published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisors: Martha N. Ovando and Karen M. Watt. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1976. / Title from title page screen, viewed Nov. 24, 2004. Dissertation Committee: Charles Edwards (chair), Elwood Egelston, Clayton Thomas, Charles Sherman, Clifford Edwards. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-87) and abstract. Also available in print.

<p> The following research study answered the following question: &ldquo;What is the experience of high school counselors implementing an ASCA-based school counseling program?&rdquo; School counselor experiences of the process were largely absent in the current and previous literature, as well as the profession&rsquo;s representation in qualitative research. To fully understand the results and experiences they had, an education change theory was incorporated that not only benefitted the study, but was also bolstered and extended into another compatible profession. Generic qualitative research was conducted through interviewing 10 Pennsylvania high school counselors. To participate, school counselors were required to have involvement in implementing comprehensive programming at the high school level. Their interviews were transcribed by an outside transcriptionist, and an inductive thematic analysis was conducted to organize the data. Results indicated that high school counselors were generally only involved in the career domain of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model, administrators were vital in the support and promotion of school counselors, their programs, and their identities, and the level of resources greatly impacted their roles and responsibilities. Additionally, involvement in comprehensive program implementation increased professional identity, and in turn, job satisfaction even for those who reported negative relationships with administrators.</p><p>

The integration of discrete mathematics into the secondary school curriculum (grades 7-12) is an important consideration because the mathematical area is dynamic and interesting, providing students the development of mathematical thinking. Also, it provides for teachers the opportunity to develop innovative mathematics instruction. Since the publication of the document Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 1989), it has been difficult to determine how many schools have integrated discrete mathematics as a separate or as an integrated course in the school mathematics curriculum. Moreover, the mathematics education research community has, for the most part, not focused on teachers' perceptions about teaching and learning discrete mathematics as an area of investigation. Because of the lack of research in this area, the researcher investigated preservice secondary mathematics teachers' perceptions about discrete mathematics and their reactions to the integration of discrete mathematics into the school curriculum. The researcher purposely selected four preservice secondary teachers who were enrolled in a mathematics course in the fall of 2005. Various data sources were used to get a deep understanding of each participant, including selected coursework, an online survey, and interviews. Results indicated that these preservice teachers perceive discrete mathematics as meaningful to students, as it emphasizes processes such as problem solving and mathematical thinking, and it provides opportunities to use innovative instruction. Because of this, the preservice teachers believe that discrete mathematics should be integrated in the school mathematics curriculum. In addition, several factors that affect the integration of discrete mathematics in the school were identified. These factors are the state curriculum and testing, the historical emphasis of algebra and calculus in the school curriculum, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1989, 2000) Standards documents' views of discrete mathematics, teachers' views of discrete mathematics, the lack of knowledge of discrete mathematics, and the lack of materials and guidelines for teaching discrete mathematics. / Ph. D.

The Research of Constructing School-based Curriculum Evaluation in the basis of ISO9001 : 2000 -- An Example of Kaohsiung Min-Chyuan Elementary School kuo¡A Chin-chan Abstract With the development of school-based curriculum, school-based curriculum evaluation viewed as part of school-based curriculum grows as well. ¡§Evaluation¡¨ contributes to quality control, Education value determination, administration accomplishment promotion ,and teacher .Specialization to perform the characteristics of school and create the value of school education. As a result, selection of the school-based curriculum evaluation model should be emphasized. The purpose of this research is to initiate ISO 9001:2000 quality control system constructing ISO 9001:2000 school-based curriculum evaluation model in order to effectively promote school-based curriculum quality, teacher profession, and administration accomplishment. Then, discovering the problem of each educational scene objectively to solve problem by internal criticism and external criticism. Furthermore, to prove the effectiveness and approval of ISO 9001:2000 school-based curriculum evaluation construction via international identification is expecting. First of all, this research adopt document analysis methodology to discuss not only the spirit and connotation of ISO 9001:2000 but also the difficulty and model of each kind of school-based curriculum evaluation for constructing the school¡Xbased curriculum evaluation structure. Secondly, to establish the ISO 9001:2000 organization in school curriculum development commit as the quality control system to process the implement at Kaohsiung Min-Chyuan Elementary School. Moreover, to edit one quality manual, seventeen procedure books and list as research implements to start the system, proceed school-based curriculum evaluation, and apply ¡§International identification¡¨ to complete this research. The conclusion of this research are as followings¡G 1. By the procedure: school-based curriculum evaluation concept composition¡÷establish ISO 9001:2000 organization in curriculum development commit¡÷adopt the spirit of PDCA¡÷build ISO 9001:2000 quality management system¡÷edit quality manual, procedure books, and lists¡÷system implement, will create the quality management system of ISO 9001:2000 school-based curriculum evaluation. 2. ISO 9001:2000 can inspect the quality problem of school-based curriculum and achieve the education goal effectively. 3. ISO 9001:2000 quality management system can promote teacher profession, and administration accomplishment. 4. Via ISO external criticism can find out the problem of each educational scene and solve problems totally. 5. Implying ISO 9001:2000 to construct school-based curriculum is effective. According to the result of this research, the four suggestions are made to provide resource of further research and implement for schools, administration, ISO institute. Keywords ¡Gschool-based curriculum development school-based curriculum evaluation International Organization for Standardization 9001¡G2000

