Doctor of Education / Department of Special Education / Warren J. White / Historically, the provision of special education has moved from settings isolated from children without disabilities to services in public school classrooms with non-disabled peers. As advocates began to impact civil rights legislation, the educational rights of individuals with disabilities were realized, and laws began to protect them. Public Law 94-142, 1975 and subsequent reauthorizations assured these students a free and appropriate public education and, to the greatest extent possible, with non-disabled peers. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 became law. Its goal is that all children, including children with disabilities, attending public schools in the United States would be proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014. Consequently, students with disabilities have had an increased presence in general education classrooms. Some leaders in the field of special education imply that teacher preparation might not be keeping up with current trends and that it is their responsibility to make changes to teacher education programs so that beginning teachers are prepared for current job demands. The primary purpose of this study was to determine what is being taught in elementary education teacher preparation programs regarding how to teach students with disabilities who are educated entirely or in part in general education settings. The goal was to provide information to IHE’s considering more comprehensive and specialized training for elementary preservice general educators by making critical program adjustments in order to prepare effective educators in the context of classrooms in which students with disabilities receive some of their education, and importantly, to inform those adjustments. This study explored levels to which preferred knowledge and skills for including students with disabilities in elementary general education classrooms are taught and assessed. It also looked at differences among state licensing and university graduation coursework requirements. The study represented approximately 15,075 preservice teachers from 72 different universities in the United States. It revealed a full range of levels at which skills are taught and assessed. There are notable inconsistencies in special education requirements for general education teacher candidates seeking initial licensure.

Published Article / The central theme of this article is to investigate the potential advantages to school management and teacher training in South Africa of an aesthetic approach or arts-based staff development. It is argued that the field of education with its specific body of professional and scientific knowledge seems unable to offer satisfying solutions to pressing problems in post-apartheid South African schools. It is suggested that the arts should be explored for answers and solutions. The opinions and attitudes of school management teams from some of the poorest schools in the Free State Province of South Africa were analysed in order to gauge whether any positive change had occurred in their professional knowledge, confidence and self awareness after the said teams had been exposed to arts-based staff training and learning workshops. The positive change that was detected may be ascribable to the application of an aesthetic approach being followed during in-service workshops. Statistical analysis of the pre- and post-unit responses of 117 attendants of management training workshops indicated that there had indeed been some statistically significant improvements in their professional knowledge, in their confidence as managers and in their perception of themselves as educational artists. Most appear to have been quite prepared to see themselves as educational artists. The positive changes could provide some encouragement and a kind of quantitative basis for the advocates of aesthetic education.

Sustainable international development efforts often rely on the ability of trained individuals to transfer their new knowledge to colleagues. Most USAID-funded participant training programs train for a multiplier effect. This study hypothesized that communication network analysis is an appropriate method to measure the multiplier effect and the degree of information decay of participant training. Returned Honduran participants (first generation learners) of teacher training were questioned on the nature of the relationship between them and the receiver (second generation) of the innovation information. Relationship tie strength was determined by combining measures of multiplexity, homogeneity and other indices as set forth by Granovetter (1973). Information decay was measured by questioning what was learned and taught by each generation. The study found weak ties were approached more often than intermediate or strong ties. Remarks about what was learned and what had been taught became more specific, as information flowed through generations. Communication network analysis is a promising evaluation method regardless of the training topic.

