The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002) mandated that every teacher be highly qualified by the close of the 2005-2006 school year. However, the means by which newly certified teachers are prepared has been questioned. In addition to understanding how teachers enter the field, researchers have indicated a vested interest in examining who comes into the field. More specifically, the characteristics and experiences of pre-service and in-service special educators are of great interest (McKlesky & Ross, 2003; Rosenberg & Sindelar, 2001). The present study examined the characteristics of six teachers in the final internship phase of a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program in Varying Exceptionalities at a Research I/Research Extensive University in the Southeast.This study was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods, employing a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design for data collection and analysis. The quantitative phase included descriptive statistics gleaned from pre-existing Haberman Urban Teacher Selection Interview data, results from the Teacher's Sense of Efficacy Scale self-report survey, and an adapted Pathwise Classroom Observation System protocol. The qualitative data collected for complementarity included thick, rich case descriptions, descriptive data from semi-structured interviews with mentors and a focus group interview with participants.Results showed that the participants entered the program with a variety of experiences and backgrounds. Also, the participants demonstrated and reported a range of variability in terms of their classroom effectiveness and their sense of efficacy. Further, the participants discussed several factors that they perceived as contributing to or impeding their professional success. The findings have implications for teacher preparation programs, school districts, and educational policymakers.

This study explores the influence of mentor teachers in the meanings and practices that two elementary preservice teachers adopted about eliciting and using student ideas, while learning to teach science in the university science methods course and in the field placement classroom. Prior research on teacher development has shown that the high-leverage practice of eliciting and using student ideas can support preservice teachers in thinking about common problems of practice. I used four core problems of practice to examine the meanings and practices that preservice teachers adopted in eliciting and using student ideas as they planned, enacted and reflected on methods course assignments in the field placement classroom. Using sociocultural and situative perspectives on learning, I identified two factors that influenced the sense that preservice teachers constructed and the practices that they adopted about eliciting and using student ideas. These factors were mentor teacher's perspectives on learning and goals for student learning. I also examined three mechanisms by which mentor teacher's perspectives and goals influenced preservice teacher meanings and practices about eliciting and using student ideas in instruction, including mentor teacher's classroom practice, the nature and foci of mentor teacher and preservice teacher conversations and mentor teacher's use of preservice teachers' ideas in their conversations about instruction. The results suggest that preservice teachers come to make sense of and use student ideas in their instruction in ways that closely align with those of their mentors. They also indicate that preservice teachers' integration of experiences from different learning-to-teach contexts in making sense of student ideas may be related to the degree of alignment between mentor teachers' perspectives and goals and the perspectives and goals of the science methods course.

Education and its associated resources continue to be unequally administered and delivered in the United States. All stakeholders in the education of the nation‘s children—parents, teachers, unions, school administrators, principals, community members and students, should be concerned with the inequities which abound in the country‘s education system African American male cohorts are particularly vulnerable in the US population as they face a series of challenges that continue to threaten their achievement, including those students who are academically gifted. The purpose of this study was to examine and interpret the philosophy, ideology, and educational practices of five teachers of African American males in gifted and talented programs in an urban secondary school. The following research questions guided the study: (a) How do teachers describe factors that promote achievement with African American males in Gifted and Talented Programs? (b) How do the life experiences of teachers influence their advocacy for African American males in Gifted and Talented Programs? (c) How do Gifted and Talented teachers of African American males participate in and influence identification and referrals of African American males in Gifted and Talented Programs? The naturalistic paradigm of inquiry guided the study to collect and analyze data. The participant sample consisted of five teachers of African American males in gifted and talented programs in an urban secondary school. In addition to a detailed review of the literature related to this population, data came from in-depth interviews and classroom observations. Data from the audio recorded and transcribed (verbatim) were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Some of the major findings reveal that the educational demographic landscape in the US and in Texas in particular highlights an underrepresentation of African Americans, and especially African American males in gifted and talented education. The themes that emerged from the study reveal that valuable insight can be gained from teachers of this cohort which can inform educational practice and policy. The teachers reported to be working hard for the success of all students and not just those from minoritized backgrounds. Nonetheless, all five teachers were committed to believing that all of their students had the potential to be successful, albeit some with more challenges than others. Their experiences and backgrounds frame their ideologies and in turn the way in which they teach and interact with these learners. It is important to note that despite these differences and diversity in their racial/ethnic backgrounds, each teacher reflects deep commitment and passion for these learners. The overall goal reported by the participants is to encourage creative problem solving, to develop content mastery, to serve as a role model for their students, regardless of racial or ethnic background. Ultimately, they believe that these are the keys to the success of all students, and particularly for African American male gifted and talented middle school students.

