Former colonial societies, largely categorized as the Third World, are still affected by negative retentions of their colonial past. The education system in these societies is arguably the most affected in this regard; and teacher education is no exception. Since teacher training is such a pivotal component of this sector, it is a key point of entry to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of colonialism on educational institutions, structures and processes. Jamaica provides an important context for this study in light of its dual or two-tiered system of education which evolved from slavery and colonialism. Using both phenomenological and postcolonial theoretical frameworks, I conducted a study to ascertain what the experiences of Jamaican teachers' college lecturers would reveal about the status of teacher education. Using an in-depth interviewing methodology, I interviewed 17 lecturers from five (5) of the six (6) teachers' colleges in Jamaica. Each interview was approximately 90 minutes long, and each participant was interviewed thrice. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. I judiciously read each interview transcript, and then coded segments that were salient to my research focus---the lived experience of Jamaican teachers' college lecturers. These coded segments indicated nine (9) themes which overwhelmingly suggest that as tertiary institutions, teachers' colleges are viewed in low regard and continue to occupy the lower rung of an inequitable two-tiered system. In keeping with the second theoretical frame of the study---postcolonial discourse---I analyzed six (6) of the themes with a view to uncovering deeper meanings underlying the educators' experiences. The preponderance of the meanings derived strongly suggests that there are retentions of colonialism that prevent teachers' colleges from cementing their place as legitimate tertiary institutions. However, there is some measure of hope, as the findings also indicate that there are pockets of radical pedagogical shifts among teachers' college lecturers, away from hegemonic conceptions of teaching rooted in British colonialism and imperialism.

This study examines the issue of educator power in the classroom and suggests a practical mechanism by which educators can reflect on their power use and develop a deeper consciousness of it in their teaching. A review of the literature conducted for this study revealed a gap in the discussion of educator power between the theoretical and practice-oriented literature bases. This study considers whether a comparable gap exists in actual practice and through phenomenological interviews investigates the perceptions of classroom power use for ten faculty in higher education. Through classroom observations, these perceptions are compared to classroom practices for all participants and gaps are seen for all ten participants. The theoretical frame of analysis for this study is drawn from the review of the educational literature including critical and feminist pedagogy, multicultural, social justice, humanistic, and teacher education, as well as faculty development and self awareness literatures. The examination of this literature highlights the areas of educator power presently underinvestigated in both theory and practice. Specifically, this review lead to the development of two models for understanding educator power: the Spheres of Educator Power and the Sites of Educator Power. The Spheres model is an organizational schema that groups educator power into three primary ‘spheres’, Public, Private and Intimate, with the bulk of the literature addressing the Public and the Private leaving the Intimate significantly underinvestigated. The Sites model further explores the Intimate Sphere and identifies seven fundamental sites of educator power in the classroom—social identity, teacher education programs, educational biography, personal history, content mastery, student abdication, and institutional conferrence. These two frames for understanding educator power, combined with the interview and observational results, are the foundation of an action—reflection model, the Power Praxis model, designed to assist educators in becoming more conscious of their use of power in the classroom. Rooted in the aforementioned literatures, it is believed that a deeper awareness of the use of educator power in the classroom as a result of this model will lead to a more empowering educational experience for both students and educators.

This study was undertaken to assess outcomes of a teacher training program whose goal was application of the 4MAT Learning Style Model (McCarthy, 1987) to the design of lessons which foster student creativity. Results derived from the analysis of data in this study indicate that the training program met its objectives of content mastery, attitudinal change, and application of theory, within the context of a case study involving 27 subjects undergoing 36 hours of training. Goals of the training program included: (1) developing understanding of basic learning style and creativity concepts; (2) increasing positive attitudes regarding the significance of diversity and creativity; and (3) applying concepts taught through construction of 4MAT lesson plans. Training program content was based on topics covered in the introduction and literature review including the importance of accommodating diversity and developing creativity in society today; an explanation of the 4MAT Model; an overview of typology and creativity research; and examination of implications for education. Outlined in detail are scope and sequence of the training program, as well as measures of evaluation which included a content pre/post-test, a retrospective attitudinal survey, a lesson rating scale, and anecdotal commentary. Results were analyzed quantitatively not only in terms of new learning acquired, degree of attitudinal change, and quality of lesson plans, but also with regard to patterns of performance emerging among sub-groups categorized according to sex, grade level taught, work experience, previous training, learning styles, and attendance. Results indicate that (1) during the course of the training there was a significant increase in positive attitude regarding the importance of accommodating diversity and creativity in educational settings; (2) that the training program prepared the majority of participants to develop lessons which integrated creativity and learning style theory, while satisfying 4MAT criteria; (3) that performance on lesson plan design correlated more closely to attitude than to content; and (4) that gender and learning style of participants appeared to significantly affect assessment scores.

