University writing programs increasingly serve student populations of growing diversity: more international students, first-generation students, disabled students, racial and ethnic minority students, and LGBTQ+ students, for example. Instructors thus teach in classrooms with many cultures and subcultures represented. Amid increasing demographic diversity, many writing programs seek to internationalize. In this dissertation, I investigate the current state of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) in a university writing program as a potential avenue for internationalization. Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) is a social-justice-oriented, transformative approach to education that views cultural diversity as a resource, restructuring education settings to affirm students’ identities and home cultures. I evaluate CRT among a sample of 10 instructor participants and their students, propose a CRT assessment method, and suggest implementation of CRT as a sustainable, just, and resource-efficient method for writing program internationalization. I implement a mixed-methods research design that draws on both observational and self-report measures of CRT. Results indicate that instructor capabilities for CRT fall along a developmental spectrum. This developmental spectrum provides a useful model for assessment of CRT in a writing program context, as well as a basis for developing the CRT capabilities of instructors at both individual and programmatic levels. <br>

The TVET colleges in South Africa contribute to the social and economic development of the country. It is for this reason that TVET colleges are expected to provide quality teaching and learning, but this core business of the colleges has been hampered by a lack of professional development or irrelevant professional development of lecturers. The study aims to investigate the relevance of professional development offered at a selected TVET college in the Free-State province and the improvement thereof. The study employed a qualitative research design involving 22 participants. The participants comprised of two executive managers, two campus managers, four heads of department, six senior lecturers and eight lecturers. The participants were purposively selected using purposive sampling. Face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted to collect data from managers and two focus group interviews were employed to collect data from lecturers. The findings of the study revealed that there is a need for relevant professional development of lecturers at the selected TVET college. The most important recommendation with the potential to change the situation at the studied college is that the planning, organising, leading and control of professional development need to be done more professionally. If managers utilise management functions (planning, organising, leading and control) properly to manage lecturer’s professional development, lecturers will be in a better position to provide quality teaching. Other relevant recommendations are also provided. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

There is a pervasive reading crisis in the United States. Critics, including policymakers, educators, literacy scholars, and professional educational organizations have openly accused university teacher preparation programs of not preparing candidates to deliver effective reading instruction. This qualitative study used narrative inquiry to explore ways in which teacher candidates' participation in a research-based university clinical practicum contributed to their pedagogical understanding of literacy instruction. Conceptually this study was based on constructivism and the ideas of Dewey, Freire, Vygotsky, and Schon. Data collection included multiple interviews and observations to determine how teacher candidates' participation in clinical practicum affects their assumptions about literacy instruction. Interpretive initially emanated from inductive analysis involving a typological framework, and proceeded to an in-depth level of interpretation and data transformation and member-checking to verify participants' evolving stories. Results of the study indicated that the clinical experience imbued teacher candidates with the confidence, skills, and knowledge to affect the literate lives of all children. Further, interpretation of findings revealed that teaching a child to read gave preservice teachers opportunities to explore multiple teaching approaches for ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse learners, while working through paradigmatic barriers and preconceived beliefs. Ultimately, this study helped the teacher candidate realize that the work of an emissary for social change begins with a commitment to increase the quality of life for the children they teach through masterful and responsive teaching.

The utilization of educational data by teachers' at the classroom level to plan lessons and assessments is limited. Professional development is one tool that can be used to build data literacy in teachers. This study assessed how professional development in data based decision making impacted educators' efficacy and use of educational data. This research was based on constructivists learning theories and used professional development as a model for changing teachers' instructional practices. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of professional development in data-based decision-making on teacher efficacy and use of data at the classroom level. A one group pretest posttest quantitative study was used on a sample group of public school educators (N=226) from a school district in the Northeastern US. Surveys were administered before and after the intervention to determine if a significant difference in the efficacy and use of data to plan instruction resulted from professional development in data-based decision making. A Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test was used to analyze the data. The analysis indicated no significant difference in teacher efficacy (W=27.50; p=1.00) but did show a significant increase in the use of data at the classroom level (W=70.00; p=.003). Based on this study, professional development is an effective tool for increasing the use of data-based instructional methods at the classroom level; however, it is not effective in changing teacher efficacy. This study contributes to positive social change by promoting meaningful conversations about the power of professional development models in data-based decision making as an effective means to change teaching practices.

