This thesis introduces a topic of mentoring of novice teachers in Finland. The main goal is to analyse a novice teachers peer-group mentoring model as a case study of project Paedeia Café and evaluate its advantages and disadvantages in comparison to dyadic form of mentoring. Further, to bring ideas for implementation of Finnish experiences into Czech context. In theoretical part, we define mentoring in teaching profession, then we briefly introduce specifics of Finnish education system, peer-group mentoring and Paedeia Café. The research part analyses interview with mentors, novice teachers and manager of the project as well as participating observations. The results of the study show that Paedeia Café is a project which connects experienced teachers and students in last years of their studies. The advantages of the project are financial savings and creation of a space for discussion about professional issues. Disadvantages are more difficult structure, confusion of mentor's roles and low support in academic literature. In the Czech Republic, we can be inspired by a connection of experienced teachers and students, also by a space for sharing teaching profession experience in informal atmosphere. This thesis is a contribution to a discussion about the teacher career system in the Czech Republic...

African American, Latinx, and Native American students continue to be disciplined in U.S. schools at rates 2 to 3 times higher than White students. In response, schools are seeking out approaches to reduce racial disciplinary disparities. Yet, it is not clear what influences educators’ active commitment to address racial equity in school discipline practice. This study used the Critical Incident Technique to explore the phenomenon of commitment to racial equity. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 educators who self-reported that they were initially non-committal or reluctant to address racial equity but became more committed over time. The interviews produced 210 critical incidents and the formation of 20 categories to describe what helped and hindered educators’ personal commitment and the observed commitment of others to racial equity in school discipline practice. Findings indicated Disaggregating School Data by Race and Ethnicity (self, other), Learning About Racial Discrimination in Society (self), and Sharing Equity-Focused Strategies (others) were categories reported to help educators’ commitment to racial equity. Avoiding Discussing Race (self) and Lowering Expectations and Stereotyping (others) were found to hinder educators’ commitment to racial equity. Participants’ responses also suggested active commitment to racial equity may require effort and exposure to multiple discriminatory or prejudicial events. Commitment formation was also found to be influenced by non-school experiences (i.e., events or incidents that occur outside of a school campus). Contributions of the study are discussed in relation to theory, school practices, and approaches to teacher professional development.

Commonly, teacher evaluations function as summative appraisal mechanisms of teacher performance and effectiveness, as accountability measures and assurances of quality instruction to educational stakeholders. Recently, greater interest in the potential for evaluations to contribute to improvements in teaching and learning has emerged. The use of professional teaching standards and evaluation rubrics represents a significant advance in the design of evaluation tools and procedures. Continuing implementation challenges however, means the potential for evaluations to notably enhance teachers’ professional development is far from realized within many educational contexts. The traditional focus on the individual within evaluations also fails to recognize the collaborative work of teaching teams and to capitalize on the potential of teachers to support improvement in each other’s practice. This inquiry explored the circumstances under which evaluations might promote professional development at the individual level and within teaching teams. The study is located within an international school, which utilizes the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program curriculum. The research question driving the inquiry was; how can teachers and principals within IB PYP schools achieve a focus on professional development and systematic learning within teacher evaluation? An Instructional Rounds protocol was employed to promote a focus on professional development within this qualitative case study. Fullan’s Change Theory guided the implementation and analysis of change in the form and function of evaluations within the school. Findings suggest viable and valuable professional learning can be incorporated into and supported during evaluations. A structured process, incorporating greater frequency of feedback, check-ins, dialogue and collaborative work between supervisors and teachers is needed to produce the monitoring mechanism and sustained gentle pressure necessary to support on-going professional learning. Redefining and broadening concepts of improvement, of involved leadership and professional development is important. Limited focus on specific goals and connecting peers with similar goals encourages commitment to improvement efforts.

