Personal efficiency is an increasing problem before the American public. Every agency that will aid in the successful accomplishment of any desirable goal should become a matter of thoughtful consideration. Success, as defined by a lexicographer, is a favorable end or result; therefore it may become an ever advancing goal toward which an individual moves. Failure by the same authority, is the set of falling short of success. There is a divine principle within the heart of man that responds to the rhythmic progression of success; while the most callous individual retires to the sanctity of his private world to grieve over an unattained citadel. Education in a changing world is attempting to keep pace with the march of time. Life moves fast; therefore education too must hurry. Some traditions are being done away with in favor of new ideas, but so far only in the dreams of some modern Aladdin is the school-room equipped with a loud-speaker to replace the teacher’s voice, a motion-picture to supplement or supplant the textbook, and a mechanical robot to bind the youthful ---- of grammar, hearts, and ideals. As long as schools are a fundamental necessity to public welfare, so long is the success or failure of the teacher a matter of public concern. Too long have the cant phrases of “molders of human clay” or “weavers of destiny” been applied to teachers. The time is ripe for a recognition of the teacher as an entity within himself. Clay is an inanimate mass that remains as the potter’s wheel leaves it; cloth is a dead matter of dyes and cellulose. The child is neither an inanimate mass, nor dead matter. He is an individual who respects clean dress, clean school rooms, and clean morals, and responds to them in direct proportion to their appeal in presentation. He knows intuitively whether the teacher is a success or not, and appreciates him just that far. Possibly through no one of the paramount initiatory experiences of life is there more lasting mental pattern than the teacher is responsible for, but tied very closely to these influences are the personal successes or failures of these same teachers. In this belief, the present study has been undertaken with the hope of showing that many of the things that make a teacher poor are of such a nature that improvement lies wholly within the power of the individual in question.

Much has been written concerning the kind of training a high-school teacher should have, but very little has been written concerning the training they have in relation to what they teach. Not very much is known concerning the actual facts of the condition existing at the present in the high schools in the state of Kentucky. The purpose of this study is to find these facts as they are and on this basis to determine the relationship that exists between the major and minor subjects and administrators from the Western Kentucky State Teachers College; and the subject they teach. Also, there is an attempt in this study to show the number of teachers and administrators in Kentucky from this college who are qualified to teach in the high schools. Another main purpose of this study is to show the need of the cooperation of the state department of education and the teachers’ training colleges with the administrators and other members of the educational system of the state influential in the selection of the high-school teachers of the state. The relationship between preparation and subjects taught is to be shown by (1) the number of semester hours the teachers have had in college in their major and minor subjects, and by (2) the number of hours they have in the field or subject in which they are teaching.

