This thesis deals with the developmental appraisal system which was introduced in 1998 to address the professional development of educators in the Republic of South Africa. Development Appraisal System (DAS) is one of the processes of transformation which was introduced after the democratic elections of 1994. This process was necessitated inter-alia by the following challenges, which seem to be faced by educators in the classroom: <ul> <Li> Redeployment of educators;</li> <li> Upgrading of educator’s qualifications;</li> <li> Curriculum change. National Curriculum Statement (NCS);</li> <li> Outcomes Based Assessment (OBA); and</li> <li> Inclusivity–the policy that addresses learner’s barriers in the classroom, used to be called Education for Learners with Special Education Needs (ELSEN)</li>.</ul> The following three questions therefore provide the focus of the study:<ul> <li> What is the nature and scope of DAS and how does it relate to the professional development of educators?;</li> <li> Which appraisal models can be used to understand and contextualise the DAS in the professional development of intermediate phase educators; and</li> <li>To what extent has DAS contributed to the professional development of the intermediate phase educators?</li></ul> Data was collected through the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The target group of this study is the primary school educators in the intermediate phase because they were exposed to all the curriculum changes, for example, NATED 550, Curriculum 2005 and finally, National Curriculum Statement. There were 4 participants in the study from each of the sampled schools. The participants from each school comprised of the principal, the HOD and two educators. The two educators, the Heads of Departments and some principalsof very small schools, completed the questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with the principals who did not complete the questionnaires. The study was conducted in both rural and urban schools, to determine how educators from different settings perceived educator appraisal. The following are the most important findings applicable to the third research question, namely, the contribution of the developmental appraisal on the professional development of the primary school educators.<ul> <li> The study revealed that appraisal was implemented in the Republic of South Africa but there are still some factors that may still limit the potential of appraisal and they are as follows:</li> <li> Lack of capacity of the appraisers, appraisees and the workshop facilitators;</li> <li> Lack of time; money and the necessary resources for the purposes of developing educators on the needs identified during the appraisal process.</li> <li> Lack of support from the Area Project Office; school development teams and School Management Teams (SMTs) due to overloading caused by the Post Provisioning Model (PPM). As a result of this model, the school structures failed to address the needs which were identified during the appraisal process;</li> <li> Inadequate training in appraisal; and</li> <li> Lack of monitoring of the appraisal process.</li></ul> The study clearly indicated that if appraisal can be effectively implemented by addressing the educators’ identified needs, it may definitely benefit all in the education fraternity, and the implementation of the new curriculum and other departmental initiatives may not be riddled with problems. The current study serves as an advice to managers at all levels that, if time and resources are not prioritised for educator development, this could make the educator negative about the whole appraisal process. The study recommended the following:<ul> <li> That appraisers and appraisees be re-trained in appraisal as well as self assessment; <li> That the training needs identified during the appraisal process be met;</li> <li> That the appraisal process be monitored; and</li> <li> Newly appointed educators should be mentored.</li></ul> / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge base on conceptualizations and impacts of teacher professional development (PD) programs. This is done by studying the case of two large-scale teacher PD programs. The first was mandatory for all public elementary school mathematics teachers in a larger Swedish municipality, and the second has been completed by 76% of all elementary school mathematics teachers in Sweden. In the municipality, and during the time frame in which this study was conducted, it was possible to make a comparison between teachers participating in different programs. Data on the programs’ impacts on teachers, instruction, and student achievement were gathered both immediately and one year after the teachers’ participation in one of them. In other words, the context of the study created an opportunity to respond to recent calls for studies that (a) examine the impacts of PD programs implemented on a larger scale, (b) adhere to PD programs’ impacts on teachers, instruction, and student achievement, (c) examine the sustainability of PD programs’ impacts, and (d) attend to variations within and between PD programs’ impacts. The results show that the studied programs are highly similar if characterized according to established research frameworks on what constitutes critical features of teacher PD. At the same time, they demonstrate different impacts, both between the programs and within them. These results suggested an elaboration of two of the five critical features of teacher PD: Content Focus and Coherence. Through the development and application of a more finely grained tool to characterize the programs’ Content Focus, differences between their characteristics were detected. Together with a systematic review of the PD research literature on Coherence, these results formed a basis for discussing plausible reasons for the difference in the programs’ impacts as well as elaborating on the critical features of Content Focus and Coherence. In summary, the thesis contributes: (a) empirical results in relation to large-scale teacher PD programs’ impacts; (b) methodological results in the form of tools for characterizing PD programs’ Content Focus and Coherence; and (c) theoretical results, as it examines established frameworks for characterizing teacher PD programs by using them in practice and, in light of the results, also suggests an elaboration of them. / I denna avhandling har två storskaliga kompetensutvecklingsprogram (KUP) för lärare använts som fall för att bidra till kunskap om kritiska aspekter av sådana program samt deras inverkan på lärare, undervisning och elevresultat. Det första programmet, Räkna med Västerås (RäV), var obligatoriskt för alla kommunala grundskolelärare som undervisade i matematik i kommunen. Det andra programmet, Matematiklyftet, har genomförts av 76 % av alla grundskolelärare i Sverige som undervisar i matematik. Under den tidsperiod som studien genomfördes var det möjligt att göra en jämförelse mellan programmen, då det vid tillfället fanns lärare i kommunen som antingen deltagit i RäV, Matematiklyftet, eller inget program alls. Data gällande programmens inverkan på lärare, undervisning och elevresultat samlades in både direkt och ett år efter lärarnas deltagande. Med andra ord gjorde studiens kontext det möjligt att svara upp mot nyliga uppmaningar om att det behövs fler studier som studerar: (a) inverkan av KUP som genomförts i större skala, (b) KUPs inverkan på lärare, undervisning och elevresultat, (c) KUPs långsiktiga inverkan, och (d) variationen mellan olika KUPs inverkan. Resultaten visar att de studerade programmen är ytterst lika om de karaktäriseras enligt etablerade ramverk om vad som utgör kritiska faktorer av KUP för lärare, samtidigt som de visar på olika inverkan på lärare, undervisning och elevresultat. I ljuset av dessa resultat föreslås en utveckling av två kritiska aspekter gällande KUP för lärare: innehållsfokus och samstämmighet. Genom att utveckla ett mer finkänsligt verktyg för att karaktärisera programmens innehållsfokus upptäcktes också skillnader mellan dem. Tillsammans med en systematisk litteraturöversikt av forskningslitteraturen kring ”samstämmighet” utgjorde dessa resultat en bas för att diskutera möjliga förklaringar till skillnaderna i programmens inverkan, samt en utveckling av de kritiska aspekterna innehållsfokus och samstämmighet. Sammantaget bidrar denna avhandling med: (a) empiriska resultat i förhållande till storskaliga KUPs inverkan, (b) metodologiska resultat i form av verktyg för att karaktärisera KUPs innehållsfokus och samstämmighet, och (c) teoretiska resultat då etablerade ramverk för att karaktärisera KUPs har studerats genom praktisk användning och i ljuset av resultaten föreslås även utvecklingar av dem.

