This thesis investigates where the Years 4-10 Queensland French Syllabus is receiving support, by investigating groups of teachers with shared characteristics. In doing so, it aims to shed some light on why teachers have not embraced this new syllabus. Specific issues pertaining to the syllabus are investigated, such as the use of task-based instruction as the chosen methodology and of embedded content, as well as contextual issues, such as employment sector and levels taught. Teachers' reactions to change have also been investigated in relation to the introduction of this syllabus. In addition to this, the process involved in acceptance of an innovation has been explored which led to an examination of teacher understanding of the current syllabus. This study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one outlines the syllabus and context, as well as hypotheses for this study and rationale. Chapter two is a literature review which brings together previous research and links it to the current study. The chosen methodology is covered by chapter three, with chapter four being a detailed explanation of results received from the data collection. The final chapter, chapter five, discusses these results and the implications of these findings.

Teachers have to cope with two main changes. Firstly, they have experienced global technological change and the introduction of new technologies into the education system. Secondly, they have to cope with a new generation of pupils (Generation Z). This thesis argues that these changes necessitate a change in the role of the teacher. This research examines how teachers react to these changes. The main research question is “How do teachers conceive their role when they teach Generation Z pupils in a technological learning environment?”. The research focuses on a case study of a school on the northern periphery of the State of Israel. The research focused on the teachers of the “computer notebook” classes. The school supplies every pupil and every teacher a standard personal laptop while the teachers have been integrating the technology and applications into their lessons for the last twenty years. The data was collected by means of questionnaires (20); personal interviews (24); observations (8); and an analysis of relevant documents. The research compares the category of the “traditional teacher” with that of the “technological teacher”. It finds that (a) teachers view the the two roles of traditional and technological teacher as distinct; (b) they recognise a wide variety of technological changes that influence the education system; and (c) they believe that the present pupil generation (Generation Z) requires a new approach to study in contrast with previous generations of pupils. The research shows that in response to the changes described above, the teachers have changed their perspective through the use of the new technologies and define their role in three dimensions (pedagogical, interpersonal, and technological) and indicate that there are 11 skills and abilities required for the technological teacher. However, the research also found that despite the extensive experience of the teachers in using the new technologies, there is no confidence in realising the full potential inherent in these tools. In particular, the opportunity for cooperative learning which is offered by online technologies is not always exploited efficiently. Moreover, the research found that the challenges and barriers in the application of the new pedagogy in the technological learning environment. The contribution of this research is both theoretical and practical. The theoretical contribution of the research is in the characterisation of the pedagogical, interpersonal and technological dimensions that constitute the role of the “technological teacher”. The practical contribution of the research is detailed in the series of recommendations made in relation to the development of schools and the training and continuing professional development of teachers.