This thesis takes its departure from the on-going debate about teachers´(collective) ‘continuing professional development’ (CPD). Teachers’ CPD through an imposed nine-step model of peer group mentoring (PGM) is focused on. The study draws on data from a two and a half yearlong interactive project that took place in a teacher team in a Swedish school. The general aim of the thesis is to study a practice of professional development in a teacher team involving peer group mentoring and to find out how and what kind of teachers’ expertise that is constructed. Furthermore, the aim is to examine how the PGM-practice was constrained and enabled and what kind of CPD was made possible. The theoretical and methodological framework is mainly based on practice theory. Practices and practitioners are seen as mutually interrelated. Practice architectures (Kemmis &amp; Grootenboer, 2008) are used to uncover the relations between the PGM-practice and its historical, material-economic, social-political and cultural-discursive conditions. Furthermore, Foucault’s notion of power was adopted as an analytical tool to examine how power came into play during the mentoring sessions and how the teachers’ discursively constructed a ‘good teacher’ and teachers’ expertise. The methodological approach is action research. A main finding of the thesis is that professional and personnel development may be imposed through peer group mentoring. Furthermore, democratic processes increased during the PGMmeetings and seemed to have an impact on classroom practice and the practice of parent-teacher meetings. The results show how the PGM–practice and its outcomes are deeply interconnected to global and local historical, material-economic, social-political and cultural-discursive arrangements which constrained and enabled it. When economic cut downs (i.e. materialeconomic arrangements) began to take effect in the local school, along with a neo-liberal discourse (i.e. cultural-discursive arrangements), democratic processes were challenged and threatened. The focus in the PGM discussions shifted from the teachers’ perceived need for pedagogical knowledge development to talk about students as costs. The constrained nine-step model disciplined some individuals more than others. The teachers disciplined each other through e.g. confessions, corrections and differentiations. Inconsistent discourses about good teaching and teachers’ know-how were constructed and the teachers positioned themselves and each other as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ teachers. The interactive research approach partly enabled the PGM-practice but at the same time effected the teachers’ positioning of each other. The interactive research approach disciplined both the teachers and the researcher. Anyhow, power relations became fluent and mutual among the participants. A collegial approach and the ability to carry out reflexive cooperation were both fostered by the model and articulated in the PGM-practice as important teacher skills. / <p>Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid</p><p>Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen i Pedagogiskt arbete framläggs till offentlig granskning Fredagen den 14 mars, klockan 13.00, Sal C 203 vid Högskolan i Borås</p><p>Fakultetsopponent: Professor Emeritus Per Lauvås, Oslo</p><p>Langelotz, L., &amp; Rönnerman, K. (2014).The practice of peer Group mentoring - traces of global changes and regional traditions. In K. Rönnerman, P, Salo &amp; T. Lund (Eds.), Lost in Practice. Transforming Nordic Action Research. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. (forthcoming)</p><p>Langelotz, L. (2013). Teachers peer group mentoring - Nine steps to heaven? Education Inquiry, 4(2), 375-399. ISSN 2000-4508</p><p>Langelotz, L. (2013). Så görs en (o)skicklig lärare. Pedagogisk forskning i Sverige, 18(3-4). ISSN 1401-6788</p><p></p>

ABSTRACT Five of the top 16 counties in the United States with the fastest growth in the Latino population from 2000 to 2007 are in Georgia (Pew Hispanic Research Center, 2015). The Georgia metropolitan area where the study occurred has more Latinos than Austin, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, or Tucson (Pew Hispanic Research Center, 2015). Particularly following the New Latino Diaspora (Hamann, Wortham, & Murillo, 2002; Murillo, 2002; and Villenas, 2002) schools in the Southeastern United States have more and more Spanish-speaking students (Pew Hispanic Research Center, 2015). However, most classroom teachers have not received specialized training or professional development relating to these students (Ballantyne, Sanderman, & Levy, 2008; Barrera & Jiménez, 2000; Carrasquillo & Rodríguez, 2002; Dove & Honigsfeld, 2010; Echevarria, Short, & Powers, 2006; Kim, 2010; Walker, Shafer, & Iiams, 2004). My study’s purpose was to explore the interactions between an English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher (myself) and classroom teachers in my school relating to newcomer emergent bilingual students. The main research question guiding this study was: What happens when an ESOL teacher and classroom teachers intentionally gather to focus on newcomer emergent bilingual students? Teachers attended 12 weekly gatherings which were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed. This study exemplifies practitioner research and thematic analysis of the data. Sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978, 1986) and critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970) frame this study and were used as interpretive lenses for data analysis. Five major themes emerged: newcomers, resources, connections with classroom experiences, perceptions, and professional development. Findings related to teachers’ sense of self-efficacy relating to newcomers, their awareness of linguistic and cultural issues, and the importance of the social-emotional climate. A kit for classroom teachers of newcomers was prepared. Recommendations include support for classroom teachers who receive newcomer students—resources for the first days with a newcomer and ongoing interaction with other teachers for discussing strategies and reflecting on classroom experiences. Additional research is needed to increase awareness of the transition for classroom teachers and students when a newcomer arrives.

