A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree PhD (Community Psychology) in the Department of Psychology Faculty of Arts University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / The aim of this study was to investigate the level of preparedness of educators from the Mthatha District to implement inclusive education. A qualitative design was adopted for this study. A random sample of 100 educators was selected from the junior secondary schools that have been converted to full service schools under the Department of Education in the Mthatha District. A pre-designed, structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analysed qualitatively through thematic analysis and quantitatively through the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Scientists (SPSS). The aim of the study was to determine how well the educators were prepared for inclusive education. The findings revealed that sixty percent of the participants were comfortable with inclusive education because of previous training and experience. However, they felt that more could be done by government to support them so that inclusive education can be implemented successfully. The perception was that inclusive education was simply added to the existing workload. Educators felt that relief from their routine method of facilitating learning was limited. Forty percent of the participants were not ready for inclusive education due owing to the following factors: lack of training, lack of resources, and insufficient information on inclusive education. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that there should be ongoing support and educator training in order to equip educators with skills for successful implementation of inclusive education. A multi-disciplinary team approach is also recommended where educational psychologists or registered counsellors will form an integral part of the team.

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Since the music requirement does rest with the teacher training institutions, the elementary education major is required, in most colleges and universities, to take six hours of music education. My problem is to develop an adequate course of study in music education to fit the musical needs of the elementary education major which will prepare her as well as possible in the allotted six hours to teach music in a classroom aided or unaided by supervision

Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / The number of autistic students receiving special education services increased 478% between the years 2000 and 2013 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). U.S. schools and teachers are educating more autistic students with complex educational needs resulting from differences in communication, social interaction and behavior. As a result, schools need increasing numbers of teachers who are equipped to educate them. Quality special education teacher preparation is critical for teachers of autistic students, because it can affect the quality of education and outcomes for this highly unique student population. Very little research has been conducted to determine the extent to which special education teacher preparation programs provide teachers with preparation to teach autistic students, or about the extent to which special educators feel prepared to teach this population at the point of conclusion of their preparation programs. This study used a mixed methods sequential explanatory design to examine the perceptions of special educators about their preparedness to teach autistic students based on preparation program/licensure, specialized autism coursework, and on-the-job experiences after licensure programs. A researcher-created survey was followed by interviews to explore participants’ survey responses more deeply. Survey data (n =121) were used to inform both question construction and participant selection for a purposive sample of follow-up interviews (n= 10). Regression analyses, means, summary scores, and thematic coding were employed to analyze the survey data. Results indicated that the majority (77%) of special education teachers felt unprepared to teach autistic students at the end of their licensure programs. However, specialized autism coursework was a significant predictor of teachers’ sense of preparedness. Limitations of the study and implications for special education teacher preparation and education are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest-growing population in California schools, with a high percentage of students not meeting the standard of the English language arts performance on the California Standardized Test (CST). This project study investigated the problem in a California school district where it was unknown whether the intervention strategies provided to teachers gave them the curricular skills needed to address the instructional needs of ELLs. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether teachers' self-reported instructional preparedness to teach ELLs was related to ELLs language arts performance. The study was grounded in Marzano's model of teaching effectiveness, which guided the anonymous survey given by the district to assess teacher instructional needs for ELL and helped define the independent variables. Archival data from the teacher survey and the CST were analyzed by using a simple linear regression and factor analysis in response to the research questions, which explored whether a relationship existed between self-reported teacher preparedness and the standardized test scores of ELLs students. Findings indicated no relationships between teacher preparedness to instruct ELLs and language arts performance on the CST. A significant finding on the teacher self-reported survey was that English language arts is a topic of concern to teachers and warrants additional training. To address this, a professional development project was created and influenced by Marzano's model of teaching effectiveness to address the best instructional practices for ELLs. Better preparation of teachers to instruct ELLs may promote positive social change by increasing student performance in English language arts and providing better opportunities for college and career that ultimately benefit the community.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) (2018) specified that "integrating SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) with instructional practices and academic content has become a growing priority" (p. 1). This priority originates from research that suggests SEL promotes positive student and long-term community outcomes, particularly in secondary schools. This canon of research, however, only reviews the outcomes of implementing purchasable curricula, not content-embedded SEL. The effectiveness of content-embedded SEL instruction, which comprises a large portion of how SEL is implemented at the secondary level (CASEL, 2018; Hart et al., 2013), cannot be effectively measured or predicted because there is little to no identified research regarding three essential factors: how teachers embed SEL, how teachers assess content-embedded SEL, and teachers' perceived readiness to embed SEL. The purpose of this research was to identify the methods secondary teachers indicate they use to implement and assess content-embedded SEL instruction and their perceived preparedness to do so. Educational leaders may be better able to evaluate the effectiveness of content-embedded SEL instruction and improve its implementation with this knowledge. Using a qualitative design, secondary teachers were interviewed to identify how they embed SEL into their instruction, how they assess SEL, and how prepared they perceive they are to deliver content-embedded SEL instruction. This research suggests that expectations for embedding and documenting SEL vary, but teachers appear to be implementing content-embedded SEL nevertheless. Furthermore, teachers recognize that pre-curated resources or lessons are provided to assist them in embedding SEL but appear to rely heavily upon their own teacher-created resources. Among these activities, teachers rely upon opportunities for reflection and choice and voice activities, but no one instructional strategy or manipulative was preferred overall. Teachers perceive student progress in SEL via observation of student behaviors, interactions, and responses both formally and informally. Regarding their preparedness to teach SEL, teachers perceive that their personal SEL proficiencies directly affect their abilities to teach them. Finally, teachers prefer experiential professional learning situations for SEL, and perceive that time to revisit and reflect in smaller, collaborative settings is an effective process for learning to implement SEL, including the use of specialists. / Doctor of Education / Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is an improvement strategy that has gained popularity in the past decade. Results from research that suggest SEL develops beneficial student and long-term community effects have led to substantial efforts to spread SEL instruction, especially in middle and high schools. However, the research upon which these efforts are based only reviews the benefits of using purchasable programming, not SEL that teachers embed into their content. The success of content-embedded SEL, which makes up a large percentage of how SEL is employed in middle and high schools (CASEL, 2018; Hart et al., 2013), cannot be accurately measured or predicted because there is little to no identified information about three important factors: how teachers embed SEL, how teachers measure content-embedded SEL, and teachers' perceived readiness to embed SEL. The purpose of this research was to identify the methods middle and high school teachers indicate they use to embed and measure SEL and their perceived preparedness to do so. Educational leaders may be better able to measure the success of content-embedded SEL and improve its use with this knowledge. Middle and high school teachers were interviewed to identify how they embed SEL, how they measure SEL, and how prepared they perceive they are to embed SEL. This research suggests that expectations for embedding and recording SEL vary, but teachers still appear to be embedding SEL. Additionally, teachers understand that pre-curated resources or lessons are provided to assist them in embedding SEL but appear to rely more heavily upon their own resources. Among these activities, teachers rely upon opportunities for reflection and choice and voice activities, but no one teaching strategy was preferred overall. Teachers recognize student development in SEL via observation of their behaviors, interactions, and responses; they grade this development about half of the time. Teachers believe their personal SEL proficiencies directly affect their abilities to teach them. Finally, teachers prefer hands-on situations for learning how to embed SEL, and perceive that time to revisit and reflect in smaller, collaborative settings to be an effective process for learning to implement SEL, including the use of specialists.

