AbstractWhich assignment teachers feel they have to accomplish in their professional work has been thestarting point of this essay. To find this out, two questions have been asked:1.Which assignment do teachers experience as the most important assignment? How can this be relatedto the curriculum?2.How do teachers interpret the term 'learning'? How can this be related to the curriculum?Working as a teacher means that you have different assignments to implement, which brings complexityto it. One part is to prepare the students for becoming future citizens. Another part is to seeto that they reach the knowledge as well as other goals of the education. By interviewing teachersworking with students in different ages, differences and similarities have been shown. For examplesafety, teaching, and pleasurable learning are seen as the most important assignments to perform.Learning can mean many things, and it is important to know what the goal of it is to be able to grantgood conditions for it. Learning always means that some kind of change is made.

This thesis brings together my two study and work interests, postcolonial theory and classroom-based research, in order to explore how teacher identities are constructed within the tensions between policy and practice. I begin by arguing for the usefulness and value of postcolonial theory in interpreting empirical findings because it foregrounds the politics of representation and provides good theoretical tools for examining how modernist policy discourse constructs traditional, rural teachers as subjects of difference. I use a postcolonial view of identity and agency as being always strategic and provisional, arising out of the subject's attempts to negotiate the contradictions in western modernity's false claims to universality. This view of the subject is linked with the interactionist concept of teacher strategy as arising within sites of contradiction and constraint that are generated within the wider social structure. In my attempt to identify the primary contradictions and constraints with which teachers work, I draw on empirical work carried out in local schools and argue that for rural teachers the tensions between policy and practice hinge around the disjuncture between tradition and modernity. I use Giddens (1990) to argue that, due to its origins in the West and its history of colonialism under the guise of rationality and enlightenment, modernity . cannot be integrated with tradition but can only displace or shallowly assimilate tradition. In light of this theory, I question the assumption that an imported modernist policy discourse can be contextualised and made appropriate to South African conditions. To explore this question further, I use Durkheim (1964) and Bernstein's (1971) concepts of mechanical and organic solidarity to map the features of these two different forms of solidarity onto case studies of South African schools. These case studies reveal that policy requires traditional rural schools to undergo fundamental changes that threaten the foundations on which their cohesion and effectiveness is built, leaving many schools with a profound sense of displacement. Turning to the question of the strategies teachers use to negotiate the contradictions that arise within these "displaced" schools, I find further evidence of modernity's attempts to appropriate and shallowly assimilate traditional subjects in what I perceive as a strategy of mimicry. Arguing, with Bhabha (1984), that the strategy of mimicry is a response to, and disruption of, the western modernist discourses of rationality, democracy, meritocracy and equal opportunity on which all of modernity's promises of progress rest, I examine the particular mimetic strategy of "false clarity" (after Fullan, 1991) and suggest that the often unfounded confidence of "new outcomes-based teachers"is partly a mimicry of the false clarity of policy, and the false clarity teacher development programmes which attempt to "transfer" the abstract principles and "best methods" put forward by policy by means of "generic" skills and values which are not generic at all to rural teachers in traditional contexts, and which they then tend to shallowly and mechanically mimic. In light of this discussion, I recommend that teacher development needs to pay more attention to "the singer, not the song" (Goodson in Jessop, 1997: 242) by shifting the focus from methods and principles to teachers' subjective understandings of their own work and contexts, and by strengthening teachers' grasp and enjoyment of the formal, conceptual knowledge they teach. I also suggest that, to avoid the risk of trying to prescribe and reform teacher identities, how teachers establish their own "sense of plausibility" (Prabhu, 1990) in their own contexts should best be left to them. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

This study sought to understand how a group of pre-service teachers in a combined secondary science and mathematics teaching methods course conceptualized and experienced interdisciplinary approaches to teaching. Although knowing how to plan interdisciplinary activities is an essential teaching practice in Quebec, these pre-service teachers faced many challenges during the process of learning to teach with this approach. By using two interdisciplinary frameworks (Nikitina, 2005; Boix Mansilla & Duraising, 2007), I qualitatively analyzed the development of the pre-service teachers' prior and emerging ideas about interdisciplinarity and their ability to plan interdisciplinary teaching activities. The provincial curriculum and issues related to time greatly shaped students' conceptions about interdisciplinarity in the classroom and constrained their ability to plan for and envision the enactment of interdisciplinary lessons in secondary science and mathematics classes. In addition, images of themselves as content-specialists, self-efficacy beliefs in relation to interdisciplinary teaching, and student learning as a source of teacher motivation emerged as key factors promoting or interrupting the development of interdisciplinary teaching approaches. Examination of these factors highlights the need for teacher-education programs to provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to explore how they see themselves as educators, increase their instructional self-efficacy beliefs, and motivate them to teach in an interdisciplinary fashion. Keywords: interdisciplinary teaching, student-teachers, curriculum, teacher-education program, self-efficacy, motivation / Cette étude a cherché à comprendre comment un groupe d'enseignants en formation qui suivaient un cours sur les méthodes d'enseignement combiné de science et de mathématique au secondaire conceptualisaient les démarches d'enseignement interdisciplinaire et en faisaient l'expérience. Même s'ils savent que le fait de planifier des activités interdisciplinaires est une pratique d'enseignement essentielle au Québec, ces futurs enseignants faisaient face à nombre de défis pendant le processus d'apprentissage de cette démarche d'enseignement. À l'aide de deux structures interdisciplinaires (Nikitina, 2005; Boix Mansilla & Duraising, 2007), j'ai réalisé une analyse qualitative de la progression des concepts antérieurs et émergents des enseignants en formation à l'égard de l'interdisciplinarité et de leur capacité à planifier des activités d'enseignement interdisciplinaire. Le cursus provincial et les enjeux relatifs au temps ont permis de donner une structure solide aux conceptions des étudiants quant à l'interdisciplinarité dans la classe, et ont freiné leur capacité de planifier et d'imaginer la réalisation de cours interdisciplinaires en science et en mathématique au secondaire. En outre, leur perception d'eux-mêmes à titre de spécialistes de contenu, le sentiment d'efficacité personnelle en lien avec l'enseignement interdisciplinaire et l'acquisition des connaissances des étudiants comme source de motivation pour l'enseignant ont émergé comme les facteurs clés faisant la promotion ou interrompant le développement de démarches d'enseignement interdisciplinaire. L'examen de ces facteurs met en lumière le besoin de programmes d'éducation qui offriraient aux futurs enseignants l'occasion d'explorer la façon dont ils se perçoivent en tant qu'éducateurs, d'augmenter leur sentiment d'efficacité personnelle et de les motiver à enseigner dans un mode interdisciplinaire. Mots clés : enseignement interdisciplinaire, étudiant-enseignants, cursus, programme d'éducation à l'intention des enseignants, sentiment d'efficacité personnelle, motivation

