The aim of this study is to investigate and understand the types, prevalence, and potential impact of teacher candidates’ struggles, as well as factors and contexts that may relate to the occurrence of struggles. The mixed methods study was carried out in three stages – qualitative, quantitative, qualitative – with teacher candidates and teacher educators from a large Canadian teacher education program as participants. Based on participants’ descriptions and experiences of struggles, I developed a taxonomy of 19 struggles, 10 of which were identified by both teacher candidates and their educators. The struggles included a wide range of behaviours, emotions, skills, and conditions. Teacher candidates also discussed which support systems they use in times of struggles, while instructors explained how they help teacher candidates who struggle. The study positions struggles in a broader and multilayered context that involves teacher candidates, their educators, the preparation program, its structure and elements, policies, social dynamics, and professional norms and expectations. The causes, triggers, consequences, and remediation of struggles are considered in relation to a combination of individual, institutional, and structural factors. The study has implications for teacher education programs, policymakers, and the teaching profession.

Includes bibliographical references / This thesis explores the beliefs of mathematics teachers working in a rural school in South Africa. This is premised on the argument that understanding the beliefs of teachers is a necessary, even if insufficient, prerequisite to designing effective teacher development programmes. I postulate that take-up rates of new content and teaching methods are low due to unmanaged cognitive conflict with pre-existing beliefs about the nature of teaching. A broad review of the literature on beliefs as a concept is conducted to establish theoretical grounding for the study of beliefs as an abstract object of analysis (Green, 1971; Nespor, 1987; Pajares, 1992). I particularly refer to Ernest's (1989) models of mathematics epistemology, and Adler's (2001) dilemmas of teaching mathematics in multilingual classrooms. Multiple studies of mathematics teachers' beliefs are drawn upon to relate beliefs to classroom practice. Qualitative data on two mathematics teachers working in a rural school in the Eastern Cape was gathered over the period of a month, using ethnographic methods as outlined by Thompson (1992) for gathering evidence of beliefs. Primary data, which consisted of pre-interviews, multiple lesson observations and stimulated-recall post-interviews, was analysed for evidence of teacher beliefs. Secondary data, in the form of a researcher journal and socio-economic information about the school, was also gathered to provide rich context data in which to situate the teachers' work. Particular attention was paid to teacher beliefs about teaching and learning, mathematics and language. Further evidence for beliefs was then obtained through close examination of an observation extract using classroom discourse analysis. The main finding of this thesis was that not only does a school's context provide logistical constraints to curriculum implementation and pedagogical change, but that the worldviews of teachers affect their interpretation of the curriculum (Chapman, 2002). Significantly, a relationship between the mathematics epistemology a teacher holds and their ability to admit language as a critical pedagogical factor is suggested. I conclude that detailed understanding of what teachers believe may provide a productive approach for teacher development programmes that aim to effect change.

This study aimed to translate the Norwegian teacher self-efficacy scale (NTSES; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007) and explore its validity and factor structure in a sample of 256 Swedish teachers. The ties between teacher self-efficacy and teacher burnout and self-efficacy and teacher well-being were also investigated. The results showed that the Swedish version of the NTSES had good internal consistency and adequate concurrent and convergent validity. However, results from a confirmatory factor analysis and two exploratory factor analyses did not support a factor structure equivalent to the original NTSES. The Swedish version of the NTSES might need some adjustments in translation and even consideration regarding removal of some items before it can truly be of use in a Swedish context.

Teacher burnout is not a new problem; however, with increasing frequency, teacher burnout leads to teacher attrition. Teacher burnout is a problem that affects school districts nationwide because of the financial and academic toll it has on education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teacher burnout, its perceived causes, and its effects in an urban high school in the northeastern United States. The conceptual framework was based on Vygotsky's social development theory. The research questions focused on factors that contribute to teacher burnout and teachers' perceptions of the ways in which their burnout affected instruction as well as their interactions with parents, colleagues, and administrators. The data collection method was based on in-depth interviews with 5 high school teachers who experienced burnout. The interview data were analyzed and color-coded to identify recurring themes and patterns. An individual narrative was developed for each of the 5 teachers followed by a cross-case analysis of the data. Major findings suggest that teacher burnout may result from several factors such as educational mandates, classroom discipline issues; it affects classroom instruction and impacts interaction with all educational stakeholders. The study's implications for positive social change are rooted in identifying and eliminating the factors that contribute to teacher burnout in order to retain highly qualified and motivated teachers who will provide students with consistent, high-quality, equal educational opportunities that help them reach their full academic potential.

This study included 9 new teachers all of whom were assigned master teachers as mentors. The study also included 11 mentor teachers who participated in this study. There were 20 participants in this case study. The study was conducted in the Johnson City School System. This qualitative case study was conducted by interviewing 20 participants in the mentoring program. Eleven mentor teachers and 9 new teachers were chosen through purposeful sampling. A list of possible participants was obtained from the Johnson City Schools Central Office and an email was sent to possible participants explaining the nature of the study. Participants signed an Informed Consent Form (Appendix D) and an interview guide was used (Appendix A). Probes, an interview technique that allows the interviewer to delve deeper following an interviewee's response was used to gain a richer understanding of the respondents' views (Merriam, 1998). During data analysis, 8 themes were identified as having positive or negative results of the mentoring process. These themes were: (a) relationships, (b) common planning time, (c) similar personality styles, (d) teaching practices, (e) program structure, (f) support system, (g) classroom organization and management, and (h) equal learning opportunities. Based on the research the following conclusions were presented. Mentoring programs are an important part of teacher induction. Positive relationships are critical to fostering successful mentoring teams. Common planning is essential to maximize the mentoring process. Strong support systems assist mentors and new teachers. Mentoring is an important component of successful transitions into a new school. Recommendations for enhancing the mentoring program included the following: To have a long-term study that tracks the progress of new teachers over a 3-year period.To include administration as a part of the initial training program study.To compare and contrast the difference between first career new teachers and those who have had previous careers and examine how the mentoring process affects the different populations.

The relationship between the mission of community colleges and the increasing teacher shortage has become more transparent as many community colleges have implemented teacher education programs to address community needs, the shortage of qualified teachers, and the lack of diversity among teachers. As the community college's teacher education role has increased, many community colleges have responded by adding associate of arts degrees and certificate programs specific to teacher education to tackle the shortage of teachers and the lack of diversity among teachers in the nation's classrooms. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of one community college's pre-service teacher education program in transferring minority students to a university teacher education program and the likelihood of the students graduating with both bachelor's degrees and teacher certification. This longitudinal ex post facto causal-comparative mixed methods case study involved tracking a cohort of minority students over a 6-year period. Data were gathered from existing teacher education program records for native and transfer students at one community college and two four-year institutions. Unstructured interviews were conducted with administrators over the community college's program. For data analysis, ?2 and Phi Coefficients were conducted to compare the minority students' university transfer and graduation rates to native university students' transfer and graduation rates. Results of the study demonstrated that the minority students were graduating at an observably higher rate than both the native to university students and their respective ethnic peers who began college at two-year colleges at the national level. This study's findings might help community college teacher education programs to increase enrollments of minority students and to address the needs of surrounding communities. The findings contributed to the relatively scarce literature regarding minority teacher preparation in community colleges. The study's findings might also be useful to community colleges looking toward or already implementing similar pre-service teacher education programs. Overall, the results indicated that pre-service teacher education programs at the community college level can be effective at producing transfer students who successfully graduate from four-year teacher education programs.

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