<p> Advanced Placement Statistics Teaching Knowledge Assessment Increasing student enrollment in high-school level Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics courses necessitates the need for teachers who are knowledgeable in the subject-area. However, no benchmark has been established that describes the amount or types of teaching knowledge that is required, or even desirable, of AP Statistics teachers. More specifically, there does not exist a criterion of reference to determine if an AP Statistics teacher does or does not possess the content-specific knowledge necessary to teach the subject. Therefore, a teacher may possess sufficient knowledge to teach mathematics but be deficient in the subject-specific knowledge necessary to teach AP Statistics. </p><p> This study had two main research goals. The first was to design an Advanced Placement Statistics Teaching Knowledge (APSTK) online assessment to investigate the content and pedagogical knowledge of secondary-level, in-service AP Statistics teachers. The second goal was to explore the relationships among individual teacher assessment scores and teacher characteristic variables including educational background, years of experience teaching AP Statistics, and a self-reported percentage of student success on the AP Statistics exam. </p><p> There were three primary methodological phases included in this study. Phase I consisted of item development and item-level analysis based on responses from a national sample of current AP Statistics teachers. Phase II consisted of completing a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to evaluate the results of a measurement model and structural model using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Phase III consisted of a multiple regression analysis to determine which teacher characteristic indicator variables predicted APSTK latent variable score (LVS). </p><p> Phase I resulted in a modified assessment with nine AP Statistics Content Knowledge (APSCK) and five AP Statistics Pedagogical Content Knowledge (APSPCK) multiple-choice items. Phase II produced a measurement model with acceptable fit, and proved that items designed to measure APSCK and APSPCK fit well within the model. In addition, a structural model produced good fit, and showed evidence that APSCK was a more reliable construct than APSPCK. However, APSPCK was found to be a stronger predictor of overall APSTK. Phase III concluded that a linear combination of teacher characteristic variables was a significant predictor of APSTK LVS. Specifically, the self-reported "Student Success on the AP Statistics Exam" variable was the only statistically significant variable in predicting APSTK LVS.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate how well one technique of a classroom management program, the <i>9 Essential Skills of the Love and Logic Classroom</i> (Fay &amp; Fay, 2002a), fulfilled its claims to reduce teacher stress, decrease student argumentation, and improve teacher-student relationships at the high school level. Faculty members of a rural high school in upstate South Carolina completed pre- and post-study surveys, attended a training seminar, and implemented one technique, the enforceable statement, with students in their existing classes during April and May 2013. Weekly support sessions gave participants opportunities to ask questions and share successes and concerns. A mixed-methods, quasi-experimental study examined the perceptions of the participating high school faculty members to determine if they perceived significant changes in teacher stress, student argumentation, and teacher-student relationships pre- to post-implementation of the treatment. The overall quantitative findings indicated statistically significant differences, while the qualitative narratives provided conclusive evidence that the claims of the Love and Logic Institute are valid as they apply to the implementation of the enforceable statement. The participants further indicated that they found the enforceable statement an effective and positive technique for classroom management. The study was limited to the selected high school and to one Love and Logic classroom management technique. This study contributes to the literature by adding research on the Love and Logic approach at the high school level. The researcher recommends continued training and implementation of the enforceable statement at the selected school and in other high school settings.</p>

<p> Current population trends have revealed a huge influx of non-native English speaking students in the mainstream classroom across the United States. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore what mainstream teachers are doing to meet the academic needs of English Learners (ELs) in their classrooms on a daily basis. The researcher used semi-structured open-ended interview questions in order to gather data to answer five research questions; 1) How do teachers use data to plan for differentiated instruction? 2) How do teachers describe their experiences with differentiated instruction methods in planning reading lessons? 3) What processes do teachers go through when differentiating process, content and product during differentiated instruction? 4) What training do teachers receive to help them become effective at teaching EL students? 5) What challenges do teachers have when using differentiated instruction? Participants of the study were purposefully selected from a title one school in the Southeastern, United States with a high population of ELs. In order to be eligible to participate within the study teachers were required to teach either the third, fourth or fifth grade and have had at least 80% of their EL students meet expectations on the state mandated test in reading. The data analysis revealed six themes; 1) Collaboration 2) A huge inventory of research bases instructional strategies 3) Data-driven instruction 4) Well trained 5) Rigor 6) Learning community (7) Courage and Resilience Findings also suggested that differentiation of choice as well as interest is essential for creating an environment to meet the academic needs of ELs. Further perceptions included; using differentiation in the mainstream classroom was time- consuming, difficult to plan for, and often was met with a lack of resources. Even though, participants identified these challenges they felt that differentiated instruction was the only way to meet the academic needs of ELs. Recommendations for further study included broadening the research study to include classroom observations as well as teachers who are new to teaching ELs in the mainstream classroom setting. Further recommendations for qualitative studies included EL student perceptions of their successes and failures when participating differentiated instruction in the mainstream classroom.</p>