The review of the literature, which constitutes the first two chapters of the study, traces the movement towards the development of an autonomous ACT education system and the development within that movement of a philosophy of devolution of decision-making to individual schools within the larger ACT system. In particular the Currie, Neal-Radford, Campbell and Hughes Reports have been drawn upon rather extensively to illustrate, not only the arguments being put forward for the adoption of a philosophy of school-based curriculum development, but also the rather strong proposals for extensive systemic support services for schools, especially in the early years of the new system. The second part of the literature survey discusses the possible problems associated with the implementation of school-based curriculum development. These problems are mostly associated with five interrelated elements within curriculum development; manpower, activity, materials, finance and time. Finally the literature review discusses feelings of discontent with school-based curriculum development that have surfaced at various parts of the system in recent times. Ensuing chapters of the study describe the survey and discuss the findings. The survey, which involved the completion of a questionnaire consisting of four parts, was designed to provide information regarding the extent to which the philosophies of school-based curriculum development have been adopted, the effectiveness of school and systemic support, the extent to which teachers have coped with associated problems and to identify areas of need within the ACT education system with regard to school-based curriculum development. The concluding section discusses the implications of these findings and suggests a number of areas of need within the primary sector of the ACT Educational System that will have to be satisfied if it is not to suffer by comparison with Australian state primary education systems in the future. Possible areas for future research were then suggested and the future of school-based curriculum development in ACT primary schools was discussed.

This study emanates from a concern about social injustice. I believe that a number of people in our society, by virtue of their race, gender or class, are disadvantaged in the distribution of wealth and privilege. Some people have suggested that schools contribute to the maintenance and reproduction of this situation because, in various ways, they replicate inequitable social, political and economic arrangements. I accept this claim and argue that any attempt to improve schooling must focus on the social, economic and political outcomes of education, as well as on curricular, pedagogical and administrative concerns. In this study one recent attempt to improve Australian education, the move to school-level curriculum evaluation, is examined to ascertain if it represents a challenge to existing school practices and the beliefs and assumptions which underpin these. Dominant ideological orientations to improvement are examined and their key features and assumptions delineated. Because I believe that these exclude any consideration of the relationship between school knowledge and the distribution of power and privilege within society, an attempt is made to reconceptualize school-level curriculum evaluation in a way that will permit teachers to unpack what schools do socially, politically and economically. Theories of cultural and economic reproduction and the work of Freire are drawn on to help with this task. Evaluation policy statements and guidelines and examples of evaluation practice are then analysed in terms of dominant and reconceptualized notions of evaluation. What emerges is that although many of these are engulfed by dominant and limiting ideologies, school-level curriculum may be reconceptualized in a way that will permit the penetration and contestation of dominant practices and beliefs and thereby will offer educators a possible means of addressing problems of social injustice.

