Thesis (MTech (Education))--Peninsula Technikon, 2004 / "The ability to collaberate effectively is important for educators who have to work together to serve learners who have learning disabilities in general education classrooms. The rationale for this study was to evaluate school-based assistance. The study focused on the conceptualisation, design, implementation and impact of a Teacher Support Team programme, as implemented at a primary school. The main objectives were to establish whether effective collaberation requires that educators have knowledge and skills that they share with one another for the purpose of solving classroom problems. It also sought to highlight the importance of collaberation among professional staff."

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The government has the mandate not only to provide but also to plan, control and assess the development of education for the enrichment of the entire country and all its people. This is implemented by the District Office. For this implementation to succeed the teachers must show their cortunitment in schools. Ministry of Education (2000:104) asserts that assuring quality of the education system is the overriding goal in education which must be attained by teachers. Teachers can only achieve this important goal by knowing and practising their responsibilities as educators. This practice may ultimately lead to their being more committed. Ngobeni (1996:2) indicated that taking responsibility for their profession, teachers must be aware of the depth of the commitment they have made in choosing teaching as a career. The public education system has introduced many educational policies with the aim of improving quality "in education. Some of the priority needs identified by the government were the implementation of Teacher Developmental Appraisal System, Outcome Based Education and the Whole School Evaluation (Department of Education, 2001: 9). It is therefore important that the District Office delivers and support teachers through workshops and seminars to be equipped with the variety of skills for implementing these policies.

M.Ed. / This study investigates the characteristics of effective collaboration, which can be distilled from existing teaching practice in the Foundation Phase (of a particular primary school in Lenasia, Gauteng). The relevance of collaborative and collegial practices and the various ways in which it could be incorporated into schools is explored. Collaborative schools are places where the underlying norms, values and beliefs support, encourage and reinforce teamwork, collegiality and interactions about problems of practice in schools where the staff have developed and nourished a collaborative culture, the energies and skills of everyone are unlocked. The main argument is that collaboration, as a part of the school will foster a sense of professional community that can support wide project planning and innovation. The type of analysis used in this study is a conversation and ethnomethodological analysis as well as its concomitant conversation analysis connected to an ethnographic case study inquiry. The processes of data collection and data analysis are described and the main themes, which emerged from the different data sources, are identified. These themes are disclosed within the framework of collaborative and collegial practices The findings revealed five important themes, which formed the pivot around which members in the case study school engaged in collaborative relationships. Firstly the teachers were learning with and from colleagues in a range of ways, including team teaching, collaborative planning, being mentored and mentoring others. Secondly a close reflection and evaluation of practice with colleagues was evident. Thirdly PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com teachers’ participation in whole school or team collaborative inquiry and problem solving remains a norm in the case study school. They thus develop resources and ideas with colleagues. The school described in the case study developed a collective commitment to a learning culture. Teachers therefore engage and contribute to an optimal mix of individual and organizational processes leading to the school’s ultimate success. Professional learning includes organizational learning as well as individual learning. This is evidenced by members identifying shared professional development needs, working together in planning, implementing and evaluating school initiatives, sharing research findings to guide and enhance practice as well as engaging in professional conversations about teaching and learning. / Mr. W.A. Janse van Rensburg

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Education at the Durban Institute of Technology, 2003. / This research investigates the South African Developmental Appraisal System (DAS). It is concerned with exposing implementation problems arising from its perception by educators in four secondary schools in the Central Circuit of the Inanda District ofKwaZulu-Natal. / M

Mindfulness-based interventions can improve teachers' capacities for attention and emotion regulation, as well as their prosocial dispositions like compassion and forgiveness. The purpose of this set of research studies (including three case studies and a larger non-randomized treatment -- control group quasi-experimental study) was to examine whether or not capacities like these, learned through participation in a mindfulness training (MT) program for teachers, become embodied and show through as changes in teachers' mindful behavior in the classroom -- specifically, their ability to be calm, clear-minded and kind-hearted in their speech and behavior with students in the classroom. These studies used first-person, teacher reports and third-person, observer measures to assess potential MT-program-related impacts on changes in teachers' classroom speech and behavior over time. Results from survey and interview data showed change in teachers' perceptions of their mindful classroom behavior. The case studies showed evidence of change in teachers' calm, clear and kind classroom speech and behavior as rated by observers. Results in the larger study again showed change in treatment teachers' perception of their mindfulness in the classroom over time compared to controls, but no evidence was found for observed changes in speech or behavior in the classroom. Methodological, developmental and intervention-related interpretations and implications of the findings are presented and directions for future research are discussed.