The purpose of this doctoral dissertation was twofold: (a) to explore how communities of practice (CoPs) can be designed, implemented, assessed, and sustained in sport settings, and (b) to examine the value that is created by participating in a community of practice using Wenger, Trayner, and De Laat’s (2011) value creation framework. Two studies were conducted. In Study One, a sport coach CoP was collaboratively designed, implemented, and assessed in a youth soccer organisation. Data generation included two individual interviews with each co-researcher, observations from CoP gatherings, and communications via an online discussion platform. Findings indicated that the co-researchers created value within each of the five cycles of value creation outlined in Wenger and colleagues’ framework. The co-researchers created value that was personally relevant to their coaching needs, which led to an increase in perceived coaching abilities. The co-researchers also gained new perspectives, such as the importance of social learning, and a broader view of athlete development. Study Two examined the value that was created in five CoPs nested in the university sport setting and how they were sustained. One interview was conducted with each participant (10 coaches and two administrators). The findings revealed that the coaches created value in each of the five cycles of the value creation framework. They learned a variety of strategies, some of which they implemented in their coaching practice. As a result, the coaches noticed an improvement in their coaching abilities and their athletes’ outcomes. The coaches also gained new perspectives, and reframed their views concerning their personal development and that of their athletes. For example, the coaches realised the importance of focusing on their own well-being. They also realised the importance of learning through social interactions, and developed a broader view of athlete development. The findings from both Study One and Study Two illustrate that CoPs in sport settings are practical and pragmatic, and that they have a positive impact on coaches’ development and on their coaching practices.

