Research in the area of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher satisfaction and teacher motivation has recently gained momentum, and several studies completed in different parts of the world have contributed to this growing field (Al Hashmi, 2004; Al-Maawali, 2003; Dörnyei, 2001; Gheralis-Rouss, 2003; John, 2011; Kızıltepe, 2008; Manuel and Hughes, 2006; Menyhárt, 2008; Shoaib, 2004). However, studies from Oman, particularly with expatriate teachers, are still limited. The purpose of the current naturalistic qualitative research is to explore the factors that motivate and discourage expatriate EFL teachers in a public university in Oman. The conceptual framework of this study is based on the Needs Hierarchy theory (Maslow, 1954) and the Motivation-Hygiene theory (Herzberg, 1976). An exploratory methodology was used, and the sample selected for this study comprised exclusively expatriate teachers whose average number of years of experience in Oman is 18.75 years. In-depth semi-structured interviews with sixteen expatriate teachers revealed several intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivated teachers to work and live in Oman, such as, interaction with students, job security, and living in Oman. Teachers also expressed several discouraging factors that affected their personal and professional life in Oman. Examples include difficulties in getting promoted, faculty evaluation surveys, and bureaucratic administrative policies. This study is significant in giving voice to experienced expatriate teachers who share their vast experience and suggestions and offer recommendations to administrators and managers on adopting policies that are holistic and present optimal working conditions to teachers.

Almost one quarter of children, by the time they reach 18 years old, will have experienced domestic violence (DV) at some point in their childhood (Bentley et al., 2017). The impact of DV on children can affect the areas of emotional and social development, communication, physical health and learning, in the home and school environments. Rather than being passive witnesses to abuse, children experience it through all of their senses. Despite a wealth of research exploring the areas of DV and the impact on children, there is limited current research in the area of DV in relation to children in education, and teacher perspectives of DV. This research therefore aims to add to the body of literature by exploring the educational experiences of children who have lived with domestic abuse and the views of teachers supporting those children. There were two phases to the research. Phase one involved working with children to explore their views of education and what was important to them, using image-based data collection methods. Phase two explored teacher perspectives of the effects of DV on children and a discussion about the implications of phase one, using a soft systems methodology approach. A visual arts-based methodology was utilised in order to allow children to explore and share their thoughts and feelings in a creative way; to tell their stories, take ownership over their own information and feel empowered to do so through a method of their choosing. The data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings illustrated that children’s experiences of school were centred on six key areas: play, education, identity, relationships, feeling safe and linking the past to the future. Teachers in the study expressed an understanding of DV and the impact on children and families. They described what children think about school and what children need at school. However, there were many barriers and conflicts for teachers in providing such support, and they felt disempowered to enact positive change for those children. Visual methodology allowed for children to express their views in a way that linked the past with the future that helped them navigate the present situation. The implications for educational psychology practice were explored at various levels of working. In particular, with relation to eliciting child voice, supporting schools at a systems level and promoting organisational change.

Communicative approaches, such as communicative language teaching (CLT) and task-based language teaching (TBLT), have been promoted in second language education around the world for over four decades. This continued mainstream status may be due to their convincing theoretical bases in principles of second language acquisition, which are believed to be beneficial to language learners. However, they are not widely accepted by teachers in many English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. A number of studies in a variety of contexts have aimed to identify factors which impede their implementation, but few of these have further built on the implications of these investigations. The current investigation, instead, studied classroom practice in a Taiwanese EFL secondary school, in order to identify and solve any problems arising. Based on the assumption that teacher learning is a complex process, it was necessary to set up a teacher development programme (TD) and use action research to explore how it could help teachers develop their practitioner knowledge of communicative approaches. Drawing on the data from questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations, the main finding was that the teachers’ limited understanding of these approaches seemed to be a more dominant factor than the teachers’ beliefs. This resulted in perceptions of learners, syllabus/textbooks and time becoming barriers to the implementation of the approaches, as often pointed out in past studies. This study also found effective ways to encourage teachers to learn to implement this new pedagogy. First, supplying examples of a theory’s practical application equipped practitioners to develop practical knowledge of that theory. Second, collaborative learning between the teachers, as well as the assistance of an expert, helped make the teacher education programme work. This led to the conclusion that communicative approaches motivated teachers in their professional practice. The findings of this research could shed light on these aspects of L2 teaching in a variety of other similar contexts and could be useful for educational policymakers, practitioners, and teacher educators in implementing innovative approaches.

