializing in their way of knowing, my research shows that they profit from clearly delineated written guidance and affirmative discussion with evaluators.

The purpose of this study was to determine if middle school student scientific understanding could be predicted by the variables: standardized 5th grade score in science, standardized 5th grade score in mathematics, standardized 5th grade score in reading, student attitude towards science, socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity. The areas of the comprehensive literature review were trends in science learning and teaching, research in the K-12 science education arena, what factors have influenced K-12 science education, scientific understanding, what research has been done on K-12 scientific understanding, and what factors have influenced science understanding in the K-12 arenas. Based on the results of the literature review, the researcher of this study examined a sample of middle school 8th grade students. An Attitude Towards Science Survey (SATS) Simpson & Oliver (1990) and a Survey of Scientific Understandings (Klapper, DeLucia, & Trent, 1993) were administered to these 116 middle school 8th grade students drawn from a total population of 1109 who attend this middle school in a typical county in Florida during the 2010- 2011 school year. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test each sub-hypothesis and to provide a model that attempted to predict student scientific understanding. Seven null sub-hypotheses were formed to determine if there were significant relationships between student scientific understanding and the abovementioned variables. The results of the tests of the seven null sub-hypotheses showed that the sub-hypothesis that involved socioeconomic status was rejected, which indicated that the socioeconomic status of a family does influence the level of scientific understanding of a student. / Low SES students performed lower on the scientific understanding survey, on average, than high SES students. This study can be a source of information for teachers in low-income schools by recognizing potential areas of concern for low-income students in their science classrooms. The study is also a guide for administrators in developing science curriculum that is designed to remediate critical science content. Recommendations, further research, and implications for stakeholders in the science education process are then identified in order to focus on the concerns that these stakeholders need to address through a needs assessment. / by Joshua Matthew Strate. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Frank B. Murray, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2008. / Includes appendixes: p. 45-50. Title from PDF title page (viewed September 28, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 42-44)

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-203). Also available on the Internet.