<p> This study explores the shared narratives of males who are African American, come from low-income families, struggled with school success, and may have been identified as needing specialized instructional services or having learning disabilities. This study includes three participants' narratives on the obstacles and supports they faced during their high school years and when transitioning beyond. It identifies shared themes of sports, reputation, and instruction, transitioning, and mentoring &mdash; including the relationship between each and how it impacted their school success.</p><p> The development of these thematic elements are related to developing networks and resources related to culture values, identities, and access to social capital. Participants ranged from 22-23 years of age, all having officially graduated from high school, transitioned to college to play sports, but failed to meet the academic requirements necessary to maintain eligibility.</p>

The study aimed at providing scientific answers to two questions namely what the nature and extent of communication apprehension are among HED-students and whether the students’ level of communication apprehension changes during the course of their professional training. In order to answer these questions, communication, as typically human behavior, was studied and contextualised to the school classroom situation. Relationships between communication, classroom communication and teaching were indicated. The conclusion was reached that a very close relationship exists between communication and teaching. In fact, teaching was found to be a particular kind of communication which is qualified by the aim of enabling the learner(s) to perform certain learning tasks. Communication apprehension not only influences communication, but also teaching negatively. This negative relationship was researched further by studying the causes and effects of communication apprehension. The detrimental effects that high levels of communication apprehension (of both learners and teachers) have on the teaching learning situation were given particular attention and suggestions were offered for preventing and/or surmounting communication apprehension in the classroom. The empirical investigation entailed the completion of the PRCA (Personal Report on Communication Apprehension) by all fourth year HED-students studying at the PU for CHE between 1990 and 1994. This investigation led to the following findings: • 15,4% of the students experienced high levels of communication apprehension; • during the first measurements students from HED (Secondary)-diploma course manifested the highest level of communication apprehension (54,1%) and students from the post-graduate HED course who specialised in the Human Sciences the lowest (49,7%); • during the course of the professional training a reduction in the level of general communication apprehension was noticeable but of no practical significance: when placed in a teaching situation, students initially experienced relatively high levels of communication apprehension, which, however, decreased to such an extent during their training, that the decrease was of practical significance. The role of micro- and practical teaching played in decreasing communication apprehension should not be underestimated. Research dealing with communication apprehension should be broadened to include students training to become primary school teachers. Communication apprehension should also be investigated within a multicultural context. The causes of high levels of communication apprehension should be examined further and programmes which should be developed. / Skripsie (MEd (Didaktiese Opvoedkunde))--PU vir CHO, 1996

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This study aims to contribute original knowledge of the identity ofpost-1992 academics to inform the debate surrounding the professionalization of higher education teachers. The setting was a modem university in the East Midlands. Bourdieusian theoretical conceptualizations of the mediated relations between agency and structure (habitus/field theory) were applied to deconstruct/reconstruct the nature of these relations within the university's academic workforce. This investigation revealed disjunctions amongst staff members. The study's findings suggest that these might be addressed through structured training in the logic of practice for recruits. Bourdieu [1930-2002] developed a mixed methods methodology, combining positivist and phenomenological research paradigms to ensure breadth and depth in ethical data interrogations. This approach informed the sequential mixed design of the study. The first phase (survey) elicited profile and benchmarking data and perceptions of field forces and conditions from sixty respondents. Most lacked teaching qualifications or experience on entry. The second phase (fifteen interviews) captured personal narratives for subsequent thematic analysis. Current evaluation of primary data indicates three significant trajectories analyses: effective actionlbehaviour arising from the meaningful convergence of the individual's competences (mapped as habitus), the organizational environment (field) and the job's demands (practice). Data filtration through these lenses uncovered destabilizing divergences. Significantly, most participants eschewed identification as an 'academic'; seeing themselves as first and foremost a teacher. Their key concerns were negative perceptions of management and student demands as threats to personal efficacy, thus an accredited teacher training programme instilling a dual professionalism was broadly welcomed. This study provides timely sociological perspectives on the government's recent positive correlation between funding and new staff accreditation. Institutional reliance upon existing and contract staff, however, suggests their training needs warrant further investigation. This thesis argues for such training to make explicit the science of pedagogy and the art of teaching to all teaching staff through the conscious integration of habitus/field theory in higher education teacher training. In this way, both agent and field are strengthened, to their mutual advantage.