In an effort to meet the demands of industry within society, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education has been a major push for the United States Government resulting in public school system reform. As STEM education begins to become integrated across disciplines and special areas of public schools, and the population of inclusive classrooms containing Students with Disabilities continues to rise, a very important question must be fully investigated and answered. We must ask: Do first year Secondary STEM Education and Special Education teachers have the instructional preparedness to effectively teach all populations of students within their classrooms? And do STEM education and Special Education teachers have the appropriate content credentials to effectively support the diverse needs of students and curriculum in an inclusive STEM education class? This dissertation consists of two research studies that examine Special Education and STEM Education teachers preparedness (coursework and professional development) and content credentials to educate Students with Disabilities within an inclusive STEM Education classroom. This study will be utilizing a secondary analysis of the 2011- 2012 School and Staffing Survey Teacher Questionnaire (SASS TQ) datasets to conduct national analysis of how Special Education and STEM Education teachers degrees, state-level certification areas, and professional development participation reflect potential indicators of preparedness to educate in an inclusive STEM education classroom. The first study focuses on well-known approaches for the instruction of STEM Education and Special Education. This study will utilize differentiated instruction, behavior management, and data to drive instruction as best classroom approaches to instruction to determine their identifiable differences in instructional preparedness among first year STEM educators and first year Special Education teachers. The second study utilizes the 2011-2012 SASS TQ datasets to analyze Special Educators credentials to teach STEM compared to STEM educators credentials to teach Special Education. This study will analyze and compare credentials and backgrounds of STEM educators and Special Educators in search of indicators for preparedness for Inclusive STEM education. / Ph. D. / Society has and continues to rely on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) research and applications to solve many of its novel problems and push the boundaries for innovations which seek the betterment of humanity. This has led to recent educational focuses on STEM content and concepts which has resulted in reforms throughout the United States school systems. While STEM education has become a major focus within our school systems there has also been a reported increase in the number of special education students attending STEM education coursework. This educational shift towards STEM subjects combined with the increase of students with disabilities has led to an unprecedented amount of STEM classrooms containing students with disabilities. Since students with disabilities require unique programing and teaching strategies to be successful there increase in population has not only changed the roles and responsibilities for educators but has also created new challenges for both regular and special education teachers. This has raised the importance of evaluating both STEM and special education teacher’s instructional preparedness and content expertise to teach STEM subjects to all students, including students with disabilities. The two research studies reported within this dissertation use a national data set to examine special education and STEM education teachers’ coursework, professional development and content credentials to identify their preparedness to educate Students with Disabilities within a STEM Education classroom containing students with disabilities. These studies conducted a secondary analysis to determine how special education and STEM education teachers’ degrees, state-level certification areas, and professional development participation reflect as potential indicators of preparedness to educate in a STEM education classroom containing students with disabilities.

