Thesis (MTech (Education))--Peninsula Technikon, 2004. / Word processed copy. Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-85). Also available online.

This action research study explores the role of blended learning as a tool for the professional empowerment of teachers of English as a foreign language in provincial and rural areas of Uruguay. Specifically, a three-year blended teacher development programme designed to facilitate professional empowerment by integrating face-to-face and online learning opportunities is examined through Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s (2000) Community of Inquiry framework as well as through Kumaravadivelu’s (2001, 2006b) Postmethod parameters of particularity, practicality and possibility. Findings suggest that blended learning can facilitate the professional empowerment of teachers in geographically-removed areas by fostering their movement towards higher levels of cognitive thinking. The teaching, social and cognitive activity in a blended setting is distributed over the face-to-face and online learning arenas, with the teaching and cognitive ‘presences’ being embedded in the social. While the highest levels of cognitive activity are rarely visible in participants’ virtual discourse, this discourse refers to other environments where cognitive activity is more clearly evidenced, such as participants’ assessed work and classroom practices. In short, the Community of Inquiry parameters offer a lens through which to visualise effective course design and pedagogy for teacher education in this context, by providing a language to articulate what is particular about the setting, what participants perceive as practical and ultimately what is possible for them to achieve in terms of empowerment and emancipation. These parameters are explored through the examination of the whole-group processes as well as the in-depth analysis of two participants’ individual journeys. This study also foregrounds the complexity and richness of action research, especially in terms of the multiplicity of roles determined by the researcher’s immersion in the field, and highlights the need for extensive reflexivity. The academic, professional and situated contributions indicated above are identified, as is the potential for further research in this and other similar settings.

This narrative inquiry examined how a small group of general educators constructed three essential understandings of themselves as teachers within the context of inclusive education: (a) To move past their fear of disabilities and negative perceptions of students with disabilities, they had to learn to see children with disabilities in new ways, identify what it was about their differences that mattered, and respond to them as valued members of their classrooms; (b) To move past feelings of inadequacy and incompetence, they had to figure out how to negotiate those learning differences that mattered the most; and (c) To keep from being overwhelmed with the additional demands inclusion placed on them as teachers, they needed to garner support through a variety of relationships, and work through conflicts that arose from trying on new roles and patterns of interaction. These understandings were constructed through two interrelated processes: Learning through experience, and learning through narrative, specifically, informal talk, structured dialogue, and stories. The representation of this inquiry was a polyvocal text which privileged what the teachers had to say, and which featured their voices in solo and in dialogue with others. This alternative format was used to convey the evolving nature of the teachers' practice, as well as the contradictions and complexities that expand our understanding of teacher learning and development in inclusive educational settings. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to see the lifetime literacy growth of one fourth-grade writing teacher, and to view her teaching from inside her classroom. This study follows the journey of an emerging teacher as she grew and developed into a professional educator. This study continues into her classroom to see her as she taught Writers’ Workshop, inspiring her students to write from their own life experiences. This qualitative study was conducted using participant observation, interviews, and artifacts to gather data. Through qualitative inquiry and thematic analysis, data were interpreted to gain insight into this teacher’s life and her teaching. The researcher’ s reflections, review of the literature, and eighteen years of experience as a teacher, brought a knowledgeable perspective that informed interpretation of the data. This study of Ruth’s life and her classroom was an inquiry into the processes of teacher development. Our view of teachers and their teaching is hidden by the nature of the job they do. Stories of the lives and work of teachers seek to illuminate the professional development of teachers and their teaching (Goodson, 1994; Jalongo & Isenberg, 1995; Schwarz, 2001). By closely studying the path of one teacher’s growth and teaching, the growth and teaching of all teachers are illuminated; by "weav[ing] together the themes throughout one teacher’s lifetime, [we] connect" ¦them to the lives of many different teachers' (Jalongo & Isenberg, 1995, p. 28). From this study, experiences of one teacher build and layer as years of teaching experience and professional development mingle together to change and enhance her knowledge of teaching and resulting classroom practice. The fourth-grade students in Ruth’s classroom were the recipients of their teacher’s literacy experiences that developed over her lifetime. / Ph. D.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / This study aims to give insights into the nature and extent of professional teacher development by the department of education through class visits, and subsequently its impact on professional teacher development in the white hazy circuit in Mpumalanga province. This study further examines measures and recommendations to be put in place which can help to improve the programme (class visits), also the effectiveness of this programme in professional teacher development. The study further highlights key issues regarding class visits with regard to professional teacher development. The study further highlights strategies that can be put in place to enhancing class visits as a programme for professional teacher development. The study further highlights key recommendations to be put in place to enhance class visits as professional teacher development programme. KEY WORDS Professional Teacher Development; Development Appraisal System; Integrated Quality Management Systems; development support group; Continuing Professional Teacher Development.

