You can always fall back into teaching. This thesis explores the meaning of this statement as it pertains to teachers’ motivations related to their careers, the decisions they make in both their daily work and their professional goals, and the consequences of those decisions. I investigate why teachers choose to teach. What are the reasons that lead teachers to ‘fall back’ into teaching? Upon beginning their career, what do these teachers experience during their daily work in the classroom? How do they negotiate how they feel with what they do? Falling back into teaching is an arts-informed thesis. I am an artist and a researcher who communicates in text and images. I combine autobiographical writing and the language of art, the elements of design, to explain my academic and artistic journey. The thesis employs the metaphor of a triptych, a three-paneled painting that has been and continues to be used specifically by visual artists. The left panel encompasses the introduction; a definition of 'fallback', an explanation of arts-informed inquiry as a method for researching fallback, and a first meeting with my parents and me who inform the thesis. The middle panel follows my research process in understanding 'fallback' using the elements of design: line, shape, space, colour, value and texture. The final panel provides a reflection on the process and a response to those who have read and relate to 'fallback'.

This research investigates elementary student teachers’ experiences of learning to teach health and physical education (HPE) in a one-year pre-service teacher education program at Windermere University in Canada. The participants in the research are preparing to become elementary classroom teachers; a group who often recall negative prior experiences of HPE from their time as school pupils and report an overwhelming lack of preparation and confidence to teach HPE. Mixed-methods of data gathering were employed in the form of pre- and post-test surveys of 308 student teachers, and three interviews conducted with a purposive sample of ten student teachers. Four main findings emerged from the research. First, elementary student teachers’ embodied identity as healthy and physically active individuals profoundly shaped their prior experiences of HPE. Second, the 12-hour HPE course offered in Windermere’s pre-service program broadened student teachers’ views of HPE and provided them with some basic strategies for teaching elementary HPE. Third, the practice teaching experience provided some student teachers with opportunities to either observe or to try teaching HPE; few had opportunities to do both. Fourth, there was a positive and statistically significant change in student teachers’ identities as teachers of HPE from the beginning to the end of the pre-service teacher education program. Implications for school HPE, pre-service teacher education programs, policy regarding teachers of HPE, and future avenues for research are discussed in light of the findings.

This research investigates elementary student teachers’ experiences of learning to teach health and physical education (HPE) in a one-year pre-service teacher education program at Windermere University in Canada. The participants in the research are preparing to become elementary classroom teachers; a group who often recall negative prior experiences of HPE from their time as school pupils and report an overwhelming lack of preparation and confidence to teach HPE. Mixed-methods of data gathering were employed in the form of pre- and post-test surveys of 308 student teachers, and three interviews conducted with a purposive sample of ten student teachers. Four main findings emerged from the research. First, elementary student teachers’ embodied identity as healthy and physically active individuals profoundly shaped their prior experiences of HPE. Second, the 12-hour HPE course offered in Windermere’s pre-service program broadened student teachers’ views of HPE and provided them with some basic strategies for teaching elementary HPE. Third, the practice teaching experience provided some student teachers with opportunities to either observe or to try teaching HPE; few had opportunities to do both. Fourth, there was a positive and statistically significant change in student teachers’ identities as teachers of HPE from the beginning to the end of the pre-service teacher education program. Implications for school HPE, pre-service teacher education programs, policy regarding teachers of HPE, and future avenues for research are discussed in light of the findings.

Traditional Indigenous societies had intact ways of teaching, learning, and education. After contact with non-Indigenous peoples, educational orientations and practices which respect and reflect Aboriginal context, community, and culture were influenced and changed. In the present context, Métis and First Nations peoples in Canada have been in the process of reclaiming educational authority of their children and youth. One way that this educational authority has more recently been realized is through the establishment of Aboriginal Teacher Education Programs (ATEPs) where Aboriginal individuals are being prepared to be teachers for the teaching profession.<p> Aboriginal TEPs are distinct entities within university teacher preparation programs. Aboriginal TEPs are unique in approach and functioning and reflect the ideological orientations and practices of the Aboriginal communities in which they are situated. This study explored the understandings of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff and faculty in relation to wellness and support within the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP), in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. This is a case study of one site. The findings provide a meaningful conception of the functions of wellness and support at the research site and were described from the participants primarily as relationships with self, family, and community.