Literacy educators hold different beliefs about the best approaches to teach students how to read and about the reading process including a skills view of reading and learning to read versus a transactional, sociopsycholinguistic view of reading and learning to read (Weaver, 2002). Reading for understanding is an important skill to develop in students to promote overall success (Keene, 2008). When orally reading, readers occasionally say something differently than what is printed—which is called a miscue. Goodman, Martens, and Flurkey (2014) defined a miscue as “any response during oral reading that differs from what a listener would expect to hear” (p. 5). The purpose of this study was to teach a small group of fourth grade readers a process called Collaborative Retrospective Miscue Analysis, or CRMA (Costello, 1996), to help readers learn how to notice and analyze miscues during oral reading through small group collaborative discussions about their miscues and understanding during reading. In this CRMA study, the students’ teachers viewed video recorded student small group reading sessions to understand how students changed over the course of 14 weeks. A reading survey called the BIMOR, or Burke Interview Modified for Older Readers (Goodman, Watson, & Burke, 2005) was used before and after the study and student and teacher CRMA sessions were video-recorded to study what students thought about themselves as readers and keep track of changing views about reading. In addition, students orally read two different texts to determine if there were any changes in readers’ miscues over time through the use of the Miscue Analysis In-Depth Procedure Coding Form (Goodman et al., 2005). This analysis allowed a deeper understanding of the readers’ usage of the three cueing systems during reading including the syntactic (grammar) system; the semantic (meaning) system; and the graphophonic (letters and sounds) system (Goodman & Marek, 1996). As a result of the CRMA process, three themes emerged from the analysis of the data collected. Readers moved to a more meaning-based orientation to reading although the CRMA study students still employed the use of other less emphasized reading strategies such as sounding it out, using a dictionary, and asking for help. Students developed more self-efficacy as readers as they became more confident and aware of their reading process as they participated in the CRMA student sessions. Finally, teachers revalued readers through observing their students as readers with strengths, effectively using problem-solving strategies during reading, and by noticing, “what the reader’s smart brain does during the reading process” (Goodman, Martens, & Flurkey, 2014, p. 29). Implications for both classroom instruction and teacher professional learning are explored as useful applications of Collaborative Retrospective Miscue Analysis in schools and classrooms to help readers move to a more meaning-based orientation to reading and to help readers become more self-efficacious and aware of their own reading process, as well as revaluing readers.

This dissertation study focused on complications and opportunities that surface for classroom learning in the intersections of a teacher’s methods, students’ literacies, and digital space. Though researchers have discussed adolescents’ literacies and participation in out-of-school digital spaces, there persists a need to explore and document the ways educators and students use classroom digital spaces. This study examined the teaching and learning experiences of one teacher and eight students as they collaborate, compose, and produce a literature-based digital role-play. Research questions focused on how the activity of a classroom digital role-play might connect with current literacy reforms, in what ways the teacher’s incorporation of the digital space might shape her classroom identity and pedagogy, and in what ways students’ digital participation might reflect, extend, and negotiate their school-ascribed identities as non-proficient learners. To address these questions, I collected data between March and June 2014 in a 10th grade English language arts classroom of a rural, Midwest public high school. This particular course was designed as an academic literacy support for students labeled as non-proficient school readers. I amassed my data collection from multiple interviews with teacher and student participants, series of classroom observations, student writings, surveys, classroom documents, teaching journals, classroom audio-recordings, and field notes. I analyzed these data using a combination of qualitative methods: ethnographic approaches, narrative inquiry, discourse analysis, and virtual methods. I first created a narrative portrait and analysis of the teacher and students to illuminate participants’ multiple social identities. I next used methods of discourse analysis to examine the teacher and students’ language use in the classroom and digital spaces, to extend my understanding of the way their speech and writing helps them to construct social identities. My findings complicate the way teachers might approach the use of digital spaces. Data reveal ways that the digital role-play space presents disruptions to the teacher’s ways of thinking about her classroom identity and practices. My findings also suggest that the use of a classroom digital space affords opportunities for students to explore their classroom social identities; the digital space flattens traditional school hierarchies in which the teacher leads and students learn. My study is potentially significant in that I explore the way the teacher and students experience and make meaning from the blend of their classroom interactions and digital literacy practices. Further, I argue that folding a digital space into daily classroom life reveals significant possibilities for classroom collaboration, distributed knowledge, and shared learning among students and teacher.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which sustained teacher professional development in science education affects the classroom instruction of elementary school teachers in third through sixth grade over a 3-year period. The teachers in the study were all elementary endorsed and prepared to be generalists in the content areas. Science reform has led to more content-specific science standards that are difficult for most elementary teachers to address without professional development. Recent studies on improving elementary science instruction suggest the need for professional development to be long term, embedded in teaching practice in the classroom, and rooted in research on how children learn science. The researcher examined changes in classroom instruction over a 3-year period of teachers who participated in a professional development program designed to meet the elementary science education reform based on recommendations from the National Research Council’s report, Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8. The data that were analyzed to determine the effects of the professional development came from classroom observations of two sets of teachers, one of which was the control set (n = 20). The other was the experimental set (n =22). Classroom observations were administered one time each year over 3 years of treatment to determine whether sustained professional development in science impacted teacher practices in the classroom. This study suggested that classroom science instruction did significantly change through sustained professional development intervention. It also suggested that teaching practices improved in the areas of talk and argument, investigation and inquiry, modeling and representations, alignment with science core concepts, and addressing science misconceptions. Furthermore, findings indicated that teachers who received sustained professional development were more likely to have higher overall effective science instruction scores.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a teacher professional development program as measured by the extent that participants have continued to use lessons and materials up to three years after the professional development experience. The professional development program was delivered online and structured by five key characteristics of effective professional development. Sixty-five participants of Food, Land, and People (FLP) professional development completed an online survey answering certain demographic variables and indicating the number of lessons and activities they had used from the FLP professional development. An implementation and continued use measurement model was used to create weighted FLP use scores and compare participants within each group. Results suggest that the FLP professional development program was effective in obtaining long-term continued use of materials.

