This thesis examines the potential of experiential education as a 'best practice' pedagogy for pre-service teacher education in environmental education. The study involves forty pre-service teachers working collaboratively with the researcher in 1998 to test the assumptions of two previous groups of beginning teachers (1996 and 1997) who indicated in their course evaluations that experiential education may provide an effective teaching and learning approach for environmental education. This study combines two approaches to participative inquiry: action inquiry and cooperative inquiry. Both research approaches promote reflection-in-action and involve groups of individuals working collaboratively together as reflective practitioners. The data sources included reflective journals, a researcher diary, pre and post course questionnaires, individual interviews and group interviews. The environmental education course is a single case study and reflects the experience of three groups of students. The first group completed a 20 hour course in experiential education before starting the environmental education course, the second group completed both courses concurrently, while the third group only completed the environmental education course. The purpose of the literature review in experiential education and environmental education in teacher education is to provide a rationale for using a transformative teaching and learning approach in pre-service teacher education for environmental education. Contemporary best practice pedagogical approaches for environmental education are supported by many of the core principles of experiential education highlighting compatibility between theory and practice. The findings show that a transformative teaching and learning approach in environmental education was achieved by combining four key characteristics of experiential education in a holistic process. The four characteristics included reflection, connection to personal experience, emotionally engaged learning and student-centred teaching and learning. The impact of combining these four characteristics resulted in higher interest, motivation and enthusiasm for achieving the social action outcomes of environmental education. Thus, the pre-service teachers confirmed a synergy emerged between the outcomes of environmental education and the pedagogical process of experiential education. The experiential approach allowed the pre-service teachers to engage in the role of the critical reflective practitioner. Consequently, the pre-service teachers were able to identify the potential and possibilities for implementing experiential education strategies in environmental education and also recognise and challenge the barriers that confine and constrain its use in teacher education and formal schooling. As a consequence the pre-service teachers identified that working in collaborative groups of reflective practitioners was essential to continue developing effective facilitation skills and also to help them challenge traditional practice that limited their professional development. They also identified significant changes to the pre-service environmental education course to ensure a higher quality experience for subsequent groups of beginning teachers. The study highlights the need for more research into how well beginning teacher implementing environmental education function as reflective practitioners in their first few years in teaching and are able to challenge the barriers that limit transformative pedagogical approaches in schools.

<p> <p>Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka vilka yrkes- och studiebakgrunder yrkesverksamma datalärare har och om olika bakgrund leder till skillnad i uppfattningar om deras yrke och utbildning. Dessutom syftar arbetet till att undersöka hur datalärare håller sina ämneskunskaper ajour och om det finns skillnader i fortbildning beroende på utbildning och yrkesbakgrund. För att besvara arbetets frågeställningar används en kartläggande kvantitativ enkätundersökning som besvaras av yrkesverksamma datalärare från hela landet. För att få fram resultaten görs vissa sambandsanalyser och dessutom presenteras deskriptiv statistik. Undersökningen visar att majoriteten av datalärarna saknar lärarbehörighet samt att ungefär hälften tidigare har arbetat utanför skola och har professionella tillämpningar inom sitt ämne. Det visar sig även att det finns vissa skillnader i datalärarnas uppfattningar i vissa frågor beroende på yrkesbakgrund och utbildning.</p></p> / <p> <p>The main purpose of this rapport is to investigate which different backgrounds concerning working experience and education working computer science teachers have and if different backgrounds lead to a difference in opinion concerning their profession and education. Furthermore the rapport aims to examine how computer science teachers keep their knowledge of the subject up to date and if there are differences depending on education and earlier working experiences. A quantitative survey using a questionnaire answered by working computer science teachers from across Sweden is used to answer the questions which this rapport is based upon. The results are presented as descriptive statistics and some relations analysis has also been made. The research shows that the majority of computer science teachers lack teacher certification and approximately half of them have previously worked outside school with something within the area in which they are teaching. In addition some differences in opinion among computer science teachers depending on working experience and education are found concerning certain issues.</p></p>

