Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2000. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-138).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

The past thirty years has seen the middle school as an organization come of age and with it a renewed emphasis on meeting the needs of the early adolescent student. Although many current studies have addressed middle school issues, one of the most significant was the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's Turning Points: Preparing Youth/or the 21st Century (1989). It claimed that the middle school is the "last best chance" to turn young lives toward a meaningful future and, in order to do so, schools must be staffed with "expert" teachers. Once one knows what an "expert" teacher is, the major question that is raised is what factors promote and maintain such "experts?" Paying attention to these factors should increase the numbers of effective middle school teachers and therefore help meet the challenge issued by Turning Points. The purpose of this study was to learn what these factors are by listening to the "experts." Knowing these factors, their hierarchy of importance, and their potential for replication have serious implications for pre-teacher and staff training programs, hiring practices, and district policy making. The subjects were teachers from 17 middle schools in an urban school district which started its conversion to middle schools in the 1970s. The study was conducted in two phases using a questionnaire and an interview. The questionnaire was based on the literature and developed to determine the respondent's knowledge, practices, attitudes, and beliefs about middle school teaching. The 19 top scoring teachers who agreed to follow-up interviews formed the subsequent interview group. The semi-structured one-on-one interviews elicited opinions from these self-reported "experts" regarding what they perceived to be the most significant personal and organizational factors which enable them to be effective in their teaching. The results of the 307 valid questionnaires were reported by scale score, mean, and range, and their validity and reliability tested by Spearman-Brown, Coefficient Alpha, correlation matrix, and factor analysis. The content of the interview data was analyzed by a frequency count of reported factors. Major findings were that "expert" teachers identified the following factors as most critical to promoting and maintaining effective middle school teaching: 1. Being able to balance academic and affective concerns; 2. Having a genuine liking, commitment, and empathy for the early adolescent; 3. Ability to use a broad repertoire of teaching and learning strategies; 4. A concerned, listening principal who knows how to take action; 5. Team compatibility and commitment and adequate team planning time; 6. A strong belief in the advisory concept and the ability to build trust; 7. Participatory choice and teacher involvement in staff development; 8. A thorough knowledge of early adolescent needs and development. 9. Multiple exposure to and extensive experience with early adolescents during pre-teacher training.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 55).

The study was conducted to investigate whether the use of a wider range of teaching methods can improve the quality of environmental learning in five Zambian primary schools. Nine teachers from five schools were involved in the preliminary stage of answering of questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions about the use of dominant teaching methods and new teaching methods; while only four were involved in the observations of four lessons. The study is a contribution to the on‐going debate on the investigation of whether teaching methods used by teachers can be one of the factors that can influence the quality of education. Definitions of quality and educational quality in particular, are not easy to establish and no agreed upon framework for educational quality exists at present. This study reviews the debates on educational quality, and identifies three major paradigms or discourses on educational quality; and considers the human rights, social justice and capabilities approaches and educational quality frameworks as being relevant to environmental learning and education for sustainable development in the Southern African Development Community context. This, together with a review of research on teaching methods in environmental education, provides the theoretical framework for this study. Using action research and an interpretative methodological framework, a series of research activities were undertaken to generate research data because the study was investigating the teachers’ practice with a view to probe change and to analyse the findings. Nine teachers participated in the preliminary stage of answering questionnaires and focus group interviews reflecting on existing teaching methods. In stage two of this study, teachers went through a planning workshop during which they planned lessons using new preferred teaching methods. The third stage was lesson observations of planned lessons. The final stage was the reflection workshop during which the teachers shared their experiences with the use of new teaching methods. The teaching practices of teachers using the new teaching methods were the subject of further analysis. In order to find out how the use of a wide range of teaching methods can improve quality of environmental learning in primary schools nine teachers were observed teaching lessons with new teaching methods. The Nikel and Lowe (2010) fabric of dimensions of educational quality was adapted and used to find out if teachers included dimensions of quality in the teaching process. Additional socio‐cultural and structural quality dimensions, identified through a review of southern African research, were used to find out if teachers included contextualized regional dimensions of educational quality. This was done to investigate whether the process of teaching and learning was relevant to the learners. Teachers involved in the research reflected that when they used a wider range of teaching methods the result was that the learning opportunities for learners were enhanced and that the methods added value to their teaching, improving the quality of their teaching. The use of a wider range of teaching methods showed the presence of several indicators of dimensions of educational quality, as reflected in the quality analysis tool. Teachers indicated that the use of a wider range of teaching methods led them to include the socio‐cultural dimensions such as the use of local languages and structural dimensions such as informal seating arrangements or group work that they would otherwise neglect if they used the traditional narrow range of teaching methods. A wider range of teaching methods provided learners with an enjoyable learning atmosphere during the lesson. The research also identified that this study can be taken further through broader observations, and that the educational quality dimensions tool is useful for different levels of the education system, and that it has potentially productive uses in teacher education, particularly for observations during teaching practice.

