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International literature suggests that curriculum changes that have occurred in higher education globally over the last two decades, more specifically the shift from subject-based curriculum to integrated curriculum have been perceived by many academics as having affected their work with regard to course designing, teaching and assessment. Studies of academics’ response to such changes have argued that the way academics perceived these changes and the meanings they made of them influenced the implementation of these curriculum changes. This case study investigates lecturers’ perceptions of how one curriculum reform, the introduction of the Credit Accumulation and Modular Scheme (CAMS) in higher education in Rwanda, has affected lecturers’ work. One of the aims of the study was to analyse how lecturers understand CAMS and the changes it has introduced in their work. A second aim was to analyse how these perceptions and changes are negotiated in their teaching practices. Sixteen lecturers from Kigali Institute of Education were interviewed. Analyses of lecturers’ accounts of their teaching experiences revealed that lecturers espoused the intended changes that CAMS introduced in their work. However, although they claimed that the changes have affected their teaching and teaching arrangements- course designing, teaching and assessment- in actual practices many of them have not always managed to shift their thinking. CAMS requires lecturers to function in teams. However, although they have been trying to do so many of them have not managed to work out how to make more substantive changes to the way they think about the knowledge to be taught, their actual teaching and assessment practices. They have tried to keep boundaries of their disciplines while CAMS requires them to integrate their teaching.

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The purpose of this study was to identify common elements in the experience of exemplary interdisciplinary teams in middle level schools, to assess their value in team progress as perceived by teachers, to determine to what degree the results support current theory, and to identify variations in exemplary teams' practices. In this study, an interdisciplinary team is a group of two to five teachers responsible for instructing a common group of students in the core subjects--mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts--during a four or five period block in the daily schedule, with two planning periods daily--one for team planning and the other for individual planning. Interdisciplinary team organization is one system widely acknowledged as a method of promoting collaboration for teachers and small social groups for students. However, to benefit teachers and students, these teams must operate effectively. Erb and Dada (1989) have proposed a complete model of team development measures, including four domains of teaming--organization, attention to students, shared responsibility and growth, and instructional coordination-- and factors which promote team growth. Teachers' perceptions of these factors' importance can help persons developing effective teams. Team members at twelve Virginia middle level schools were surveyed and observed. Sixteen teams from small, medium, and large schools serving a variety of socioeconomic groups qualified as exemplary teams by their activities on all four domains. Analysis of team practices revealed that coordination with non-team teachers, use of uniform discipline policies and scheduling guidelines, and observing peers' teaching and proposing staff development programs were activities conspicuous by their absence on exemplary teams. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed that exemplary teams concentrated on one of three different areas--administration, curriculum, or change to new activities--and that some teams might use collaboration to perpetuate poor pedagogical practices. Teachers valued training, support, and activities in their teams' development, but reported school organization and decision making structure as less important. Analysis includes a model relating nearly 60% of the variation in team expertise to team members' respect for individuality in the context of strong team identity, and whole-school work environment. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived desirability of implementing an interdisciplinary organization at the high school level and to determine barriers to implementing such a reorganizational plan. Educators in 35 Virginia high schools with enrollments exceeding 1500 students participated in this study. A total of 491 (51.6%) administrators, counselors, and teachers returned the survey. Differences in attitudes, and relationships between response and position and between response and subject area were determined through mean scores, analyses of variance, and chi-square statistics. Of the educators surveyed, 26% expressed some dissatisfaction with the departmental organization in meeting their professional needs, and 40% indicated dissatisfaction with the departmental organization in meeting the needs of their students. Educators expressed overall acceptance of an interdisciplinary organization with no significant differences in responses across positions or subject areas. Most-desired components were (1) students making connections among disciplines, (2) small and large group instruction, and (3) teachers sharing ideas and materials. Least-desired components were (1) teachers participating in recruiting and selecting new teachers, and (2) availability of leadership positions on the team. Where significant relationships were found between response toward specific components and position, administrators and counselors consistently responded more favorably than teachers. By subject area, English teachers' response towards specific components were consistently the most favorable, and mathematics teachers' responses the least favorable. Educators were evenly divided regarding the probability of implementing an interdisciplinary organization in their school. Educators perceived the most formidable barriers to such restructuring as (1) lack of facilities for small and large group instruction, (2) lack of space, and (3) inadequate financing. It was concluded that the real benefits of such restructuring were in areas other than academic achievement (e.g., support for beginning teachers, peer coaching, flexible scheduling and grouping interrelating curricula). It was recommended that interdisciplinary organizations should be implemented in high schools, and proponents of such restructuring should promote psychological and social benefits to students and teachers, rather than focusing on academic achievement. / Ed. D.

The functioning of a teacher support team is an important aspect in improving quality of education, because it has as its purpose the enhancement of collaboration and support to educators and development of conditions for learners to become more successful. This research study explored the functioning of teacher support teams in primary and elementary schools of the Western Cape Education Department of South Africa and Massachusetts in the United States of America, in assisting educators of learners with special needs in mainstream schools.

The functioning of a teacher support team is an important aspect in improving quality of education, because it has as its purpose the enhancement of collaboration and support to educators and development of conditions for learners to become more successful. This research study explored the functioning of teacher support teams in primary and elementary schools of the Western Cape Education Department of South Africa and Massachusetts in the United States of America, in assisting educators of learners with special needs in mainstream schools.

Co-teaching has been, and continues to be, a growing trend in American schools since the late 1990s. As the popularity of this service delivery model increases, there is an imperative need for empirical research focusing on how co-teaching affects academic outcomes of students who receive special education services. Evidence regarding the academic outcomes of co-teaching is limited, and reports mixed results. The purpose of this study is to provide a synthesis of research examining academic outcomes of co-teaching on students who receive special education services. Quantitative information from each research report was coded, an overall effect size was computed, and a moderator analysis was conducted. Results suggest a significant effect (g = .281, k = 32, p < .05) of co-teaching on the academic outcomes of students with disabilities when compared to students with disabilities who did not receive instruction in co-taught settings; though a larger effect was found among dissertation reports (g = .439, k = 25, p < .001). Additionally, a significant effect was found when examining the academic outcomes of students in co-teaching compared to the academic outcomes of students in a resource classroom setting (g = .435, k = 27, p < .001. Lastly, effects were stronger the longer these students were in co-teaching environments. Implications of findings and recommendations for further research are discussed.