National and international studies indicate that the preparation of teachers to teach reading is inconsistent across universities worldwide. Teacher preparation programmes lack rigorous research based findings and recommendations point to the fact that evidence–based research and integrated approaches should be incorporated to address this inconsistency. There is a need for a comprehensive curriculum to guide pre–service teachers toward a coherent knowledge base for the effective teaching of reading as teachers do not have an understanding of what to teach or how to teach it. Literature identifies that the inclusion, and explicit teaching of the five reading literacy components (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension) form the essential components which should be instructed to enable teachers to teach reading. This study analysed a teacher preparation programme to identify what reading literacy components are taught as well as how the reading literacy components are taught within the programme. The results reflect that the reading literacy components are included haphazardly within the teacher preparation programme and there is no evidence–based research incorporated. It is clear that the pre–service teachers are not taught “how” to teach the reading literacy components as the science of reading is not focused on in the teacher preparation programme studied. The findings of this study support the literature base requiring teachers to be equipped with a disciplinary knowledge base to teach reading. Furthermore, teachers should be provided with a rigorous, research–based curriculum which will enable them to become expert reading literacy teachers who will be well prepared to implement research–based programmes and practices. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

National and international studies indicate that the preparation of teachers to teach reading is inconsistent across universities worldwide. Teacher preparation programmes lack rigorous research based findings and recommendations point to the fact that evidence–based research and integrated approaches should be incorporated to address this inconsistency. There is a need for a comprehensive curriculum to guide pre–service teachers toward a coherent knowledge base for the effective teaching of reading as teachers do not have an understanding of what to teach or how to teach it. Literature identifies that the inclusion, and explicit teaching of the five reading literacy components (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension) form the essential components which should be instructed to enable teachers to teach reading. This study analysed a teacher preparation programme to identify what reading literacy components are taught as well as how the reading literacy components are taught within the programme. The results reflect that the reading literacy components are included haphazardly within the teacher preparation programme and there is no evidence–based research incorporated. It is clear that the pre–service teachers are not taught “how” to teach the reading literacy components as the science of reading is not focused on in the teacher preparation programme studied. The findings of this study support the literature base requiring teachers to be equipped with a disciplinary knowledge base to teach reading. Furthermore, teachers should be provided with a rigorous, research–based curriculum which will enable them to become expert reading literacy teachers who will be well prepared to implement research–based programmes and practices. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:52:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARIA JOSE DE MOURA ALVES.pdf: 820834 bytes, checksum: 501fc449efda843fb4b83e6995ca22e7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-09-30 / Treatment to the handicap has undergone many phases, since segregation, going through integration overture until the so called Inclusive Education came along, which strengthened primarily since the Salamanca Declaration. The implementation of the Inclusive Education depends on various factors, amongst which the student board stands out. In this perspective, the objective of this study is to analyze the Inclusive Education Implementation Policy in the County Education System of Anapolis in the early years of Elementary school, as well as the Continued Preparation of Teachers to act in The Inclusive Overture. It is also intended to elucidate the main legislations relative to inclusive education on an international, national and countywide scale, as well as discovering the condition considered necessary for the inclusive implementation, to discuss the role of the teacher in their preparation, analyzing how this preparation has been occurring in relation to the teachers of the 1st and 5th grade of the county education of Anapolis. The methodology used can be described as an exploratory research that involved a bibliographic gathering of the subject studied, and data collecting through questionnaires, documental analyses and strategic methodology of the focal group. 1st to 5th grade Elementary teachers of 15 model schools of Inclusive Education in Anapolis, which corresponds to a total of 50% of this school type, participated in the research, not to mention the teacher of Special Educational Services of the same schools. It is suggested that everyone assumes their responsibility as to the effectiveness of inclusive education, leaving in to public authorities to guarantee the adequate conditions to the implementation, amongst which include the adaptation of the physical structure, adequate didactic material and real conditions of teacher preparation to work with diverse cases. On the other hand, teachers also need to invest in their own formation, seeking to upgrade their knowledge not only through courses, but by reading up to date material about the subject and exchange information with colleagues. The County Secretary of Education has promoted some preparation courses for teacher focusing on Inclusive Education, but this has not been enough to attend to the necessities of teacher preparation. / O atendimento à pessoa com deficiência passou por diversas fases, desde a segregação, passando por propostas de integração até o advento da chamada Educação Inclusiva, cujo fortalecimento deuse principalmente a partir da Declaração de Salamanca. A implementação da Educação Inclusiva depende de uma série de fatores, dentre os quais se destaca a formação docente. Nesta perspectiva, este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar as Políticas de Implementação da Educação Inclusiva no Sistema Municipal de Ensino de Anápolis nos anos Iniciais do Ensino Fundamental, bem como a Formação Continuada dos Professores para Atuar numa Proposta Inclusiva. Pretende-se ainda elucidar as principais legislações relativas à educação inclusiva no âmbito internacional, nacional estadual e municipal, bem como conhecer as condições consideradas necessárias para a implementação da educação inclusiva, discutir o papel do professor em sua formação, analisando como esta formação vem ocorrendo com relação aos professores de 1º ao 5º ano da rede municipal de ensino de Anápolis. A metodologia utilizada pode ser descrita como pesquisa exploratória, que envolveu levantamento bibliográfico sobre o tema em estudo, e coleta de dados mediante aplicação de questionários, análise documental e estratégia metodológica do grupo focal. Participaram da pesquisa professores regentes de 1º ao 5º ano do Ensino Fundamental de 15 escolas referência em Educação Inclusiva em Anápolis, o que corresponde a 50% do total de tais escolas, além dos professores de Atendimento Educacional Especializado das mesmas escolas. Sugere-se que cada um assuma sua responsabilidade em relação à efetivação da educação inclusiva, cabendo ao poder público garantir as condições adequadas à sua implementação, entre as quais estão as adaptações na estrutura física, material didático adequado e condições reais de formação docente para atuar na diversidade. Por outro lado, o professor também precisa investir em sua própria formação, procurando atualizar-se não só por meio de cursos, mas pela leitura de materiais atualizados sobre o tema e troca de experiência com colegas. A Secretaria Municipal de Educação tem promovido alguns cursos de capacitação docente voltada para a Educação Inclusiva, mas estas não têm sido suficientes para atender às necessidades de formação dos professores.

abstract: This study explores teacher educators' personal theories about the instructional practices central to preparing future teachers, how they enact those personal theories in the classroom, how they represent the relationship between content, pedagogy, and technology, and the function of technology in teacher educators' personal theories about the teaching of mathematics and their practices as enacted in the classroom. The conceptual frameworks of knowledge as situated and technology as situated provide a theoretical and analytical lens for examining individual instructor's conceptions and classroom activity as situated in the context of experiences and relationships in the social world. The research design employs a mixed method design to examine data collected from a representative sample of three full-time faculty members teaching methods of teaching mathematics in elementary education at the undergraduate level. Three primary types of data were collected and analyzed: a) structured interviews using the repertory grid technique to model the mathematics education instructors' schemata regarding the teaching of mathematics methods; b) content analysis of classroom observations to develop models that represent the relationship of pedagogy, content, and technology as enacted in the classrooms; and c) brief retrospective protocols after each observed class session to explore the reasoning and individual choices made by an instructor that underlie their teaching decisions in the classroom. Findings reveal that although digital technology may not appear to be an essential component of an instructor's toolkit, technology can still play an integral role in teaching. This study puts forward the idea of repurposing as technology -- the ability to repurpose items as models, tools, and visual representations and integrate them into the curriculum. The instructors themselves became the technology, or the mediational tool, and introduced students to new meanings for "old" cultural artifacts in the classroom. Knowledge about the relationships between pedagogy, content, and technology and the function of technology in the classroom can be used to inform professional development for teacher educators with the goal of improving teacher preparation in mathematics education. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Curriculum and Instruction 2014

