The purpose of this study was to seek evidence as to whether formal training in oral communication is necessary for British Columbia teachers during their preparation for teaching and whether this training, when given, can have observable benefits. A further purpose was to report for teachers a study which could stimulate them to undertake further systematic investigation of the problems which have been probed and opened to inquiry in this study. The study quotes informed opinions to the effect that oral communication is of increasing importance in today's world; that this fact is recognized by leading educators; that some degree of sophistication is needed before profitable evaluation and training can take place. The study includes a survey of comments made on the speech of teachers in training in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia during the year 1965-66. Two groups of teachers in training were involved: student teachers in elementary schools and student teachers in secondary schools. Three groups of commentators were involved: elementary school sponsor teachers, secondary school sponsor teachers, and Faculty of Education personnel. Three thousand specific comments were examined in order to identify areas of strength and weakness. A tentative classification was made of areas where professional help of a more or less technical kind could profitably be given as, for example, with problems of excessive speed or articulatory difficulty. A second classification was made of those areas where poor communication might indicate the need for assistance with personal problems on a deeper level. An example of this latter type might be poor projection. The thesis also describes a study using forty students in Education 416, Speech Education, during the summer session of 1966 at the University of British Columbia. The aim of this study was to point out that although many weaknesses can and do exist concurrently, strengths may be reinforced and a significant number of weaknesses eliminated through a definite programme undertaken with general and specific improvement in mind. Some conclusions resulting from the study are: i. that sponsors think some improvement in speech is needed in the case of approximately 80% of teachers in training; ii. that standards of speech can be raised through courses designed for this purpose; iii. that further research is needed with regard to: a) categorization of speech problems as being psychologically or physiologically based. b) clarification of terminology used in describing speech. Finally, this study tends to be open-ended and to regard speech as an art in human relations rather than as a science, though it may eventually lead into the new field of psycholinguistics when pursued in depth. NOTE: Two hours of taped evidence is offered to substantiate Chapter IV of this study. These tapes are available on loan. The collected unedited comments referred to in Chapter III are also available on loan. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

This study was conducted in order to understand the present system of teacher education in India, and to find ways and means to improve it. It has been shown that two great traditions have combined in the area of teacher education in India. To begin with, there are pre-British traditions where teaching was linked with religion. Then, secondly, there were the contributions of the British period which altogether changed the character of teaching, the medium of instruction being secular rather than religious. It was also shown that in the pre-British period there were no systematic training institutions in the present-day sense, and the system of teacher training was British inspired. The foremost problem at present is teacher recruitment; a problem of enormous urgency and difficulty. Some Indian educational leaders are thinking about some sort of conscription, while others favour voluntary recruitment. This study favoured the latter course. After recruitment, the other most important problem is the present system of teacher training which required certain changes and readjustments to fit in with the new and changing conditions in India. It was thought that the formal curriculum of the training colleges should be displaced by training aimed at personal as well as professional development of the teacher as a citizen. It was indicated that the present system should be changed to suit the teachers of the Basic Education schools, and certain ways were suggested to improve the practice of teaching. Furthermore it was found that the present training period is too short and should be extended. The study also indicated that the present system of teacher training is far from being satisfactory. The remedy proposed is not only to improve it from within in the light of Indian conditions, but also to improve upon it by incorporating some of the practices used in other countries. It was therefore proposed that introductory courses in the evaluation and testing of pupils should be started in training colleges, and the suggestion was made that a general program of guidance should be started in the training colleges. Educational research should be encouraged, and in-service training of teachers should receive proper attention. The system of summer schools and the idea of educational workshops should be put into practice, and finally it was suggested that a broad education should be made the basis of specialization and in this way narrow specialization would be avoided. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

This was an exploratory, descriptive study, focussed on the concepts used by certain teacher educators to describe their work. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 25 teacher educators who worked with undergraduate student teachers in one Canadian university. Their descriptions of the knowledge and the practice which they believed important to the successful completion of their work were classified. Themes were identified and compared to themes derived from a review of literature about teacher education. Three broad categories of belief about the nature of, and the relationship between, the theory and the practice of teacher education were identified. Sub-categories of two of the three broad categories were also identified. The categories which emphasized the primacy of theory were called naive deduction, classical rationalism and technical rationalism. The categories which emphasized the primacy of practice were naive induction, personal practical knowledge and inquiry. The third category emphasized the necessary interaction of theory and practice. Two other broad categories of belief were identified. They described teacher educators who believed student teachers acquire knowledge and skill best If teacher educators teach theory directly (reductionlsm) and those who believed student teachers learned best when helped to interpret experience (wholism). These beliefs were interpreted as being sustaining beliefs, that is, beliefs which serve as general guides to teacher educators' work. Some of these sustaining beliefs reflect the school context of teacher education, others the university context. As a result, teacher educators face dilemmas of choice. It was concluded that this research provided some avenues for further investigation which may help teacher educators to understand more clearly the difficulties experienced when programs are developed or changed. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

