This study is concerned with the attitudes and perceptions of the current elementary school library media centers in Taiwan, Republic of China. Elementary school students, principals, library staff, and prospective elementary school teachers in teacher colleges were interviewed and surveyed. Dissatisfaction about the physical layout, the collections, the user/circulation service, and the personnel of elementary school libraries was reported by the four targeted groups. Responses to this investigator's field studies and surveys were compared with the recommendations suggested in the Chinese standards of practice: Elementary School Facilities Standards (Ministry of Education, Taiwan, 1981), and the most updated American standards: Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs (AASL, 1988). Literature that studied cases in Taiwan, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States was reviewed to provide reference and support for this study. The results of the study indicate that, in most cases, elementary classroom teachers in Taiwan are assigned the responsibility for library operation, in addition to their major teaching responsibility, despite the fact that few had any library training prior to this assignment. The finding suggests that Taiwan has not yet concluded that the library and librarians are an important adjunct of the learning process. That prospective teachers should receive adequate library training in their preparation program, as other surveys had suggested, was also affirmed by this study. Library training for prospective teachers can help them not only to possess the necessary background to help their future students but also to help themselves, as prospective teachers, become better (and more capable) library users. The study recommends the revision, updating, and reinforcement of the Chinese elementary school library standards. Programs should be established to train and certify people who are interested in working at elementary school libraries. A technical service center should be established so that direct contacts with users by library staff can be their primary concern.

Previous research does not address the integral role art plays in early childhood education and preschool teachers and providers are rarely trained to teach art creatively. This study presents a framework for training early childhood providers in the developmental and psychological aspects of early childhood art, and the methodology of formulating and teaching creative art activities. The study assessed the effectiveness of this training in changing attitudes and behaviors of preschool teachers and day care providers, regarding the value of art for the young child and methods of teaching art to children. The sample was composed of 73 preschool teachers, assistant teachers, and family day care providers in Western Massachusetts. The treatment group received training in creative art activities. Both groups were administered pre- and post- tests regarding attitudes towards children's art, a demographic survey and a researcher-designed preschool and day care questionnaire. After the training the subjects' styles of teaching art to young children were observed and evaluated. The treatment group completed an evaluation of the training, a self-evaluation form and participated in post- training interviews. The effectiveness of the training program was confirmed by the evaluations. Subjects found the training was important to their professional growth. Statistical findings reveal significant differences for 11 of the 23 items on the Likert-type attitude pretest and posttest. Non-significant findings show a change in the expected direction for almost all items. Although the control group also showed change on some items, their change was always smaller than that of the treatment group. The data showed that overall, educational level made no difference in participants' attitudes towards the value of children's art. The methodology and behavior of teaching art by treatment group subjects were more effective than the control group. When observed, treatment group subjects displayed a smaller percentage of dictated art activities. Both groups displayed an equal percentage of creative art activities in their facilities. The results of this study indicate the importance of teaching art creatively with an awareness of the developmental and psychological implications for preschool children. It depicts positive implications for future research.

The study was undertaken to analyze the historical relationship between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its state colleges. In 1838, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts established the first normal school in the nation, with a specific mission to train individuals to become teachers in the common schools of the state. Over the past 150 years, much has happened to shape the present design of the Massachusetts State Colleges as they are known today. These institutions have evolved from single purpose institutions into liberal arts oriented state colleges. During the development of the state colleges, the Commonwealth has consistently neglected to support the colleges. As a result, the state colleges have, in many ways, become the weakest segment of the Massachusetts system of public higher education. This study attempts to show that where a history of ambivalence and neglect meets a period of uncertainty, in a time of declining resources, the dependent organizations are in serious trouble. Given the lack of support shown towards the state colleges as a result of political issues, changes in demographics, and the predominant role of private higher education in the state, the state colleges' mission, funding, and future are clouded in uncertainty. Research on this subject specifically centered on state archives, reports, and texts on the Massachusetts State Colleges and the history of higher education in the Commonwealth. Personal interviews with prominent Massachusetts political and educational leaders were also used to gain present perceptions of the Massachusetts higher education system and the role of the state colleges within that system. Conclusions were drawn from the data collected and recommendations were made on possible ways to enhance the role of the state colleges within the Massachusetts system of public higher education.