Many developing countries do not have in place high quality science education postgraduate programs; consequently, teachers from these countries are enrolling in programs in developed countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. A number of authors have raised concerns that these programs are not responsive to the professional development needs of developing country teachers, suggesting that participants remain unaffected by their overseas experiences. There are similar concerns about teachers from developed countries also being unable to implement new ideas for teaching in their classrooms. This may be due to a number of reasons including feelings of powerlessness in overly prescriptive programs, high demands on teachers' time, a lack of resources, and a general lack of encouragement. These issues raise a number of questions about the nature of teacher professional development and in particular about appropriate ways to implement these programs.In response to these concerns, this thesis examines the responsiveness of a science education postgraduate program conducted in Australia to the needs of local and developing country participants and the influences of differences between Australian and developing country science teachers in terms of their professional, personal and social development. The assumption being that programs in developed countries are largely orientated towards the needs of home-country students. The conceptual framework for the thesis is a recent approach to science teacher professional development that provides a holistic perspective on science teacher professional development, focusing not only on individual teachers but also on the educational environment in which they operate. This perspective acknowledges the complexities of school environments and considers teachers' beliefs and feelings.The research focuses on ++ / participants from Australian and Indonesian who have completed a science education postgraduate program in Western Australia at the Science and Mathematics Education Centre (SMEC) located at Curtin University of Technology in Western Australia. These two groups were chosen because between 1988 and 1995 they were the predominant nationalities participating in SMEC programs. The research methodology and use of quantitative and qualitative research instruments was in keeping with the holistic conceptual framework adopted for the study and follows recent trends in teacher professional development research which have seen a broadening of research methodologies. The instruments used included a postal questionnaire, classroom observation schedule and structured interviews.The research findings indicated that the Indonesians have different needs to their Australian counterparts in terms of their professional, personal and social development. These differences included the Indonesians' strong beliefs in and use of didactic and formal teaching methodologies, limitations in Indonesian classrooms on the introduction of new teaching activities, a more centralised and formal education system in Indonesia in contrast to the increasing autonomy seen in Australia, and a more flexible teacher professional development approach in Australia focussing on personal development, as opposed to the curriculum and assessment focus seen in Indonesia. In addition, there are vast differences between the Indonesian and Australian education systems and these differences were seen to reinforce many of the different beliefs and practices between the Indonesian and Australian participants.The study suggests that the Australian participants are able to implement teaching approaches and theoretical frameworks included in their postgraduate studies at SMEC; however, the conclusions highlight the ++ / limitations of expecting that this can occur for developing country participants. In examining approaches in overcoming these limitations, it was concluded that a range of minor interventions or modifications to program design and content would be insufficient and a number of key indicators were identified that point to the responsiveness of programs for developing country participants. These indicators included the need for host institutions to be fully conversant with the classrooms and social contexts of developing country participants, constructivist pedagogical approaches to program design, planning and implementation, and the necessary flexibility to maintain academic rigour in postgraduate science education programs while incorporating unfamiliar education notions and frameworks from developing countries.