There is a need for a clearer understanding of the methods by which vocabularies can be enlarged most effectively. Results of experiments indicate that pupils are unable to recognize their own deficiencies and needs in respect to the meanings of words; consequently they need some type of guidance in enlarging their meaning vocabularies. Teachers are agreed that word lists are a non-effective device. They are agreed, too, that not one or a few techniques are being used to teach the meanings of new words, but many techniques. The two most effective seem to be (1) relating the word to former experiences and (2) studying the context in which the word appears and the environment surrounding it. Incidental attention to words results occasionally in vocabulary growth and in correspondingly improved comprehension. There are many words, however, which are not mastered in this way and for which direct instruction in their meaning, recognition, and use is necessary. By its very nature direct instruction concerning the meaning, recognition, and use of words brings out essential relationships and promotes good organization of ideas. Direct instruction on words taken from the context promotes greater accuracy in word recognition in oral reading, more fluent and orderly habits of recognition in silent reading, and more detailed and accurate comprehension of the meaning of what is read in both oral and silent reading.

There is very little literature pertaining to the Public School Music curriculas of the state teachers colleges in the United States. Various questions, however, have arisen in each institution relative to the required music courses and to the number of hours that should be required of a public school music major. Music teachers disagree as to the text to be used in music courses. Of all the various public school music texts available it is difficult to find any one text that is most worthy of recognition as there seem to be many of equal value. Not only is there disagreement concerning this phase of teacher training but also a lack of agreement as to what subjects other than music courses should be required of the public school music major. There is general agreement among educators that public school music teachers should have broad general academic training. It is impossible to determine definitely the number of hours in the various subjects that should be required in education than any other subject with the exception of music itself. There is quite a lack of agreement as to applied music requirements for such a major. One purpose of this study is to determine whether or not a public school major should be required to take piano, voice, brass, woodwind, string and percussion instruments. Formerly it was thought children should be taught music only individually in order to obtain desired results. Now it seems that equally valuable instruction may be given in groups. Group piano is today becoming very prevalent among the methods of giving musical instruction. This method of teaching has proved itself to be a very efficient one. Group instruction is more economical, and is conducive to a cooperative spirit which is one of the desirable outcomes of all educational procedures. Today in the best school systems group instruction is given not only in piano but also in brass, woodwind, percussion and string instruments. Some think that the individual majoring in public school music should be required to take one or more semester of chorus, while others believe it unnecessary. Some teachers restrict glee clubs, both male and female, to the best voices only. Others think it should be required of all public school and applied music majors. Opinion on all phases of the requirements for music majors varies and we can determine only in a measure these answers by discovering the various institutional practices in respect to music curricula. In the light of these considerations the problem is undertaken. It is the purpose of this study to determine the requirements of the teacher training institutions of the United States for public school music majors in (1) music courses, (2) education courses, and (3) content subjects.

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of homogenous grouping for the freshman classes of Henderson county High School. We are aware of the wide range of abilities and achievements of our students and feel very strongly our responsibility to advance the slower students as fast as possible without their becoming blocks in the paths of the faster students. However, at the same time, we must not permit the faster to impede the progress of the slower. It is our belief that when students of wide abilities are grouped together that the slower students soon recognize the superiority of the faster. Consequently a “What is the use?” State of mind develops. As a result of this unwholesome attitude the mind is frequently shifted into neutral, so to speak, since the student feels that his contribution to the class is insignificant when equated with the achievements of the faster students. – “So, why worry?” This study will in some way verify or dispel this belief. We recognize the limitation of groupings because of the wide range of subjects chosen by the students; however, we were able to achieve some degree of homogeneous grouping in the basic subjects of English and mathematics which all freshmen are required to take. We feel that it would be impractical to attempt it in our elective subjects; yet we are able to advise and guide students into particular subjects, using their abilities as one of the factors for such recommendations. It is the belief of this writer that homogeneous grouping is a very close associate of proper guidance. To reinforce this concept, Dunsmoor and Miller are cited: Guidance is a means of helping individuals to understand and use wisely the educational, vocational and personal potentialities and opportunities which they have or can develop. It is a form of systematic assistance whereby pupils are aided in achieving satisfactory adjustment to self and to others in their school and life relationships. The assistance provided should also help pupils to make better adjustments to their home and play environments. The groupings that were made in the freshman class were not set up with thesis writing in mind. Therefore the reader may find some discrepancies in grouping according to rank. In some cases it was necessary to disregard rank in order to get the student into a particular class such as agriculture or home economics. A few students were allowed to wait until their sophomore year to take mathematics in order that they may take some courses which had special interest for them.