Surgeons regularly make changes in their practice to ensure they are providing high quality patient care. This includes the process of learning and safely integrating new skills, techniques and technologies into practice. When faced with the challenge of integrating a new surgical procedure into practice, surgeons must determine when they are ready to overcome the associated risks. This study sought to understand how surgeons experience risk when learning and integrating a new procedure into practice. A modified constructivist, grounded theory approach was utilized. Eighteen surgeons were purposively sampled from two Canadian academic medical institutions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and interpreted through constant comparative analysis. Emergent themes were identified and a conceptual framework was developed for understanding the surgeon experience associated with adopting and integrating a new procedure into practice. Regardless of personal risk tolerance, surgeons described a similar approach to learning and implementing new skills. The experience of risk was one of several factors that affected their adoption of new techniques. They also described being influenced by individual, personality-driven factors, logistical considerations and the culture inherent to their departmental, institutional, professional and societal contexts. A framework for understanding the surgeon experience when adopting and integrating new skills was constructed. The complex, nuanced multifactorial interplay between a surgeon’s individual willingness to engage risk, his/her motivations and the systemic and cultural factors that serve to facilitate or hinder the implementation of a new surgical skill is at the core of this experience. An increased awareness of these factors highlights the challenges that surgeon face in adopting new procedures and may lead to the development of policies which support surgeons learning and implementing new skills, techniques and technologies while maximizing patient safety.

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between teaching readiness and teaching excellence with three variables of preparedness of adjunct professors teaching career technical education courses through student surveys using a correlational design of two statistical techniques; least-squares regression and one-way analysis of variance. That is, the research tested the relationship between teacher readiness and teacher excellence with the number of years teaching, the number of years of experience in the professional field and exposure to teaching related professional development, referred to as variables of preparedness. The results of the research provided insight to the relationship between the variables of preparedness and student assessment of their adjunct professors. Concerning the years of teaching experience, this research found a negative inverse relationship with how students rated their professors’ teaching readiness and excellence. The research also found no relationship between years of professional experience and the students’ assessment. Lastly, the research found a significant positive relationship between the amount of teaching related professional development taken by an adjunct professor and the students’ assessment in teaching readiness and excellence. This research suggests that policies and practices at colleges should address the professional development needs of adjunct professors. Also, to design a model that meets the practices of inclusion for adjunct faculty and to make professional development a priority within the organization. Lastly, implement that model over time to prepare adjuncts in readiness and excellence.

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The use of assessments and assessment results is critical to classroom instruction. Teachers use the information gathered from assessments to guide instruction within their classrooms and to otherwise inform their judgment in areas of the curriculum requiring individual and group-based responsiveness and differentiation. Much time and care go into preparing teachers to be able to instruct from the standpoint of a specific content area and age level. Unfortunately, this preparation does not always extend itself to understanding various assessment practices. The teaching of assessment practices should be a common experience in teacher education programs. This study aimed to determine what one large scale teacher education program situated in a large public university did to advance the skills of assessment knowledge among its elementary pre-service teachers. The focus was on the perceived exposure and attained knowledge levels of pre-service teachers on assessment topics. The perceived levels of exposure and knowledge were compared to the beliefs that elementary principals held on the importance of the same assessment topics. Surveys were given to student teachers and principals in a way that allowed the information to be compared. The analysis of the survey results found that the exposure levels reported by the pre-service teachers was lower than the importance levels placed on the respective topics by the principals. However, the pre-service teachers reported higher levels of knowledge on key assessment topics than the levels of knowledge that principals believed beginning teachers should possess on respective assessment topics. Principals felt strongly that it is important for beginning teachers to enter their teaching careers with knowledge of various assessment topics and skills. In many cases, there were misalignments between what principals identified as important and what pre-service teachers were exposed to. The schisms have implications for teacher education, as they speak to a potentially different way to design what assessment knowledge gets taught and how it gets taught at the pre-service level.

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No description available.