Why has teachers’ classroom work remained relatively stable despite an enormous amount of change in educational policy? In 1998 the national Department of Education of South Africa introduced a new policy on assessment to complement its new curriculum policy introduced in 1997. With its emphasis on performance–based outcomes, the assessment policy constituted a decisive and significant break from the past assessment policy. This research focuses on the implementation of the new assessment policy by classroom teachers. The study is guided by the following three research questions: 1: What are teacher understandings and beliefs with regard to assessment policy? 2: In the context of official policy, how do teachers practice assessment in their classrooms? 3: How can the continuities and the discontinuities between official policy on assessment and teachers’ assessment practice be explained? After reviewing the literature on policy implementation, the study articulated a broader conceptual framework drawing on the construct of ‘deep change’. This perspective supplements rather than supplants dominant approaches to policy implementation. The ‘deep change’ framework suggests a more incisive approach to understanding the relationship between policy and practice. This study presents and tests three propositions about change, namely: Proposition One: That teachers may not have a deep, sophisticated understanding of a new assessment policy even if there is evidence of strong rhetorical commitment to the policy. Proposition Two: That teachers may not be able to reconcile their own assessment beliefs and capacities with the stated goals of a new assessment policy. Proposition Three: That teachers may find traditional assessment practices (that is, examinations and testing) to hold greater efficacy in the classroom than the alternatives required by a new assessment policy. A case study approach was undertaken with two Grade 8 science teachers from two different contexts, one from an under-resourced township school, and the other from a well-resourced urban school. Using evidence from questionnaires, free-writing schedules, extensive pre-lesson and post-lesson interviews, prolonged non-participant classroom observations, teacher records and documents, and student records and examinations, the study found that the two teachers had a surface understanding of the new assessment policy; the teacher from the well-resourced, urban school was able to implement some of the new assessment methods, while the teacher from the under-resourced, township school did not implement any of the new methods of assessment required by the new assessment policy; both teachers were unable to reconcile their own assessment beliefs and capacities with the stated goals of a new assessment policy; and both teachers found the traditional assessment practices (that is, examinations and testing) to hold greater efficacy in the classroom than the alternatives required by a new assessment policy. In other words, the study found that teachers did not have a deep understanding of the assessment policy and did not change their assessment practices deeply as required by the assessment policy. The study argues that educational policies will do little to achieve deep changes in teachers’ pedagogical practices without concurrent attention to a strong theory of change. The study concludes with implications for teacher learning, professional development of teachers, theory and research. / Thesis (PhD (Education Management and Policy Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Teacher quality has been identified as the most crucial factor in raising student achievement. In order for teachers—and consequently their students—to be successful, teachers must participate in life-long career development. For this reason, a great deal of time and resources are spent on professional development. However, professional development for teachers is not always effective. This study was aimed at identifying those elements that led to success in professional development conducted in one rural Utah school district. The study operated within the theoretical framework of Appreciative Inquiry, which consists of collecting evidence by interviewing successful participants to gather stories that reveal what works best in an organization. For this study, four elementary teachers in the district were identified as having made positive changes in their classrooms as a result of participation in the professional development. These teachers were interviewed and their stories were recorded. Then, their stories were analyzed and the following common themes emerged: validation, modeling with children, "doable" practices, reanimation of previously learned content and desire to learn more. These themes were then categorized into two sections that represent instructional strategies used by the presenter and teacher behaviors that were influenced by the identified instructional strategies. While research has identified many elements of quality professional development programs, these additional elements that emerged deserve further investigation. Results may provide useful information when designing professional development that will encourage teachers to take up promoted practices.

This thesis explored the introduction of a new physics curriculum in New Zealand secondary schools. It was part of a nationwide overhaul of the whole school curriculum from primary to secondary schools, initiated in the early 1990s. The study of curriculum change is inextricably woven with teacher change, as the teacher is seen as central to any real change in curricula in the classroom. Some theories of teacher change are reviewed here and synthesised into a list of criteria relevant to bringing about effective change in teachers and their practices. A sociocultural perspective emerged as being a useful theoretical approach in analysing and explaining these processes of curriculum change and teacher change because it takes a holistic approach that deals with 'people, places and things' and the discourses involved therein. In particular, Wenger's sociocultural theory was used to study the introduction of a new senior physics curriculum. His terms 'reification' and 'participation' were seen to apply to this research: the curriculum document was taken to be a reified communication artifact, and 'participation' is involved in every stage of its development and implementation. In the context of this theorising, data was procured from in-depth interviews with the three curriculum writers and ten physics teachers in and around a provincial city in New Zealand. The teachers were interviewed three times over a period of three years: before, during and after the first year of implementation; namely 1996 to 1998. The interviews showed that most of these ten physics teachers did not undergo any significant change in their teaching because of the introduction of 'Physics in the New Zealand Curriculum'. The reasons or barriers identified, such as lack of guidelines and clarity, and contentment with their own existing practice, were aligned with factors that have been identified by other researchers as important influences on teachers undergoing change, such as clarity of change and need for change. Three key elements were identified from these issues emerging from the data as necessary conditions or resources for teacher change: knowledge, support and time. In the present study, there was very limited knowledge held by the teachers about 'what', 'how' and 'why' changes were being implemented. Secondly, there was little social and system support for the curriculum change. Finally, teachers had little time to focus on and reflect on the change. A model of curriculum change, incorporating Wenger's notions of 'reification' and 'participation', but extended to include 'dereification' emerged from the data. 'Dereification' highlighted an important stage whereby the curriculum document as an artifact, needed to be incorporated into the plane of lived experiences of teachers. The introduction of the term 'dereification' supported the development of this model of curriculum change incorporating teacher change whereby the model outlined processes of reification and dereification involved in a mandated curriculum change. The model of curriculum change developed here also contained a screen that symbolises the lack of intersubjective linkage between teachers and the designers of the new curriculum. There was no follow-up teachers' guide, not enough explanation of the curriculum document, no direct communication between the writers and the teachers, and insufficient professional development for the teachers using it. The research findings led to three propositions: the curriculum document as a key artifact was not sufficient to effect a curriculum change; the lack of transparency of the curriculum document development was a constraint on teachers' commitment to the curriculum change; and the lack of support for teachers in their dereification of the curriculum document impacted negatively on curriculum change. The key elements of knowledge, support and time identified as crucial for teachers to effect any real change in their practice are critical at different points in the model of curriculum change. It is suggested that using such an interplay between the factors underlying teacher change and the sociocultural analysis of curriculum change, might enable more pro-active intervention at the various stages of the process of a curriculum change to effect a real change.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a new teaching model, Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU), can influence participants’ understanding of learning and change their practice. This practitioner action research took place over one semester and included four physical education (PE) teachers. Two participants taught using the TGfU model and two participants used their typical practice. Collaboration within a professional learning community encouraged a recursive process of learning of critical aspects of practice. The results of this study indicate that teacher change in PE is possible through the introduction of a new teaching model. The new model enabled a deep analysis of beliefs and led change in practices. For example, the teachers more fully realized the significance of modifying the game (TGfU core idea) to meet their students’ ability levels. In particular, how modifying games is most effective when the students decide how the game will be modified, select the criteria for success when playing the game, and are involved in their own formative assessment.