Effective teacher development is significant for any educational system to remain competitive in the global arena (Bayar, 2014). However, science teachers’ professional development activities have often been found to be ineffective (Opfer & Pedder, 2011). Science teachers also minimally participate in such activities due to their ineffective experiences (Chval, Abell, Pareja, Musikul & Ritzka, 2007). Understanding how science teachers’ experiences are constructed is also crucial to create programs to meet their needs (Schneider & Plasman, 2011). It is essential in the construction of professional development experiences to recognize who is being served in professional development (Saka, 2013). But rigorous methods are required to understand the outcomes of professional development (Koomen, Blair, Young-Isebrand & Oberhauser, 2014). The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to study how secondary school science teachers describe their lived experiences of professional development in Punjab (Pakistan). How do these teachers understand, make sense, and use of those intended goals of professional development opportunities and change their practices through the implementation of learned knowledge of professional development? This study used purposive sampling to collect the qualitative data from fifteen secondary school science teachers of Punjab (Pakistan). The data collection was done through conducting semi-structured in-depth phenomenological interviews with these science teachers (Seidman, 2013). The data were analyzed using three-stage coding methods, and thematic analysis. Three main themes emerged from the analysis of data. The first theme of sense making is about their understanding and description of intended meaning of professional development activities. The second theme of meaningful experiences captured the participants perceived benefits from the PD activities. The third theme of contextual and cultural factors is focused on the understanding the impact of these factors in imparting of professional development experiences. The findings of the study communicate the significance of science teachers’ role in professional development activities. Science teachers’ voices, needs and active involvement must be taken into consideration in the designing and implementation of such activities.

The purpose of the research was to assess the impact of the process of professional development of English foreign language teachers in Israel who participated in the Explicit Multisensory Phonics Intervention Programme. Previous research focused on changes in knowledge, practices, student attainment, and beliefs. Changes from negative to positive self efficacy were not examined, and a model for the professional development of the English foreign language teacher did not exist. The conceptual framework is based on an integration of the concept of self efficacy with theories of professional development and literacy acquisition. Literacy acquisition is based on the knowledge and practice components of the process of professional development in this research. The process of professional development is set in motion by a sense of negative self efficacy. The attainment of content knowledge is followed by a change of practices and thereafter improved student attainment, leading to changes in teachers’ beliefs and positive self efficacy. The research questions seek to clarify teachers’ incentives for joining the programme, their standard of content knowledge and perceptions of the impact of the process of professional development. A mixed methods approach was used. The content knowledge of teachers was tested with a pre and post test. A questionnaire about the process of professional development was sent to teachers who had participated in the programme since 1991. Several unstructured interviews were held. Results showed that the teachers’ sense of negative self efficacy and failure in the field initiated their need for professional development. The impact of the process of professional development was: increased knowledge, changed practices and beliefs, claimed student attainment and positive self efficacy. The research contributes to knowledge by empirically supporting a theoretically based model for the impact of the process of professional development of English foreign language teachers. Positive and negative self efficacy are key factors in the process of professional development and knowledge is the basis of this process. These conclusions have practical applications for teacher training.

The purpose of this study is to trace the development of the curricula for commercial teacher training in the United States in order to discover its implications for the academic and professional preparation of teachers of business subjects. An attempt will be made to trace the evolution of secondary business education in order to discover the relationships existing between the aims and curricula of secondary business education on the one hand, and the preparation of business teachers and the curricula devised for their training on the other. Recommendations based upon the findings, will be made for the purpose of harmonizing the academic and professional program set up for the preparation of teachers of business subjects with the present dynamic nature of business education as it is evolving in our secondary schools. The problem is discussed in this chapter under three headings: (A) Delimitation; (B) Validation; and (C) Analysis.