The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between critical thinking abilities and critical thinking dispositions of preservice teachers in Taiwan. Critical Thinking Scale and Critical Thinking Disposition Scale were administrated to preservice teachers in Taiwan. A total of 1094 valid samples were obtained for investigating preservice teachers¡¦ critical thinking abilities, and 853 valid samples were obtained for investigating preservice teachers¡¦ critical thinking dispositions and the relationship between critical thinking abilities and critical thinking dispositions. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, one-way MANOVA, and canonical correlation. The results showed: (1) the scores of preservice teachers¡¦ critical thinking abilities and critical thinking dispositions were quite high; (2) female preservice teachers¡¦critical thinking abilities were significantly higher than male preservice teachers¡¦; (3) significant differences of critical thinking abilities across age levels were only found in Interpretation Subscale; (4) there were no significant differences of critical thinking abilities in education levels; (5) critical thinking abilities of preservice teachers at technological and vocational universities were significantly lower than general universities and universities of education; (6)critical thinking abilities of preservice teachers from college of social sciences were significantly lower than those from college of liberal arts and college of science; (7) there were significant differences of critical thinking abilities between those who took philosophical courses and those who did not take philosophical courses; (8) there was no significant relation between preservice teachers¡¦ critical thinking abilities and critical thinking dispositions; (9) preservice teachers¡¦ background, relevant curriculum experiences, and critical thinking dispositions accounted for 13% of critical thinking abilities through two canonical factors.

Given the growing cultural and economic diversity of today’s students, this qualitative case study investigates how 4 social studies preservice teachers taught for critical multicultural citizenship during their student teaching semester. The tenets of critical citizenship emerge out of the intersection of critical pedagogy and multicultural education. These tenets for critical multicultural citizenship education include seeking out and challenging gaps in democracy, promoting critical reflection and consciousness, and advocating for collective action to transform institutional injustices. This case study traced perspectives held by participants about the nature of democracy and citizenship and explored how these preservice teachers enacted these views in their classroom teaching. Data collection measures included five observations, reflective journals, three interviews, and other assignments related to the participant’s student teaching coursework. Findings suggest that these participants, all preservice teachers of color, adopted views and teaching practices that aligned with critical multicultural citizenship; however, participants struggled to overcome constraints in their student teaching contexts in order to teach for this kind of citizenship. / text

This dissertation examines the content of a required classroom management course to determine how preservice teachers are prepared for managing problem behaviors. Qualitative content analysis of interviews with four adjunct classroom management course instructors, their course syllabi, textbooks, assignments and projects, ancillary course materials, fieldwork, and formative assessment revealed how the topic of problem behaviors is incorporated and implemented in the design of the course and how the topic is addressed in the textbooks and other course materials selected for the course. The complexities of scholarly research, individual course instructors’ personal beliefs about classroom and behavior management and problem behaviors, and the implications of those personal beliefs upon text selection and course content that guide the preservice teacher’s developing philosophies to meet the challenges of today’s diverse educational settings provide the foundation for this interpretive analysis. Findings suggest that, regardless of the documented need for additional preservice teacher preparation in managing student behavior in general and problem behavior specifically, course content on problem behaviors in the classroom management course depends upon the course instructors’ personal beliefs about classroom and behavior management that developed through their personal knowledge, experience, and preferences. Academic freedom serves as a centerpiece of university professor and student rights. Academic freedom must support academic responsibility in the design, implementation, and evaluation of curriculum, preparation of course materials, complementary course offerings, and a competent and judicious treatment of the subject. Findings of this study reveal that the university’s academic responsibility for providing a “competent and judicious treatment of the subject” relies upon the personal beliefs of the individual course instructor. / text

