The knowledge-based economy, advances in information and communication technologies and new pedagogical perspectives all influence the need to improve competencies in the 21st century. Innovative educational ideas and concepts have transformed the roles of teacher educators and their students. Adequate technology training is therefore a prerequisite for the teacher educator to develop prospective teachers who can use new technologies to support and improve their students’ achievement gains. However, many of these efforts fail since they are mostly based on a formal, institutional delivery of instrumental knowledge and skills. Adequate technology training is a major factor that can help to promote the uptake of emerging technologies into the curriculum, which in turn benefits students (Yoon et al, 2007; Collins & Halverson, 2009; Earley & Porritt, 2014). This research seeks to add to current knowledge about teacher educators’ technology professionalisation and to provide an instrument for the purpose of mapping teacher educators’ technology learning preferences in the workplace. The technology learning preferences instrument (TLP-instrument) designed, implemented and evaluated in this research is intended to create a link between teacher-educators’ technology learning needs in the workplace and the way in which professional development programmes should be tailored to meet teacher educators’ evolving learning needs. The investigation employs a design-based research approach which is cyclical and appropriate for addressing complex problems in educational practice for which no clear guidelines for solutions are available. To collect and analyse the data, a mixed methods approach was used. The rationale for mixing both types of research is that qualitative and quantitative methods complement each other (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2011). Findings in this dissertation and in follow-up research are intended to lead to more effective technology professionalisation programmes through suggestions for better design and development based on teacher educators’ learning needs.

ABSTRACT AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTORS WORKING AT A STATE UNIVERSITY Eksi, G&uuml / l M.S., Department of Educational Sciences Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Yesim &Ccedil / apa Aydin December 2010, 88 pages The main purpose of this study was to assess the professional development needs of the English language instructors working at a state university in Istanbul. Ninety-two instructors teaching preparatory classes constituted the population of the study. Within that needs assessment, the instructors&rsquo / perceptions of professional development, the most common professional development activities instructors practice, factors that hindered instructors from attending professional development activities, the most difficult skill to teach and assess, the areas of teaching English where instructors needed a professional development program, and the instructors&rsquo / preferences for delivery methods and formats of the professional development programs were identified. This study also examined the role of year of teaching experience, workload of the instructors, department the instructors graduated, and instructors&rsquo / perceptions of professional development programs in predicting the professional development needs of the instructors. Findings indicated that participants had positive perceptions of professional development. The most common professional development activity type was found to be &ldquo / Sharing experiences with colleagues.&rdquo / The most important factor which hindered participants from attending professional development was determined as &ldquo / inconvenient date/time.&rdquo / The most difficult skill to teach and to assess was reported as &ldquo / Writing.&rdquo / It was found out that the area where the degree of need was the highest was &ldquo / New theories and practices of English language teaching.&rdquo / Most of the participants reported that they preferred professional development activities to be optional workshops at their own institutions. A trainer or an expert from an outside institution was the most preferred speaker type. Findings also showed that instructors preferred sessions which took up to 60 minutes, held on weekday mornings once a month. The result of the regression analyses indicated that only year of teaching experience was significant in predicting professional development needs of the instructors. Year of teaching experience was negatively correlated with the needs indicating that as the teachers got more experience, their degree of professional development needs decreased.

No description available.

