Ph. D.

The problem of this study is concerned with the history, trends, and evaluation of the summer workshop movement for teachers in the United States. In addition, a study was made of the Child Development Workshop conducted on the campus of the North Texas State Teachers College, Denton, Texas, during the summer of 1942.

The purpose of the study was to determine the various levels on which the Progressive Education Association summer workshops have been conducted and to determine what fields of subject matter have been considered. In other words, an effort was made to determine how many of the workshops were designed for college or university teachers, secondary school teachers, elementary school teachers, administrators, or special groups, and what subject matter was considered for each group.

Early childhood teachers’ (N=73) level of education, length of employment, number of content areas covered in child development courses taken, and supervised practical experience were examined as factors affecting their knowledge of developmentally appropriate practice. Background information concerning each teacher's education, employment, content areas covered in child development courses taken, and supervised practical experiences was gathered in the Teacher Information Report. Knowledge of developmentally appropriate practice was assessed by having each teacher listen to 12 audiotaped vignettes describing situations typical to teacher-child interactions in preschool classrooms. They were asked to determine if each vignette described appropriate or inappropriate practice. A 3(level of education) x 3(length of employment) factorial analysis of variance revealed a significant level of education effect on developmentally appropriate practice scores F(2,2)=3.23, p < .05. Post-hoc comparisons indicated that those teachers with formal degrees in the area of child development (M=8.68) scored significantly higher than those with other types of training (M=7.62). There was no significant length of employment effect on developmentally appropriate practice scores. A 4(number of content areas covered) x 3(length of employment) factorial analysis of variance yielded a significant effect for number of content areas covered F(3,2)=6.18, p< .001. Post-hoc comparisons indicated that participants who had covered 10 or more content areas (M=8.91) scored significantly higher than those who had covered fewer than 10 content areas (M=7.10, 7.42. 7.75). A 4(number of content areas covered) x 3(supervised practical experience) factorial analysis of variance yielded a significant effect for number of content areas covered F(3,2)=8.921 p < .01. and an effect for supervised practical experience F(3,2)=3.153, E < .05. Tukey Multiple Comparisons Test indicated that of those participants who had both student teaching and fieldwork experience, those who had covered 10 or more content areas in child development scored significantly higher (M=9.00) than those who had covered fewer than 10 content areas. Of those participants who had covered 10 or mere content areas. those with both student teaching and fieldwork experience scored significantly higher on the assessment of developmentally appropriate practice (M=9.00) than did those who had no student teaching or fieldwork experience (M=7.00). Implications for teacher training are discussed in the thesis. / Master of Science

The problem of this study is to determine the value of work experience for the prospective industrial arts teacher.

No description available.

Inquiry into teaching increasingly focuses on how teachers examine and subsequently inform and transform their instructional practice. While we are beginning to see reports from public school teachers who are examining their own teaching, we have very little information about self-reflection among teacher educators. The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine the influence of conducting inquiry into my instructional practice while I taught an introductory Language Arts course. The course contained two main components: a reflective teaching seminar and an on-site tutorial experience. Three questions guided this inquiry: 1) How did I, as the seminar leader, interact with the preservice teachers? 2) How did the preservice teachers interact within the seminar? 3) What personal experiences and attitudes were salient for one preservice teacher as she initiated a tutorial experience within the context of the course? To conduct this study, I used narrative inquiry as the research method because it is a viable means both for understanding an experience in which the researcher is an active participant and for capturing the complexity of schooling. Narrative inquiry is a form of empirical research in which living, telling, retelling, and reliving stories is the basis for understanding lived experience. A variety of experiential materials were gathered to document the instructional behaviors of myself and the preservice teachers. Experiential materials included transcripts of interviews, stimulated recall interviews, and the seminar sessions; field notes; course documents; tutorial session documents; and my journal. In response to my research questions, I expressed my interpretations as a series of essays. Through these essays, I conveyed my understandings about the value-ladenness of teaching, the ways in which a person’s words and actions are representations of one’s personal knowledge, and how an individual’s personal knowledge shapes and informs instructional practice. By engaging in reflective inquiry, I learned more about my roles and responsibilities as a teacher educator and the potential promise and possible pitfalls of helping others engage in the study of one’s assumptions about teaching. Furthermore, I came to understand better that engaging in reflective teaching requires a social network of support, involves modeling and practice, and that such learning is a long-term process. / Ph. D.

As an alternative to the attribute approach to the study of professions, this research attempted to explain the level of professionalization in continuing education using Larson's model. From this perspective, the hallmark of professionalization is defined by the ability of an aspiring profession to create a labor market monopoly for certified practitioners. The methodology of the study provided a framework for conducting analyses of: 1) the organizational nature and development of continuing education; 2) practitioner attitudes and perceptions; 3) employer demand and production of adult/continuing education university graduates; 4) development of a unique knowledge base; and 5) consumer demand for continuing education programs. The findings of this research revealed that a high level of institutional fragmentation has inhibited the unified development and professionalization of the field. Practitioners do not show a propensity to undertake the difficult struggle required to transform continuing education into a true specialty. A weak, but a positive trend over time was found in the demand for university trained graduates. Similar trends were noted in the development of a unique knowledge base and production of university graduates. The consumer demand for continuing education programs has shown a pattern of tremendous growth over the last eleven years. In conclusion, the relatively low level of professionalization in continuing education can be explained by the application of Larson's model. Substantial linear relations were found between market control (dependent) and three independent variables. These findings provide a considerable body of evidence for supporting the validity of Larson's model of professionalization. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to discover how the senior colleges of Texas are meeting their student-teaching problems.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education