There has been much discussion in the sociological literature as to the relative importance of different influences that impinge upon recruits undergoing professional socialization. Merton et. al. (1957), see faculties of professional training institutions as being very influential, whereas Quarantelli et. al. (1964), see this group as relatively less so, and instead, see recruits taking 'different paths’ through professional school and being subject to a variety of influences. Few writers however, deal with the problem of why some groups in the training situation are important to different trainees and others are not. It is the aim of this thesis to find out what conceptions of their future roles recruits bring with them to the training situation, why they find different groups in this situation important to them, and what changes these initial conceptions undergo. Students being prepared for teaching careers were selected as the research case. It was assumed that recruits entering training would be fairly indiscriminate, holding diffuse, idealistic conceptions of their future roles. Such occupational role conceptions (or occupational self concepts, as we called them), it was further assumed, determined which groups would become important to them (their reference groups). It was further hypothesised that exposure to the realities of their occupation, (in this case, teaching practice) would cause a change in recruits’ occupational self conceptions, and thus, their choice of reference groups. Thus recruits completing their course will have more specific and realistic occupational self concepts, be more discriminating, chose different reference groups, and evaluate their practice experiences differently, than those just beginning their training course. A sample of 112 trainee teachers at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Education were selected, of whom 57 were in their first year and 55 in their final year of training. The time factor prevented a longitudinal study from being conducted, thus beginning and completing teachers were compared, and from this, inferences made about possible processes of change. Data were gathered by a questionnaire designed to - a). determine which reference groups were influential to trainees. b). find students' evaluations and perceptions of their experiences during training. c). discover what occupational self concepts trainees held by the use of an attitude scale. The results obtained showed, that contrary to our predictions, beginning trainees did not have a more diffuse conception of their occupational role than completing trainees. A possible explanation for this was put forward in terms of differential familiarity with the statements of educational philosophy that made up the attitude scale. Neither, it was found, were completing teachers less idealistic than beginners, nor did they positively evaluate teaching practice to a much greater degree than the latter. The failure of these predictions were explained by differential interaction patterns which acted as 'insulating' factors against the experiences of teaching practice. The two predictions that were supported were that beginning trainees would be less discriminating than completing trainees, and that occupational self concepts were an important determinant of what reference group a trainee chose. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

In this thesis it is argued that the constituents of practical reasoning are necessary for good teaching; as such, the study of practical reasoning would be a valuable addition to teacher education programs. Practical reasoning is basically reasoning about what should be done. In Chapter II a conception of practical reasoning developed by Jerrold Coombs is outlined. This conception, which includes a variety of abilities, dispositions and sensitivities, as well as knowledge about a number of concepts and distinctions, is used throughout chapters III and IV to illustrate its value in typical teaching activities. These typical teaching activities are divided into two categories, using a distinction conceived by Thomas Green. Green has described teaching as a "practical activity" which consists of perhaps hundreds of single different activies. He divides these activities into three categories: 1) logical acts (for example, explaining, concluding, inferring, giving reasons); 2) strategic acts (motivating, planning, evaluating, disciplining); and 3) institutional acts (taking attendance, keeping reports, consulting parents). Institutional acts, he says, are not necessary to the activity of teaching. However, both logical and strategic acts are "...indispensable to the conduct of teaching wherever and whenever it is found (Green, 1975, p. 5). Furthermore, he argues that "Teaching can be improved by improving either kind of activity, but it cannot be excellent without attention to both (ibid., p. 8)." In Chapter III, I have illustrated how practical reasoning would improve the logical acts of teaching and in Chapter IV I have argued that practical reasoning would improve the strategic acts. Chapter V includes a summary of the major argument and concludes with some suggestions about how to develop teachers practical reasoning abilities and dispositions. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

This study compares the views of three groups of art educators - secondary, tertiary pre-service lecturers, and scholars - about the content and structure considered important in art teacher pre-service education. Items of program content and structure, as well as issues in art-teacher preparation were gleaned from the writings of selected scholars and incorporated into a survey questionnaire. The survey was distributed to secondary art educators throughout Queensland and to art pre-service lecturers throughout Australia. An analysis of the results identifies areas and degrees of agreement and difference on items both within and between groups. The study can assist the development of art teacher pre-service programmes that reflect the values of both theoreticians and practitioners of art education. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

