This study sought to further understanding of EFL teachers’ knowledge of speaking assessment and how their knowledge informs their speaking assessment practices in classrooms. Based on a socio-cultural perspective, the present study aimed at investigating EFL novice teachers’ current knowledge and practice of speaking assessment in a Libyan secondary school context. The study is based on the interpretive paradigm and adopted social constructionism as a philosophical stance. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were employed in two sequential phases. The findings of this study indicated that EFL novice teachers’ current knowledge of speaking assessment is complex and that was reflected in the different ways these teachers interpreted the concept of speaking assessment and in the ways they expressed their beliefs and values regarding how speaking assessment needs to be or is implemented in the classroom settings. Three main issues regarding teachers’ knowledge of speaking assessment emerged from the data. The first issue is that these teachers, although showing some variability in their knowledge and practice, seem to base their assessment practice on a view of spoken language being more about linguistic content than communicative effect. Secondly, that they mostly seem to afford more importance to summative assessment than to formative assessment. Thirdly, they have a view of assessment that focuses on the content to be assessed rather than on the process of assessment. The findings also indicated that while teachers refer to contextual factors that influence how they implement their knowledge into practice, their understanding of the notion of assessment seems to have more influence on their implementation of speaking assessment as process than that of the context. That is, their current understandings of the notion of spoken language seem to contribute to their current practice of speaking assessment. Also of significance are the participants’ views of the role of context. The results showed that although contexts are similar in some aspects, especially those related to institutional factors, teachers’ views show the uniqueness of the context, especially in the light of the unanticipated social, political and institutional changes. The implications of this study suggest that these EFL novice teachers’ current knowledge of language and of assessment goes beyond factual knowledge to their perceptions of language and their understandings of the purpose of assessment. They also suggest that context plays a role on their current knowledge and practice of speaking assessment. Thus, this study provides further understanding that what these teachers know and how they use their knowledge in practice arises from a complex interweaving of context and individual understandings.

Registered nurses with experience in the clinical area entering academia go through a transition that may lead to difficulties such as role ambiguity and role strain when beginning a new job. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences leading to role ambiguity, role strain, difficulty with role transition, and job dissatisfaction among the faculty at colleges of nursing in the mountain region of Western North Carolina. Guided by Kahn's organizational role theory and Schlossberg's transition theory, research questions investigated the nursing faculty experience of role ambiguity, role strain, difficulty transitioning into academia, and job dissatisfaction. A qualitative explanatory case study design using a convenience sample of 12 current full-time and adjunct nursing faculty was implemented for the study. Online anonymous written interviews were conducted for data collection. Data were analyzed and coded using open coding and thematic analysis to identify recurring themes. The results of the study revealed 6 themes: lack of preparation for academic role expectations, lack of awareness of new role requirements or new teaching assignments, difficulty transitioning into academia or a new teaching position, need for orientation and mentoring for nursing faculty, satisfaction related to the desire to stay or leave a position, and nursing faculty love what they do. The study findings informed the project, a professional development program for novice nursing faculty that supports the transition into a new role. Implications for positive social change include retention of nursing faulty, admission of increased numbers of nursing students, and more nurses working in communities with populations in need.

In a Level II trauma center, experienced nurses are retiring from nursing positions, which is causing an unstable workforce. According to the literature, there are not enough experienced nurses to mentor the new nurses. Evidence suggests that experienced nurses are associated with improved patient outcomes and that experienced nurse mentors can improve the work environment for less experienced nurses. Focusing on Watson's theoretical framework of caring and Covell's theoretical framework of intellectual capital, this phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of a small group of nurses. Five nurses with 15 years of experience and who had served as mentors were selected for in-depth individual interviews. Open coding and thematic analysis were used to analyze the data, and 5 themes emerged: lengthening work shifts and related effects, increasing workload and responsibilities due to higher patient acuity, learning new technologies, mentoring with a decreased patient ratio, and surveying customers as the main focus of patient care. The results of this study guided the development of a proposal for a computer-based learning module on nurse mentoring. The module explains what mentoring is, the importance of mentoring, and proper ways to mentor. Implications for positive social change include retaining intellectual capital in an organization through mentoring positions for experienced nurses.

