Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2008. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." Directed by Michael T. Moore. ETD. Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-235) and appendices.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1986. / Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-109). Also available in print.

abstract: In 1976 Florynce R. Kennedy, a United States lawyer, activist, speaker, and author famously stated that “anybody with the brains and energy to become a teacher ought to want to become something better.” With these stigmas surrounding the teaching profession, it becomes a wonder that anybody decides to become a teacher, or even more difficult, stay in the profession. The state of Arizona, specifically, has reached landmark attrition rates and dissatisfaction surrounding lack of education funding. The stories of those leaving have been well publicized over the last year, but what about those who choose to stay? This dissertation examines the counter narrative behind the teacher attrition crisis by focusing on the stories of the teachers in the secondary English Language Arts (ELA) classroom who have decided to remain in the profession. Through narrative inquiry, this study examines how teachers narrate their experiences as teachers and how those constructs may have contributed to their retention. This study collected data from four high school English teachers through two in-depth interviews, classroom observations, a self-made teacher journey concept map, and teaching artifacts in the form of a teaching experience “time capsule.” Through this data, the participants’ stories highlighting their journey to teaching, current careers, and insights on retention were re- storied then thematically coded and analyzed. Findings are in essence the stories themselves, but also reveal how these teachers narrate their career, societal impacts, quality of life, as well as what motivating factors inspire them to stay in the classroom and teach. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2019

Teachers' decisions are a powerful influence on student learning and it is important to fully document accomplished teachers' instructional decisions, as well as to investigate possible influences on those decisions. Shakespearean dramas are central to high school curricula across the U.S. and pose particular instructional challenges, therefore teachers' decisions about teaching these texts are of particular interest. There is limited empirical research, however, about these instructional decisions. Thus, the purpose of this study was to describe how four accomplished high school English teachers working on a single campus make instructional decisions about teaching a Shakespearean play. Specifically, research questions addressed teachers' decisions regarding the teaching of a Shakespearean play and various influences on those decisions (self-reports and inferences from the data). Case study methodology was used, including an inductive analysis of individual teacher interviews, classroom observations, focus group, instructional artifacts, and researcher's journal. The findings revealed that instructional activities described by these teachers addressed support for meaning-making during four stages of reading instruction: (a) before, during, and after; (b) before; (c) during; and (d) after. Comparison of these cases suggests that, although each teacher brings personal preferences and unique background knowledge to her instructional decisions, all make decisions to promote student engagement and student construction of meaning. Regarding influences on these teachers' decisions about teaching the Shakespearean play, four categories were identified: (a) response to students; (b) aspects of the text; (c) response to contextual constraints and supports; and (d) personal preferences and background experiences. Individual teacher differences are clearly a strong influence, even among this group of colleagues on the same campus. Also, two influences not reported explicitly by the teachers suggest a complex integration of these influences. One is their intuitive thinking, which deserves a closer investigation in future research. The other proposes that each teacher's decisions are influenced by her instructional interaction working model (IIWM), a conceptual framework that shapes each teacher's conversational patterns, non-verbal behaviors, and other interactional patterns. Further research should explore the use of such a model to describe and explain the complexity of teachers' decisions, particularly when teaching complex, challenging tasks and texts.

Technology offers students and educators an uncharted digital landscape of possibilities. Some educators feel strongly that technology enhances the classroom; others feel that it doesn't necessarily improve traditional teaching methods, and some even feel that it is detrimental to students' ability to focus or engage in face-to-face conversations. My project focuses on critical dialogue as defined by various theorists, and explores whether or not secondary English classrooms that use iPads continue to use the dialogical methods as outlined by these theorists (most of which could not have foreseen today's technological advancements). By relying on these theorists and scholars to provide definitions and descriptions of dialogue and its benefits, I explain unique opportunities that the iPad offers students for dialogical learning in general. In particular, I describe ways educators can use iPads in the secondary English classroom that clearly overcome the potential disadvantages that concern some teachers.

Secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers in independent K–12 schools are well-situated to teach for social justice as they do not face the same constraints prevalent in many public schools, such as restrictive curricular mandates, high-stakes testing, and legislation resulting from the weaponization of critical pedagogy. Thus, secondary ELA teachers often have the liberty to craft their own curricula and use literature, verse, and other media as vehicles for teaching social justice. Despite an increase in empirical research examining social justice teaching in various contexts throughout K–12 education, there was a gap in the research focused on social justice teaching in the secondary ELA classroom in independent schools. To address this gap, this qualitative multicase study investigated how three secondary ELA teachers in three independent schools in Southern California perceived and enacted social justice teaching to foster critical engagement. The study further explored how teacher participants’ beliefs and practices about social justice teaching intersected with their independent schools. Cross-case analyses of demographic questionnaires, semistructured interviews, classroom observations, and class syllabi provided rich descriptions of how secondary ELA teachers understood and operationalized justice-oriented practices and demonstrated meaningful social justice teaching in the independent school context. Findings revealed teacher participants valued inclusive curricula, identity work, building relationships, the examination of literature through multiple perspectives, discussion-centered classrooms, students’ well-being, and critical engagement. Additionally, cross-case themes identified included teachers’ autonomy, commitment to growth, and the navigation of tensions associated with teaching in privileged schools.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to employ a sociocultural, anti-deficit, and dialogic rural theoretical framework to examine the ways teachers seek to support the lived experiences of rural adolescent students in the secondary English language arts classroom as students make meaning with the content of the curriculum. This study worked with the social constructs of rurality (Azano, 2011; Azano and Biddle, 2019; Corbett, 2007; Gruenewald, 2008), critical literacy (Freire, 1990, 2018; Gee, 1990), and learning-centered pedagogy (Fecho et al., 2021) to develop insights into ways that teachers navigate opportunities and challenges in contemporary rural schools. The study focused on secondary English language arts teachers teaching in rural school districts. The participant selection criteria included being employed fulltime as an English language arts teacher at a secondary rural high school, having taught for at least three years, and identifying as teaching from a learning-centered pedagogical stance. All three participants taught at rural North Carolina high schools. The method used was adapted from the three-phase interview approach (Seidman, 1990), with an intake interview, a midpoint interview, and a final interview. The midpoint interview was adapted to consist of three separate post-classroom observation interviews. The post-classroom observation interviews were preceded each round by a co-planning lesson and a classroom observation. There were three stages of data generation, spanning from February 2021 to May 2021. To learn about participants' experiences supporting rural student voices, triangulation (Guba and Lincoln, 1981) was used through multiple data sources: teacher interviews, collaborative lesson planning, classroom observations, post-observation conferences, field notes, memos, and email correspondences. Thematic analysis (Maxwell, 2013) was used to analyze and code the data. From the data analysis, three understandings were generated about the ways in which rural English language arts teachers support students in the classroom. Participants were (1) supporting student voice through instructional design, (2) attending to biases and seeking to dialogue within the classroom, and (3) utilizing lived experiences and literacies. The implications of the study include that rural students can face stereotypes due to the deficit mindset of rurality (Azano et al., 2021a, 2021b, Azano and Biddle, 2019; Theobald and Wood, 2010) and that the utilization of bringing their lived experiences into the classroom can serve as a means to help them make meaning with the content of the classroom. The English language arts classroom can be a space for students to be supported through the use of a learning-centered stance that seeks to collapse traditional hierarchies in the classroom (Fecho et al., 2021). / Doctor of Philosophy / The purpose of this study was to use a sociocultural, anti-deficit, and dialogic rural theoretical framework to examine ways teachers can draw on the lived experiences of rural adolescent students in secondary English language arts classrooms as students make meaning with curriculum content. This study worked with the social constructs of rurality (Azano, 2011; Azano and Biddle, 2019; Corbett, 2007; Gruenewald, 2008), critical literacy (Freire, 1990, 2018; Gee, 1990), and learning-centered pedagogy (Fecho et al., 2021) to develop insights into ways that teachers navigate opportunities and challenges in contemporary rural schools. Participant criteria included being employed fulltime as an English language arts teacher at a rural secondary school, having taught for at least three years, and The study's three participants were rural North Carolina secondary English language arts teachers. Utilizing an adapted three-phase interview process, the study had three stages for each participant: (1) an intake interview, (2) three rounds per participant of co-planning, classroom observations, and post-observation conferences, and (3) a final interview. Thematic analysis (Maxwell, 2013) was used to analyze and code the data. Understandings were that participants, in their success and challenges of supporting rural student voices (1) supported student voice through instructional design, (2) attended to biases and seeking to dialogue within the classroom, and (3) utilized the lived experiences and literacies.

This qualitative study was designed to examine the influences of language, culture, and power on teacher instructional decision-making with high-achieving African American students in advanced secondary English classrooms. The research questions were crafted to address how language, culture, and power influenced: (1) teachers' instructional planning when working with high-achieving African American students in the secondary English classrooms as they use literary and informational texts to support literacy development; (2) teachers' understanding of how language, culture, and power impact instructional decision-making when planning for literacy development with high-achieving African American students in advanced secondary English classrooms, and (3) teachers' understanding of how language, culture, and power influence learning and achievement for high-achieving African American students in advanced secondary English classrooms. The framework for this study was grounded in several intersectional theories related to; (a) schools as communities of practice (Wenger, 1998); (b) language as identity shaper and inseparable from culture (Delpit, 2002;Gee, 2005; Labov, 1972; Lee, 2007; Nieto, 2010; Smitherman, 1977; and Thornborrow, 1999); (c) culture as emergent due to human interaction (Carrithers, 1992); (d) power is a force in all relationships and interactions, which creates imbalances and determine the degree to which the language variations and cultures interact freely and equitably (Burbules, 1986; Freire, 1921/1970; Giroux, 1992; Nyberg, 1981; Shrigley, 1986); (e) race is a social construct and racism is normal infiltrating every aspect of US society including the education of marginalized groups (Delgado and Stefancic, 2012; Ford, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995); (f) secondary students acquire, develop, and engage with literacy differently from their elementary counterparts and require teachers to deepen their knowledge about the ways adolescents engage with texts (Alexander, 2003; Chall, 1983; Goldman and Snow, 2015; Idrisano and Chall, 1995; McConachie and Petrosky, 2009; Moje, 1996/2002; Piercy and Piercy, 2010; Schoenbach, Greenleaf, and Murphy, 2012; Shanahan and Shanahan, 2008). Participant interviews, lesson plans, and field notes generated data to address the research questions. Findings demonstrated language, culture, and power are intersectional and influence every aspect of the instructional decision-making process. This study provides insight into teacher's thinking about their planning and how the inquiry constructs influence that planning. / Ph. D.