Career and technology education (CATE) courses were offered to high school students as an alternative form of education. The research problem at the study site, which is a high school located in southeastern United States was the lack of research-based findings on high school graduates' perceptions of CATE courses. The purpose of this study was to understand the participants' perceptions of the impact of CATE courses on career goals. The research question that guided this study was: What are the perceptions of high school graduates of a CATE program? The conceptual framework was based upon multiple intelligences, differentiated instruction, and the social cognitive theory of self-efficacy. Purposive sampling was used to identify 10 high school graduates who took CATE courses and were interviewed to share their perceptions of those courses. Responses were audio taped and transcribed for content analysis and coding to identify common themes on this topic. The findings indicated that CATE courses provided students with practical applications by which CATE instructors strived to meet the needs of students, indicating that CATE students have been prepared for career opportunities. The findings also indicated that CATE students graduated from high school because students developed technical and academic skills through the program. Implications for positive social change include potentially increased rate of high school graduation of CATE students and the impact of CATE courses on graduate's career goals. The results of this study can be used by CATE teachers and school administrators to support continued advocacy for teacher professional development within the field of CATE courses.

Orientador: Guilherme do Val Toledo Prado / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T17:37:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Munhoz_LuciannaMagrideMelo_M.pdf: 2492650 bytes, checksum: d034ce6ea7076084bde3d65a54d7410b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: O presente trabalho tem como tema a escrita docente e sua contribuição para a formação profissional de professores. Para tanto, a pesquisa apresenta a pedagogia Freinet e o Movimento de Professores iniciado por Freinet no início do século XX. Este Movimento está presente em mais 47 países por todo mundo e faz da escrita de seus integrantes a sua base de sustentação e permanência por tantos anos. O primeiro capítulo apresenta o Memorial de Formação da autora, que percorrerá todo o texto, tendo como fio condutor a escrita e a forma como a autora se relacionou com a escrita, desde a infância até a fase adulta e profissional. Outros episódios da minha relação com a escrita vão surgindo ao longo do trabalho. O segundo capítulo trata da vida e obra de Célestin Freinet e a criação do Movimento da Escola Moderna na França e no Brasil. É feita também a contextualização histórica e filosófica do pensamento de Freinet, bem como uma pequena investigação de como a escrita docente foi se desenvolvendo ao longo do século XX no Brasil republicano. No terceiro capítulo são apresentados os estágios feitos pela pesquisadora nas edições de duas revistas organizadas por professores do Movimento Freinet da França. Ainda neste capítulo é feita uma breve análise de uma publicação francesa e uma brasileira. O último capítulo traz a conclusão que evidencia, através da bibliografia atual, a relevância da escrita como instrumento de reflexão e legitimação da profissionalidade docente. / Abstract: This work features the teachers' writing and its contribution to teacher training. For this, the research introduces the Freinet pedagogy and movement of teachers initiated by Freinet at the beginning of the twentieth century. This movement is present in over 47 countries around the world and makes the writing of its members the base for support and endurance for many years. The first chapter presents the author's Memorial Training, excerpt of the text will go throughout the research, with the writing as a guiding principle. The way the author had been related to writing from childhood to adulthood and professional life. The second chapter broaches the life and work of Celestin Freinet and the creation of the Modern School Movement in France and Brazil. Additionally, a historical and philosophical context of Freinet's thought, as well as a little investigation on how teachers' writing developed over the twentieth century in Republican Brazil are carried through this chapter. The third chapter presents the stages made by the researcher on issues of two magazines organized by French Freinet Movement teachers. Moreover, a brief analysis of a Brazilian and a French publication is conducted in this chapter. The final chapter brings the conclusion that verifies the importance of writing as a tool for reflection and legitimation of professional teaching. / Mestrado / Ensino e Práticas Culturais / Mestre em Educação

