The focus of this study is the impact of a children's literature course on the reading practices of undergraduate preservice teachers. During 1996, I taught Children's Literature in the Classroom, LRC 480, at the University of Arizona. During this class, I undertook a study of the preservice teachers in my course using the research methods of a qualitative study. My purpose was to elicit the preservice teachers' perceptions of themselves as readers in the beginning and at the end of the course and to determine which elements of the course were most influential. The major themes that emerged from the data were concerned with the reading practices of the preservice teachers and the significant aspects of the course. All the students experienced some changes in regard to their reading practices. The major change the students noted was an increase in their enthusiasm for reading and a renewed enjoyment of reading. A majority of the students were choosing to read daily in the beginning of the semester in contrast with other research (Timbs, 1993; DeKoff, 1992) that found less frequent reading. The four most influential elements in the course were: (1) the influence of the instructor; (2) small group work; (3) class projects that provided active learning experiences emphasizing the affective elements of reading literature and (4) self evaluation that promoted students' choice and control over their own learning. The study found that the major change the students noted (their enthusiasm and renewed enjoyment of reading) was influenced by these elements of the course. The implications of these findings are that instructors who wish to encourage preservice students to have positive experiences with reading should include these elements in preservice courses: an instructor with a passion for literature; class projects that feature experiential learning tasks promoting the affective elements of reading literature; an emphasis on self-evaluation and opportunities for small group collaborations. Preservice teachers in such courses will have opportunities to build or renew their enjoyment of reading.

Early field experiences (EFEs) are common in teacher education; yet, there is conflicting evidence regarding their value as educative experiences. As the need for preparing prospective teachers for diversity becomes more urgent, research that attends to the context, content, and experiences of preservice teachers in EFEs in diverse schools is necessary. In this study, qualitative case study methodology was used to understand the experiences of preservice teachers, and the meanings they constructed of these experiences, in a reconceptualized EFE in teacher education. The EFE consisted of a team-taught, integrated combination of a general methods course (with a classroom, school, and community-focused field experience), and a foundations of education course, situated in the context of an urban middle/elementary school with a diverse student population. The sample consisted of four preservice teachers: a Mexican-American woman, an American Indian man, and two White women. Data were collected over a period of five months using participant observation, document analysis, interviews, and focus groups. Constant comparison and analytic induction were used to analyze data. Cases of the experiences of the participants revealed three major themes: (a) participation in varied communities; (b) use of multiple literacies to make sense of experience; and, (c) transformations in practices, understandings, and voice. Implications for teacher education from these cases address curriculum and pedagogy in EFEs, experiences that follow EFEs, admissions criteria, and recruitment of members of under-represented groups into teaching.

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In this dissertation I examine how preservice teachers explore cultural identities when using mapping and children's literature. Twenty-four preservice teachers enrolled in a one-semester children's literature course looked at their own cultural identities and the cultural identities of others. The preservice teachers were mostly white, middle class women. During the study they explored various aspects of their cultural identities, interacted with issues of culture, and reflected upon how class engagements influenced their understandings of culture and cultural identities. Data sources for the study included the following: several kinds of written reflections; student artifacts, such as physical and conceptual maps; and interviews that were conducted with seven preservice teachers after the semester ended. Data from four preservice teachers was highlighted in the findings. This research shows that these preservice teachers had difficulty moving from an individualistic view of their identities to considering issues of group membership. The preservice teachers preferred to discuss individual characteristics such as personality and how they spent their free time. This shifted somewhat over the course of the semester as I asked them to focus on aspects of cultural identities such as racial-, ethnic-, gender-, and class-based group membership. The preservice teachers exhibited high levels of ethnocentrism and often lived out attitudes of white privilege. Their interactions with other cultures proved complex and sometimes contradictory. They promoted learning about other cultures as a way to reduce prejudice and discrimination and believed that they had a responsibility as future teachers to help their students understand other cultures. They saw our semester long theme of cultural identities as valuable, and highlighted using multiple avenues to explore the theme, such as multicultural children's literature, mapping, written and sketched reflections, and literature discussions. This study emphasized the need for considerations of cultural issues to be integrated throughout the teacher education program. Preservice teachers need to understand their own cultural identities before they can understand their students as cultural beings. Explorations of whiteness and white privilege also need to occur.

This work is a qualitative inquiry, using naturalistic, descriptive methods of educational anthropology to form a case study of the teaching and learning environment in a particular graduate teaching assistant's (GTA) University Foundations drawing classroom. Data reveal relationships, patterns and forms in the GTA's teaching behaviors, classroom phenomena and the student's learning behaviors. Inferences are drawn from the descriptive data and hypotheses are formulated that concerns itself with how the particular graduate student teaches studio art and why. By recording a GTA's personal pedagogical evolution and investigating the assumptions and values that underlie the process, the researcher has discovered general characteristics of university visual arts teaching for structuring knowledge in that area. Conclusions are education in the arts is personality driven, good teaching is a sustained and willful act and curriculum must be sequentially ordered for optimum student learning.