My dissertation research explored the experiences of mathematics anxieties in women elementary preservice teachers while learning mathematics as K-12 students and while learning to teach mathematics. Previous studies conducted in mathematics teacher education have emphasized the importance of preservice teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching, as a confident and competent mathematics teacher is a vital necessity in the classroom (Beilock, Gunderson, Ramirez, & Levine, 2010; Gavin & Reis, 2003; Huebner, 2009). As evidence of elementary preservice teachers' anxiety, I analyzed three women preservice teachers' oral and written narratives about their experiences with learning mathematics and learning to teach mathematics, which I collected over eighteen months at key moments in their teacher preparation program. My findings have revealed that for some women elementary preservice teachers, mathematics anxiety may be an issue or concern that remains consistent and recurs for decades. In fact, the multiple stories that the three preservice teachers had to tell indicated that their experiences in learning mathematics led them to develop a unique coping strategy to deal with mathematics anxiety. They continued to utilize their strategy repeatedly across their experiences as a student learning mathematics and learning to teach mathematics, even when the strategy sometimes failed to protect them from stress, embarrassment, and demoralization. Moreover, these coping strategies appeared to become so powerful that when the women confronted situations in which they felt expected to know mathematical content that they did not understand, they used their unique strategies for coping with mathematics anxiety rather than seriously attempting to learn that content. In this manner, these coping strategies often appeared to have injurious effects on their mathematics learning. Given that my study only included three participants, I suggest future research that mathematics teacher education researchers may want to consider. I also propose ways in which mathematics teacher educators might address issues of mathematics anxiety in elementary teacher preparation programs.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to document and examine the beliefs held by preservice elementary teachers prior to entering a teacher education program concerning the nature of mathematics and their perceptions about the effective use of information and communication technology (ICT) for mathematics instruction. Through an online questionnaire (N=132) followed by interviews of purposefully selected respondents (n=8), the following questions were addressed: (1) What beliefs do preservice elementary mathematics teachers hold upon entering teacher education programs regarding the nature of mathematics? (2) What beliefs do preservice elementary mathematics teachers hold upon entering teacher education programs about how ICT should be used in the classroom? and (3) How do preservice elementary mathematics teachers’ beliefs about the nature of mathematics relate to their views about the use of ICT in teaching mathematics? Video-elicitation was used in the interviews to determine how respondents perceived various uses of interactive whiteboards. Respondents were grouped based on their beliefs about the nature of mathematics and their reactions to the videos that they were shown. It was discovered that interview respondents who held contrasting views about the nature of mathematics also held differing beliefs about teaching and learning as well as the benefits of ICT. Respondents who saw mathematics as a set of fixed naturally occurring rules, an Absolutist view, favoured teacher directed use of ICT to support the transmission of knowledge. On the other hand, those who viewed mathematics as a human construct, a Fallibilist image, were more in favour of ICT use to support student mathematics investigation and talk. The existence of a potential hidden curriculum was also discovered. Although all interview participants were shown the same videos, respondents in the two groups perceived roles of the teacher and students in the videos that were aligned with their beliefs about the nature of mathematics and teaching and learning. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-06-29 13:00:17.205

The overarching goal of this dissertation research was to develop and measure the psychometric properties of an instrument to assess preservice teachers’ content knowledge of the function concept embedded in contextual problems. This goal was accomplished through two research projects described in two central chapters. Chapter II reports on the collective case study that was used to pilot test the instrument and Chapter III details the rationale used in item selection and the psychometric properties of the new instrument. Unlike existing research studies that examine a broad range of function related topics using various forms of symbolic, tabular, and graphical representations as the basis for questions and problems, this study focused solely on function problems immersed in various real world contexts. Since this is not a common approach to measuring content knowledge of the function concept, the existing instruments in published studies were not found to be suitable for this specialized purpose. The psychometric measurements of the instrument did not suggest that the instrument was valid or reliable so more research will be required to validate the instrument. However, based on the preliminary results from testing, several potential suggestions can be made to teacher educations programs. Inferences drawn from the mathematical problem-solving cognition will aid in the development and validation of future instruments to assess preservice mathematics teachers’ knowledge of how to connect their knowledge mathematical concept of function to a contextual setting.

abstract: An understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS) remains a fundamental goal of science education in the Unites States. A developed understanding of NOS provides a framework in which to situate science knowledge. Secondary science teachers play a critical role in providing students with an introduction to understanding NOS. Unfortunately, due to the high turnover rates of secondary science teachers in the United States, this critical role is often filled by relatively novice teachers. These beginning secondary science teachers make instructional decisions regarding science that are drawn from their emerging knowledge base, including a tentative understanding of NOS. This tentative knowledge can be affected by environment and culture of the classroom, school, and district in which beginning teachers find themselves. When examining NOS among preservice and beginning teachers the background and demographics of the teachers are often ignored. These teachers are treated as a homogenous block in terms of their initial understanding of NOS. This oversight potentially ignores interactions that may happen over time as teachers cross the border from college students, preservice teachers, and scientists into the classroom environment. Through Symbolic Interactionism we can explain how teachers change in order to adapt to their new surroundings and how this adaptation may be detrimental to their understanding of NOS and ultimately to their practice. 63 teachers drawn from a larger National Science Foundation (NSF) funded study were interviewed about their understanding of NOS over three years. Several demographic factors including college major, preservice program, number of History and Philosophy of Science classes, and highest academic degree achieve were shown to have an affect on the understanding of NOS over time. In addition, over time, the teachers tended to 'converge' in their understanding of NOS regardless of preservice experiences or induction support. Both the affect of different demographics amongst teachers and the 'converging' aspect of their understanding of NOS provide much needed insight for teacher trainers, mentors, and researchers. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2011

