What is conversation and how is it related to pedagogic relations? Conversations: Hermeneutic Inquiry Unearthing Pedagogic Relations utilizes Hans-Georg Gadamger's notion of conversation as "the art of seeing things in the unity of an aspect" (Gadamer, 2004, p.368). This definition for conversation is a model for the pedagogic relation where the teacher and student experience education together, side-by-side. This thesis explores the themes of pedagogy, vulnerability and living or Being in the context of teaching. Hermeneutic inquiry -a mode, or art of interpretation-is utilized to inquire into one teacher's experience with students to unearth a deeper understanding of the pedagogic relation. The hermeneutic questions that have informed the inquiry are: 1)What is the nature of the pedagogic relation? 2)What is the nature of the teacher-student relationship? 3)What is the significance of vulnerability in teaching? 4)What is the effect of society on the pedagogic relation? Textual fragments or narrative reconstructions of conversations with students and parents are the site of the study. The study itself employs Gadamer's Truth and Method as a tool of inquiry and also explores the writings on pedagogy of David Smith, David Jardine and Max van Manen. This thesis addresses the nature of a teacher being with another, namely the student and how the teacher must have a measure of self-understanding to nurture the pedagogic relation. The teacher who engages in conversation with his/her students will undoubtedly experience a measure of vulnerability as a direct result of the relationship. The thesis concludes with writing about how hermeneutics is a mode of self-understanding and change. / viii, 129 leaves ; 28 cm.

This empirical study explored the relationship between teacher efficacy and each of school level organizational conditions and teacher demographic characteristics in order to provide information which could be used in school improvement planning. Teacher efficacy, the extent to which teachers believe they have the capacity to affect student performance, has two components as defined in this study: teaching efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy. Teaching efficacy, considered to be a general measure of teacher efficacy, describes the teacher's belief in the ability of teachers, as a group, to influence learning. Personal teaching efficacy, considered to be the more specific and important measure of the two, describes the belief that the individual teacher has the skills and abilities to bring about student learning. The teacher's sense of personal teaching efficacy is believed to have the most potential for affecting the teacher's motivation and future behaviour. A teacher's sense of efficacy is believed to be affected by several variables including school level organizational conditions and teacher demographic characteristics. Nine school level organizational conditions and five teacher demographic characteristics were selected for study from the literature because they had been positively related to good schools. A volunteer sample of 339 school-based teachers in one Alberta school district were surveyed and the principal of each of 15 schools was interviewed. Quantitative analyses were used with the teacher as the unit of analysis; these findings were verified and amplified using a qualitative analysis with the school as the unit of analysis. The main conclusions were: (1) teacher sex and teaching grade level were significantly related to teacher efficacy, while teacher age and experience were not; and (2) teachers' perceptions of student behaviour and horizontal communication were significantly related to teacher efficacy. The study suggests seven implications for school administrators and others interested in enhancing teachers' sense of efficacy. These include: (1) providing opportunities for teachers to discuss instruction-related topics; and (2) implementing a school discipline policy aimed at improving student behaviour. Ten implications for further research include the consideration of a secondary school focus and also the use of research methods with the potential to establish a causal relationship between teacher efficacy and school level organizational conditions. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

This study explores teachers’ understanding of character education, their perceived role in curriculum development, implementation effectiveness, and their teaching practices. This two-part investigation surveys teachers from two schools, followed by an interview process with six of those participants. The school staffs of one elementary school and one elementary-junior-high school were surveyed to provide a general overview of teacher understanding of expectations, their knowledge of character traits identified in the curriculum goals of their Board of Education, and opinions about how their current teaching practice addresses the development of character. The interview data provided indepth information about teacher interpretation of character by their Western Canadian urban Public Board, details about their current teaching practices, including techniques and strategies incorporated, and their feelings about how character education should be taught in the school. The research revealed that teachers were generally unaware of the board’s curriculum expectations of the 11 character traits to be taught in school. There were mixed responses about who was responsible for teaching character: Some felt the responsibility was on the parents, while others felt it should be all adults. The study found that teachers were, in fact, currently teaching and assessing students on many of the traits identified as being significant as part of the hidden, lived curriculum. / ix, 95 leaves ; 29 cm

The central query of this study is focused around questions about increasing the numbers of girls and women in science. Surveys and focused group interviews were conducted with Grade 8 and 11 girls in two rural southern Alberta high schools to obtain an understanding of the impact they feel role models have on them with respect to an interest in science and the pursuit of a science career. While boys were also surveyed for comparison purposes, the focus of the study was girls‘ perceptions. Seemingly girls are just as interested in science topics as boys until they get to high school. While boys appear to continue to study science with interest, what prevents many girls from continuing to study topics they previously enjoyed? In elementary school many teachers are female but in high school a majority of science teachers are male. Does the gender of the teacher affect girls‘ interest in science? Extending this thought beyond the classroom: does the lack of positive visible female role models in science discourage girls‘ interest in science and science careers? The answers to these questions are complex. / xiv, 247 leaves ; 29 cm

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of southern Alberta nurse educators regarding the concept of collaborative programming as one way of working towards baccalaureate entry into nursing practice (EP 2000). Specifically, answers to the following questions were sought: 1. To what extent do nurse educators support the EP 2000 mandate, and why do they hold these views? 2. To what extent do nurse educators support the concept of collaborative programming, and why do they hold these views? 3. What programming alternatives do nurse educators perceive as desirable for working towards baccalaureate entry to practice? 4. What are the perceived barriers and facilitators to developing a collaborative program? 5. What factors may influence a nurse educator's perception of collaborative programming? A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 112 full-time nurse educators in four dimploma nursing programs (DNP) and two baccalaureate nursing programs (BNP) in southern Alberta. Completed returns numbered 74 (66%). Descriptive statistics, content analysis and the Chi Square statistical test were used to analyze the data. Lewin's (1951) force field theory was used as a guide in inteerpretation of the data findings. The major findings of the study were as follows: 1. Generally, nurse-faculty perceived the system of nursing education to be inadequate in meeting the health care needs of society; in providing for education and career mobility; and in the kind and amount of communication between its educational components. 2. A majority of BNP and DNP faculty support the EP 2000 mandate. Each group identified the need to upgrade professional standards and educational requirements to better serve society (consumers, patients, hospitals, marketplace demands and the profession) and better meet the increased intellectual, technical and judgemental demands required by the expanded roles in nursing practice. 3. A majority of the BNP and DNP faculty support the development of collaborative baccalaureate programsprovi for reasons ranging from professional benefits to pragmatic and economic aspects. However, there were a number of ambiguities and contradictions in the participants' responses. 4. Restricted provincial funds, lack of government support for EP 2000, concerns regarding the academic qualifications of diploma faculty to deliver university transfer courses, the need to protect existing program territoriality, and difficulties in mobilizing inter-institutional processes were perceived as barriers influencing the development of collaborative programs. The EP 2000 position statements, the increased student demands for baccalaureate education, and a desire to retain the strengths and resources of diploma education were preceived as facilitators. 5. The participants' type of employing institution affected certain perceptions of collaborative programming and the baccalaureate as entry to nursing practice. It was concluded that less overt resistance to collaborative programming was found than might have been predicted, given the slow movement in the province toward planned collaboration. The base seems to exist for a concerted, organized, regional effort in this direction, provided that serious attention is paid to the issues identified by the respondents. Finally, the data provide a foundation for developing on educational process and action steps to enhance progress toward collaboration as one option for facilitating EP 2000. Recommendations were presented for nursing education and future research. / xi, 138 leaves ; 28 cm

A constructivist philosophical paradigm and van Manen's phenomenological method were used to understand the lived experience of a purposeful sample of nine novice nursing clinical instructors in the Nursing Education in Southwestern Alberta program in Lethbridge, Alberta. Data were collected using in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interview questions and were analyzed using van Manen's approach to thematic analysis. The findings revealed how novice nursing clinical nursing instructors experienced this new role; the meaning instructors ascribed to their experience; and how instructors learned about the clinical instructor role. The lived experience of novice nursing clinical instructors was likened to a journey. Three major themes emerged within The Journey: Endeavoring Amid Strife, Enacting Understanding of the Clinical Instructor Role, and Evolving as a Clinical Instructor. Implications included: valuing the lived experience, appreciating struggles, and improving supports and learning resources in the areas of orientation, mentorship, peer support, instructor inclusion in academia, and work-life balance. / viii, 118 leaves ; 29 cm

Prior to the beginning of the Second World War discussions of air force training between Britain and Canada, were ongoing, but never agreed upon. The declarations of war on Germany from Britain and Canada forced these discussions to a resolution as the air force was a crucial component of military operations. On December 17, 1939 the agreement known as the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) was signed. The agreement intended that Canada would train all of the Allied air force throughout the war. The repercussions of the agreement meant that communities across the country became home to training schools and air force personnel. This study employs geographic and relational aspects of community theory in the investigation of the role of sport in the relationship building process between military and civilian communities in Southern Alberta. Sport provided common ties and opportunities for social interaction in the relationship-building process between BCATP schools and Southern Alberta communities. Towns were losing many of the men and women who were playing sport as they joined the services and air force personnel were replacing them; thereby keeping sport at all levels from completely shutting down during the war. This study highlights the changes in the sporting landscape as military sport transitioned from a spectacle to becoming indispensable to local communities. Specific case studies of basketball and lacrosse in Macleod, hockey in Claresholm and Lethbridge, soccer in Medicine Hat and sporting charity events indicate the depth to which schools integrated into towns through sport. Situated within pertinent secondary sources from history, sociology and sport studies this study draws on six Southern Alberta newspapers, town council meeting minutes and archival data from the Nanton Bomber Museum, The Claresholm Museum, The Galt Museum and Archives and the Esplanade Heritage Centre. / ix, 184 leaves ; 29 cm