In this dissertation, I used practitioner research to examine the process of revising a civics course to better emphasize justice. This dissertation relies on the central idea that civics education can be transformed by redefining “good” citizenship and adopting an action-oriented approach to civic education and civic life. This study used an embedded mixed methods design and explored the following research question: What are the experiences of teachers when they implement a curriculum built on justice-oriented compelling questions and how did their students experience this curriculum? This study explored three sub-questions. The first sub-questions that I explored was: How did teachers react to the process of changing the curriculum towards civics for justice? The second sub-question was: Did a shift toward justice-oriented curriculum change the teachers’ understanding of the purpose of civics? If so, how? The third sub-question was: Did a shift toward justice-oriented curriculum influence the teachers’ experiences? If so, how? These questions allowed me to explore if and how teachers and students can shift from thinking about “good” citizenship in terms of personal responsibility to thinking about it in terms of participation in civic life and activism for justice. It also allowed me to evaluate the extent to which teachers can successfully use a justice-oriented action civics project in a time when democratic institutions are in crisis. As part of a team of three U.S. government teachers, I designed new compelling questions to reflect a justice orientation, created lessons and activities that sought to build justice skills and knowledge, and implemented an action civics project consistent with participatory and justice-oriented definitions of “good” citizenship. I examined the impact on our teaching practices and the learning of our students. I found that our curricular shift allowed the teachers to provide more opportunities to students to practice justice-oriented skills including vision and strategic action. I also found that the students experienced an increase in civic efficacy and agency because of this change. Additionally, I found that teachers experienced a renewed sense of purpose and a redefined idea of rigor after participating in this study. While locally generated, these findings have global implications for teaching civics for justice and democracy. The findings in this study also have implications for educational research and democratic professional development.

Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / Despite renewed interest in single-sex education, these classrooms remain relatively unstudied, even in Catholic schools, which have a long history of single-sex education. Although there are over 460 single-gendered, Catholic K-12 schools in the United States, which educate roughly 215,000 students (McDonald and Schultz, 2011), these schools are often ignored in educational research. Practitioner research in this area is almost nonexistent, yet it can generate and disseminate insider knowledge that directly improves the educational sites from which it emerges. For the past 11 years, I have taught English at "St. Albert's Preparatory School," an all-boys suburban secondary school serving over 1,100 students in the Northeast. The school regularly speaks of fostering a brotherhood among the students, and I see evidence of this on a daily basis. However, St. Albert's has not always been an easy place to work. My own experience is consistent with research studies that have found all-boys schools to be more sexist environments than all-girls schools (Lee, Marks, and Byrd, 1994) where students generally afford their female teachers less respect than their male teachers (Keddie, 2007; Keddie and Mills, 2007; Robinson, 2000). Based on my experiences as a female teacher at this school, I conducted a teacher research study on how my students and I constructed gender in the context of our English classroom. Drawing on a wealth of qualitative data sources, this study builds three main arguments: the school community built a brotherhood in part by engaging in silence and othering; the all-boys environment acted as a double-edged sword in that it contributed to a comfortable setting for the students to explore gender issues, but it also encouraged the students to shed their unique, multi-faceted masculinities and enact hegemonic gendered behavior that perpetuated an unjust order; and though I was well versed in issues of gender equity, I, too, was affected by the all-boys classroom space and contributed to the hegemonic gender order at the school. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / Teacher quality is a central concern of the profession. College-based teacher education, the core of teacher preparation in the United States, has increasingly included some form of practitioner inquiry in the pre-service program to encourage teacher candidates to be reflective, adaptive teachers who systematically and intentionally examine practice to improve pupil outcomes and continue their own professional development. While it is assumed that pre-service practitioner inquiry has a positive influence on pupils' learning, there is still little empirical evidence to support this assertion. Most empirical data on pre-service practitioner inquiry is confined to a short time period and does not examine what happens to pre-service candidates when they enter their own classrooms. Additionally, this research is generally conducted using interpretive qualitative methods. Thus, this dissertation uses a longitudinal mixed methods approach to examine what happens when teacher candidates engage in practitioner research in a pre-service program focused on inquiry with the goal of improving pupil learning. A modified sequential explanatory mixed methods design was employed as the best means of addressing this complex question. The study included data from three sources in a teacher preparation program focused on practitioner inquiry. The first analysis took a broad view of the quality and range of teacher candidates' research papers through the analysis of rubric scores for 92 teacher candidate inquiry papers in two cohorts (spring, 2006 and spring, 2007). Looking at the quality and nature of these projects, content analysis on a sample of twelve papers taken from the range of these scores was conducted. Finally, in-depth case studies of two participants were developed using data accumulated during the one-year pre-service program and through the first two years in the classroom. Findings in the quantitative analysis indicated that the rubric was reliable in differentiating among papers, but that there were fewer outstanding inquiries than expected, which were not explained by analysis of the scores. Content analysis of a sample of these papers indicated that differences were in how questions were formed; candidates' ability to interpret and use data recursively; whether and how candidates connected their learning to pupil learning; and if candidates connected their inquiry to issues of social justice in meaningful ways. The case studies showed that several factors influenced whether and how candidates moved toward the development of inquiry as stance. These factors included candidates' view of inquiry; teacher capacity; demands of curriculum planning and development; understandings of learning to teach for social justice; as well as school support and context. Overall, the three analyses in this dissertation indicated that requiring teacher candidates to engage in pre-service practitioner inquiry did not guarantee that they would understand inquiry as intended, develop an inquiry stance, or continue to inquire into practice in their own classrooms. These findings suggest implications for research, practice, and policy, which are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

