Thesis (B.A.)--Haverford College, Dept. of Economics, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 30, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-90).

No description available.

The purpose of the study was to examine and evaluate the extent to which the supportive conditions (collaboration, teacher efficacy, shared leadership, and trust) were present in the district's current professional learning communities (PLCs) model, and whether teachers perceived the supportive conditions to be related to improving their instructional practices. This mixed-methods study used Pearson correlation coefficient, multiple regression, and focus group interviews to concurrently triangulate data to answer the research questions. The sample from this study was identified from 600 middle school teachers. Survey participants included 139 teachers and each of the four focus group interviews contained 6 teachers for a total of 24 teachers. Of the four supporting conditions analyzed, trust generated the highest mean (M = 3.41). Results from this study indicate that the supportive conditions for PLCs have a strong correlation (0.10) with the studied district's current PLC model and each specific supporting condition elicits a targeted aspect of professional learning that has a significant impact on teacher instructional practices. Recommendations for future studies include the expansion of this study to include elementary and high school participants and to extend this study to a larger scope of interested districts seeking to improve their PLC structures for improved teacher instructional practices. Expanding this research could build upon the current body of literature as it relates to PLCs, professional learning, and student achievement.

No description available.

The present study is the result of research collaboration where participating teachers and a researcher have jointly analyzed and reflected over experiences from professional training and professional work in order to develop an understanding of skills and knowledge that are relevant to the professional development and professional lives of teachers. The focus is on four female primary school teachers’ stories. Certain things run through these stories. They are (i) a quest for professional development, (ii) a strong commitment to teaching and (iii) an ongoing identity-building process. The overall purpose of the thesis is to identify and describe these processes and thus contribute meaningful knowledge to the debate on teacher professional development within the Swedish educational landscape. Two questions have been particularly important. These are: – What individual and structural conditions and processes appear to be important for professional development and career choice? – Which key events and turning points can be identified in teachers’ lives and work, focusing on the early years of the occupation and how can these be understood? The professional life stories have a chronological structure and they have been organized around three time periods. One of these is The Road to the profession, including teachers’ stories about their background, school experiences, past professional life and what has influenced them to take the step to become a teacher, and experience from their education. The second is the first years in the profession. This is the period covering the first three years of working life after teacher education. It depicted a diversity of experience and the experience of strenuous and stressful work situations in which new teachers, with high aspirations, confronted at times unanticipated work assignments and challenging conditions for which they did not always feel fully prepared. However, as well as these tensions of development there also appears to be a period of intense and stimulating knowledge development in which the teachers experienced opportunities to put their ideas about education, development, cooperation and educational projects to the test. Through this they say that they developed professionally in a way that strengthened their professional identity. The continuing work history period is the third period. It includes experience from the three year period following the first years in the profession. Here the teachers describe a process of establishment at each workplace, where the teachers’ continuing quest for educational development and change is in the fore, as is an aim toward further professional development and greater stability in the professional role. / <p>Disputationen sker fredagen den 17 december 2010, kl 13.15, Hörsal D203, Högskolan i Borås, Allegatan 1</p>

Leaders in the counseling field are encouraging practitioners to develop a social justice perspective to counseling to ensure fair and equitable treatment of clients and stress the importance of advocating on behalf of these individuals (Lee, 2007; Lee & Waltz, 1998; Lewis, Arnold, House, & Toporek, 2003; Lewis & Bradley, 2000). The counseling profession, because it is a relatively young field struggling with its own identity (Chi Sigma Iota, 2005; Eriksen, 1999; Gale & Austin, 2003; Myers & Sweeney, 2004) could also benefit from advocacy. A two-pronged approach of professional advocacy, which is the process of advocating for both clients and the profession is the most effective and comprehensive method. The results of this study were intended to bring greater insight into professional counselors' willingness and ability to advocate on behalf of the profession by identifying their perceptions of activities, knowledge, skills, qualities, importance, need, barriers and support for professional advocacy, and by exploring the relationship between counseling professionals' attitudes toward professional counselor advocacy and their perceived level of conducting professional advocacy activities. Results indicated that professional counselors believe that they participate in professional advocacy activities and that they have the knowledge, skills, and qualities to conduct those professional advocacy activities. They report gaining most knowledge of professional advocacy from publications, then from modeling, then conferences and workshops, then from their master's or doctoral program, and last from websites. They endorsed the importance and need to conduct professional advocacy most due to needing to improve the public and professional image of counselors. Participants indicated the top three barriers to advocating are: not enough time, roadblocks caused by other professionals, and insufficient knowledge of professional advocacy strategies; however generally find support to advocate in colleagues, counselor xi educators, supervisors and professional associations. Knowledge, skill, qualities, importance/need, barriers and support produced positive relationships when correlated to professional advocacy activities meaning that they will be more involved in professional counselor advocacy activities if they endorse these ideas. Additionally, several barriers produced significant, negative relationships with advocacy activities indicating that if they perceive barriers, they are less likely to be involved in those advocacy activities.