What are characteristics of exceptional teaching in terms of academic, social and emotional growth as determined by middle school teachers and students? An effective middle grades teacher transmits a core of common knowledge to his or her students. An effective middle grade teacher makes his or her students feel they are a part of a community, and provides a meaningful and challenging educational experience. The effective middle grades teacher takes the time to talk with his or her students about academic matters and personal problems, and makes the student see that he or she has value and is a success, with a promising future. (Turning Points, 1989). Are pre-service teachers prepared to teach at the middle level? The purpose of this study was to determine if effective middle school teachers share certain characteristics, and if so, how could they become integrated into a teacher education program. Teachers of middle school students, pre-service teachers, middle school students, and middle school administrators participated in this study about effective middle school teachers. Surveys, interviews, and questionnaires were administered to participants in order to determine what is exceptional about them. The data was then used to identify characteristics or methods which effective middle level teachers have in common. The results were grounded in adolescent development theory. The research may help determine teacher characteristics or methods that are most suited in terms of academic, social, and emotional growth for a middle level student.

Although the wealth of research on beginning teachers indicates that teachers' transitions from preservice to inservice are often fraught with complexity, the prevalent “sink-or-swim” approach to their entries into teaching does not usually recognize the developmental complexities of each individual teacher's experience. The developmental blindness that some educational stakeholders have developed in regard to beginning teachers is, in fact, vastly different from the way our society views “newness” or “beginnings” in other venues and forms. If stakeholders in education were to take new teachers seriously as learners, we would not expect the same from them as from veteran teachers, and we would, as a matter of regular practice, provide new teachers with adequate support that is rooted in the legitimate learning and developmental demands of each beginning teacher. Using a phenomenological framework and an in-depth interviewing methodology, I interviewed ten (10) first-year English teachers in order to illuminate the nature of the experience of the first year of teaching English. I explored what it is about the nature of the first-year of teaching that has made it such an infamously trying time emotionally, intellectually, and socially. How does the culture of teaching “induct” its newest teachers? How do new English teachers experience their own learning and development in their first year in the classroom? What does the first year of teaching mean to those who experience it? I interviewed each participant on three separate occasions, with each interview lasting approximately 90 minutes. I audiotaped the interviews and transcribed them verbatim. I open-coded salient themes in the interview transcripts and arrived at 12 themes that cut across my participants' age, gender, and school context. Significant issues in my participants' experiences revealed several elements of the nature of the first-year of teaching English. I discuss how the constitutive elements of my participants' experiences in their first year can be incorporated into the development and implementation of more effective and more developmentally appropriate induction and support programs.

This exploratory descriptive case study aimed to identify key issues in the transformation of mathematics teaching in elementary schools. This study told the story of what happened to sixteen elementary teachers who embarked on a quest to improve their mathematics teaching by participating in at least two in-depth professional development experiences over an interval of three years. It traced their ideas about how and why to improve instruction, identified their challenges with prevailing school organizational conditions, and reported perceived changes that were made in their teaching. The research data, comprised of quotations from teachers' writing while they were engaged in professional development experiences at SummerMath for Teachers of Mt. Holyoke College and the researcher's notes from interviews, formed the data for analysis to answer four interrelated research questions: (1) What changes in instruction do selected elementary teachers of mathematics report that they made as a result of participating in professional development for improving the teaching of mathematics? (2) What do selected elementary teachers of mathematics report are the reasons for the changes they made in instruction? (3) What changes in instruction do selected elementary teachers of mathematics report that they regard as most effective for improving student learning? (4) What organizational conditions in their local elementary schools do selected elementary teachers of mathematics report helped or hindered their changes in instruction? The major findings based on the collected data were summarized and presented according to the four research questions that guided this study. The major findings related to changes in instruction fell under five prominent categories: increased emphasis on student thinking and understanding, increase in student-centered activities, changes in classroom discourse, increase in conceptually-based mathematics content, and a shift in the teacher's role from an authoritarian model of instruction to one that is student-centered. Findings from this study suggested some recommendations for educational practice for institutions preparing elementary teachers of mathematics, for in-service teacher professional development programs, and for school policies and organizational structures. One primary recommendation involved engaging pre- and in-service teachers in revisiting the mathematics content that they currently teach or will teach within an inquiry-based teaching and learning environment so that they might draw their own conclusions as to the implications for teaching mathematics.