In this current era of postmodernity, globalization, and new technological and social conditions, new approaches to literacy teaching are being introduced and examined. Studies that explore complexities of language teaching and learning in discourses of postmodernity as they relate to college contexts are significant for educators, researchers, and policy makers. This study employs a critical ethnographic lens to examine Arabic teaching and learning practices in one college campus in the United States post 9/11. It explores the dialogic construction of critical literacy events in the Arabic classroom where modern and postmodern discourses collide. Three questions guide the research: who are the students of Arabic and what are their investments in learning Arabic, how do uses of the Arabic language textbook shape curriculum instruction in the Arabic foreign language classroom in contexts of late modernity, and how can teachers of Arabic instantiate critical dialogues and allow a space for negotiated interpretations of modern textbooks in late modern classrooms. To address these issues, the study draws on post structural and sociocultural theories of language. To analyze ethnographic classroom data, the study adopts broad analytic strategies from interdisciplinary critical language approaches (Dyson, 1993; Fairclough, 2001; Janks, 2010; Rampton, 2006). Analysis of the data shows that the Arabic language learners relate to the social world through a mosaic of identities and investments influenced by contexts of postmodernity. The data also points to the role of the teacher in opening a space for the construction of plural voices of language learners that disrupts traditional perspectives of schooling. Implications of the study point towards a need for a new pedagogy that embraces new literacy practices informed by contexts of postmodernity. With new channels of multimodal communications, heterogeneous multicultural societies, and contexts of globalization, foreign language teaching and learning at the college level is in need for vital update that meets the new challenges (Byrnes, 2010; Kramsch, 2009; New London Group, 1996).

This research targeted elementary education graduates of a large Southwestern university who were transfer students, and compared them to native students on selected variables. These variables included retention in teaching, and perception of supports and obstacles at the university. The sample consisted of 143 respondents: 73 native and 70 transfer students. Data were collected through submission of online surveys and through postal mail. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to answer the research questions. Astin’s input-environment-outcome model provided the conceptual and theoretical framework for this study. Native and transfer students considered student teaching to be the “most helpful” course or service during their time at the university, yet both felt they lacked elements of preparation for teaching in the real world. Transfer students reported the following as supports during their transition from community college to university: academic advising, finances, support network, and the university. They reported these obstacles: university bureaucracy, credit transfer, expenses, and adapting to campus. There was no significant difference between the two groups’ intentions to remain in teaching (p = .249), and a statistically non-significant higher percentage of transfer students than native students reported to be teaching at the time of survey completion (p = .614). The findings support further inquiry into support systems for transfer students, as well as further examination of teacher preparation curricula.

No description available.

This study utilizes an alignment-crosswalk of metro-Los Angeles public K-12 school districts’ teacher evaluation items and the California Teacher Performance Expectations to determine which local school district evaluation items do not align with pre-service preparation course work standards, and which pre-service preparation course work standards are not assessed by local school districts. Findings initially indicated that many districts utilize the California Standards for the Teaching Profession, a set of standards defined by the same California regulatory body which responsible for developing and authorizing the California Teacher Performance Expectations. Initial findings also included school district evaluations not aligned to the California Standards for the Teaching Profession which were also crosswalked with the Teacher Performance Expectations to determine their alignment and non-coverage areas. Content analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis were performed to determine what gaps exist between preservice teachers’ preparation standards and in-service early-career evaluation standards.

Many people chose to start the education to become a teacher at Umeå University and other universities in Sweden. But statistics show that only half of all those who started the program finally graduate. There is a shortage of teachers in many municipalities and the fact that so many students do not pass through the education is a big problem for the future generations in school. It is an interesting phenomenon that I have chosen to write my essay about.

This qualitative study examined the knowledge of gender definitions and attitudes toward gender that pre-service teacher candidates possess. Participants were students in an undergraduate elementary education program at a southeastern university. The participants responded to an open-ended paper survey. The survey consisted of questions asking about the definition of gender, gender roles, perceived differences between boys and girls, as well as plans for their future classrooms. Data was analyzed through a qualitative lens with the development of codes, categories, and themes. Responses varied, but the overall data suggested that teacher candidates have misconceptions about the definitions of gender, conflicting views on the origins of gender roles, and a spectrum of plans for gender inclusion and equality going forward in their future classrooms.

This study examined the critical digital practices and pedagogies of two professors from two different Canadian provinces – Ontario and British Columbia. Employing a qualitative multi-site case study methodology and a tri-theoretical framework that I refer to as a Critical Intersectional Technological Integration framework (CITI), I investigated the meaning of digital and critical literacy within mandatory educational texts such as provincial curriculum documents and syllabus statements. I engage with how educators mobilized these texts to become critical digital literacy learners, producers, and communicators of knowledge. This study provides a detailed analysis of how two professors understand their pedagogical conceptualizations and enactments of critical digital pedagogies and lessons learned in regard to future pedagogy and practice. Several significant findings emerged from this research study. First, the two professors’ teaching and schooling experiences revealed how intertwined equity and diversity issues were, which influenced their pedagogies and practices as critical digital literacy teacher educators. Second, the critical digital literacy teacher educators modelled expansive definitions of literacy to include the consumption, critique, and creation of digital content. Third, deliberately exploring issues of diversity and equity was a strategy employed by the professors to support teacher candidates to appreciate the complexity of education and arrive at the understanding that schooling, pedagogy, and curriculum are not neutral practices. I argue that this work should not be left solely to teacher educators; rather, teacher preparation programs must play a larger role in preparing and supporting teacher educators with both the technical and pedagogical know-how of meaningfully designing and integrating critical digital practices into their courses.