This thesis examined the experiences of Aboriginal (First Nation, Inuit, Métis) students in health education programs as they proceed through the socialization processes involved in professional identity development. I used mixed methods to access the experiences of Aboriginal students attending professional health education programs (Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy) in central and western Canada. The first phase of this study used qualitative interviewing methods, where four superordinate themes emerged capturing the main facets of the experiences of eight participants: cultural congruity, academic and social integration, professional identity development, and meaningful markers of success. The superordinate theme of cultural congruity emerged as a cross cutting theme, in that it touched every other aspect of the overall experiences of these students – creating additional dimensions, challenges, and tensions these students had to navigate. Using quantitative measures I then examined the relationships between academic and social integration, cultural congruity, cultural identity, self-construal, and professional identity development for a larger sample of Aboriginal students. Significant positive relationships were observed for academic and social integration and cultural congruity in relation to professional identity development. If students perceived they belonged in terms of their academic and social experiences they were more likely to report feeling positively identified with their future profession. Similarly, if students perceived there was cultural congruity, they were also more likely to report feeling positively identified with their future profession. Academic integration emerged as a unique predictor, accounting for the majority of the variance in professional identity development. This suggests that although cultural and social factors are important factors shaping the experiences of Aboriginal students in these programs, the role of intrinsic interest in the learning process and program content and connecting with experiences of competence were the most significant determinants of professional identity development for this sample of participants. It is notable that cultural congruity was positively related to both academic and social integration, suggesting that there may be more complex relationships among these components present. Sample diversity, exploratory analyses, and implications for future research are also discussed. / October 2016

A research report presented to the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in Speech- Language Pathology by Coursework / Health care professionals are expected to apply ethical principles such as nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy and justice in their teaching of students and treatment of clients. Speech Pathologists and Audiologists (SPAs) in South Africa are responsible not only for educating members of their profession, but are often also involved in the training of Community Rehabilitation Workers (CRWs). Hence the aim of the present study was to explore the experiences, opinions and attitudes of a group of SPAs and CRW co-ordinators with particular reference to ethical issues related to CRW training. In order to investigate this aim. an interview schedule followed by a questionnaire were administered to SPA and CRW co-ordinators who had been involved in CRW training at The Wits/Tinstwalo CRW Training Programme in Gazankulu and at The Institute Of Urban Primary Health Care in Alexandra Township. Data elicited from the interview were analysed using content analysis and responses categorized according to respondents' background in ethics and knowledge regarding ethical principles. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for SPA and CRW co-ordinators. / Andrew Chakane 2018

Over the past two decades, health care has undergone massive change, both in scientific and technological advancements, and in the manner in which services are structured and delivered (Angus, Auer, Cloutier, & Albert, 1995). Social, political, and financial pressures have resulted in organizational restructuring, which in turn influenced the delivery of health care at all levels. The knowledge base of the occupational therapy profession has continued to expand and there is increasing evidence of the effectiveness of its services. For these many reasons professional development has become especially critical as it enhances practitioners abilities to respond appropriately to these ever-changing external forces (Nolan, Owens, & Nolan, 1995) and ensures evidence-based practice (Craik & Rappolt, 2006), thus benefitting both patients and organizations. As professionals, occupational therapists are personally accountable for the quality and outcomes of the services they provide (Friedson, 1994). This study examined the factors that induce occupational therapists - important resources for the health care system - to maintain, adapt, and enhance their competencies. I explored the potential drivers of professional development using a combination of commitment theory and organizational support theory (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986; Meyer & Herscovitch 2001). Hierarchical regression analysis showed that, though perceived organizational support and development-oriented human resource management practices play a role in professional development, occupational therapists professional commitment is the most important influence on professional development. Moreover, in the population studied, performance appraisals did not appear to influence professional development. Participants open-ended comments suggested that occupational therapists do not perceive such appraisals as relevant to their practice or learning needs. These findings have important implications. The education of occupational therapists and the role of professional bodies become important for instilling and supporting professional commitment. For employers, the hiring process for occupational therapists and the policies and human resource management practices related to encouraging professional commitment become especially critical. / Rehabilitation Science