Many writers consider it "desirable" that teachers hold "democratic" attitudes towards those they teach. A number of studies have indicated that the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (MTAI) may be used as an indicator of a respondents "democratic" attitudes towards pupils. Several researchers using the MTAI to study student teacher attitudes have shown that groups of secondary student teachers obtained significantly lower mean scores than did groups of elementary student teachers. This finding may indicate that elementary student teachers tend to hold more "democratic" attitudes towards the education of children generally than do secondary student teachers. Such an interpretation could serve as a basis for criticism of the procedures whereby candidates for secondary teaching are selected and trained. In this study, a rival interpretation was advanced and tested. The writer proposed that the aforementioned finding may indicate that student teachers generally hold different attitudes towards children of different age and grade levels. In an experimental test of this interpretation, the writer examined the credibility of three major propositions: 1. Secondary student teachers completing the MTAI read such general words as "pupil" and express attitudes which they consider to apply more appropriately to grade eight students than, to grade four students; however, elementary student teachers express attitudes which they consider to apply more appropriately to grade four students than to grade eight students. 2. Secondary and elementary student teachers obtain higher scores when they respond to the MTAI with reference to grade four students than they do when they respond to the MTAI with reference to grade eight students. 3. There is no difference between the mean scores of elementary and secondary student teachers when both groups respond to the MTAI with reference to students of the same specified grade level (either grade four or grade eight). Each of 294 randomly selected elementary and secondary student teachers in a one-year graduate transfer program received an Inventory in one of three forms: the MTAI in its standard form, the MTAI in a form requiring completion with reference to grade four students or the MTAI in a form requiring completion with reference to grade eight students. Scores of 214 respondents were arranged in a 3x2x2 factorial design with the following three fixed factors: the "MTAI Condition" for the subject (3 forms), "Sex" of the subject (2 forms) and "Specialty" of the subject (elementary or secondary). Twenty-four elementary and thirty-eight secondary subjects who completed the standard form of the MTAI indicated the grade level (either four or eight) to which they considered their responses to apply most appropriately. Their choices were tallied in a 2x2 contingency table. Results of a chi-square test supported the first proposition. That is, secondary respondents tended to consider their expressed attitudes to apply more to grade eight students than to grade four students, and elementary respondents tended to reverse the order of the grades. Results of analysis of variance and multiple comparisons did not support the second and third propositions. Neither elementary nor secondary subjects differed in their MTAI scores with reference to grade four and grade eight pupils. The results indicated that elementary subjects had higher scores than secondary subjects with reference to both grade four and grade eight pupils. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The problem of this study was to determine whether teachers' attitudes as revealed by responses to an attitude instrument reflect teachers' classroom behaviors as implied by a behavior record of verbal comments to pupils. This research, in effect, was a check on the predictive validity of the attitude instrument used in the study, the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory.

Thesis advisor: Elizabeth A. Twomey / As the documented number of students demonstrating significant emotional and behavioral challenges continues to increase, teachers often encounter difficulties in meeting the needs of these students in their classrooms. With Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA) mandates requiring the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), schools are challenged to include these students in the regular education classroom while ensuring a safe learning environment for students and staff. This qualitative case study focused on affecting teacher attitude toward the inclusion of students with emotional and behavioral disorders in a suburban elementary school. The initiative incorporated a professional development series as well as the implementation of administrative, organizational and cultural supports aimed at building teacher capacity. As part of this study, the principal analyzed how school culture changed as the school sought to become more inclusive. The researcher, who was also the principal of the school, studied the attitudes and experiences of ten teachers who volunteered to be a part of this project. Data were collected and triangulated through interviews, journal entries, questionnaires, observations, field notes, a survey, and document analysis. The findings of this study indicate that efforts to affect teacher attitude must be comprehensive. Relying only on professional development opportunities does not necessarily ensure that teachers will generalize their newly acquired skills back to the classroom. Teachers require collaboration opportunities with special educators embedded within their school day. They also need the administrative, organizational, and cultural supports that sustain successful inclusion. These supports include: active modeling and assistance from the principal, accessibility to assistants, supportive scheduling, implementation of common language regarding behavior, and the identification of core values which affirm a commitment to inclusion. Implications for practice include the importance of: fostering communication and collaboration between and among special and regular educators, promoting professional development opportunities based on current adult learning theories, and utilizing journals to help teachers think more deeply about their interactions with students as well as their teaching practices. Limitations of this study include the researcher's role as school principal and participant, small sample size, and relatively short study duration. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