This study examines the growth and development of a program for the preparation of special education teachers in Early Childhood Education, Following an overview of historical perspectives in Early Childhood and Special Education, including international influences, models which would aid in the development of such a program are discussed. The Provincial Child Care Facilities Licensing Board and the Ministry of Education, of British Columbia expressed a wish for the development of post-basic special education programs in Early Childhood Education and their willingness to fund several programs in the province. Their critieria and support is included in a description of the development, implementation and evaluation of the Early Childhood: Special Education Program at Vancouver Community College? Langara Campus. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to provide information on the development of such a program and to examine the needs and possible future directions of teacher preparation in special education for Early Childhood Education. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The study explored the career change made by a population of 37 tradesmen enrolled in a teacher education program. A semi-structured interview schedule was constructed and face-to-face interviews were tape-recorded. The four areas of investigation included positive propositions put forward in the social learning principles of career decision making, facilitators and barriers to career change, the career histories and expectations of participants and their socio-demographic backgrounds. Responses tended to support propositions dealing with former instructional experiences and interactions with people, but gave little indication, that exposure to print or visual media had influenced the career change decision. The importance of having sufficient finances and personal support of participants' wives was stressed. Potential barriers most readily identified were lack of support or finances. There was little evidence of frequent career change in the work histories of participants. The most common pattern was a series of short term jobs followed by several years in one career path. Future career plans indicated an intent to remain in the teaching field. All the men were employed prior to entering the program. Socio-demographic information indicated that just over half of the participants were around 30 years of age and over two-thirds were married. Wives tended to be not only more highly educated (64%) but in higher status occupations (76%) than their husbands. Over 80% of the men had entered tertiary education prior to current involvement and five men had completed bachelor's degrees. By entering a trade, 57% of participants were in lower status jobs than their fathers. Their entry into teaching resulted in a rebound movement rather than direct upward inter-generational mobility. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. (Education Management) / The technical teacher finds himself in a situation where his training does not equip him to come to terms with changing technology. His knowledge of industry is outdated, and hence the knowledge he conveys to his students is also antiquated. A management system must be designed which will eliminate this shortcoming and keep teachers abreast of technological change and renewal occurring in industry. To be involved in technical education is to accept this challenge of innovation and change.

Traditional music education students are often required to choose a specific curricular emphasis or track of study within their degree program. These specializations, based upon the student's major instrument, include choral, general, and instrumental music. Although there is general training and coursework beyond a student's area of specialty in the undergraduate music education curriculum, the majority of music performance and music education experiences are within the student's track. Upon graduating from an accredited college or university, however, music education graduates who earn a Florida teaching certificate are endorsed to teach all areas of music from kindergarten to twelfth grade. It is possible secondary music teachers could be assigned to teach choral, general, and instrumental music classes. As a result, these individuals could conceivably be teaching classes in areas outside of their elected expertise. The lack of quantitative data concerning the status of music educators' preservice training relative to their current teaching assignments in the state of Florida facilitated the need for an investigation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate Florida high school music teachers' preservice training and determine the percentage of these educators who were currently teaching outside of "track" or area of specialization. Further, differences between the numbers of high school music teachers teaching inside and outside of their track(s) with their school's size, students' socioeconomic status, and geographic location were explored. Participants (N = 232) completed a survey instrument consisting of four sections: (1) Demographic Data, (2) Professional Responsibilities, (3) Undergraduate/Graduate Coursework, and (4) Additional Information. Analyses of responses found that most (83.1%) of the participants indicated a performance-oriented music education track of study in choral and/or instrumental music and a majority (64.6%) of the participants were teaching at least one class outside of their track on a weekly basis. A majority (85.7%) of beginning teachers were teaching at least one class outside of track while a minority (35.5%) of veteran teachers taught out of track classes. Results also indicated that general track participants reported fewer methods classes and relevant curricular offerings in their area than their choral and instrumental counterparts. Significant differences were found between inside and outside track teachers in 3A and 6A school size categories, suburban and urban geographic locations, and socioeconomic status schools with 0-20%, 41-60%, and 81-100% of students receiving free and reduced meals. The other comparisons between inside and outside track teachers and the schools at which they were teaching revealed no significant differences. Consequently, teacher experience levels and track(s) of expertise were more likely to indicate inside or outside of track teaching status than individual school characteristics. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2010. / April 1, 2010. / Music Education, Teacher Certification, Music Curricula, Music Teacher Preparation, Preservice Music Educator, Florida Teacher, Comprehensive Musicianship, Teacher Training / Includes bibliographical references. / Kimberly VanWeelden, Professor Directing Dissertation; James Mathes, University Representative; Clifford Madsen, Committee Member; André Thomas, Committee Member.