This study is an examination of the stories four social studies teachers told after participating in one international professional development program. Drawing on theories of postcolonialism, this narrative inquiry uses interviews, observations, and artifacts to investigate if and to what degree travel to and study in China influences the understandings of one group of in-service social studies teachers. Its focus is the extent to which meeting the Other influenced the participants' conceptualizations of global education and whether or not this experience allowed one group of American teachers to challenge their perceptual lenses with regards to their social studies curricula. An ethnographic understanding of the contexts in which these teachers learn about Chinese history and culture supports the analyses of their narratives. The participants' narratives indicate that a variety of elements of the study tour reinforced the notion that they were innocent observers of China. With few exceptions, they failed to locate themselves within the phenomenon of globalization, particularly in their examinations of the impact of Westernization in China. Rather than influencing their interpretations of the content of their curricula, the study tour appeared to enhance the understandings about Chinese history and culture that each participant brought to the experience. The structure of the tour, which the participants referred to as "the bubble," may account for these limited effects. The narratives created in this study suggest that traveling to China through this study tour was one life experience among many, though their immediate retellings implied an embellished conceptualization of what it meant to travel abroad. While all four participants spoke with great enthusiasm and passion about the far-reaching effects that their participation has had on them as both teachers and individuals, articulating those effects proved problematic. Rather, the perceptual lens that each participant brought with him or her to this experience was the most significant factor in determining the perceived results of the study tour. The participants also expressed increased enthusiasm for teaching about global topics, with all four participants claiming their participation in the study tour strengthened their desire to develop both the perceptual and substantive dimensions of their students' global perspectives.

This critical ethnographic study investigated an afterschool Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) space that seeks to develop New Literacies and academic literacies in urban youth between the ages of 13-19. Utilizing a sociocultural lens, which asserts that literacy is a social practice (Gee, 1991), I examined the racial and literate identities of research participants who self-identify as Black and explored the potential of this participatory space to develop their literate identities and to broaden their critical meta-awareness. My findings suggest that prioritizing the Social Dimension of literacy is urgent for Black students in the classroom, that culturally sustaining literacies can have a powerful iterative relationship with academic literacies in the classroom, and that YPAR instruction must more intentionally attend to the role of literacy in youth qualitative inquiry.

Photocopy of typescript. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Abstract not available

As a postgraduate student, my interest has been in teaching theory and especially holistic based relational teaching practices. As an educator, I am constantly striving to improve my practice and become the best teacher I can for my students. These factors, combined with my strong desire to bring about change in the education system that will value knowledge and beliefs outside the paradigm of the dominant pedagogy, have led to this research.The philosophy of Ata is firmly posited within Matauranga Maori and is not new, however, as a philosophy of teaching theory it is new and is the topic of this thesis. A case study was undertaken to observe the researcher's teaching practice based on the principles of the philosophy, and to consider the possibility of developing a theory of best practice in teaching based on the philosophy of Ata. This was a mixed method study involving the July 2005 intake of Bachelor of Education students for the Matauranga Maori class at the School of Education Te Kura Matauranga, AUT. Data collection methods included research assistant observations, a researcher reflective journal, student questionnaires and a student focus group interview.The findings of the study indicated that teaching under the principles of the philosophy of Ata assists the development of respectful relationships within the classroom environment, and suggests this enhances student learning. The findings could be significant for all teachers and teacher educators as they suggest a teaching theory based on the philosophy of Ata may provide educators with a values based theory of practice that is not only humanistic but also maintains standards of professionalism.From both the literature reviewed and from student comments, indications are that by developing a sense of belonging, a feeling of connectedness, and by demonstrating mutual respect in classroom situations, the learning environment appears to be enhanced. The findings of the study further indicate that the positive effects of teaching under the philosophy of Ata may not be restricted to any particular classroom environment. This is an important finding in my opinion because it indicates that Ata as a teaching philosophy may be successful in growing relationships in other environments, making it a strong, working theory of teaching. Teacher qualities identified by the students as being essential to learning can be developed through embracing the philosophy of Ata and incorporating it into teaching practice and this is the challenge I put forward to all teachers and teacher educators.The study has potentially opened new and exciting possibilities for teacher educators searching for a teaching practice theory that is strongly values-based. Implications of the study include stronger recognition of the value of cultural knowledge in theeducation system, an acknowledgement of the depth of knowledge contained in te ao Maori, and an opportunity to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi by developing a bi-cultural model of teaching based on the philosophy of Ata.

The purpose of the study was to develop an effective plan for teacher education in Thailand. Rationale for the study was based upon apparent existing weaknesses in the current program for teacher education in Thailand, with the assumption that a stronger teacher preparation program would produce a stronger educational system as a whole. Emphasis in development of the teacher preparation plan was directed toward making the plan attractive enough to insure consideration by Thai educational authorities.A review of related literature was conducted with emphasis on six- major areas believed to be significant to the construction of an effective teacher preparation program. The six major areas were:1. curricular content in teacher education;2. micro-teaching and laboratory experience in student teacher preparation;change;3. student teaching and student teacher attitude change4. supervision and supervisory roles in student teaching;5. evaluation procedures for student teacher performance; and6. in-service programs in teacher education.Each of the six major areas pertaining to the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs was examined for key concepts to provide direction for adequate change and growth in the area of teacher education in Thailand.Three major components in teacher education emerged from the six major areas examined in the related literature: general education, specialized education and professional education. Utilizing the review of the related literature coupled with observation of practices and experiences of the researcher while studying in the United States, a proposed plan for teacher preparation programs in Thailand was developed with an initial set of recommendations.In the proposed plan, the three major components in teacher education were programmed throughout all four years of undergraduate work with opportunity for further study during the fifth year. Throughout the total five year program, the time distribution of the three major components was proportionately proposed as twenty-eight percent for general education, fifty percent for specialized education, and twenty-two percent for professional education. Specific steps for implementation of the plan were recommended.The proposed plan for teacher preparation programs was designed to provide guidelines for teacher education institutions in Thailand. The proposed plan, if adopted for implementation in Thailand, is expected to lead to a more effective program for teacher preparation.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effective teaching characteristics of teachers who participated in the Mentor-Teacher Program and teachers who did not, and then determine if there were any significant differences between the three groups of teachers: (1) Mentor-Teacher Program interns (G.T.A.'s), (2) outstanding O.S.U. graduates, and (3) beginning Beaverton teachers. A survey instrument was utilized to rate teachers in each group by the degree to which they employed each of twenty-three effective teaching characteristics. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used at the .05 level of significance to determine whether to accept or reject the null hypothesis that there was no significant difference between the effective teaching characteristics of the three treatment groups of teachers in this study. Based on the findings of this study, there was one major conclusion: there was no significant difference between the teachers who participated in the Mentor-Teacher Program and those teachers who did not. The following recommendations were made: 1. Because there was no significant differences between the groups, the practice of mentoring may best benefit teachers who were not outstanding. Further studies comparing teachers who have participated in the Mentor-Teacher Program with "typical" beginning teachers from various teacher training institutions and mentoring programs might show significant differences between these groups of beginning teachers. 2. Inservice programs aimed at new teachers and their problems might be more effective if they were offered during the first months of teaching, and continued throughout the school year focusing on the problems and needs of first-year teachers. 3. Due to a relatively significant number of outstanding teachers not teaching by the fourth or fifth year, the problem of teacher attrition should be addressed by those teacher training institutions and school districts affected by the loss of so many talented and experienced teachers. / Graduation date: 1990

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 246-254). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1930. / Vita. An abridged edition of this thesis was published in 1930 under the same title. Bibliography: p. [157]-159.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1930. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [31]-32).