The purpose of this study is to explore the development of the school-based curriculum in junior high schools in Tainan City. The strategy adopted for analysing this study is to consider literature review, document analysis, and interviews. Besides, analyize the curriculum contents in junior high schools in Tainan City in the 93 academic year.In addition,four academic directors at junior high schools in Tainan were selected to do the interview. They were required to verbalize their thoughts and feelings in the task. Their interviews were then transcribed, and the data were further identified, categorized, and defined.The findings were categorized into three major categorizes,SWOT analysis,curriculum development organization,and curriculum contents. The above study allows us to reach the following conclusions¡G 1¡B The committees of the school-based curriculum development in junior high schools in Tainan City have been founded by the regulations. 2¡B The school-based curriculums in junior high schools in Tainan City have been arranged by the regulations. And everything goes according to plan.However, most schools have similar plans,so it¡¦s hard to show the individuality of each school. 3¡B All of the junior high schools in Tainan City have analyzed SWOT, and have established a school vision based on the analysis. 4¡B Most members in junior high schools in Tainan City are vague about the school-based curriculum development. 5¡B The curriculum evaluation in junior high schools in Tainan City needs improving. 6¡B The integrative curriculum is widely accepped by the school-based curriculum in junior high schools in Tainan City. 7¡B Parents in urban areas actively participate in school activities; parents in country areas passively participate in school activities. Community resources are well integrated with the school-based curriculums. 8¡B In spite of the entrance examination,the school-based curriculums have no big differences between junior high schools in Tainan City. The class schedule has much difference between public and private schools. Based on the conclusions,the difficulities our schools have encountered are how to integrate School-Based Curriculum Development with the Basic Achievement Test. The findings obtained from this study attempted to provide concrete suggestions for junior high schools and educational administration agenies, and invite further research in the future.

Abstract The purposes of this research were¡G(1) to uncover the implementation of school-based curriculum evaluation and the current state of teacher¡¦s self-understanding on professional curriculum knowledge and skills of public elementary schools of Kaohsiung City; (2) to analyze the differences of dimensions of school-based curriculum evaluation on different background variables; (3) to realize the differences on professional curriculum knowledge and skills of teachers on different background variables; (4) to explore the relationship between the current outcomes of school-based curriculum evaluation and professional curriculum knowledge and skills of teachers; (5) to offer feasible suggestions according to the results for schools which can implement school-based curriculum evaluation and teachers who might improve their curriculum knowledge and skills. This research adopted questionnaire method to collect information about the current state of the implementation of school-based curriculum and self-understanding of professional knowledge and skills of teachers in public elementary schools of Kaohsiung City. Questionnaires were given to 552 teachers of 45 classes and 438 of which were valid. Two major instruments, i.e. The outcomes of School-Based Curriculum Questionnaire and Teacher¡¦s Self-understanding of Professional Curriculum Knowledge and Skills Questionnaire, were designed to collect data, which were later analyzed by means of percentage frequently distribution, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and so on. The major results were summarized as follows¡G 1. Most teachers affirm the fine achievements of the current state of school-based curriculum evaluation in public elementary schools of Kaohsiung City. There are high performances in self-understanding of professional curriculum knowledge and skills of teachers in public elementary schools of Kaohsiung City. Therefore, Schools in Kaohsiung have put into effects of the implementation of school-based curriculum evaluation. 2. Age, educational background and teaching seniority of teachers have no influence on school-based curriculum evaluation; teachers who hold executive positions ranked high on ¡§evaluation use¡¨ by levels, and approve the implementation of it. High school-based curriculum evaluation participation ranked high in ¡§evaluation plan¡¨ by levels, and approve the measures of it. There were significant differences on school scales, history of school-based curriculum evaluation by levels. 3. There were significant differences on teacher curriculum professional knowledge and skills based on diverse educational background, position and the participation. Teachers who have a graduate school diploma, hold the executive positions or have high degree of participation in school-based curriculum evaluation show better curriculum professional knowledge and skills¡FThere is no influence on age and seniority of teachers. School scales and history show significant differences on teacher curriculum professional knowledge and skills, and medium schools or schools which have the history more than 61 years ranked high on teacher curriculum professional knowledge and skills. 4. Separating high from low performance on school-based curriculum evaluation has significant differences on self-understanding of teacher curriculum professional knowledge and skills. Teachers who have high performance are equipped with better professional knowledge and skills, vice versa. In accordance with the results of this research, suggestions concerning aspects of the authorities, schools, educational executive units were put forward. Further studies were also proposed. Key words: the implementation of school-based curriculum evaluation, professional curriculum knowledge and skills