HIV prevention programs in schools are acknowledged as one of the best prospects for controlling the world HIV epidemic. Epidemiological evidence indicates that deaths world-wide from AIDS are yet to peak. Although HIV notifications and AIDS deaths in the total Australian population have decreased', there has been an increase in rates in the Australian Indigenous population. There is also some evidence of complacency in HIV prevention vigilance in Australia which indicates a need for continued focus on prevention programs. The knowledge levels, attitudes toward HIV risk, and risk-taking behaviours of young Australians place them at risk of exposure to HIV. Appropriate prevention programs can be delivered to these vulnerable young people through the school setting. Programs delivered in schools have been shown to have a positive effect and teachers are vital to the delivery of these education programs. Without appropriate training, however, teachers may not optimise the outcomes of these programs. While it would be desirable for teachers to be trained in HIV prevention education in pre-service training this has not been the case in Western Australia (WA). When there is not an opportunity for pre-service training, professional development programs can be implemented to provide additional training required by teachers. Traditionally this professional development has been provided through workshops. These face-to-face delivery methods, however, do not always adequately serve the needs of all teachers, and in particular the needs of teachers in rural and remote areas. In an attempt to address the needs of these teachers, alternate methods of professional development delivery may be appropriate. The aim of this study was to test an alternate method of delivery. / The study designed, disseminated and evaluated the implementation of a flexible learning professional development program for teachers of HIV education. The program was based on print-based distance learning, supported by a video and tutors. Five objectives were developed for the study. These objectives were: Objective One - To determine factors associated with teachers' enrolment in the Protect Yourself Program (PYP). Objective Two - To determine the association between factors related to entry characteristics, social integration, external attribution, academic integration and incompatibility and amount of PYP completed. Objective Three - To determine the association between amount of PYP completed and factors related to the teaching of HIV lessons. Objective Four - To examine the context in which intervention and comparison group teachers were operating for this study. Objective Five - To evaluate the process of teacher recruitment to PYP, satisfaction with the flexible learning methodology, satisfaction with the PYP materials and completion of PYP. A comprehensive theoretical framework was constructed to guide the development of the empirical study and the professional development program, as little evidence was found in the literature of similar empirically evaluated studies. This framework incorporated: Adult Learning Theory; the Model of Student Progress; the PRECEDEPROCEED Model; the Health Promoting Schools Framework; Diffusion of Innovation and the Communication Behaviour Change Model. The study was conducted in two parts. Firstly, an exploratory study was conducted which provided a basis upon which to implement the second, larger empirical study. / A quasi-experimental study design was implemented due to restrictions placed upon the study by the WA Department of Health, the funding agency. The study sample was made up of teachers from government and independent, primary and second schools in WA. In total, 126 teachers were recruited to the intervention group and enrolled in the professional development program, and 128 to the comparison group, who completed some of the evaluation instruments, but did not participate in a professional development program. The professional development intervention program incorporated four comprehensive work modules, which were delivered in print form. A video and tutorial support supplemented the print materials. To evaluate the professional development program, seven instruments were developed. From these instruments five categories of variables were created, namely demographic, contextual, teacher characteristics, process and dependent. These variables were developed as single item variables, scales or indices. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and a combination of univariate, bivariate, and multivariate techniques (logistic regression and analysis of covariance) were conducted. Qualitative data were analysed for themes. A binary logistic regression was conducted to evaluate Objective One: to determine factors associated with teachers’ enrolment in PYP. The analysis identified four factors which were associated with enrolment in PYP. / The teachers most likely to enrol in PYP had no pre-service training in health education and did not consider themselves to be a specialist or coordinator of health education. The majority of program participants had been teaching health education for between three and seven years and displayed a high level of acceptance of the flexible learning methodology. Objective Two: to determine the association between factors related to entry characteristics, social integration, external attribution, academic integration and incompatibility and amount of PYP completed was evaluated using a nominal logistic regression analysis with the intervention group sample only. Completion of the PYP program by participants was related to circumstances which were often beyond the control of the program, such as events occurring in a teacher’s personal life. However, teachers who showed a preference for flexible learning were found to be more successful in completing the program. The effects of PYP were measured by Objective Three: to determine the association between amount of PYP completed and factors related to the teaching of HIV lessons. Three of the six factors considered by this objective returned a significant association with program dose. Teacher perceived access to HIV education resources was found to be positively related to the dose of materials a participant completed. / Participants who completed a high dose of the program considered HIV resources to be relatively easier to access than participants completing a low dose. Teachers who completed a high dose of PYP reported being more comfortable to teach HIV lessons than teachers completing a mid dose. In addition, intervention group teachers showed a significant change in comfort with their ability to teach HIV lessons and specified HIV topics to Years 8, 9, and 10 classes and intervention group teachers of Year 8 students thought the HIV topics were less important for this level of students. The final variable to show a significant change over time when dose of the program was considered was teacher sexual conservativeness. Both high and mid dose participants reported being less sexually conservative than low or no