Na atualidade, diversos estudos consideram a carreira docente um processo complexo que necessita de permanente formação. Nesse sentido, os Mestrados Profissionais em Ensino de Ciências (MP-EC) têm representado um dos movimentos formativos mais abrangentes e desafiadores dos últimos anos. Por se constituir em um espaço que busca oferecer ao professor em exercício diversas problematizações sobre a docência, torna-se fundamental compreender as particularidades desse contexto para então indicar subsídios para a proposição de ações no âmbito da formação de professores. Assim, o presente estudo buscou investigar as possibilidades de desenvolvimento profissional de professores que cursaram um programa dessa natureza, como se apresentam os MPs-EC, mediante um instrumento de análise elaborado para tal propósito. Para a elaboração do instrumento levamos em consideração tanto os aspectos do campo cognitivo em termos de saberes, conhecimentos e competências que caracterizam o ofício do magistério, tão recorrente na literatura especializada, quanto os aspectos subjetivos, que pouco têm sido explorado nas pesquisas, e que, no nosso estudo, nos auxiliaram a indicar o compromisso do professor com sua própria formação. Assim, nosso instrumento de análise contou com dois eixos: um contendo oito dimensões dos saberes, que apontam a amplitude ou abrangência do desenvolvimento profissional, e outro, denominado autoria docente, composto por três indicadores que se caracterizam em função da intensidade com que cada dimensão é alcançada pelo professor. Valemo-nos de entrevista semiestruturada como forma de coleta de dados. Entrevistamos dez professores-egressos de quatro MPs-EC e por meio de uma análise narrativa, procedimento de análise de dados adotado na pesquisa, reconstruímos as relações estabelecidas entre os egressos e as tarefas do curso, mostrando o desenvolvimento profissional que os professores alcançaram. Nossa investigação apontou para a complexidade desse processo, sobretudo a importância dos cuidados a se tomar no desenho de contextos que tem tal finalidade. Essas informações são fundamentais para orientação de políticas de formação continuada. / At present, several studies consider a teaching career a complex process that requires permanent formation. In this sense, Professional Masters in Science Teaching (MP-EC) have represented one of the most comprehensive and challenging training movements of recent years. Because it is a space that seeks to offer to the teacher several problematizations about teaching, it is fundamental to understand the particularities of this context and indicate subsidies to propose actions in the teacher training scope. Thus, aimed investigate the possibilities of professional development of teachers who attended a program of this nature, like the MPs-EC. To elaborate an instrument we took into consideration both the cognitive field aspects in terms of knowledge, and competences that characterize the teaching profession, recurrent in the specialized literature, and the subjective aspects, which have not been explored in the researches, and that in our study, helped us to indicate the teacher\'s commitment to his / her own training. The instrument of analysis had two axes: one having eight dimensions of knowledge, indicating the professional development amplitude or scope and another, called teacher authoring, composed by three indicators that are characterized by the intensity with which each dimension is achieved by the teacher. we used a semi-structured interview as a form of data collection. We interviewed ten undergraduate teachers from four MPs-EC and through a narrative analysis, procedure of data analysis adopted in the research, we reconstructed the relationships established among the graduates and as tasks of the course, showing the professional development that the teachers reached. Our investigation pointed to the complexity of this process, especially the importance of the care to be taken in the design of contexts that have such a purpose. These informations are essentials for the orientation of continuing education policies.

This thesis documents my exploration of professional development of four experienced English language teachers of diverse background taking the MA TESOL programme at the University of Manchester. Having considered professional development to be about change construed broadly to professional identity and teacher beliefs, I explored it through a series of individual in-depth interviews held throughout the programme. The majority of the interviews focused on the teachers' ongoing life and development and allowed the teachers space to make meaning of what they were going through and how they were developing as they engaged in the programme. On the basis of the interviews, stories about the teachers and their year were constructed. Within the stories, I synthesized what I had learned about the teachers' experience and highlighted the changes that I could see had happened to their professional identity and teacher beliefs. The stories provide a vivid example of professional development of experienced English language teachers through a master's degree. They also bring to the fore the significance of future-directed thoughts for how teachers develop professionally, which is rarely acknowledged in the existing literature. I further use the stories as a ground to conceptualize professional development of the four teachers to account for the important role their thoughts about the future played in it. Using the concepts of imagined identity and antenarrative, which I borrow from the literature, I describe it as an iterative pursuit of an ever-evolving imagined identity, or identities, and antenarrative, or antenarratives. Finally, I examine the cases using the conceptualization as a lens and offer some further insights about professional development in TESOL.