Professional development in education is often a process focused on teachers' limitations. Teachers are rarely offered choices in professional development, nor are they asked to qualify the attributes of their professional development experiences they find most meaningful. This study situates the National Writing Project as a specific professional development program from which to consider teachers' beliefs and perceptions regarding their professional development experiences. The study begins with a broad view of professional development, then directs attention to the Writing Project as a professional development model. Ten teachers participated in individual and focus group interviews for the study. Interview data were collected and analyzed using a qualitative phenomenological approach to discern the features of the Writing Project that teachers value as a professional development experience. Results from this study include five essential elements of the Writing Project experience as reported by participants. Results show that the Writing Project builds teachers' instructional and pedagogical capacity, sponsors teachers' professional voice, breaks down isolationism, connects teachers to the writer within themselves, and attracts leaders while facilitating leadership in its members. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications researchers and educators may draw from the results.

This study examined data from Tripod student and teacher surveys administered over three academic years in a midsized urban school district in the United States. Two multifaceted questions guided the research: (1) How do teachers’ student survey ratings tend to behave over time? (2) How, if at all, do trends in student survey ratings relate to certain teacher background characteristics and professional experiences as reported on teacher surveys? Analyses indicated significant improvement in ratings, but only during the district’s first year of student survey implementation. Teachers’ perceptions of principal leadership emerged as the variable most closely tied to increases in ratings over time. Findings varied, however, depending on the dimension of teaching measured. Taken together, the study’s results translate into several specific recommendations for leaders and policymakers interested in instructional improvement and its relationship to student surveys.

This study investigates developments in the practice of teachers who have engaged in a series of workshops on the integration of new technologies into their work in the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classroom. It looks specifically at developments in actions and knowledge during and after a teacher education programme, and how these developments shape or reshape teachers' specific professional practice of using technology in EAP teaching. Added to this, it explores ways in which teachers articulate their sense of EAP as a subject and EAP teaching as a profession, and tries to situate technology's role within that. Drawing on a theoretical framework of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) (Mishra & Koehler, 2006; Koehler & Mishra, 2009), and second-generation Activity Theory (Engeström, 1987), this story of development unfolds through a case-study narrative over the bounded timeframe of eighteen months. The setting is a university language centre in the United Kingdom, where the workshops took place, and three teachers have been selected as cases to represent the story of developments, and changes in practice occurring in line with the delivery and aftermath of this teacher education programme. Significant changes were noted in the teachers' specific professional practice of using technology in their teaching, and the study suggests that as technology becomes embedded in EAP teaching, there is an associated re-thinking of practice in other areas, particularly the role played by, and nature of, EAP content. As such, this supports one of the central arguments for the development of TPACK, in that the introduction of technology to existing conceptualisations of Pedagogic Content Knowledge (PCK) (Shulman, 1986) has demanded that teachers question their existing pedagogy, and lay the foundations for development in their practice as a whole (Mishra & Koehler, 2006, p. 1063). This study then is a story of development and teachers' personal reflections on practice, giving shape to a final report that hopes to make a contribution to understanding, defining, and opening the way for further research into EAP practice in the digital age.

The articles in this portfolio provide an account of research, which for the purposes of this thesis is divided into two broad categories: teacher professional development, and the support of teacher education in literary and performing arts pedagogy. Within this context three issues are addressed. The study can be categorised under research into teacher professional education.Action research and reflective practitioner research methodology were adopted, as this schema is recognised as being highly appropriate to preservice and inservice development of teachers, and to the improvement of teaching approaches and skills especially in the development of new methods of learning.The research has its theoretical foundations in interactive, child-centred theories of education, performance semiotics and psycholinguistic theories of reading. It is also committed to enabling teachers and students to engage creatively and interpretively in the comprehension of artistic texts and the performing arts. / Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

From 1998- 2009, mainland China has been the number one source of immigrants in Canada (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2011). For newcomer families, adjusting to the local school is a major concern, since their children’s education is a crucial factor in families’ immigration decision. In my research, I examined Chinese immigrant parents’ experience with Canadian schooling. The study focuses on four families living in the Greater Toronto area, who have immigrated from mainland China. I employed narrative inquiry to tell the stories of the lived experience of the four families in my study. The data for these stories are mainly drawn from field notes of each of my home visits and my interviews with the family members over a six month period. I found that the challenges and difficulties the immigrant parents face are deeply rooted in the differences between Chinese and Canadian cultures and social systems. The discussion on the features of Chinese culture in its comparison with Western culture provides a reference point for understanding the Chinese immigrant parents’ values and opinions on such matters as schooling, moral education, and parenting practice. Parental involvement in schools is different between China and Canada, and the parents, and school teachers and administrators have different understanding on this issue. What’s more, the language barrier impeded the parents’ involvement in their children’s school life. The acculturation gap between the parents and their children is another major reason for miscommunication over such issues as extracurricular activities, choice of university major, and future career. The less heard voice of immigrant parents will open new venues for the understanding of cross-cultural experiences of immigrant students. I find that instead of mainly using the traditional Chinese practice and Chinese educational values in approaching their children’s education, it is important for Chinese immigrant parents to make efforts to familiarize themselves with the ideas and values that their children are exposed to in the new environment.