Classroom discipline is often a primary concern of teachers. Little is known, however, about the extent of teachers' knowledge, training, and skills with behavior management issues. This study was conducted to examine teachers' training with specific behavioral strategies, their personal level of proficiency in resolving these problems, and to determine if teachers consider the function of aberrant behaviors when deciding upon treatment interventions. A survey was developed to address these issues. The survey was distributed to teachers in four south-central Kentucky counties and two western Kentucky counties. Of the 350 surveys distributed, 209 were returned for a 59.7% return rate. There were 177 regular education teachers and 32 special education teachers included in the sample. Results of this study indicated a relatively high percentage of students exhibited problematic behaviors to the point that an intervention was necessary to resolve the problem. The highest percentage of teachers received training in behavior management strategies through a workshop/in-service. The majority of teachers reported they received training in a variety of behavioral methods, with the training perceived as only moderately helpful. When asked to rate their skills in resolving specific behavior problems, teachers reported their skills to be at a moderate level. The majority of special education teachers had heard of the term functional assessment although less than half received any training in this procedure. Most of the regular education teachers indicated no knowledge of functional assessment. Most teachers did not consider the function of the problematic behaviors when deciding upon treatment interventions. The results revealed a strong need for improved training in classroom management strategies. Future research is needed to determine more effective strategies to train teachers in classroom management.

This dissertation was an exploratory investigation of the residual effect of novice primary teachers on reading achievement scores. The study employed the theory of pedagogical content knowledge as a basis for understanding teacher expertise and comparing the expert teacher to the novice teacher. The research sought to answer two major questions; (a) Is there a statistically significant difference between the reading achievement, (measured two years later) of students taught by teachers of differing experience levels in primary grades and the state mean for the appropriate grade level? and (b) Is there a statistically significant difference among the two-year-later reading achievement of the groups of students based on teacher experience levels? This study used student reading achievement test scores from the CTBS/5 Achievement Test published by CTB/McGraw Hill. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) using a series of nine Mests and three analysis of variance tests (ANOVAs). While the findings of this study indicated that there were no statistically significant differences among the groups, the author discussed several limitations to the study. In addition, proposals for future research in the area were presented. The final pages of the dissertation posit that school system administrators must use the information on novice teachers available to them to implement and strengthen programs of teacher recruitment, placement, training, and retention.

You can always fall back into teaching. This thesis explores the meaning of this statement as it pertains to teachers’ motivations related to their careers, the decisions they make in both their daily work and their professional goals, and the consequences of those decisions. I investigate why teachers choose to teach. What are the reasons that lead teachers to ‘fall back’ into teaching? Upon beginning their career, what do these teachers experience during their daily work in the classroom? How do they negotiate how they feel with what they do? Falling back into teaching is an arts-informed thesis. I am an artist and a researcher who communicates in text and images. I combine autobiographical writing and the language of art, the elements of design, to explain my academic and artistic journey. The thesis employs the metaphor of a triptych, a three-paneled painting that has been and continues to be used specifically by visual artists. The left panel encompasses the introduction; a definition of 'fallback', an explanation of arts-informed inquiry as a method for researching fallback, and a first meeting with my parents and me who inform the thesis. The middle panel follows my research process in understanding 'fallback' using the elements of design: line, shape, space, colour, value and texture. The final panel provides a reflection on the process and a response to those who have read and relate to 'fallback'.