<p> This qualitative study focuses on how beginning teachers attain skills to engage families in the educational process. Historical rationale, theoretical frameworks, and key research findings for family engagement training during the last three decades were reviewed, studied, and analyzed for themes. A review of scholarly literature is incorporated into this inquiry to provide a lens into the scope of existing family engagement research regarding the ways in which teachers are trained how to partner with families. This study also includes discussion and analysis of state and federal policies and mandated reporting to support new teachers in engaging families, the identification of theoretical frameworks that provide insight and rationale for teacher-family partnerships, and the inclusion of pre-service beginning teacher training focusing on partnering with families in the elementary school. Data for this case study includes beginning teacher training, interviews, document analysis, and anecdotal accounts, including teacher reflective journals. Utilizing case study and participant action research (PAR) methodology, the author identifies how providing professional development opportunities for beginning teachers supports increasing teacher-family engagement. The study focuses on beginning teacher training, as well as identifying attitudes and interactions with families, emerging patterns, and further research themes. Utilizing research in this case study, I set out to identify trends in the literature, research, and participant training modules to enhance training for beginning teachers in engaging families in the educational process. </p>

<p> Teaching writing has long been neglected as in schools. Findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicated that most students have basic writing skills, but cannot write well enough to meet the needs of employers or for college. The writing programs in prescriptive literacy programs, which were adopted to ensure student achievement have not proven to be effective for developing proficient student writers. This design study is an attempt to provide teachers trained to teach in a prescriptive literacy program with the writing content and pedagogical knowledge necessary to engage elementary students in writing as a complex, intellectual activity so that they become proficient writers. </p><p> From the literature on effective writing instruction and on teacher learning, I developed a theory of action to guide the design. A key feature of the design was to situate teacher learning in the context of a study group led by a facilitator with knowledge about writing instruction. The design emphasized teachers learning from writing themselves, reviewing student work, learning effective strategies and procedures of writing instruction, and developing knowledge through collaborative talk and reflections. Seven teachers, Grades 2 to 5, from a Title I urban school that required teachers follow the script of <i>Open Court Reading </i> (<i>OCR</i>) participated in the study. At the time of this study a window of opportunity had opened up to modify the <i> OCR</i> writing component. </p><p> I framed teacher learning in two dimensions&mdash;Dimension 1: Instructional Strategies and Procedures, and Dimension 2: Writing as a Process. I investigated the impact of the design and the process of the design's development. Overall teachers' knowledge about writing content increased; their knowledge about writing pedagogy increased to a lesser degree; however their level of growth varied. Moreover growth in the elements of instructional strategies also varied. Growth ranged from 15% for teacher modeling writing and 109% for teacher referring to literature to teach writing strategies. Thus, I found the design basically sound but recommended modifications for future iterations.</p>

In 2004, with only one fully registered teacher in the early childhood centre where this investigation is set, a question arose as to how five non-registered teachers could be guided through individual programmes of registration advice and guidance. This investigation explores a group approach to early childhood teacher registration, where five registering teachers engaged in written reflections and discussion with their registration tutor, who was also the researcher. The teachers used practitioner inquiry as they explored their own practice and the practice of the team. The researcher used practitioner research to build on the teacher's inquiries. Individual written reflections and group discussions began to highlight differences in the ways teacher's interpreted practice. As part of its communication processes the group regularly compared and categorised individual reflections. These general themes were made public and shared with the group, using a process that this research refers to as the common anonymous voice'. The key findings from this investigation concern the role practitioner action research played in the communication of the group. Discussion and written reflections were shown to provide the group with alternative forms of communication. As tensions and challenges regarding group practice emerged in the discussions, teachers began to rely more on the reflective writing process to articulate their own professional philosophies. Shifts in group dynamics were highlighted as the group moved from the need to agree, through to an acceptance of diversity. Individual teaching beliefs and practices were seen as contributing to the collective process of teaching and learning. The reflexive action research framework developed in this study aligns itself with sociocultural notions of learning and development. Links are made with the professional development of the individual teacher and the collective process of the registration group.

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