The purpose of this study was to examine the dilemmas and tensions the researcher encountered as a teachers in a university-based lab school. Specifically, she examined the tensions within the context of the seemingly contradictory role expectations that were required of her as a student who was also a teacher. This autobiographical form of self study was based on the principles of action research, of linking theory and practice through a cyclical process of action and reflection. The findings were reported in a narrative form and describe the process of how one woman came to know and understand herself as a teacher and an individual through her life inside and outside of the classroom. / Master of Science

This is a study of teacher professional development at the school level using teacher research as a strategy for both teacher professional learning and school change. A qualitative study was conducted to determine the conditions that would develop and sustain teachers researching their own practice in a culture of inquiry. Participant observation in one school over a two year period was used to investigate the issue of how to embed teacher research as a central feature of teachers� work. As a result of working with teachers as they researched their practice I have developed a model to explain and understand the complexities of schools and their cultures. Teachers researching their practice provided the driving force in the interplay of the elements of the model and had the potential to change school culture. Relationships, structures and processes are central to this model. Social and professional relationships between the teachers and the university partner developed and were supported by structures and processes. As the research continued these relationships changed and evolved. These relationships help develop a culture of inquiry in schools. The school/university partnership in this study evolved from an initial symbiotic�cooperative partnership (in which I shared my expertise and supported the work of teachers) into a later organic�collaborative partnership (one based on mutual and shared goals and benefits). The existing team of four teachers and the allocation of time for them to meet provided the essential structures for the teachers to research their practice. The collective leadership style instigated by the school Principal provided important human and financial support for the development of inquiry cultures. Collaboration and collegiality as forms of association enabled teachers to conduct research which challenged their individual and collective beliefs and assumptions about students� learning and their classroom practice. The content and form of teacher culture mediated the effects of teachers researching their practice. There are critical and transformational effects when teachers research their practice as part of their core work. Introducing these teachers to research was not without its difficulties. There were events and factors in the school relating to relationships, structures and processes which hindered the development of teacher research in a culture of inquiry. Because of the time frame of this study there is no evidence that school culture change is permanent. This could be the subject of future research.

In this qualitative, action research study, I aimed to improve my teaching practices in my seventh grade drama classroom. I conducted the study by implementing a monologue unit plan I had used in the past adapted for this study. My emphases for the study were the promotion of creativity, the identification of drama and theatre elements, and the transformation in understanding. Data was gathered from students in my class, a third eye observer, and me. Notation, description, sources for analysis, and questioning procedures were used to survey the data by looking for patterns, coding the responses, and generating findings that satisfied the research questions. I discovered that imagination is supported in my classroom but that I need to develop better strategies to show how dramatic skills affect the daily lives of students and the importance of empathy for this class as well as the others I teach.

This is a study of teacher professional development at the school level using teacher research as a strategy for both teacher professional learning and school change. A qualitative study was conducted to determine the conditions that would develop and sustain teachers researching their own practice in a culture of inquiry. Participant observation in one school over a two year period was used to investigate the issue of how to embed teacher research as a central feature of teachers� work. As a result of working with teachers as they researched their practice I have developed a model to explain and understand the complexities of schools and their cultures. Teachers researching their practice provided the driving force in the interplay of the elements of the model and had the potential to change school culture. Relationships, structures and processes are central to this model. Social and professional relationships between the teachers and the university partner developed and were supported by structures and processes. As the research continued these relationships changed and evolved. These relationships help develop a culture of inquiry in schools. The school/university partnership in this study evolved from an initial symbiotic�cooperative partnership (in which I shared my expertise and supported the work of teachers) into a later organic�collaborative partnership (one based on mutual and shared goals and benefits). The existing team of four teachers and the allocation of time for them to meet provided the essential structures for the teachers to research their practice. The collective leadership style instigated by the school Principal provided important human and financial support for the development of inquiry cultures. Collaboration and collegiality as forms of association enabled teachers to conduct research which challenged their individual and collective beliefs and assumptions about students� learning and their classroom practice. The content and form of teacher culture mediated the effects of teachers researching their practice. There are critical and transformational effects when teachers research their practice as part of their core work. Introducing these teachers to research was not without its difficulties. There were events and factors in the school relating to relationships, structures and processes which hindered the development of teacher research in a culture of inquiry. Because of the time frame of this study there is no evidence that school culture change is permanent. This could be the subject of future research.

abstract: The purpose of professional development is to enhance educator practices so that students may achieve at high levels. Too often, professional development tends to be too broad, general, or unrelated to problems of practice that teachers face in their own classrooms. This action research project builds upon the scholarly research that recognizes the need for professional development to be sustained, connected to teachers' own contexts, focused on specific subject matter, collaborative, and reflective. The goal of this action research study was to facilitate a culture of continuous improvement in teaching and learning by utilizing a model of professional development that challenges teachers to question their practices, utilize research to support their instruction, design an inquiry project that supports a change in practice, and examine changes in student growth. Results suggest that although teachers recognize the complexities that surround professional development, they found that this professional development model focused on their needs as professionals, was sustained over time, and was supported by a variety of professional influences. As a result of the model implemented, teachers reported shifts in their instructional practices and student growth related to personal inquiry projects. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2013

This study examines questions about the relationships that seem to exist between the goal of supporting personal agency in student writers and a specific meditation practice as implemented in the second semester of freshman composition. With both whole-class and individualized data sources, the study seeks to address changes in students' attitudes toward the meditative practice as well as their own senses of personal agency. In addition the study seeks to identify to what extent and in what ways do students articulate relationships between their use of meditative techniques in class and their own perceptions of their personal agency in writing. The individualized case studies examine students' reflective writings completed during one semester of data collection, in addition to their verbalized reflections discussed during an oral interview conducted at the end of that semester.

No description available.