<p> The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of iEARN online facilitators with regards to successful online facilitator&rsquo;s roles and their current practice roles. Additionally, the study also attempted to identify the 5 top motivating and inhibiting factors that influence iEARN facilitators&rsquo; roles and affect their performance. The study revealed that iEARN facilitators generally possess a relatively high perception of the successful online facilitator roles. The results of the quantitative questionnaire used to collect data from 35 subjects also demonstrate that iEARN facilitators&rsquo; perception of their current practice of the successful roles do not match with their perceptions of successful facilitator roles. Moreover, the results also showed that iEARN facilitators view intrinsic incentives as the top motivating factors that influence their performance. The study also revealed the 5 top inhibiting factors as per the subjects of the study. This dissertation has helped to bridge the gap between what iEARN facilitators view as successful roles and what they actually do in reality along with the most influential motivating and inhibiting factors.</p>

<p> This phenomenological study explored five pre-kindergarten and five kindergarten teachers' expectations for entering kindergarteners, the sources of teachers' expectations, and nature of collaborations between pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews. The findings suggested that: (a) there were similarities and differences in expectations of both groups of teachers; (b) participants did not have differential expectations for children from different backgrounds, such as children's race and ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status; (c) teachers' ideal expectations did not always match with the competencies of children in their own classrooms; (d) teachers' classroom experience was the most influential source of teachers' expectations; and (e) there was no systematic collaborative relationships between participating pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs. The study's findings suggest the need for sustained collaborative relationships among preschool programs, kindergarten, and families of preschoolers to communicate realistic expectations for kindergarten.</p>

<p> This qualitative, practitioner research study, conducted by a school leader-as-researcher, was designed to gain insight into instructional leadership and teacher learning through the perceptions of high school teachers participating in a voluntary, school-based, self-organized, self-directed, cross-curricular teacher learning group within a diocesan, Catholic secondary school setting. Using qualitative research methods to gather participant perceptions, the study explored the work of the group, its impact on participants in relation to self, students, colleagues, and the larger school family, and the role of the instructional leader in relationship with the group. Using lenses of instructional leadership, adult learning theory, the relationships between knowledge and practice, and professional/teacher learning communities, I analyzed the legitimacy of this particular type of teacher learning and highlighted leadership dilemmas that may be encountered when a voluntary teacher learning group self-directs. These conceptual frameworks also allowed opportunities to think about issues and practices that matter to an instructional leader and to challenge assumptions about teaching, learning, and leading within a strong, academic tradition in a resilient secondary setting. The inquiry provided a rich analysis of one context through which educational leaders may expand their understanding of teacher learning in different educational settings.</p>

<p> Professional learning communities (PLCs) have gained attention as an effective practice for supporting teachers and developing students since their inception in the early 1990s yet there is still work to be done in developing a blueprint for effective implementation in a pervasive culture of isolation and resistance, especially in secondary schools. While there is political, scholarly and practitioner interest in PLCs as a reform, few empirical studies explore the leadership implications of implementation. </p><p> The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the lived experience of 6 secondary site leaders in the Southern California region as related to the implementing and sustainment PLCs at their sites. The purpose of this study was to glean the significant challenges and barriers faced by these sites as well as the effective strategies and tools to overcome those challenges as evidenced through the analysis and coding of 1-on-1 in-depth interviews with carefully selected PLC leaders. </p><p> 9 themes emerged during the analysis. There were 6 themes under Research Question # 1: (a) PLC steps were implemented to address low API scores, (b) lack of communication and collaboration prior to PLC implementation, (c) resources of time and money, (d) overcoming staff resistance, (e) the importance of a Leadership Team, and (f) building relationships. There were 3 themes under Research Question # 2: (a) facilitating ongoing communication and celebration, (b) using professional development to promote PLC work, and (c) using common practices for PLCs. </p><p> The study's findings suggest recommendation of several leadership strategies and resources that secondary site leaders should consider when implementing PLCs at their own sites.</p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative descriptive survey research was to assess and describe the effect of technology training on career and technical education (CTE) teachers&rsquo; perceptions of computer self-efficacy and technology practices in a vocational school district in New Jersey. CTE schools prepare future citizens and workers for the challenges of a global technological society. Technology training is crucial to the success of CTE teachers who have the daunting task of better educating students and developing the highly technical skills and problem-solving abilities of workers to compete in the global marketplace. A purposive sample of 84 teachers who attended technology training in the district completed technology-based surveys and six teachers agreed to participate in an interview and classroom observation. Triangulation of the findings of the surveys, interviews, and classroom observations helped to validate the methods and lend important insights to CTE leaders on the effectiveness of technology training. Findings indicated that CTE teachers are using technology in the classroom, but not implementing at levels consistent with developing the higher order thinking and problem-solving skills of students. A practical suggestion for technology training designs included the use of adult learning theories and constructivism for improving the levels of technology implementation among CTE teachers. Recommendations of the study targeted annual technology assessments, post-secondary collaborative partnerships, and supportive leadership to address the needs and concerns of teachers.</p>