Physical education is a profession where heterosexuality has historically been regarded as normal, if not compulsory. The location of female physical education (PE) teachers at the nexus of discourses about masculinist sport, women's physical education and pedagogies of the body has exerted unique historical pressures on their sexualities. In North America and Western Europe, female PE teachers have frequently been suspected of being lesbian. This suspicion has enveloped lesbian teachers in a shroud of oppressive silence, tolerated only as an 'open secret' (Cahn, 1994). This study examined the life histories of six women from three generations who had taught physical education in western Canada. Previous life history research has focused exclusively on lesbian PE teachers (Clarke, 1996; Sparkes, 1992, 1994a, 1994b; Squires & Sparkes, 1996; Sparkes & Templin, 1992) which risks reinforcing a hierarchical relationship between 'lesbian' and 'heterosexual'. Accordingly, three women who identified as 'lesbian' and three as 'married' or 'heterosexual' were involved in this study which incorporated poststructural, psychoanalytic and queer theories about sexual subjectivity into a feminist approach to life history. The notions of 'understanding' and 'overstanding' were used to analyze data which meant interpreting not only had been said during the interviews but also what was left unsaid. The women's life histories revealed how lesbian sexualities have been marginalized and silenced, especially within the physical education profession. A l l the women grew up in families where heterosexuality was normalized, and all except one experienced pressure to date boys during their high school education in Canada. As teachers, identifying as a 'feminist' had a greater affect on their personal politics and approaches to teaching than their sexual identities. The life histories also provided limited support to the notion that PE teacher's participation in various women's sports accentuated the suspicion of lesbianism. For two of the 'lesbian' women, team sports continued to provide valuable lesbian communities from the 1950s to the present day. In contrast, one 'lesbian' women established her lesbian social network through individual sports and urban feminist groups. The 'heterosexual' women had all participated in gender-neutral sports. Overall the sporting backgrounds of these teachers did little to dispel the long-standing association between women's sports and lesbianism which, in turn, has affected female PE teachers. Drawing on queer theory and the notion of 'overstanding' data, deconstructive interpretations suggested how heterosexuality had been normalized in several institutional discourses within women's physical education. These interpretations undermined the boundaries of 'the closet', sought out an absent lesbian gaze and suggested that homophobia has been, in part, rooted in the social unconscious of the physical education profession.