This dissertation examined the California Music Project Teacher Training Program, which was designed to address inequities of music education in high poverty schools, support music teachers so they remained in those schools, and encourage preservice music teachers to build personal and professional capacity for work in under-resourced school environments. I viewed CMP within a broader framework of income inequality that directly impacted children, families and neighborhoods, and through those mechanisms indirectly impacted school functions and educational attainment for children. In light of a body of research on interventions in poverty and income inequality designed to stabilize school operations and thus improve children's educational attainment, I framed CMP as a similar intervention, designed to stabilize music programs and music teaching in the San Jose area. The San Jose site of CMP thus became the case of interest and I sought a broad cross-section of mentors and fellows associated with that site to inform the research. Data analysis revealed two systemic impacts on CMP schools: 1) California had low per-pupil spending overall, and in some CMP schools, per pupil spending was lower than the state average; and 2) most CMP schools were required to provide remedial instruction for large numbers of students. Due to budgetary pressures from remedial programs, there were few funds available for music programs, and due to the many students who needed remedial instruction in CMP schools, overall music enrollment was low, yet class sizes were large. The mentors were sustained in several ways by having fellows who helped in their music classrooms; however, mentors did not attribute their longevity to CMP, and several CMP mentors left their teaching positions in under-resourced schools. Prior to 2012, most fellows initially became employed as music teachers in under-resourced schools, but only a few remained in those positions.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF LAWRENCE KOFI AMETEPEE, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, presented on OCTOBER 19, 2015, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale TITLE: A CASE STUDY: EXPLORING THE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION DECISIONS TEACHER EDUCATORS MAKE AND EXAMINING HOW PREPARED PRESERVICE TEACHERS FEEL TO TEACH DIVERSE STUDENTS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. D. John McIntyre The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to explore the decisions teacher educators make while training preservice general education teachers for inclusive classrooms; (b) to examine the preparedness of the preservice general education teachers to teach all students, including students with disabilities in general education settings; (c) and to find out how the decisions teacher educators make may influence the preparedness of the preservice general education teachers to teach all students, including students with disabilities in general education settings. In this concurrent mixed methods study, 14 faculty members completed interview protocol, and 62 preservice general education teachers provided background information and completed Likert scale questionnaire. I also gathered data from teacher education program (TEP) documents. I used content analysis approach to analyze qualitative data and I analyzed quantitative data as Likert scale data. Results show that whereas the TEP offers a significant percentage of content knowledge courses more than methods and inclusive education courses, only three out of the 14 faculty members indicated specifically that content knowledge was more important than the other components of inclusive education. Results further show that 11 (78.57%) of the seniors who completed student teaching stated they felt confident, 18 (54.55%) of seniors who were on campus indicated they felt somewhat confident, and 11 (73.33%) of the juniors stated they felt somewhat confident teaching diverse students in general education classrooms. Furthermore, all the seniors who completed student teaching (14, 100%), twenty-seven out of the 33 (81.82%) of the seniors who were on campus, and eight (53.33%) of the juniors stated they thought they would be fully prepared to teach diverse students in their classrooms at the end of their programs. The results have implications for teacher education programs in regard to the competencies teacher education programs should emphasize and the professional development to faculty members. I also discussed recommendations that could place teacher education programs in a better position to effectively prepare preservice general education teachers.

There are many researchers that emphasize the importance of how teachers’ knowledge will affect students’ learning. However, not much research is focused on an international comparison between preservice mathematics teachers’ procedural knowledge and conceptual knowledge. There were 91 preservice mathematics teachers involved in this study. A test on the operations on fractions, decimals, percentages, and integers knowledge showed a) the significant differences between the United States and Chinese preservice teachers’ (PTS) procedural knowledge, b) the significant differences between the United States and Chinese PTS’ conceptual knowledge, and c) the relationships between the United States and Chinese PTS’ procedural knowledge and conceptual knowledge. By comparing the results, the researcher determined the strengths and weaknesses of preservice mathematics teachers in the two countries. The researcher will provide PTS some information based on the results of the knowledge test.