Die kumulative Dissertation umfasst dreizehn Beiträge, die zwischen 1994 und 2006 aus je aktuellen Forschungszusammenhängen entstanden sind und in unterschiedlichen Zeitschriften und Sammelwerken publiziert wurden. Sie widmen sich Funktion und Leistung der Bibliothek für Bildungsgeschichtliche Forschung (BBF) als bildungshistorischer Forschungsbibliothek, die in einer Einleitung entlang einer professionstheoretischen Fragestellung systematisch eingeordnet werden. Beiträge und Einleitung gehen zum einen auf die Bestandsgeschichte der Vorgängereinrichtungen der BBF ein, die als Gebrauchsbibliotheken insbesondere eine institutionelle Grundlage zur Verberuflichung und Professionalisierung der Lehrer bildeten. Zum anderen widmen sie sich neueren Angeboten der 1992 in eine Forschungsbibliothek umgewandelten Einrichtung, die sich besonders an dem Bedarf des veränderten Adressatenkreises orientieren. Es handelt sich um Dienstleistungen, die einerseits dem Kontext einer digitalen Bibliothek zuzuordnen sind, andererseits das Konzept einer Forschungsbibliothek zu einer Forschungsstätte erweitern, mit der Aufgabe, zur Unterstützung des interdisziplinären und internationalen Diskurses der an Themen zur historischen Bildungsforschung arbeitenden Science Community beizutragen. / The cumulative dissertation comprises thirteen contributions resulting from respective research contexts that were up to date at the time, that is from 1994 to 2006, and that were published in different journals and collective works. They are concerned with the function and services of the Bibliothek für Bildungsgeschichtliche Forschung (BBF) as a library for research in the history of education, and they are categorised systematically along a profession- theoretical question in the introduction. On the one hand, the contributions and the introduction address the historical development of the library stock in terms of its predecessors which, as practical user libraries, particularly served as an institutional basis for the purpose of teacher training and teacher proficiency. On the other hand, they refer to more recent offerings provided by the library, which was transformed into a research institution in 1992, i.e. services that are particularly oriented towards the needs of an altered target group. These services pertain to the context of digital libraries on the one hand, while on the other hand they extend the concept of a research library to a research institution that serves the task of contributing to the support of an interdisciplinary and international discourse among the science community of those working in historical educational research.

Although practice teaching is a central component of teacher education, there are still a number of organizational and practical problems encountered which have attracted considerable research. For instance, the nature of the relationship among pre-service and cooperating teachers / how this relationship plays a role in shaping pre-service teachers&rsquo / learning to teach during practice teaching are issues we still know little about (Borg, 2011). In order to understand the interwoven relationship between experiences, intentions, beliefs and actions of pre-service language teachers, opportunities created for them to become conscious of the ways they perceive and act upon needs to be investigated in detail. The present research study is designed as a mixed method case study to examine the extent to which English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers&rsquo / (PTs&rsquo / ) sense of efficacy beliefs regarding classroom management, instructional strategies, and student engagement evolve throughout the practice teaching course in addition to the role of mentoring practices and the organization of the practice teaching course in shaping EFL pre-service teachers&rsquo / sense of efficacy beliefs. The main participant group of the study was composed of senior PTs (N=22) studying in the Department of Foreign Language Education, Middle East Technical University. The study involved a variety of data collection tools in order to gather data, Teachers&rsquo / Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) (Tschannen-Moran &amp / Woolfolk-Hoy, 2001) and Mentoring for Foreign Language Teaching (MEFLT) scale (Hudson, Nguyen &amp / Hudson, 2009), weekly reflective journals of the PTs, semi-structured face-to-face interviews and an open-ended survey. The results of the data analysis revealed that none of the dimensions of sense of efficacy beliefs of the PTs appeared to develop significantly after practice teaching / on the other hand, sense of efficacy beliefs regarding classroom management beliefs of the participant group significantly decreased at the end of the practice teaching. In addition, sense of efficacy beliefs regarding classroom management beliefs had a significant relationship with the Personal/Professional Attributes of the cooperating teachers (CTs). According to the content analysis of the data, the role of mentoring practices and the organization of the practice teaching course have an important role in sense of efficacy beliefs of the PTs. The data analysis framework acknowledges that there are other factors that also have an influence on the development of efficacy beliefs including the teaching situation, context and the role of other participants involved in practice teaching.