This study produced a theoretically grounded model of professional development suited for supporting teachers in Hong Kong to embed Information and Communication Technologies into the Primary School Curriculum. The model was developed and tested over two years through an intervention based on participatory action research involving school staff and the researcher as a critical friend. The model was tested through the analysis of extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of teacher behaviours and curricular documents. Teachers' beliefs and practices were found to change significantly during the first year of the project and were further refined during the second year. Leadership, collegial support, physical infrastructure, teacher self-efficacy, and technical knowledge were identified as the most important factors underpinning the successful implementation of the program. The model addresses these factors and has considerable potential to impact on educational practice involving ICT in the Hong Kong context.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a professional development intervention conducted with mainstream middle school teachers of English language learners (ELLs) in a North Texas school district. Teacher change was examined in the context of this intervention. Three groups of teachers participated in this study. Group 1 (n= 4) consisted of teachers returning to the intervention for a second year. Group 2 (n= 12) consisted of teachers new to the intervention. Group 3 (n = 16) served as the control group and consisted of teachers who were not part of the intervention. Mixed methods were utilized, including a self-assessment questionnaire, an observation tool, and data from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. Statistically significant differences were found between teachers in Group 1 and teachers in Group 2 in the perception of self-efficacy. Statistically significant differences were also found for Group 1 and Group 2 teachers between the beginning and the end of the year. Group 3 teachers experienced a decrease in their perception of self-efficacy between the beginning and the end of the year. A statistically significant difference in the use of interaction was found across time for teachers in Group 1 and Group 2. The interaction of ELLs decreased between the beginning and the end of the year for teachers in Group 3. The use of modifications increased significantly for teachers in Group 1 and Group 2 and remained stable for teachers in Group 3 between the beginning and the end of the year. In the area of high expectations, no statistically significant difference was found between intervention teachers and the control group across time. An analysis of data for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test revealed a statistically significant difference in the percentage of All Students Commended for the writing test and in the percentage of All Students Met Standard in the social studies test between intervention and non-intervention classrooms.

Research demonstrates those who fail to learn to read well face unfair and lifelong societal disadvantage (Allington, 2011; Castles et al., 2018; Frontier, College, 2018). The number of children who fail to learn to read proficiently remains unacceptable and persists even as research suggests practices to help struggling readers (Allington, 2011; Castles et al., 2018). Building upon dismal findings from literacy networks and evidence from empirical research this study addresses this problem by exploring how contextual factors influence teachers’ learning and practice and student early reading achievement through two research questions: 1) How do contextual variables at the school, board and provincial level influence the planning, delivery and uptake of early reading professional learning opportunities? 2) How do teachers perceive the relationships between (a) their professional learning experiences, (b) their classroom early reading practices, and (c) student reading outcomes? This complexivist multiple instrumental case study explores the role of context upon teachers’ (N = 6) perspectives in three diverse schools (rural, urban and suburban) in one school board with the voices of principals (N = 3) and board-level reading experts (N = 3) providing additional layers of context. Within-case findings demonstrate the importance of meeting local teacher and student needs. Contextual networks represent pathways leading to learning, teaching and student reading development. Cross-case findings reveal the universal needs of the participants for meeting students’ core social and academic needs. Finally, a conceptual framework depicts the interaction of contextual factors within the teaching, learning and student achievement process. Theoretical, empirical and practical implications anchor a discussion proposing a research agenda situating teacher early reading learning into a professional learning collective compassionate to the learning needs of teachers who in turn can be more responsive to the local and universal needs of their students.

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