This study was underpinned by the view of the researcher that classroom discipline is gradually collapsing in South African schools. Learners seem to be uncontrollable thus affecting the quality of teaching and learning. Educators worldwide have many responsibilities in managing classroom discipline and shaping the behaviour of learners in schools. For educators to undertake these many responsibilities there is need for them to carryout effective teaching and learning through maintaining a disciplined classroom without enforcing corporal punishment. This might seem difficult from the view of certain attitudes learners display in classroom, but it is possible if educators are groomed with contemporary classroom discipline strategies which conform to the demands of the Department of Education. The study investigated the phenomenon of managing classroom discipline in Ngaka Modiri Molema District to determine the extent to which educators are conversant with the legal framework for managing classroom discipline and to determine strategies currently employed by educators to establish discipline in the classroom. The study also state and describe disciplinary challenges currently faced by educators in the classroom and make recommendations and guidelines on the findings with regard to managing classroom discipline. A literature review was done on conceptual literature relating to issues on managing classroom discipline. Learner's misconduct in class, causes of disciplinary problems and how to prevent and manage classroom discipline by applying the legal framework in class was also reviewed. The research approach was qualitative. Purposively selected participants included experienced teachers and student members of school student governments (prefects) of two purposefully selected schools. Views and experience of participants to this study were captured and explained through interviews, observations and document analysis. Results are discussed in relation to relevant literature, allowing the flow of an open coding process in inductive qualitative analysis. Findings from the research indicated that participants are experiencing varying forms of continued ill discipline in their classrooms. Some of which are; learners not doing their school and homework, absenteeism, disruption of classes by noise making, learners bullying fellow learners and even educators. Literature review revealed that there are nationwide guidelines and legal framework for managing discipline in schools as embedded in SASA. Participants know the guidelines and a legal framework for managing discipline in classrooms that has been used to design a school code of conduct and classroom rules. Most educators are not very conversant with the legal framework for managing classroom discipline except for the fact that they know they are not allowed to use corporal punishment. The findings of this study suggested that educators, through the help of the Department of Education, should familiarise themselves with legal documents on managing discipline in order for them to establish and maintain positive classroom discipline management. / Thesis (M.Ed) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2011

"The scope of this paper will cover the organization of the schools in relation to educating for democracy. The organization and functioning of the schools as they relate to the freedom of the teacher will be shown. This paper is concerned with the problems of the elementary school, rather than the secondary schools or college, in all sections of the United States"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "Nov. 7, 1946." / "Submitted to the Graduate Committee of the Florida State College for Women in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts under Plan II." / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 42).

No description available.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006. / Title from title page screen, viewed on April 22, 2007. Dissertation Committee: Dent M. Rhodes, William J.F. Hunter (co-chairs), Thomas P. Crumpler. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 251-256) and abstract. Also available in print.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 28, 2010). Directed by Constance McKoy; submitted to the School of Music. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-99).