Na atualidade, diversos estudos consideram a carreira docente um processo complexo que necessita de permanente formação. Nesse sentido, os Mestrados Profissionais em Ensino de Ciências (MP-EC) têm representado um dos movimentos formativos mais abrangentes e desafiadores dos últimos anos. Por se constituir em um espaço que busca oferecer ao professor em exercício diversas problematizações sobre a docência, torna-se fundamental compreender as particularidades desse contexto para então indicar subsídios para a proposição de ações no âmbito da formação de professores. Assim, o presente estudo buscou investigar as possibilidades de desenvolvimento profissional de professores que cursaram um programa dessa natureza, como se apresentam os MPs-EC, mediante um instrumento de análise elaborado para tal propósito. Para a elaboração do instrumento levamos em consideração tanto os aspectos do campo cognitivo em termos de saberes, conhecimentos e competências que caracterizam o ofício do magistério, tão recorrente na literatura especializada, quanto os aspectos subjetivos, que pouco têm sido explorado nas pesquisas, e que, no nosso estudo, nos auxiliaram a indicar o compromisso do professor com sua própria formação. Assim, nosso instrumento de análise contou com dois eixos: um contendo oito dimensões dos saberes, que apontam a amplitude ou abrangência do desenvolvimento profissional, e outro, denominado autoria docente, composto por três indicadores que se caracterizam em função da intensidade com que cada dimensão é alcançada pelo professor. Valemo-nos de entrevista semiestruturada como forma de coleta de dados. Entrevistamos dez professores-egressos de quatro MPs-EC e por meio de uma análise narrativa, procedimento de análise de dados adotado na pesquisa, reconstruímos as relações estabelecidas entre os egressos e as tarefas do curso, mostrando o desenvolvimento profissional que os professores alcançaram. Nossa investigação apontou para a complexidade desse processo, sobretudo a importância dos cuidados a se tomar no desenho de contextos que tem tal finalidade. Essas informações são fundamentais para orientação de políticas de formação continuada. / At present, several studies consider a teaching career a complex process that requires permanent formation. In this sense, Professional Masters in Science Teaching (MP-EC) have represented one of the most comprehensive and challenging training movements of recent years. Because it is a space that seeks to offer to the teacher several problematizations about teaching, it is fundamental to understand the particularities of this context and indicate subsidies to propose actions in the teacher training scope. Thus, aimed investigate the possibilities of professional development of teachers who attended a program of this nature, like the MPs-EC. To elaborate an instrument we took into consideration both the cognitive field aspects in terms of knowledge, and competences that characterize the teaching profession, recurrent in the specialized literature, and the subjective aspects, which have not been explored in the researches, and that in our study, helped us to indicate the teacher\'s commitment to his / her own training. The instrument of analysis had two axes: one having eight dimensions of knowledge, indicating the professional development amplitude or scope and another, called teacher authoring, composed by three indicators that are characterized by the intensity with which each dimension is achieved by the teacher. we used a semi-structured interview as a form of data collection. We interviewed ten undergraduate teachers from four MPs-EC and through a narrative analysis, procedure of data analysis adopted in the research, we reconstructed the relationships established among the graduates and as tasks of the course, showing the professional development that the teachers reached. Our investigation pointed to the complexity of this process, especially the importance of the care to be taken in the design of contexts that have such a purpose. These informations are essentials for the orientation of continuing education policies.

<p>Doktorska disertacija &bdquo;Nov model stručnog usavr&scaron;avanja profesora poslovnog engleskog jezika u Srbiji: teorijski, metodolo&scaron;ki i praktični aspekti&rdquo; bavi se stručnim usavr&scaron;avanjem profesora poslovnog engleskog jezika u Srbiji. Cilj je upoznavanje profesora, ali i ostalih učesnika u obrazovanju sa savremenim teorijskim istraživanjima i kretanjima u nastavnoj praksi iz oblasti poslovnog engleskog jezika i stručnom usavr&scaron;avanju profesora, te uzimajući u obzir aktuelno stanje u Srbiji u tom pogledu, autorka takođe nastoji da ponudi nov model stručnog usavr&scaron;avanja profesora poslovnog engleskog jezika, koji će se zasnivati na savremenim shvatanjima procesa usavr&scaron;avanja, ali će odgovarati i potrebama i radnim prilikama profesora.<br />Nakon uvodnog poglavlja, koje sadrži opis ciljeva, metoda i tehnika istraživanja, pregled relevantne literature i prikaz organizacije izlaganja, naredna četiri poglavlja predstavljaju teorijski okvir disertacije. U drugom poglavlju opisani su pojmovi u vezi sa jezikom struke i poslovnim engleskim jezikom, dat je uvid u razvoj ovih oblasti i njihove karakteristike, te su povučene sličnosti i razlike između poslovnog i op&scaron;teg engleskog jezika.<br />U trećem poglavlju predstavljen je profil profesora u kontekstu nastave poslovnog engleskog jezika. Na osnovu postojeće literature detaljno su opisane uloge i kompetencije profesora u pogledu poznavanja stručne discipline, analize potreba, kreiranja kursa, odabira i produkcije materijala i evaluacije.<br />Četvrto poglavlje bavi se profilom profesora poslovnog engleskog jezika u okviru savremenog poimanja nastave uop&scaron;te. Tu je opisan razvoj pojma nastavničkog znanja i prikazan je model nastavničkih kompetencija koji je nastao u okviru obrazovnog sistema u Srbiji. Takođe, dat je osvrt na karakteristike ličnosti uspe&scaron;nog i kompetentnog profesora.</p><p>Predmet petog poglavlja jesu pojam i karakteristike stručnog usavr&scaron;avanja profesora, sa posebnim naglaskom na usavr&scaron;avanje profesora poslovnog engleskog jezika. U ovom poglavlju takođe je predstavljeno aktuelno stanje u Srbiji u pogledu učenja poslovnog engleskog jezika i stručnog usavr&scaron;avanja.<br />&Scaron;esto poglavlje sadrži opis organizacije i rezultate empirijskog istraživanja sprovedenog tokom 2014. i 2015. godine sa profesorima poslovnog engleskog jezika i polaznicima kurseva poslovnog engleskog jezika u Srbiji. Putem anketnih upitnika i intervjua, profesori su pružili uvid u svoja shvatanja, stavove, potrebe i očekivanja u vezi sa stručnim usavr&scaron;avanjem, a polaznici u vezi sa potrebama i očekivanjima u kontekstu nastave, uloga i kompetencija profesora. Dobijeni rezultati su detaljno analizirani i protumačeni u svetlu savremene teorije i prakse.<br />U sedmom poglavlju predstavljeni su op&scaron;ti zaključci proistekli iz istraživanja i dat je predlog modela stručnog usavr&scaron;avanja profesora poslovnog engleskog jezika u Srbiji.</p> / <p>The doctoral thesis &ldquo;A New Model of Professional Development of Business English Teachers in Serbia: Theoretical, Methodological and Practical Aspects&rdquo; deals with the professional development of Business English Teachers in Serbia. It aims at introducing teachers and other interested parties from the field of education with current research and trends in teaching practice regarding Business English and professional development of teachers. Taking into account the current state of these two fields in Serbia, the author also proposes a new model of professional development of Business English teachers, which draws on contemporary views of the process of professional development and also meets the needs and fits the working environment of the teachers.<br />Following the introductory chapter, which offers the description of the aims, methods and techniques employed in this research, the overview of relevant literature as well as the thesis structure, the next four chapters represent a theoretical framework within which the research has been undertaken. The second chapter introduces the main concepts related to the language for specific purposes and Business English, shows the development of these two fields, draws similarities and explores differences between Business English and General English.<br />The third chapter provides a description of the teacher profile within the Business English context. Based on findings in the literature, the author describes Business English teacher roles and competences in terms of knowledge of the specialist subject, needs analysis, course design, material selection and production, and evaluation.</p><p>The fourth chapter addresses the teacher profile within the contemporary understanding of the teaching practice in general. It shows the development of the concept of teaching knowledge and presents a framework of teacher competences that has been created within the educational system in Serbia. At the end of the chapter, the author briefly touches upon the subject of personality features of successful and competent teachers.<br />The fifth chapter outlines the main concepts and features of the field of teachers&rsquo; professional development and particularly focuses on the professional development of Business English teachers. It then proceeds with a description of the current situation in Serbia regarding learning and teaching Business English, as well as that of professional development of Business English teachers.<br />The sixth chapter offers a thorough description of the organization and results of the empirical research conducted with Business English teachers and students in Serbia during 2014 and 2015. By employing a survey and an interview as research instruments, the teachers gave an insight into their attitudes, views, needs and expectations regarding professional development, and the students revealed their needs and expectations regarding Business English classes, teacher roles and competences. The findings have been analysed in detail and interpreted within the framework of contemporary teaching theory and practice.<br />The seventh chapter presents the general conclusions that have been drawn from the empirical research and contains the author&rsquo;s proposal of the model of professional development of Business English teachers in Serbia.</p>

The focus of this thesis was to explore educational professionals' everyday experience of English educational policies; narrowing its focus to policy which promotes an inclusion agenda. The findings are presented in three sections with the first two papers prepared in accordance with the author guidelines of the journals proposed for submission. The first paper offers a review of literature which represents teacher relationship (see Braun, Maguire and Ball, 2010; Fullan, 2006; Luttenberg, Imants and van Veen, 2013; Luttenberg, van Veen and Imants, 2013; Wexler, 2002) with English educational policies. Teacher perspectives illustrate how the implementation and practice of policy heavily guides practice, both in terms of pedagogy and content, and detail the difficulties teachers have in establishing professional identity whilst trying to accommodate policy into practice. It is suggested that in order for teachers to adopt new educational policies they need to be able to take some ownership of both the policies themselves and of their own professional development; but most importantly, that they need the space to engage in dialogue around their practice to do this. The first paper provided a frame for the second by offering a description of the current climate teachers find themselves in and by discussing what might be needed to bring about the professional development necessary to embed policy into practice. The second paper then presents a description of a collaborative action research project within an English high school; a group of educational psychology, teaching, support and pastoral professionals worked collaboratively to develop person-centred practice through their engagement in an inquiry group. The inquiry group engaged in dialogue around practice; exploring their own personal and professional values as well as the values embedded within person-centred practice. This paper offers an account of the inquiry group's journey, highlighting key themes as identified by the group: ownership of, and confidence in, the learning process; developing reflective practice; and the challenge of engaging others in the learning process. The findings suggest that an action research approach can facilitate the learning and development necessary to embody collaborative person-centred practice. The third paper then offers a critical appraisal of the role that educational psychology can have in disseminating findings and promoting teacher development; in particular through the facilitation of collaborative action research within the school context.

The inspectorial system is a legacy of the colonial era. The functions, responsibilities and strategies of the inspectorial system in PNG schools were introduced during the colonial era and since its inception there have been insignificant changes made. There are perceived problems being experienced due to the growth of the education system and the complex management of education services as a result of the centralized and decentralized organizational functions introduced some thirty years ago. The multiple, conflicting and confusing roles of the inspectorial system developed over the years and the organizational cultures of agencies responsible for the inspectorial system have further complicated the work of inspectors. Thus the question of how effectively the inspectorial system works and how it serves its functions needs to be addressed, particularly on how it enhances the teaching profession. Although the inspectorial system was introduced as a means of quality assurance, which is still being emphasized in PNG, the analysis reveals that supervision and professional development strategies are applied by inspectors as interactive strategies to pursue better education standards and quality education. These strategies supposedly ensure teacher professionalism is sustained and improved in order to impact on the quality of education provided by the schools. However a lack of clear understanding of teacher professionalism, despite changes and developments within the education system, may be also having an influence on how effective the inspectorial system is. The inspectorial system has developed into a complicated system. Therefore the need for clear demarcations of its functions, responsibilities and strategies is investigated in this study so that the inspectorial system is improved or developed into a more functional system that may produce tangible outcomes. The study explores the experiences, beliefs and perceptions of teachers, head teachers and inspectors about the inspectorial system, teacher professionalism and their relationships. It does so by answering the main question, how and to what extent does the inspectorial system enhance and hinder teacher professionalism in primary schools in PNG, as well as specifically answering the following key questions: • How does the inspectorial system operate in primary schools in PNG? • What are the dimensions of teacher professionalism that are perceived by teachers, head teachers and inspectors? • How are these dimensions of teacher professionalism linked to the interactive strategies applied by inspectors on teachers and head teachers? • What redeveloped conceptual framework grounded in the realities of teachers’, head teachers’ and inspectors’ experiences, beliefs and perceptions about the inspectorial interactive strategies can enhance teacher professionalism? In doing so, the interactive strategies of the inspectorial system (including quality assurance, professional development and professional ethics) and the dimensions of teacher professionalism (including teacher compliance, teacher knowledge, teacher leadership, teacher professional development and teacher professional ethics) are disclosed and their linkages identified. For example, professional development interactive strategies are linked directly to teacher professional development as experienced and perceived by teachers, head teachers and inspectors. This is done so that the direct impacts of each inspectorial interactive strategy on the dimensions of teacher professionalism are identified, and this leads to the creation of a conceptual framework for an inspectorial system that enhances teacher professionalism. The conceptual framework can guide supervisors, either school-based or externally based, to develop and execute an efficient supervisory system that can have a direct impact on an evolving teaching profession.

No description available.