This study aimed at investigating the effect of educational ideologies on teacher&amp / #8217 / s perceptions of and attitudes towards curriculum change. The sample consisted of 184 primary and secondary school teachers working in Kulu, Konya. Data were gathered from the participants via two inventories, Educational Ideologies Inventory and Perceptions of and Attitudes towards Curriculum Change Inventory. The first inventory developed by William O&amp / #8217 / Neill. The second inventory was developed by McAttee &amp / Punch (1979). The researcher translated them into Turkish, made necessary alterations and pilot tested. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the data. Mann-Whitney U Test was employed to investigate the effect of educational ideologies on teacher&amp / #8217 / s perceptions of and attitudes towards curriculum change. Results of the study indicated that there is no significant difference between teachers&amp / #8217 / educational ideologies and their perceptions of and attitudes towards curriculum change. Furthermore, some background variables were also not found to affect the teachers&amp / #8217 / perceptions of and attitudes towards the new curriculum.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher efficacy and attitudes of secondary general education teachers towards teaching learning disabled students in the inclusive classroom setting. An online survey, along with a telephone interview was conducted with secondary teachers as a means to gathering data regarding teacher attitudes and efficacy toward inclusion. Results from the online survey suggested that secondary teachers have both positive and negative attitudes toward inclusion. These attitudes varied when it came to issues of making accommodations and modifications for disabled students, whether part time or full time in the inclusive classroom setting. Responses to items concerning sufficient/insufficient training to teach disabled students brought about differences in responses from male and female participants. The female respondents were undecided as to whether or not they had sufficient training to teach learning disabled students in the inclusive classroom setting. The female respondents also were undecided as to whether or not more undergraduate classes would have given them more confidence working with learning disabled students in the inclusive classroom. As for efficacy, making adaptations, and training, female teachers tended to have a greater degree of confidence in teaching disabled students in the regular classroom setting in comparison to the male teachers whose confidence levels were lower than their female counterparts. The same can be seen with the rural and urban/suburban teacher groups in regards to adaptations and training. Both urban/ suburban teachers tended to project positive attitudes towards making accommodations and modifications for disabled students. They tended to respond in a positive manner when it came to modifying teaching style and adapting the curriculum for disabled students in the inclusive classroom setting. Results from the telephone interview survey concluded that secondary teachers feel that inclusion works for some disabled students, but not others. Some respondents felt that inclusion is responsible for teachers “dummying down” lessons. The respondents also suggested that they have had positive, as well as, negative experiences with inclusion. The positive experiences included making methodological and curricular changes in teaching styles, employing best teaching practices, and reorienting the way assignments are given. The respondents found these changes to be positive for all students, which in turn, helped to change the mindset that lessons were being “dummied down.” Negative experiences included not having a voice in which students would benefit from the inclusion construct. This study concluded that inclusion does have its benefits, as well as it flaws, but its success rests on the attitudes of the teachers in the classroom. The study also concluded that a relationship does exist between teacher self-efficacy and teacher attitudes as they relate to teaching learning disabled students in the inclusive setting. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study is to understand the attitudes of pre-service teachers, who are studying at the departments of early childhood education in universities in Turkey, towards the profession of early childhood education. Specifically, this study investigated the effect of sex and gender role on the attitudes of pre-service early childhood teachers. The sample of this study includes 1528 participants from 11 different state universities of Turkey. 278 of them are male pre-service teachers and 1250 of them are female pre-service teachers. The data were collected through two different scales, Turkish version of Bem Sex Role Inventory (Kavuncu, 1987) and Attitude Scale Related to Teaching Profession (Erkus et al., 2000). Additionally, a demographic information form was also sent to the participants. The data were analyzed through PASW. Results of the study indicated that there was no interaction effect between sex and gender role, however main effects of sex and gender role was significant. Two-way between-groups ANOVA results indicated that there is a significant difference among female and male pre-service teachers in the total attitude score. However, the difference was small according to Cohen&rsquo / s (1988) criterion. Furthermore, statistical analysis also indicated that there is a mean difference between masculine pre-service teachers and the other three groups of gender roles which were feminine, androgynous and undifferentiated. Results of the current study suggest that the following implications. First, the findings indicated that gender role is more influencing than sex in developing attitudes towards the profession of ECE. Additionally, there is no interaction effect between sex and gender role on attitudes towards the profession of ECE.

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This thesis deals with teachers' attitudes towards mental hygiene in a special primary school for pupils with severe and multiple disabilities. It aims to describe and understand attitudes towards mental hygiene at a cognitive, emotional and conative level. Theoretical part of the thesis describes special primary school, the profession of teachers, summarizes the theoretical knowledge of mental hygiene and defines attitude. The thesis further contains qualitative research, which uses the method of semi-structured interview and answers the research question. According to the results of the research, teachers in special primary school have positive attitudes towards mental hygiene at all levels. Their opinions, thoughts and ideas coincide with findings from professional literature. For the teachers, mental hygiene is associated with pleasant emotions. Using the tools and techniques of mental hygiene helps them to minimize the psychological demands of their profession. KEYWORDS mental hygiene, attitude, special school, teacher, assistant teacher

Diploma thesis is designed as quantitative research study. The aim is to find out the opinion and attitude of teachers from Czech primary schools concerning the new curriculum reform, which has officially come into use in the form of Framework Educational Program in 2005. The new system of curriculum documents replaces the former educational programs based on centrally imposed curriculum and thus broadens the autonomy of teachers and school institutions, who were assigned to prepare their own school educational program. Besides the changes both in the main objectives of primary education and to some extend in the educational content, there has also been a shift in the role and expectations related to the teacher profession. The main purpose of the study is to find out and describe teacher's prevailing opinion of such change in the educational concept and its benefits at the level of compulsory education. Another aim is to present, how teachers perceive the barriers and inner motivations related to these reform changes in schools, and how these barriers affect the overall attitude towards the reform. The research will also show how the changes in schools since the formal reform introduction are evaluated and which parts of the reform realization and to what extend are considered problematic. At last, the...

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