Physical education is a profession where heterosexuality has historically been regarded as normal, if not compulsory. The location of female physical education (PE) teachers at the nexus of discourses about masculinist sport, women's physical education and pedagogies of the body has exerted unique historical pressures on their sexualities. In North America and Western Europe, female PE teachers have frequently been suspected of being lesbian. This suspicion has enveloped lesbian teachers in a shroud of oppressive silence, tolerated only as an 'open secret' (Cahn, 1994). This study examined the life histories of six women from three generations who had taught physical education in western Canada. Previous life history research has focused exclusively on lesbian PE teachers (Clarke, 1996; Sparkes, 1992, 1994a, 1994b; Squires & Sparkes, 1996; Sparkes & Templin, 1992) which risks reinforcing a hierarchical relationship between 'lesbian' and 'heterosexual'. Accordingly, three women who identified as 'lesbian' and three as 'married' or 'heterosexual' were involved in this study which incorporated poststructural, psychoanalytic and queer theories about sexual subjectivity into a feminist approach to life history. The notions of 'understanding' and 'overstanding' were used to analyze data which meant interpreting not only had been said during the interviews but also what was left unsaid. The women's life histories revealed how lesbian sexualities have been marginalized and silenced, especially within the physical education profession. A l l the women grew up in families where heterosexuality was normalized, and all except one experienced pressure to date boys during their high school education in Canada. As teachers, identifying as a 'feminist' had a greater affect on their personal politics and approaches to teaching than their sexual identities. The life histories also provided limited support to the notion that PE teacher's participation in various women's sports accentuated the suspicion of lesbianism. For two of the 'lesbian' women, team sports continued to provide valuable lesbian communities from the 1950s to the present day. In contrast, one 'lesbian' women established her lesbian social network through individual sports and urban feminist groups. The 'heterosexual' women had all participated in gender-neutral sports. Overall the sporting backgrounds of these teachers did little to dispel the long-standing association between women's sports and lesbianism which, in turn, has affected female PE teachers. Drawing on queer theory and the notion of 'overstanding' data, deconstructive interpretations suggested how heterosexuality had been normalized in several institutional discourses within women's physical education. These interpretations undermined the boundaries of 'the closet', sought out an absent lesbian gaze and suggested that homophobia has been, in part, rooted in the social unconscious of the physical education profession. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The hypothesis of the thesis is that Canadian teachers have sought to gain some control over their professional lives through organisation. The study traces the evolution of the Canadian teachers' organizations from a period of vigorous ascendency between 1916 and 1921 to the middle of the 1950s. By then the organizations had formed their main features and shaped their occupational ideology. The simplest theoretical statement, framework, or model of the thesis is that teachers have attempted to escape from or at least to modify the bureaucratic environment which prescribed the conditions of their vocation. While teachers largely united in seeking this escape, they were not of one mind as to the appropriate means or alternatives: professionalism, unionism, or a combination of both. To most teachers, professionalism and unionism seemed polar and incompatible. The conclusion reached in the study is that teachers’ organizations evolved as "professional unions," largely because of the teachers' need to cope with their salaried and employee status while clinging to the aspiration of professionalism and public service. The thesis rests extensively on primary sources: the records and files of the teachers' organizations, journals of the organisations, contemporary newspapers and magazines, and documents housed in the various archives of Canada. The thesis is not a definitive study of all the issues that have concerned teachers or their organizations. Rather, it is keyed to those issues and situations that have involved a debate over unionism and professionalism, or which have caused teachers to adopt more militant postures. Admittedly the study is pro-teacher, essentially a result of the sources consulted. A deliberate attempt, however, has been made to record the teachers' reactions to their own historical experience, the trustees, and government. The study is divided into six chapters. The first, tracing the years of formation and survival (1915-1930), explains the causes for teacher organization and the teachers' goals. It probes their occupational ideologies. The second chapter investigates the teachers' strikes of the 1920's, and ponders the meaning of these strikes and the issues of teacher militancy. The third chapter deals with the impact of the depression and the war (1930-1945) on the evolution of the organized profession. This chapter reveals the extent of economic retrenchment on teachers' salaries, the spirit of organizational experimentation, and the renewed militancy as the depression receded and the war ensued. The fourth chapter shows how the teachers' "professional unionism" is rooted in their acceptance of the essentials of trade unionism. The fifth chapter records the teachers' courtship with organized labour--affiliation. In particular, it traces in detail the experiment of the British Columbia Teachers' Federation with affiliation, with public admission of trade unionism. The last chapter deals with the achievement of statutory or automatic membership, an organizational development which is singularly the most significant in the history of the Canadian teaching profession. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to examine and interpret the legal decisions of the Canadian courts in litigation concerning tort liability on the part of the physical education teacher and coach in the gymnasium, on the playing field, in the community recreation classes and on athletic trips up to and including early 1975. Basically, the answers to the following questions were sought: (1) What is negligence in law and how does this apply to the Physical Education teacher? (2) If a teacher is involved in a law suit what legal defenses are open to him or her? (3) What are some of the areas in the school system which a teacher should be particularly aware of in terms of potential legal problems? The study aimed to stimulates (1) an appreciation for protecting the student in the school environment and on athletic trips (2) an understanding of the basic precepts of liability that might have an adverse or constructive effect on the school program (3) a realization that loss of professional integrity and financial loss can be painful consequences of one's liability. An attempt was made to clarify basic legal issues in the area of tort liability that concerns the physical educator in Canada, and to point out issues that the Physical Education teacher should be aware of in evaluating activities in the light of possible repercussions. Also, where major problems were discovered concerning the P.E. teacher's legal status in Canada, recommendations were made as to solutions to these problems. The research was carried out through an investigation of Canadian court cases relating to the topic of legal liability and the physical education teacher. From these cases it was possible to establish some basic legal principles concerning teacher liability in the classroom, in the gymnasium, on the playing field and on trips away from the school environment. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to understand the opportunities for professional learning teachers encounter over the span of their careers. I conduct two qualitative case studies of mid-career teachers from Ontario, Canada to obtain insights into their teacher development experiences over their first eight years in the teaching profession. The analysis of interviews conducted during this period led me to identify four learning opportunities that were significant for the participants: mentoring at the beginning of the career, learning from and with colleagues, mandated collaborative learning, and part-time graduate studies. The teachers highlight the limits and possibilities of these opportunities considering their professional needs and contexts. Drawing on these findings, some practical recommendations for the design and implementation of teacher development programs are suggested.

Principals are the main evaluators of beginning teachers. This study examines principals' perceptions of the policies, procedures, processes and instruments they employ in evaluating the competencies of first-year teachers. The study is based on data collected from interviews with 11 high school principals in two Canadian prairie urban school divisions. Results indicate that the principals in the sample are satisfied with the overall efficacy of the evaluation process, as well as the detailed evaluation instruments and timelines for evaluation used in their school divisions. One of the two divisions provides a mentoring program for new teachers, and the principals in that division view the program very favorably. On the other hand, the principals in this study also expressed concerns about several aspects of evaluation. Principals' concerns focused primarily on having too little time to spend observing and subsequently meeting with new teachers as part of the evaluation process. / x, 103 leaves ; 29 cm

The purpose of this study is to understand the opportunities for professional learning teachers encounter over the span of their careers. I conduct two qualitative case studies of mid-career teachers from Ontario, Canada to obtain insights into their teacher development experiences over their first eight years in the teaching profession. The analysis of interviews conducted during this period led me to identify four learning opportunities that were significant for the participants: mentoring at the beginning of the career, learning from and with colleagues, mandated collaborative learning, and part-time graduate studies. The teachers highlight the limits and possibilities of these opportunities considering their professional needs and contexts. Drawing on these findings, some practical recommendations for the design and implementation of teacher development programs are suggested.