dose participants from pre to midtest. The context of the teachers participating in the PYP study was investigated through Objective Four: to examine the context in which intervention and Comparison group teachers were operating for this study. Two factors were found to be associated with gender, six with school location and eleven with level of teaching. These associations provided important contextual information for interpreting the findings of the study. Objective Five evaluated the process of teacher recruitment to PYP, satisfaction with the flexible learning methodology, satisfaction with the PYP materials and completion of PYP. The recruitment strategies implemented for PYP were effective in having teachers from government and independent schools in WA recruited to PYP. / However, more than 90% of the intervention group were from government schools. Schools encouraged more than one teacher from a school to enrol, with nine primary schools, four district high schools, one community high school, one secondary college, four senior high schools and one combined independent primary and high school enrolling more than one teacher in the program. The flexible learning methodology was reported to be suitable for the needs of teachers who enrolled in PYP, as they felt comfortable with the learning methodology and appreciated the opportunity to choose when and where they completed the program. The opportunity for face-to-face contact, however, was still preferred by some teachers. The materials within the program were considered to be appropriate and useful. The writing style and activities were well received and the efforts of the tutors were welcomed by the majority of the intervention group. One third of teachers who enrolled in PYP completed at least some of the materials, but less than 10% completed the entire program. The most frequent suggestions made for increasing program completion rates were to set dates for completion of the program modules and to allow time release to complete the program. At baseline, this research showed that teachers considered it important for their students to have access to HIV education, but many of these teachers did not feel comfortable providing HIV education for their students. / As positive effects were observed in the PYP program of impact of program dose on factors affecting the implementation of HIV education, it would appear that flexible learning professional development was a suitable alternative to face-to-face professional development. Teachers' acceptance of flexible learning professional development as an alternate methodology, however, appears to be in its infancy and will require more empirical research. Future research, study design improvements and intervention design improvements can be informed by the following recommendations. Future research Recommendation 1: There be more rigorous investigation of flexible learning as a methodology for provision of professional development for teachers of health education. Recommendation 2: The status of claiming credit for professional development toward postgraduate qualifications for teachers continue to be investigated. Recommendation 3 : Further research be undertaken to evaluate available technologies and their acceptance by teachers as a delivery method for flexible learning professional development. Study design improvements Recommendation 4: design limitations of the PYP study. Future research be designed to overcome the study Intervention design improvements Recommendation 5: The findings of the PYP study and suggestions made by PYP participants be used to improve future health education professional development programs.

For future generations to maximise their capability to operate within technologically driven economies, it is critical to foster computer abilities at every level of the schooling process. Teachers are central to this process. Yet, for many teachers, the need to integrate computer use in their teaching is threatening and overwhelming. This thesis argues that, given the rapid rate of technological change, skills-based approaches to computer education inadequately prepare teachers for a career of continued technological change. Effective computer education for teachers requires more than skills training. It involves changes in attitudes, values and beliefs that provide confidence for ongoing learning. Furthermore, it involves learning to adapt to change, to be flexible, intuitive and above all persistent. It requires the fostering of teachers who know how to be self-directed and independent in their computer learning, rather than those dependent on structured routines or guidelines. This thesis is the ‘story’ of an action research initiative underpinned by a belief in the importance of approaches to computer education which foster lifelong computer learning. It traces the journey of a reflexive process of change and iterative development in the teaching of an educational information technology (computer) unit to pre-service teacher education students. Over a period of three years (1999-2001) I pursued a central research question, namely: How can I develop my teaching practice to better facilitate the development of capable computer users? The research explores the distinction between a ‘competent’ and a ‘capable’ computer user and trials a range of teaching and learning approaches that aim to facilitate the development of capable computer users.From this constructivist research and teaching process a multidimensional approach to computer education emerged, founded on metacognition and reflection. This approach is demonstrated to offer many advantages over a skills-focused approach. This thesis maps the complexity of the computer learning and teaching context, arguing that simplistic approaches to teaching will produce narrow and limited learning outcomes. Rather, a holistic approach is proposed, one that moves beyond the development of computer competency toward a longer term vision of facilitating computer capability. It is argued that the role of the computer ‘teacher’ is to foster reflective awareness and develop a learning environment that can assist computer learners to become comfortable existing on the ‘edge of chaos’.This research supports previous studies which indicate the important role of computer self efficacy and the influence of factors such as perceived usefulness, anxiety, support and frequency and duration of use. However, the research also documents the unpredictable influence of these factors on individuals’ resultant approach to computers and challenges dichotomous interpretations of such factors. Appropriate attribution is also shown to be a major influence on computer capability, as are factors such as help-seeking, motivation and goal-setting, although again, these influences are non-linear. It is argued that computer capability cannot be ‘taught’ but, rather, computer educators should look to creating environments where its emergence can be facilitated. The metacognitive computer learning context developed and explored through this research is one such approach.