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka vilka yrkes- och studiebakgrunder yrkesverksamma datalärare har och om olika bakgrund leder till skillnad i uppfattningar om deras yrke och utbildning. Dessutom syftar arbetet till att undersöka hur datalärare håller sina ämneskunskaper ajour och om det finns skillnader i fortbildning beroende på utbildning och yrkesbakgrund. För att besvara arbetets frågeställningar används en kartläggande kvantitativ enkätundersökning som besvaras av yrkesverksamma datalärare från hela landet. För att få fram resultaten görs vissa sambandsanalyser och dessutom presenteras deskriptiv statistik. Undersökningen visar att majoriteten av datalärarna saknar lärarbehörighet samt att ungefär hälften tidigare har arbetat utanför skola och har professionella tillämpningar inom sitt ämne. Det visar sig även att det finns vissa skillnader i datalärarnas uppfattningar i vissa frågor beroende på yrkesbakgrund och utbildning. / The main purpose of this rapport is to investigate which different backgrounds concerning working experience and education working computer science teachers have and if different backgrounds lead to a difference in opinion concerning their profession and education. Furthermore the rapport aims to examine how computer science teachers keep their knowledge of the subject up to date and if there are differences depending on education and earlier working experiences. A quantitative survey using a questionnaire answered by working computer science teachers from across Sweden is used to answer the questions which this rapport is based upon. The results are presented as descriptive statistics and some relations analysis has also been made. The research shows that the majority of computer science teachers lack teacher certification and approximately half of them have previously worked outside school with something within the area in which they are teaching. In addition some differences in opinion among computer science teachers depending on working experience and education are found concerning certain issues.

Teacher-Child Interaction Therapy (TCIT), which is an adaptation of the empirically-based treatment of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), addresses the needs of children and teachers through increasing positive teacher-child interactions while educating teachers on effective discipline techniques. The theoretical and empirical basis for PCIT provides the foundation for the appropriate and effective application of the adaptation of this treatment model for use with teachers.<br>The efficacy of Teacher-Child Interaction Therapy (TCIT) with a clinical preschool population was evaluated through a single subject A-B design conducted across subjects. The current study examined the impact of the intervention, TCIT, on child behavior, teacher skill development and use, as well as the quality of teacher-child relationships. Results suggest that the intervention positively impacted the behavior of preschool children diagnosed with a Disruptive Behavior Disorder, as indicated by a reduction of disruptive behaviors and increase of prosocial behaviors within a therapeutic classroom setting. Additionally, teacher skill use and the quality of teacher-child relationships were evaluated following implementation of the TCIT intervention. Findings indicate that the intervention positively impacted teachers use of the positive attention skills over the course of the intervention.<br>This study, which examined the efficacy of Teacher-Child Interaction Therapy with preschool-aged children diagnosed with a Disruptive Behavior Disorder, provides initial support for the implementation of a relationship-based technique to support teachers in addressing the disruptive behaviors of children within a classroom environment. / School of Education; / School Psychology / PhD; / Dissertation;

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of a brief teacher training program in proactive classroom management (PCM), on both teacher and student outcomes. The teacher training program was conducted in a large, inner city public school and was designed as an efficient and cost-effective approach to assisting school personnel in the prevention of off-task and disruptive student behavior. Four groups of teachers (N=16) participated in a single, 4-hour workshop that focused on didactic and performance-based training of such PCM procedures as building rapport, priming for transitions, scaffolding for success, building child tolerance to classroom stressors and teaching replacement behaviours. The program was implemented using a multiple baseline design across groups of teachers. Data were collected through classroom observations of teacher skill implementation and student behaviour (two students in each classroom who presented with behavioural challenges were observed), as well as pre and post self-report rating scale measures of teacher attributions and perceptions and student behaviour. Visual and statistical analyses of group and overall teacher data revealed significant increases in the use of reinforcement and antecedent strategies, reported use of rewards as an intervention strategy, reported levels of confidence in their ability to manage student misbehaviour, and a shift in teachers’ views of student misbehaviour as being more temporary rather than chronic. Significant decreases in teacher reactive responses and reported levels of student inattention and overactivity were also demonstrated. With respect to students, visual and statistical analyses of group and overall data revealed increases in student on-task non-disruptive behaviour and reported levels of self-reliance. Student disruptive and off-task behaviour were significantly reduced. Despite several limitations, the results of the present study demonstrate that student problem behaviour can be efficiently and effectively managed in the classroom without the use of reactive strategies.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of a brief teacher training program in proactive classroom management (PCM), on both teacher and student outcomes. The teacher training program was conducted in a large, inner city public school and was designed as an efficient and cost-effective approach to assisting school personnel in the prevention of off-task and disruptive student behavior. Four groups of teachers (N=16) participated in a single, 4-hour workshop that focused on didactic and performance-based training of such PCM procedures as building rapport, priming for transitions, scaffolding for success, building child tolerance to classroom stressors and teaching replacement behaviours. The program was implemented using a multiple baseline design across groups of teachers. Data were collected through classroom observations of teacher skill implementation and student behaviour (two students in each classroom who presented with behavioural challenges were observed), as well as pre and post self-report rating scale measures of teacher attributions and perceptions and student behaviour. Visual and statistical analyses of group and overall teacher data revealed significant increases in the use of reinforcement and antecedent strategies, reported use of rewards as an intervention strategy, reported levels of confidence in their ability to manage student misbehaviour, and a shift in teachers’ views of student misbehaviour as being more temporary rather than chronic. Significant decreases in teacher reactive responses and reported levels of student inattention and overactivity were also demonstrated. With respect to students, visual and statistical analyses of group and overall data revealed increases in student on-task non-disruptive behaviour and reported levels of self-reliance. Student disruptive and off-task behaviour were significantly reduced. Despite several limitations, the results of the present study demonstrate that student problem behaviour can be efficiently and effectively managed in the classroom without the use of reactive strategies.