Every year, drivers throughout the world are killed or injured in road traffic, particularly in developing countries. Young drivers run a greater risk everywhere, and this problem is still largely unsolved. Better understanding of the underlying processes could, however, be a useful tool in preventive endeavours. The aim of this thesis is to elucidate some of the accident problem among young car drivers. The focus is on understanding how lifestyle and other social and demographical factors influence the health of young people in terms of mobility and safety. Better knowledge of these factors makes it possible to design safety measures specially tailored for different subgroups. This is expected to help make the measures more effective and reduce the conflict between mobility and safety. The thesis is based on five studies, the first of which focuses on the factors that influence young people in their decision concerning whether or not to obtain a driving licence (Paper I). In the second study, focus lies on how groups with different lifestyles and socio-economic background start practice driving and the benefit derived from the opportunity to practise from the age of 16 (Paper II). The third study aims at visualising accident patterns during driving practice (Paper III) while the fourth evaluates the effects of a reform that lowered the age limit for practice driving to 16 (Paper IV). The last study aims at analysing the relation between the lifestyles of young drivers and accidents (Paper V). The results of the five studies underlines the complexity of the young driver problem. Many factors such as financial means, time and norms influence how many people take their licence and consequentially, safety and health (I). Socio-economic background together with lifestyle influences the possibility of obtaining a driving licence and of accumulating extensive driving practice (II), which is relevant as regards safety on the road for newly qualified drivers (IV). Paper III shows the prevalent accident pattern during driver training and Paper V shows that the accident risk is different in different lifestyle groups. The combined results presented in the five papers offers the possibility of developing different countermeasures for the selective influencing of different groups under different conditions. If this is adapted as closely as possible to target groups and situations, it should be possible to significantly enhance safety without losing much of young drivers’ mobility, both during driving practice and afterwards. / On the day of the public defence of the doctoral thesis the status of the articles I was: Under review and article II was: Submitted. The titel of article III was "Typical accident patterns during driver training in Sweden – an explorative study using correspondence analysis". Aricle I and III are published in full text.

The purpose of this research was to investigate what can be learned from the professional voices of secondary novice science teachers in rural schools during their first one to three years of their teaching assignment. The results of this research were viewed through the lens of empowerment as defined by Melenyzer (1990) and the six dimensions as defined by Short (1994): autonomy, self-efficacy, professional growth, status, impact, and decision making. This study examined what caused teachers’ empowerment to change in the context of their work environment with a focus on key events or experiences that caused empowerment to change. Data were collected that provided insight into what can be done to strengthen empowerment and improve retention so that rural novice science teachers can reach their full potential. In addition, patterns were examined to determine what strengthened or weakened teacher empowerment so that schools, professors, or science specialists can provide appropriate professional development opportunities for their new teachers and help teachers move along the professional continuum. This research can be utilized to determine what secondary novice science teachers bring to the classroom as well as what they need to become empowered effective teachers. The data revealed some important findings that fill in the gaps from Hobbs; (2004) and (Barufaldi, Hobbs, Moreland, & Schumacker, 2010) empowerment work with veteran (9+years) science teachers and Moreland’s (2011) empowerment research with mid-career (4-8 years) science teachers. Autonomy and decision making were not viewed as distinct dimensions but had significant effects on empowerment, self-efficacy was influenced by student successes, classroom management, and inadequate pre-service training, professional growth closely resembled empowerment, impact was weak but it did exist for many of the teachers, status was higher than expected for all teachers, overall empowerment was higher than expected, attending conferences such as the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST) was a major positive force for empowerment, positive reinforcement played a large role in empowerment and leadership was found to either drive empowerment upward or break down empowerment depending on the situation. The results of this study can be used to inform decisions on how to differentiate professional development for science teachers as well as how they can be professionally sustained, empowered, and retained over time. / text

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Psychotherapists experience a variety of stressors, and many report mental health problems and burnout. However, most psychologists are satisfied with their careers. Therapists-in-training experience similar challenges, and must also survive the demands of graduate school, yet the number of applicants to Canadian psychology programs continues to rise. What attracts these individuals to practice psychology in spite of the negative effects of therapy work? How do they overcome challenges and remain healthy during training? My aim in this study was to gain insight into the experiences of novice therapists. I wanted to explore their perceptions of health, and identify influences that contributed to and hindered their well-being. Interviews with six trainees were conducted, and what resulted was an ethnographic thesis focused on the experiences of novices in the context of training. Participants provided deep, detailed descriptions of how their beliefs, expectations, and well-being were impacted by the culture of training programs. / Counselling Psychology