Feedback has an important role to play in the performance of learners. This study looks to identify the challenges that the learners are faced with when the teachers provide them with feedback and the ways they would like like it to be used in order to see feedback assisting them in their learning and improve their performance. Feedback contributes a lot to assessment and has a close link with performance. The study used the qualitative approach to identify the challenges the learners experience when they receive the feedback from their teachers. The participants were sampled from grade 12 learners in the form of a focus group (seven to ten per school) and individual respondents. The method used semi-structured interviews and portfolio observations to collect the data from two high schools in East London (EL) district to look at the nature of the feedback provided to learners. The data was later analysed and interpreted. It has been identified that for both schools feedback conveyed certain messages to learners such motivation to do better, a need to do better and, lastly, affirmation that the learners are on the right track or they are neglected and left to figure out how to do the tasks. The study discovered that, according to Hattie and Timperley (2007)’ there are four levels of feedback. It was found that for the task level learners from school A mainly received oral feedback which was often seen as denigrating them; however, in school B learners received both the oral and written feedback. They felt that the feedback assisted them to understand the task at hand. They also saw this as a way of building up their confidence in all the tasks they come across. Secondly, in the process level, learners in school A did not report receiving feedback at this level but only oral feedback which does not show their mistakes step by step in the task, yet in school B they reported that they got feedback from their teacher individually to help them understand the task. Thirdly, for the self regulation level, in school A there was no data to confirm this. Regarding school B, learners were being assisted by the feedback they received from their teacher and this caused them to monitor their progress. The fourth and last level is the self or personal evaluation where in school A learners were not able to evaluate themselves because they did not receive written feedback, whereas in school B learners could do that freely referring to the written comments from their teacher. The research therefore concluded that in one of the schools the four levels that the study was looking at were not all addressed and thus no meaningful feedback was given. For school B the teacher gave them the feedback which has contributed a lot in their learning. The study recommends that feedback should not be used for right or wrong answers but it must also state clearly why the learner has obtained such mark or grade and what to do to correct the wrongs. Teachers should consider that learner errors also assist them to have a broader picture on what more they need to do in their subjects. It is also recommended that teachers should consider various strategies in giving feedback and the learners’ work has to be monitored timeously for the purpose of the learning process. Lastly, a good approach when feedback is provided is also important because it builds high self-esteem and develops the teacher-learner approach accordingly.

This dissertation explored the intersection of teacher education, education research and education policy through interviews among stakeholders of teacher education from Oman and the Philippines (i.e., teacher educators, policymakers, student teachers, and in-service teachers) and document analysis of various education policies and documents using a grounded theory approach. The dissertation is composed of three studies: the first two are qualitative studies and the third a mixed methods study. Each study has its own abstract, introduction, review of related literature, methods, results, discussions, implications, and references section. The first study is a qualitative study that explored the perceived characteristics of an ideal teacher among various stakeholders, looking at similarities and differences of perceptions among stakeholders and across countries. The researcher used a combination of a/r/tography, metaphor and inductive coding to analyze qualitative interview data. Findings suggest that even though there were universal characteristics sought for in ideal teachers, there were still cultural variances in how various cultures perceived their “ideal teacher.” The second study is a qualitative study that explored the perceptions of education policy among stakeholders and investigated if there was a difference in how stakeholders interpreted specific education policies as compared to what was indicated in official education policies. Findings suggest that these negative perceptions were rooted from misinterpretation and mis-implementation of the said education policies. The third study is a mixed methods study that explored the association between educational research usage and other demographic factors and how research was used and perceived by stakeholders. The researcher used data collected from a demographic survey and a structured open-ended interview. Qualitative data was analyzed using analytic coding while quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square test. Findings suggest that majority of the stakeholders use education research, however the frequency and purpose is affected by the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders. Statistical results showed that there were significant association between frequency of usage and age, educational attainment, years of experience, profession and country. Implications for the various stakeholders and teacher education programs based on the results of the three studies are discussed in the last chapter of this dissertation.

No description available.

A strong focus has been placed on accountability for the educational process and the achievement of all students. This has put tremendous pressure on teachers, as well as school administrators, superintendents, and school board members, to seek innovative ways to increase student achievement and to ensure that effective teachers are in all classrooms, so emphasis is on developing effective evaluation systems. Given the development and implementation of the Mississippi Teacher Evaluation System (MTES) in 2010, there is a need to discover the perspectives of the teachers who are evaluated within this process. The success of an evaluation process will only be successful if teachers use it to enhance their professional growth and effectiveness in the classroom. In order to gain an understanding of the perceptions of Mississippi teachers in Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) schools and their insight into the MTES, this study focused on three research questions: (1) how do Mississippi teachers perceive the usefulness of the MTES, (2) how do Mississippi teachers perceive that the MTES develops their effective teaching practices, and (3) how do Mississippi teachers perceive that the MTES supports teachers’ professional growth? A qualitative approach provided descriptive, narrative, and percentage responses to the research questions of this multiple-case study. Results showed that the majority of the TIF teachers who participated in this study perceived that the MTES to have some degree of usefulness, especially when implemented consistently across the campus. Teachers who did not experience the entire evaluation process and feedback conferences were frustrated and irritated by the process. Overall, teachers did experience an improvement in their instructional practices because of their participation in the MTES, and most perceived that the MTES supported their professional growth because of targeted professional development and the development of professional-growth goals. With timely feedback and evaluator support, teachers are enriching their teaching practices which enhance student engagement, but they are concerned that the instrument is not being implemented consistently in all schools. There is a lack of confidence in navigating the observation rubric and implementing the process with consistency.

No description available.