This dissertation is based on a field study of an alternative schooling program, CHOLEN, in Bangladesh. The purpose was to seek a clearer understanding of an alternative education model known as 'accelerated learning', where the time required for learning is much shorter than in conventional models, and is used where learners are unable to attend normal schooling due to poverty, cultural barriers, or conflict. CHOLEN used innovative strategies to enhance learning for tribal/indigenous children who were marginalized and bypassed by mainstream education. Key among the strategies used by CHOLEN was 'activity-based learning' that allowed learning to be organized around activities, rather than relying solely on the textbook, expanding learning outside the classroom to the learner's life and environment, creating a friendly learning environment, and using varied materials and methods to deepen the learning experience. Teacher training helped to develop teachers as facilitators with creativity and openness to shift from conventional methods to learner-centered ones. The training used a 'reconstruction approach' which taught teachers how to create their own learning activities. The study also looked at the policy context of CHOLEN. As a non-governmental or NGO program, what were the possibilities and challenges it faced. It looked particularly at the kinds of training and support systems that were essential to effective implementation of this approach. The study employed qualitative methods, using interviews with teachers and trainers, classroom observations of learners, and discussions with parents and community members. The schools studied included both community and government schools so that comparisons could be made as to how the training was applied by teachers in these two systems. The major findings were that CHOLEN promoted 'accelerated learning' by creating a 'culture of learning'. This involved changing beliefs and assumptions of teachers, trainers, and supervisors about learning, learners, the role of teachers, and building a new vision. Changing beliefs went hand-in-hand with practicing new ways of teaching-learning where learners took active role in learning, group and peer-learning were the norm, and learning was often in the form of games and fun. Community members actively participated in supporting this changed environment of learning.

This study focused on preservice teachers at early childhood and elementary levels to identify prior beliefs they bring to their mathematics methods classes, how these beliefs affect their understandings about mathematics teaching and learning, and how these beliefs are reconstructed while engaged in a contructivist designed mathematics methods course. Data collected included in-depth student journal entries, personal histories of preservice teachers' prior mathematics experiences, and small group interviews. An interpretive analysis of the data identified emergent themes related to preservice teachers' beliefs about themselves as learners and teachers of mathematics and how these beliefs were reconstructed during the course. Five major themes were identified: preservice teachers prior beliefs and experiences; increased understandings about themselves as learners of mathematics; new learning about mathematical pedagogy; new or different ways of learning mathematics; and anger about their previous mathematics experiences.

Students with difficulties learning foreign languages typically come to the university with a history of foreign language failure and native language problems. Often, a foreign language requirement is difficult to complete and is the cause of great anxiety for the learner with linguistic difficulties. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the participating university established a one-credit modified add-on course that at-risk students could take to receive extra support in Spanish. Selection of participants was made according to Ganschow and Sparks' (1991) Foreign Language Screening Instrument. “At-risk” students were asked to participate in the study or were recommended for enrollment into a learning assistance paired course. In this class, students were exposed to a variety of techniques that attempted to accommodate a diversity of learner needs. Results from quantitative measures of change in perceptions of Spanish language tasks over time were inconclusive; on pre- and post-instruction similarities ratings, subjects weighted tasks in a uniform fashion along four interpretable dimensions. To further explore the effectiveness of a modified support course, additional qualitative data were collected on student satisfaction questionnaires and on learner reflection essays throughout the course. Final semester grades and grades on in-class performance measures in the foreign language were also examined to support the notion of inclusion in the foreign language classroom. Findings from this study revealed that such a course had positive effects on the learners, and that the learners benefited from adjustments to the foreign language pedagogy. However, it may not take an extra, learning assistance paired course to achieve these effects. Results from a survey of 27 instructors of Spanish and Portuguese revealed that the teachers are both willing and able to implement such teaching strategies so as to create an inclusive atmosphere that appeals to the needs of all learners. This study showed that incorporating such teaching strategies into the regular Spanish classroom as a part of the course design can effectively provide an alternative to the course waiver and substitution model of accommodation, and that triangulation in the research methodology provides a more complete portrait of the at-risk learner's foreign language learning experience.

The purpose of this study was to describe how meaning was socially constructed within a task-based small cooperative learning group. The group was composed of five native English and English as a Second Language speaking teachers and teachers-in-training enrolled in a graduate course entitled "Curriculum Development for Heterogeneous Classes" in the Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Department in the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts. This study examined the claim that participants in cooperative learning groups must be willing to set their personal beliefs, desires, and agendas aside in order to focus their attention on the learning needs of their peers and to shift the attention of their peers to explicitly relevant information (Gee, 1990). Further, groupwork is described as an interactional experience that involves conflict, tension, and individual risk-taking behaviors (McCutcheon, 1995). This study examined the claim that these behaviors can have a positive effect on a group's process when the willingness to analyze conflict and tension through the risk-taking process of revealing one's experience, perception, and self are present (McCutcheon, 1995). This study researched these claims by investigating the discourse of a small cooperative learning group in this course. This study provides an ethnographic thick description of the normative patterns that emerged through the group's work. These include the communicative norms that were co-constructed prior to and after the naming and analyzing of conflict. The results of this study reveal that participants were willing to focus their attention onto the needs of their peers and were willing to focus the attention of their peers to explicitly relevant information after conflict was named. Analyzing conflict was not easily obtained in this group. Members avoided and resisted this process. However, naming conflict was seen to have a purpose in this cooperative learning group and provided a rich source of insight about the complexities of conflict, tension, and individual risk-taking behaviors in cooperative learning settings composed of native English and English as a Second Language speaking learners.