The purpose of this mixed methodological study was to explore perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs that urban middle school teachers have regarding their preparedness to implement Response to Intervention (RTI) and research-based interventions. The independent variables were Administrative Support, Teacher Professional Development, and RTI Resources; the dependent variable was Teacher Preparedness. Quantitatively, the specific tradition of inquiry was correlational research because it dealt with the extent of the relationship between specific variables. Qualitatively, the specific tradition of inquiry was the phenomenological approach because it dealt with the single concept of teacher perception of their preparedness to implement a required process. Ultimately, this researcher used a concurrent mixed methods approach to determine the extent in which the quantitative and qualitative data converge and what similarities and differences exist across levels of analysis (Creswell & Clark, 2007). The study took place in two middle schools located in an urban metropolitan Georgia school district. The participants included 30 certified teachers, 2 principals, and 2 student support team (SST) chairpersons. The quantitative data collected included a survey of 30 teachers. To analyze quantitative data, this researcher tested the variables to see if they had content validity using Pearson r 2-tailed correlation. Pearson Correlations were used to test the significant relationship between variables. The qualitative data collected included interviews of two principals and two SST chairpersons, a document analysis of the Georgia Board of Education Rule Code: IGB 160-4-2-.32 Student Support Team, and a document analysis of the district’s SST Monthly Data Report. To analyze qualitative data, this researcher interpreted statements from the interviews, documents, and document analyses into codes and themes, which were then organized in an analysis matrix. The findings of this study determined that there is a significant relationship between the dependent variable teacher preparedness and the independent variables, administrative support, teacher professional development, and RTI resources. The findings also determined that teachers perceive they are not prepared for RTI implementation. Although supportive of teachers, administrators concur that teachers do not fully understand the RTI process. Administrators recognize that they have more work to do to get teachers prepared to implement RTI effectively.

The purpose of the newly implemented Transitional Kindergarten program in California is to provide an additional year of early childhood education to young students in order to prepare them for school (American Institutes for Research, 2012). The implementation of Transitional Kindergarten into California’s public school districts was executed quickly without clear guidelines or training for teachers. The resultant gap in understanding Transitional Kindergarten’s goals is an educational issue that needs to be addressed. Until standards and guidelines are finalized for Transitional Kindergarten programs, California’s school districts decide how to implement their programs. The purpose of this research study was to examine the extent to which Transitional Kindergarten teachers perceive they are prepared to teach in a Transitional Kindergarten Classroom and to identify resources, support for, and professional development teachers in TK believe they need. The following research questions guided the study: 1. To what extent do participants perceive they are prepared to teach in a Transitional Kindergarten class? 2. To what extent does the level of perceived preparedness correlate to the participants’ years of experience, type of district, or Pre-school teaching experience? 3. What resources, support, and professional development opportunities do participants believe they need from their school district to teach in a Transitional Kindergarten class? Through an analysis of a quantitative survey, the conclusion of this study confirmed that Early Childhood Education knowledge is desired by Transitional Kindergarten teachers. The researcher contacted forty-five Transitional Kindergarten teachers within San Joaquin County and seventeen teachers participated. The study found that the additional support desired by Transitional Kindergarten teachers are: 1) teachers aides/assistants, 2) help with assessments, and 3) a more clear message about what Transitional Kindergarten curriculum should cover. It is recommended by the researcher based on the results that districts provide clarity about the expectations of TK to all stakeholders, create an implementation guide, and clear standards for all TK teachers.

The implementation of the National Curriculum Statement was problematic to the culture of teaching and learning in various South African schools. If challenges experienced by educators, such as inadequate resources, financial constraints and lack of training, are not addressed, this will have far-reaching consequences not only for our education system but also for the type of skilled learners that will be produced and for the economic growth of the country. This qualitative investigation was conducted in a single school in Limpopo Province with the aim of finding out which challenges the implementation of the NCS presents to FET educators. The sample consisted of educators and learners from grades ten to twelve as well as members of the SGB, SMT and district education officers. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. It was found that the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement was problematic and far from satisfactory. The study highlights the need for the Department of Education to prioritise educational resources for schools and educator training in curriculum implementation. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)