Driven 2 Teach is a privately funded program for history teachers in the state of Utah. The program emphasizes the importance of teacher travel to educate history teachers in the places where history happened. This study investigated the program’s influence on participant gains in learning about history and how to best teach about the past, social studies professional development, teacher beliefs, and changes in instructional practices. This study utilized a case study methodology, autoethnography, and six interconnected frameworks: Professional development, experiential education, site-based learning, pedagogical content knowledge, teacher beliefs, and professional learning communities. This study helps demonstrate the effectiveness of travel as a teaching method. Data from this study were used to answer the following questions: How do history teachers perceive their pedagogical content knowledge as changing as a result of participating in the Driven 2 Teach program? How do the experiences with Driven 2 Teach differ from other professional development experiences? How do history teacher beliefs about social studies education contribute to the changes in pedagogical content knowledge and instructional practice? How do these history teachers plan on changing instructional practices based on their new pedagogical content knowledge? The results of this study show that participants’ knowledge of historical content and how to best teach that content increased significantly. This study also found that more social studies professional development is needed in the state of Utah. Teachers’ confidence levels increased because of their experience with this program in regard to teaching history and social studies skills to their students. Participants, as a result of participation with Driven 2 Teach, are more likely to teach students’ skills using social studies content rather than merely teaching social studies through rote memorization. Participants want to incorporate more hands-on learning experiences for students, and use more primary source documents in their lessons. Traveling together to historical sites and other important places with other social studies teachers enhanced the learning of all involved and increased the retention of what was learned. Participants benefited from both planned and unplanned events, and had experiences that made them realize even more, the importance of social studies education and incorporating multiple perspectives when learning about the past.

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This study serves as an insight into teachersÆ perceptions of their staff development experiences. With the constraints under the No Child Behind Act, teachers, schools, and school systems are faced with the challenge of meeting extremely high standards with students. Although standards such as these expectations have never been met, it remains that teachers are faced with attempting this task. Teachers shared their perceptions of the staff development experiences they have received. Student achievement and its relationship to staff development was explored. Teachers discussed perceived factors that influenced staff development training. Also, included in the study was teachers' perceptions of the need for staff development with proven applications. A qualitative research method utilized interviews from 25 veteran and apprentice elementary teachers ranging in experience from two years to thirty plus years of service in the educational profession. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and transferred to the NUDIST program. This allowed all transcripts to be coded and analyzed. This process allowed themes to emerge from the data. This study could be of interest to school systems into the insights and needs of apprentice and veteran teachers. The results of these data could assist school districts with information to evaluate their current staff development programs and determine if changes should be made.

This qualitative case study examined how special educators perceived their professional growth as a result of engagement in a collaborative process. Sixteen special educators participated in the research. Triangulation was attained through the use of document review, a focus group, and personal interviews. The 15 themes and patterns that emerged from data collection were: (a) increased expertise and use of technology, (b) exhibited collaborative skills and improved interpersonal relationships, (c) developed increased understanding of curriculum, (d) presented evidence of increased job satisfaction, (e) demonstrated analytical abilities, (f) illustrated enhancement in professional and creative expression, (g) understood the special education supervisor‟s role, (h) awareness of the expertise of others, (i) increased respect from school professionals, (j) increased knowledge of current research, (k) leadership skills, (l) enhanced time management and organizational skills, (m) established consistency within the special education department, (n) developed diverse thinking, and (o) developed self-evaluation skills and empowerment. I concluded that while professional skills increased, a noticeable increase in morale, job satisfaction, empowerment, and self-confidence was observed. This case study could be of interest to school administrators in planning professional development, assessing how present staff development correlates with the collaborative process, and determining if modifications should be made.

This study examines the experiences of two teachers in a public charter school who implement action research in their classrooms. The study explored the key elements of professional development as well as action research and makes the case as to why action research is an effective tool for teacher development. Participants were selected based on having little teaching experience and familiarity with action research. The study examined the experiences of teachers who have had limited professional development as they use action research in their practices. Data for the study were drawn from interviews as well as researcher and participant journals.