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence that social class identity has on the emerging professional identities of novice teachers. The study argues that schooling in the UK is classed in terms of its history, outcomes and processes, and as a result, situates teaching as a form of ‘class work’. Given the strong arguments for situating teaching in this way, this thesis seeks to increase our understanding about the way class actually works in relation to teachers’ identities and the impact this has on their work as teachers. This study was qualitative and longitudinal in nature and used semi-structured interviews as the main method of data collection. A group of eleven novice teachers were followed over a two year period as they both learnt to become teachers on a postgraduate initial teacher education programme and then one year later after most had started teaching in secondary schools. The thesis begins by examining the complexities of the heightened, emotive and fiercely debated issue of class and draws strongly on understandings that locate class in contemporary Britain as being about culture as well as social structures. It recognises that whilst the emerging professional identities of teachers are heavily shaped by life experiences prior to becoming a teacher, new and varied teaching experiences have the capacity to impact on the way teachers see themselves and their understandings of their work in schools. Using data rich stories of six of the novice teachers to exemplify the wider sample, this thesis illustrates the ways in which classed identity shapes novice teachers’ early understandings of schooling and becoming a teacher. It demonstrates that class really does matter for novice teachers but that it plays out in complex and sometimes contradictory ways. In particular, the thesis draws on the notion of social class boundaries and the way in which teaching often involves the crossing of these. The crossing of class boundaries is identified as being a central feature of the novice teacher experience. It is argued that class boundary crossing creates tensions for novice teachers not least because their own class identities are called into question and troubled by this process. One feature of this process is that many novice teachers recognise teaching as ‘class work’ and additionally understand that the cultural capital they bring to this context may not be equally valued in all educational settings. This can result in a class identity acting in restrictive and constraining ways. Whilst some novice teachers are bound by their class identities, others are able to play strategically with their class minimising the disadvantages of a perceived lack of appropriate cultural capital. This study suggests that the ability to know how and when to strategise is itself classed, a coping mechanism employed by middle rather than working class novice teachers. The study concludes by examining the implications of these findings for novice teachers and their preparation for work in schools. It argues that the classed identities of teachers need to be explicitly examined in a supportive and reflexive manner within initial teacher education.

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.

Many Schools of Nursing’s Deans and Directors throughout the nation find themselves hiring novice nurse educators for a wide variety of reason such as expansion of their nursing programs, retirement of nursing faculty, and presentation of other opportunities for experienced nursing faculty. Deans and Directors for Schools of Nursing in Tennessee are faced with the same challenge. As a result, the Tennessee Deans and Directors for Schools of Nursing have made a commitment to help novice nurse educators, in particular, to be successful in their new role. These Deans and Directors know the specific needs of novice nurse educators they are hiring and essential topics that these nurse educators must become familiar with in order to be successful. In 2017, the Deans and Directors for Schools of Nursing in Tennessee developed the Tennessee Nurse Educator Institute. In its third year, the Tennessee Nurse Educator Institute is offered annually before the start of the academic school year. The purpose is “to provide knowledge and skills for the novice nurse educator and a refresher for more experienced faculty.” Initially, it began as a two-day activity but since has been expanded to three days. Topics include valuable information for the novice nurse educator such as writing test items and analysis; a perspective on surviving the first year as a novice nurse educator; designing a curriculum; engaging students in the 21st century; the importance of the RN-NCLEX blueprint; the basics of clinical teaching; teaching with simulation; evaluation methods for didactic and clinical courses; developing a syllabus; and the importance of program evaluation. Since the launch of the Tennessee Nurse Educator Institute, the total number of nurse educators attending the institute is 195. At the end of the three-day educational activity, nurse educators complete an evaluation to ensure the institute is its goals. In addition, participants are asked for input on what they felt helped them the most, the strengths and weaknesses of the program, and future topics to include. Responses from the evaluations have been overwhelmingly positive. Participants completing the survey was n = 133. Results of the evaluations from the three years showed the following: 98% (131/133) of the participants strongly agreed or agreed that the purpose of the conference was met, the information received will help them be more effective in their position, and they could use the information they learned right away; and 97% (129/133) of the participants strongly agreed or agreed the conference met their expectations. No barriers or obstacles have been encountered in achieving the program’s goal. The Tennessee Deans and Directors for Schools of Nursing plan to continue with the institute every year to help meet the needs of novice and more experienced nurse educators. When nurse educators are given the proper tools to be successful, nursing education is ultimately advanced with outcomes consonant with excellence. The goal is to make sure that nursing educators are using evidence-based practice when teaching future nurses.