Syftet med undersökningen var att ge en bild av hur studenter i en högskoleutbildning på distans upplever sitt lärande. Fokus har lagts på den eventuella kopplingen mellan studenternas yrkeserfarenhet/yrkespraktik och deras lärande i en utbildning. Undersökningen utgår ifrån ett kvalitativt forskningsperspektiv och ett fenomenologiskt synsätt. Den empiriska undersökningen genomfördes i form av intervjuer med fem studenter som utbildar sig till lärare inom förskola och förskoleklass. Intervjuerna bearbetades och analyserades utifrån undersökningens syfte och frågeställningar och utmynnande i ett antal övergripande områden och teman. Resultatet visar att studenterna upplever att yrkeserfarenheten påverkar deras lärande bland annat genom ett praxisnära förhållningssätt och att de ”tänker i arbetet” när de studerar. Studenterna ser många fördelar med att arbeta parallellt med studierna och anser att deras erfarenhet i stor utsträckning tas tillvara i utbildningen. De effekter som studierna upplevs ha fått i yrkespraktiken är framför allt att studenterna kan sätta ord på sitt handlande och reflektera över sitt eget förhållningssätt och den egna verksamheten i större utsträckning än tidigare. / The aim of this study was to describe how distance students in higher education experience learning. The focus of the study is the connection between the students’ professional experience/occupational practice and their learning. The survey is founded on a qualitative research perspective and has a phenomenological approach. The empirical survey was carried out through interviews with five students who train to become teachers for pre-school and pre-school class. The interviews were processed and analyzed on the basis of the research questions, and resulted in a number of general areas and themes. The results indicate that the students experience that their work affect their learning. They have a practical attitude towards their studies and relate to their work practice when studying. The students can see many advantages in working alongside their studies and consider that their experience, to a great extent, is made the most of in their education. The students experience that the effect the studies have had in their occupational practice is, above all, that the they can put their actions into words and reflect upon their own work to a greater extent than before.

It has been widely discussed that current practices of preservice teacher education are still far away from utilizing contemporary methods and strategies in its curriculum practices in Turkey. Preservice teachers are not provided enough classroom experiences connecting theory to teaching practice. As a result of this, many senior teachers need further guidance and supervision to transfer their knowledge into school environments. In order to address this failure in bridging what is learned and practiced in preservice teacher education to that of real class happenings, an experimental study was conducted with the application of an alternative method namely video-case based instruction. This research study aimed to examine the differences between traditional lecture based instruction and video-case based instruction in terms of their effectiveness of presenting the content at &ldquo / Introduction to Teaching Profession Course&rdquo / delivered to the preservice teachers. Additionally, the study also aimed to evaluate the attitudes of students toward video-case based instruction to which they were exposed. In this study, video-case based instruction and lecture based instruction were applied in three sessions of application and they were compared in terms of delivering the course content. Data were collected from two sections of EDS 119 Course during 2005-2006 fall semester by administrating pretests, posttests, questionnaires and interviews. Data analysis was carried out through both quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques. Results demonstrated that video-case based instruction demonstrated achievement of course content and support significant difference overall between video-case based instruction and lecture based instruction in content achievement. The participants of the study reported positive attitudes towards video-case based instruction both for its current application and future uses. The results revealed that using video-case based methods in preservice teacher education programs may be a viable alternative for allowing students connect real teaching practices with what they learn in their pedagogy courses.