abstract: As evidenced in the growing achievement gap between English language learners (ELLs) and their non-ELL counterparts, it is clear future teachers need to be better prepared to work with ELLs. This study examined the influence of infusing ELL strategies into methods courses through instructional coaching. This study was inspired by the larger iTeachELLs project at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. This action research project drew upon Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory and Bandura’s (1977) social cognitive theory. Specifically, the study was built on Vygotsky’s socially shared activities and Bandura’s concepts of modeling and providing opportunities to individuals to practice and attain mastery experiences. Knight et al.’s (2015) impact cycle of coaching served as the framework for the intervention in this study. This perspective was grounded in socially shared activities that included a clear model of the new learning and opportunities for instructors to practice implementing the new learning. University instructors and teacher candidates participated in the study. A mixed method approach was used to gather data from instructors and teacher candidates. Quantitative data came from a survey that assessed three constructs: (a) knowledge, (b) use, and (c) self-efficacy of Stanford’s (2013) six principles for ELL instruction. Qualitative data were gathered in several ways. Instructor interviews focused on the coaching experiences, whereas teacher candidate interviews focused on knowledge and use of ELL principles. Additional qualitative data included reflective conversations with instructors and course assignments from teacher candidates. Results suggested instructors gained in their knowledge, use, and self-efficacy of the six principles for ELL instruction, which they taught to their teacher candidate charges. As a result, teacher candidates increased their knowledge, use, and self-efficacy of the ELL principles. The interview data for teacher candidates was consistent with the survey data. Results from this study highlighted the potential of coaching in higher education as a powerful approach to deliver professional development. Further, results suggested that infusing ELL instructional practices into content methods courses appeared to be a viable method to better prepare teacher candidates to work with ELL students. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2017

abstract: This study examines the multiple and complicated ways that Native American students engage, accept, and/or reject the teachings of a Native American literature course, as they navigate complex cultural landscapes in a state that has banned the teaching of ethnic studies. This is the only classroom of its kind in this major metropolitan area, despite a large Native American population. Like many other marginalized youth, these students move through "borderlands" on a daily basis from reservation to city and back again; from classrooms that validate their knowledges to those that deny, invalidate and silence their knowledges, histories and identities. I am examining how their knowledges are shared or denied in these spaces. Using ethnographic, participatory action and grounded research methods, and drawing from Safety Zone Theory (Lomawaima and McCarty, 2006) and Bakhtin's (1981) dialogism, I focus on students' counter-storytelling to discover how they are generating meanings from a curriculum that focuses on the comprehension of their complicated and often times contradicting realities. This study discusses the need for schools to draw upon students' cultural knowledges and offers implications for developing and implementing a socio-culturally sustaining curriculum. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2013

In the United States, approximately 26% of children will witness or experience a traumatic event before they turn 4 years old. Therefore, teachers must be prepared to meet the individual needs of children who exhibit symptoms of trauma. However, there is a gap in research regarding teachers' perspectives about how teacher preparation experiences influence teaching strategies and the creation of supportive environments for preschool children who have experienced trauma. Using Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how teachers' perspectives about teacher preparation experiences influenced their teaching strategies and the creation of supportive environments for preschool children who have experienced trauma. In-depth interviews were used to collect data from 10 preschool teachers from a southern state who had varying teaching experience, degrees, and preparation experiences. The continuous data analysis process included organizing the data, reflecting on meaning, and identifying and coding key words and themes to answer the research questions. Results indicated that teacher preparation experiences influenced the participants' teaching strategies and the creation of supportive environments. However, the results also suggested a need for more content specific teacher preparation experiences. Potential social implications of this study include (a) improving teacher preparation opportunities, (b) an increase in teacher self-efficacy, (c) an increase in child development outcomes, and (d) adding to the current literature on teacher preparation and childhood trauma.