In the latter part of the 1980's, contracting by the Correctional Service of Canada with private and public institutions accelerated. This contracting included provision of educational programs. Therefore, as a result of a new emphasis upon Canadian literacy education during the same period, there arose a need to select numbers of contract personnel who would be effective in prison adult basic education teaching. Subsequently, eighteen teachers in the Ontario and Pacific Regions of the Correctional Service of Canada were subjects of a study that sought information about effectiveness criteria to assist in the selection of teachers for prison adult basic education teaching. The Evaluation of Teacher Behaviors rating instrument established an upper quartile that identified five prison adult basic education teachers perceived as most effective, and a lower quartile of five prison adult basic education teachers perceived as least effective. Teachers completed the Demographic Data Questionnaire, providing information about academic education, teaching experience, additional training and education, and certification. They then participated in a structured, oral interview, the Correctional Teacher Interview Survey, responding to questions about their teaching strategies and their personal beliefs regarding the effects of prison education. Three experienced correctional educators rated these responses according to criteria that suggested possession of qualities such as sense of mission, structure, and empathy. Three teachers from the high group also responded to the Supplementary Questionnaire, which asked for their perceptions of their own schooling, relevant life experiences, and attitudes to their students as individuals. Analysis of the results of the Evaluation of Teacher Behaviors indicated statistically significant differentiation between the two groups on each of eleven criteria, with greatest differentiation for the criteria original, overall effective, adaptable, and stimulating. Analysis of responses to the Demographic Data Questionnaire showed that in the high group there was a greater percentage of teachers who had recently been involved in supplementary training and continuing education experiences. The low group of teachers possessed more years of experience in public/parochial school teaching than did teachers in the high group. The three correctional educators who rated the subject teachers' responses to the Correctional Teachers Interview Survey found that the teachers in the high group scored better on the characteristics clarity, desire to help students grow, structure, and empathy than did teachers in the low group. Analysis revealed that both the students who rated the eighteen teachers on the Evaluation of Teacher Behaviors instrument and the three correctional educators who rated the responses of the same teachers to the Correctional Teacher Interview Survey had, according to these ratings, similarly placed eight of the ten subject teachers in their respective high and low groups. The Supplementary Questionnaire revealed that three teachers from the high group possessed similar experiences in their personal and professional backgrounds and currently employed similar teaching strategies. Findings from this study have suggested that teachers who are perceived effective may possess behavioral characteristics, life and work experiences, and similar teaching strategies that distinguish them from those who are perceived to be low in effectiveness. Appropriate application and interview techniques could be designed to elicit information about these distinguishing elements. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

In this study, the perceptions of parents of elementary school age children with disabilities, constructs of family-centered behavior (e.g., Petr, Allen, & Brown, 1995) and empowerment (e.g., Zimmerman, 1995, 2000) were examined. Parent perceptions of the importance and frequency of an empowerment process, family-centered teacher behavior, were explored. Previous work of family support researchers is extended by exploring the effects of parents' perceptions of family-centered teacher behavior on psychological empowerment, and by considering the relative importance of parent and child variables and family-centered teacher behavior, in predicting parent psychological empowerment, specific to the elementary school context. Parents (n = 256) of elementary school-age children (ages 5-14) with a wide range of disabilities/special needs completed a questionnaire assessing: their perceptions of the importance and frequency of family-centered teacher behavior, psychological empowerment, parent status variables (income and education level) and child disability characteristics. As hypothesized, respondents rated family-centered teacher behavior as very important, but they identified that they only "sometimes" experienced it in the elementary school setting. In addition, a significant discrepancy between parent ratings of importance and frequency was found, suggesting that parents overall are not satisfied with the levels of family-centered behavior they receive from teachers. Some relationships between parent and child characteristics and psychological empowerment were found. As hypothesized, the importance of parents' perceptions of family-centered teacher behavior in predicting psychological empowerment, specific to the school context, above and beyond parent and child characteristics, was supported. Child disability characteristics (severity of child behavior and diagnostic category) also contributed to the prediction of empowerment, but parent characteristics were not important or significant in the final increment of the regression model. Implications and the potential of this study to inform practice and policy and to contribute to new directions in research are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate