Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka och kartlägga hur medarbetarna på ett företag som arbetar med kompetensutveckling resonerar kring sin egen kompetensutveckling, detta i relation till företagets kompetensutvecklingskultur. De två formulerade frågorna är; Hur ser företagets kompetensutvecklingskultur ut ur medarbetarnas perspektiv samt Hur ser medarbetarnas individuella kompetensutvecklingskultur ut ur medarbetarnas perspektiv. Studien gjordes i samverkan med ett företag och studiens empiri bygger på en enkätundersökning med 69 konsulter som arbetar på olika enheter inom företaget. Den teoretiska referensramen består av Bryk och Schneiders teori om relationell tillit och Wermkes teori om kompetensutvecklingskultur. Studien utgår från tidigare forskning som behandlar kompetensutvecklingskultur ur ett kontextuellt sammanhang samt hur lärande kan beskrivas som en dynamisk process som oavbrutet förändrar individers sätt att tänka, deras uppfattningar och intellektuella förmågor utifrån deras kulturella och sociala kontext. Tidigare forskning berör även hur avgörande förståelsen för såväl den historiska som den konceptuella kontexten är för att skapa tillit inför olika val av källor för kompetensutveckling hos lärare samt forskning som visar på ett starkt statistiskt samband mellan ökad akademisk produktivitet och tillit. Ur resultatet kan utläsas att medarbetarna upplevde att de i hög utsträckning själva tog initiativ till sin kompetensutveckling och att beslutet om kompetensutveckling i hög utsträckning fattades tillsammans med en överordnad. Vidare framkommer det ur resultatet att tilliten på företaget generellt är hög. Dessutom tyder resultaten med några få undantag på att det finns en stark kompetensutvecklingskultur på företaget som grundar sig på idén att det finns en gemensam professionell kultur bland de anställda och att de har gemensamma uppfattningar om hur kompetensutveckling äger rum på företaget.

Research on school principals has been narrowed to the factors leading to attrition or retention with little focus on the recruitment and development. The decreasing number of individuals applying for school principal positions has led some school districts to implement new methods to recruit and develop future school principals. One method being used by some large, urban school districts is the creation and implementation of leadership academies; however, few studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of this tool in aiding the recruitment and development of aspiring school principals.The purpose of this case study was to investigate the effectiveness of a leadership academy implemented in an urban school district to increase the recruitment of school leaders. Participants were assessed on their perceptions of the effectiveness of the leadership academy, in one urban school district, to prepare them for the school principal role. A qualitative, embedded case study approach was used to describe these perceptions. The study participants consisted of 12 individuals who were working as principals or assistant principals in the district after participation in the leadership academy. The data was based on participants' responses from 25 semi-structured interview questions, non-participant observations, and a document analysis of materials used in the leadership academy.The data revealed four assertions 1) the leadership academy provides an avenue for the district to identify individuals interested in the principal position and get to know the leadership styles of each individual; 2) participants believe the leadership academy aided in their preparation for a principal position in the district; 3) the application and selection process enabled the district to identify individuals interested in the principal position; and 4) the leadership academy was an indirect tool for recruitment. The findings showed that all study participants felt the leadership academy was a valuable experience and did aid them in their journey to becoming a school principal. The findings from this study support the use of a leadership academy as a tool to develop aspiring school principals; however, further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the leadership academy in recruiting future school leaders.

This case study examined learning components and outcomes of the UDL Virtual Classroom project, a web-based professional development program that was a collaboration between educators in the United States and Jamaica. The study applied the HPL lens (NRC, 2000) in order to understand the ways that Jamaican educator-participants perceived the integration of learner-centered learning, knowledge-centered learning, assessment-centered learning, and community-centered learning in the program itself, and also examined the impact of these components, despite numerous hurdles, on teachers’ mindsets and practices and the engagement and performance of students in their schools and classrooms. The researcher’s intent was to address the contextual nature of teacher learning, which must contend with the challenges of meeting the needs of individual teacher-learners, as well as obstacles and real-world situations impacting the implementation of theories and strategies. A multi-case study design was used to gather data through observations, interviews, group meetings, and surveys. Findings were analyzed using qualitative methods, focusing on the experiences of participants both as adult-learners in the professional development program and as educators themselves as they returned to their own educational contexts to implement what they had learned. This study provided insights about strengths and challenges of hybrid learning, international resource-sharing, and long-term impacts of teacher learning.

This study was designed for the purpose of quantitatively examining the significant elements of reform-based professional development and their relationship to teachers’ self-efficacies for inclusion. The theoretical frameworks for this study were drawn from Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy and social cognitive theory in addition to pre-existing research pertaining to professional development and teacher efficacy for inclusion. A web based survey was developed and made available for voluntary participation to a total population of 385 elementary school teachers in one East Tennessee school district. Data were collected from 79 elementary school teachers in 14 of the district’s elementary schools. Findings included no significant statistical correlation between teacher self-efficacy for inclusion scores and the amount of professional development completed during the current school year. Respondents did report a perception that inclusion was not significantly emphasized during professional development activities. Self-efficacy for inclusion scores of teachers with 11+ years of overall teaching experience were found to be significantly higher than teachers with 1-10 years of overall teaching experience. Additionally, there was no significant difference between self-efficacy scores of teachers who were required to take 1 or 2 special education courses for initial certification and 3 teachers who were required to take more than 2 special education courses for initial certification.

The purpose of the study aimed at gaining a better understanding of how the intended Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum differs from the enacted curricula and what factors impact this. This understanding is important to make the professional development program more meaningful to the immediate needs of the teacher in the classroom. Identifying the factors that contribute to any emerging differences between the curricula helped fill the gap in research on teacher knowledge and beliefs about the use of science and mathematics content in the PLTW classroom. PLTW is an innovative hands-on pre-engineering curriculum designed for K-12 students based on project-based and problem-based learning. It tries to combine math and science principles to present engineering concepts to students in a way that tries to keep up with the rapid changes associated with technology in their everyday world. Multiple case sampling was used to select four teachers based on their years of teaching experience as well as background in science and math. They were interviewed about their knowledge and beliefs about project and problem-based learning. In addition, non-participant observations and teacher beliefs questionnaires were used to triangulate the data for more credible results. A fidelity of implementation rubric was also used to determine how well the teachers were implementing the curriculum. Findings of the study show that there were differences in the way teachers chose to enact the curriculum that were heavily influenced by the curriculum materials, the professional development training and their own personal beliefs about how the curriculum should be enacted. A conceptual model is developed that aims at improving the professional development experiences for the teachers that considers their beliefs.

Public schools teachers in the U.S. strive to reach the needs of all students in the elementary classroom. However, teachers are increasingly expected to follow standardized curriculum. Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris, 2012) pushes toward individualized educational practices and against the assimilationism embedded in standardization. This study considers the ways in which nine women-identified teachers, one Black, two Latina, six white, who teach elementary school in a Midwestern university town, experience, discuss, and implement Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in a professional development course, specifically through the lens of the following question: In a course on culturally sustaining pedagogy, how do teachers experience race, culture, families, and family literacies? Grounded in empirical research that considers teaching and learning through a sociocultural lens, and in the theoretical scholarship of Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Pedagogy, the purpose of this qualitative, narrative inquiry is to describe teachers’ learning and responses to culturally sustaining pedagogical practices in order to understand this process and its implementation. Data for this qualitative inquiry were gathered over five months in a professional development course setting using the qualitative methods of observations, interviews, audio recordings, photographs, detailed field notes, and participant self-reflections. The data collected was analyzed through descriptive coding (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014), narrative analysis (Schaafsma & Vinz, 2011), and Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 2015; Gee, 2014). Results from the study suggest that engagement in culturally sustaining practices is constrained by the standardizations of school, in addition to the discomfort and lack of knowledge of some teachers when talking about race and power in the elementary classroom. Findings also suggest that teachers’ explicit engagement with research and discussions regarding these constraints led to new culturally sustaining practices.

Research has shown that teacher workload is intensifying and teachers are increasingly leaving the profession prior to having taught for 35 years. The purpose of this mixed method, sequential, phenomenological study was to determine (a) how workload intensification impacts teacher performance and well-being, (b) whether or not workload intensification was a primary factor in teachers’ choosing to leave the profession early, and (c) a formula for maximizing teacher performance and well-being. Apple’s workload intensification thesis was the theoretical framework for this study. Quantitative data obtained via a survey (N=484), together with qualitative data collected via four focus group sessions and individual interviews with 15 teachers who had left the profession early, were utilized to determine if there is a problem with workload intensification in this east coast Canadian province. Quantitative data were analyzed using the chi-square test to determine the relationship between the independent variable (workload intensification) and each of the two dependent variables (performance and well-being). Qualitative data were analyzed to determine emergent themes with respect to workload intensification. Findings from this study indicated that there is a significant relationship between the independent variable and each of the two dependent variables. Qualitative data substantiated the quantitative findings that indicated (a) the presence of a problem with workload intensification and (b) that workload intensification is a primary factor in teachers’ choosing to leave the profession early. Recommendations include having administrators address identified current teacher workload issues. Positive social change may result if administrators utilize the derived formula for maximizing teacher performance and well-being when assigning teaching and nonteaching duties to teachers.

Educational disparities exist between English language learners (ELLs) and native English-speaking students. Evidence suggests that, by fourth grade, 35% of ELLs, compared to their native English-speaking peers, are behind in math, and 47% are behind in reading. There is also evidence to suggest that these lower achievement scores are impacted by teachers' perceptions of and expectations for ELL students. Guided by the theories of interpersonal expectancy and self-fulfilling prophecy, this study examined first grade teachers' perceptions of and expectations for their ELL students in a small southern U.S. town. Using a case study approach, data were collected through interviews, observations, and a qualitative questionnaire. Data were analyzed by comparing and contrasting emergent themes, with similar themes being combined as a method of data reduction. Findings from this study indicated that the teachers did not see their ELL students as inferior to their native English-speaking peers. Students were viewed as similarly capable as any other student in the classroom and are expected to reach the same level of achievement as their native English-speaking peers. Teachers generally expressed the need for more training to address ELL learning styles and communicate more effectively with parents. Teachers, administrators, and parents would be interested in the findings of this study, and this study may motivate teachers and administrators to consider how their perceptions of and expectations for ELL students are linked to effective and equitable curriculum and instruction for these students. The implication for social change is that examining equitable instruction of ELL students will enhance these students' chances to compete for good jobs and be productive citizens of the local community.

The needs of academically advanced/high-ability students may not be met in today's schools. When educational needs are not met, students may not reach full potential, may lose intrinsic motivation for learning, and may develop poor work and study habits. The rural school district involved in this study lacks a formal gifted and talented program. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological research study was to explore the lived experiences of 15 K-8 teachers in the identified school district via individual interviews. The National Association for Gifted Children's knowledge and skill standards in gifted and talented education served as the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions explored teacher training for working with academically advanced students and the skills and knowledge teachers feel they require on this topic. Possible supports and barriers to the implementation of these skills and knowledge were also addressed. Data were analyzed using Moustakas's approach to Husserl's transcendental phenomenology. Three conclusions from the findings indicated that teachers have received very little to no preservice and inservice training on the topic; district teaming situations are a training strength; and regular, on-going training on the topic of academically advanced students is necessary. Recommendations include incorporating a scope and sequence to the curriculum for academically advanced students, implementing state/federal mandates for these students, and integrating this study's conceptual framework into teacher preservice programs and staff development. In addition to contributing to potential positive social change in the school district, the results may inform training practices in other districts, preservice programs, and state policy formation, all of which can impact learning and well-being of academically advanced/high-ability students.

Within the literature, a gap exists in understanding how teacher perceptions may be used to develop, implement, and evaluate professional development. The purpose of the qualitative case study was to describe the perceptions of middle and high school teachers regarding their professional development experiences in a rural school district in Florida. Guided by Chen and Chang's whole teacher framework and Knowles's theory of adult learning, the research questions addressed teachers' needs, expectations, and perceptions of professional development. Triangulated data sources included face-to-face interviews with 10 teachers, participant journals, and professional development agendas. Data analysis included line-by-line coding, open coding, and theoretical coding. Emerging themes were (a) effective and meaningful professional development, (b) teacher contributions to professional development, (c) teacher perceptions of professional development, and (d) student achievement due to professional development. Results indicated that although teachers perceive professional development as a tool for learning, teacher leadership, analysis of student achievement data, and collaboration are needed to increase its effectiveness. This study may contribute to positive social change by improving professional development practices in school districts, leading to enhanced student academic achievement and preparation for careers.