Traditional Indigenous societies had intact ways of teaching, learning, and education. After contact with non-Indigenous peoples, educational orientations and practices which respect and reflect Aboriginal context, community, and culture were influenced and changed. In the present context, Métis and First Nations peoples in Canada have been in the process of reclaiming educational authority of their children and youth. One way that this educational authority has more recently been realized is through the establishment of Aboriginal Teacher Education Programs (ATEPs) where Aboriginal individuals are being prepared to be teachers for the teaching profession.<p> Aboriginal TEPs are distinct entities within university teacher preparation programs. Aboriginal TEPs are unique in approach and functioning and reflect the ideological orientations and practices of the Aboriginal communities in which they are situated. This study explored the understandings of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff and faculty in relation to wellness and support within the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP), in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. This is a case study of one site. The findings provide a meaningful conception of the functions of wellness and support at the research site and were described from the participants primarily as relationships with self, family, and community.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has declared reading failure a national public health issue. Approximately 15-20 % of the US population displays one or more symptoms of dyslexia: a specific learning disability that affects an individual's ability to process language. Consequently, elementary school teachers are teaching students who struggle with inaccurate or slow reading, poor spelling, poor writing, and other language processing difficulties. However, studies have indicated both preservice and inservice teachers lack essential knowledge needed to teach struggling readers, particularly children with dyslexia. Few studies have sought to assess teachers', either preservice or inservice, knowledge and perceptions about dyslexia in conjunction with knowledge of basic language concepts related to reading instruction. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to examine elementary school preservice and inservice teachers' knowledge of basic language concepts and their knowledge and perceptions about dyslexia. Three separate studies were conducted, all addressing the overarching question: Are elementary teachers (K-5) prepared to teach struggling readers? In study one, research that has addressed teacher knowledge of basic language concepts was reviewed systematically. In studies two and three, a basic language constructs survey was used to assess the self-perceptions/knowledge of basic language concepts and knowledge/perceptions about the nature of dyslexia of preservice, first year, and more experienced teachers involved in teaching reading in grades K-5.

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this research is to probe the teacher education system of dancing teachers for junior high school for the gifted students in dance class and the related problems. This is done by questionnaires survey and documentary analysis, and the survey aims at the present dancing teachers around the country. Totally there were 58 copies of questionnaires collected. The data is analyzed by statistics methods such as frequencies distribution, percentage, Chi-square. Major findings were as follows: 1. Most junior high school dancing teachers are female, and they are about 31-40 years of age. Most of them graduated from the Dance Department of colleges, and have been teaching dancing less than 5 years. More than 67.2% are substitute teachers or part- time teachers. Moreover, among them, 87.2% didn¡¦t acquire qualified certificates. 2.All the qualified junior high school dancing teachers had taken specialized dance courses, special education courses or credits in this country. They officially acquired certificates in these three courses or credits. 3.There are not many substitute junior high school dancing teachers. Five of them had taken specialized courses, special education courses, education courses or credits, but only two acquired certificates of qualified teachers. 4.The percentage of part-time dance teachers is as high as 58.6%. Among them, 97.1% had taken specialized dance courses, 26.5% had taken education courses, 20.6% had taken special education courses, but only 11.8% had acquired certificates of qualified dancing teachers 5.Although 58.6% of surveyed junior high school dancing teachers are for the opinion that to be a qualified junior high school teacher, one has to take at least 40 special education courses, still 41.4% are against it. What¡¦s more, as many as 80% of substitute teachers are against it. 6.To be a qualified junior high school dancing teachers, one should not only have specialized capacity, but also take special education courses or education courses or credits, but the education authorities did not offer chances for these in-service education and training. Therefore, as many as 93.1% of junior high school teachers think that there are few chance for in-service education & training, and this is really not the basic spirits of the teacher education, which means to be diverse. No matter what in-service education with an academic degree (bachelors, doctors) or not, more than 80% of junior high school teachers are for the education & training. 7. 72.4 % of junior high school dancing teachers think that the supply/demand-balance is not yet achieved. Also 41.4% of teachers think that the system of practice teaching for the cultivation of dancing teachers is not mature yet. 8.The institutionalization of dance class in junior high schools and elementary schools has lasted for 20 years. Because the cultivation of dancing teachers had not been systemized, and the qualification of dancing teachers is demanding, 63.8% of teachers think that the ¡§cultivation¡¨ and ¡§employment¡¨ of secondary school dancing teachers don¡¦t match each other. 9.The executive team for special education in the Ministry of Education is small with few members. It is really difficult for them to handle all the details of all kinds of special education countrywide. Hence, as many as 98.3% of secondary school dancing teachers think that the establishment of cultivation organization of dancing teachers is urgent. 10.The teachers of teaching cultivation organization are rather important. Universities or colleges with the Department of Dance have sufficient equipments, teachers, and the quality of teaching is recognized. About more than 70% of junior high school dancing teachers are for or positively for it. Key words: Dance, Gifted education, Teacher education