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T14:32:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Valdemir Cardoso da Silveira.pdf: 11623305 bytes, checksum: 4b127d04ed054a408593ae3ae1ecf0de (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-06 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The intention of this research agrees to explain the practise of the researcher teacher front the challenges about the inclusion of the youngs and adults, specially students who have vision default or classmates within special needs, in a school with distinguished time and space. The research, that uses as methodology and trial of the case, means the procedure of the experts, as destached an enviroment of the teaching for yougs and adults core as Pierre Bonhomme , foud out in a Campinas town, as researched people, a team of 40 classmates, between them 10 visual defaults during trials of 2005, 2006 and 2007. After the discussion about the concepts as researcher professor reflexive, curricular, included/desicluded educational inovation and geography teaching, the research underlines/appoints a historical setup to legislate the inclusion and education of the youngs and adults. Therever, the research appoints many screens: Campinas town, CEMEFEJA Pierre Bonhomme and the microcosmus the scientifical place of the Geography studies qhere event sutudied included practises. In the research, the responsour looks over the building of the history of the social changes of the classmates/students and practises which come to na included seems Geography where based to default where is based to defaul vision classmates/students and the consequences or outcomes from these practises of it transformation as research teacher reflexive / O objetivo desta pesquisa consistiu em refletir sobre a prática do professor pesquisador face aos desafios da inclusão de jovens e adultos, especialmente dos alunos com necessidades especiais, os deficientes visuais, numa escola com tempos e espaços diferenciados. A pesquisa em que foi utilizado como metodologia o estudo de caso e o procedimento dos experts , destacando como ambiente, o Centro Municipal de Ensino Fundamental de Educação de Jovens e Adultos Pierre Bonhomme - CEMEFEJA, localizado em Campinas, elegeu como sujeitos pesquisados um grupo de 40 alunos, dentre os quais 10 deficientes visuais, acompanhados durante os anos 2005, 2006 e 2007. Após discutir conceitos como professor pesquisador/professor reflexivo, currículo, exclusão/ inclusão, inovação educacional e ensino de Geografia, o pesquisador traça um panorama histórico da legislação sobre inclusão e educação de jovens e adultos. A partir deste ponto, o trabalho focaliza vários contextos significativos: cidade de Campinas, o CEMEFEJA Pierre Bonhomme e o microcosmo a sala ambiente de Geografia onde ocorreram as práticas inclusivas estudadas. Na pesquisa, o autor analisa a construção do conhecimento geográfico envolvendo as histórias do deslocamento social dos alunos e as práticas voltadas ao surgimento de uma Geografia dos Sentidos, inclusiva, construída para e com os alunos deficientes visuais e sublinha as conseqüências dessas práticas na sua própria transformação enquanto professor pesquisador em reflexão

Studies suggest that a potential misalignment between assessment and grading practices in reporting secondary student academic achievement has negatively impacted students since grades may not truly reflect actual achievement. Accordingly, the purpose of the current study was to compare secondary teachers' use of academic and nonacademic factors when reporting student achievement before and after professional development on assessment and grading practices. Following change theory, the study investigated the efficacy of employing professional development as a means of influencing more standard and appropriate practices among secondary teachers with regard to using academic and nonacademic factors when employing standards-based reporting to determine grades. The single-group repeated measures design used a random sample of 39 secondary teachers (6th-12th grade) in a nonpublic school in the Midwest who completed online adaptations of the Teacher Survey on Grading Practices (TSGP) and McREL surveys. Chi-square analyses of the TSGP indicated that there was a significant difference in the way teachers used academic and nonacademic factors in determining grades after professional development. Specifically, improvement and mastery, two academic criteria, increased after the intervention, whereas all nonacademic factors on the survey decreased in the amount of weight teachers gave them in determining a summative grade for students. The results of this study led to the conclusion that professional development was an effective means to influence change in grading practices. The study contributes to social change by informing professional development models that promote meaningful conversations about the nature of student achievement, systematic assessment practices, and how to most accurately and equitably assign grades.

The willingness to work and a high school diploma were once all that was needed to start one's career. The problem is that on the twentieth anniversary of the reports by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), high school graduates may still lack what business and education leaders require for success in entry-level employment or post-secondary studies. The research question included understanding how prepared graduates from at-risk high schools are for post-secondary work or study. The study used a Likert-scaled survey to assess participant work readiness in 36 skill or competency areas. The sample consisted of recent graduates from three at-risk high schools in one school district. Graduate responses to the survey indicated that 64% were not work ready. Statistically, results were consistent with the SCANS report that indicated that 51% of all American high school graduates were underprepared. Pearson correlations were detected between the graduates' level of academic study (i.e., special education, tech-prep, college-prep, or honors) and work-readiness, and between pre-graduation work-experience and work-readiness. Implications for positive social change include improved graduate work readiness.