Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.79-88).

Thesis (M. Ed.) -- University of Alberta, 2010. / "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education, Secondary Education, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta." Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on July 22, 2010) Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis examines the professional knowledge of new secondary school teachers in New Zealand, their negotiation of multiple discourses encountered in policy and practice, and their processes of professional identity formation. It is also a study of policy reform. In New Zealand, as elsewhere, recent educational and social reforms have brought about major changes to the way education is managed and implemented. These reforms emphasise market ideologies promoting consumer choice and responsibility, while measuring and monitoring quality and effectiveness. At the same time, the reforms attempt to alleviate social inequality. Teachers' negotiation of an accountability culture and the dominant equity policies is a major focus of this study. The study draws upon group interviews held with nine new teachers during the first two years of their teaching careers. The group interviews were designed to elicit extended narratives from individual teachers, as well as promote more interactive dialogue and reflections within the groups. Because the interviews were conducted at different points in their early careers, the study also has a longitudinal element, allowing insight into how teachers' views are formed or changed during an intense period of professional learning. Analysis of the teachers' narratives is informed by poststructural and feminist understandings of identity and knowledge and by a methodological orientation to writing as a method of enquiry. The thesis develops three main types of discussion and sets of arguments. The first examines new teachers' negotiation of the 'macro' context of teacher knowledge formation that is, their negotiation of an educational policy environment that juxtaposes an equity agenda with accountability controls. In order to historically situate these dilemmas, the particular political, social and educational context of New Zealand is examined. It is argued that teachers negotiate competing political and conceptual debates about social justice, equity and difference, and that this negotiation is central to the formation of professional knowledge. The analysis illustrates ways in which teachers make sense of equity discourses in educational policy and practice, and the apparent contradictions that arise from placing tight accountability standards on schools and teachers to achieve associated equity goals. The second type of discussion focuses on teachers' negotiation of the 'micro' dimension of professional knowledge, looking closely at the processes and practices that form professional identity. Against stage or developmental models of teacher identity, it is argued that professional identity is formed in an ongoing, uneven and fluid manner and is socially and discursively situated/embedded. It is further argued that professional knowledge and identity are entwined and that this relationship is most usefully understood through analysis of the discursive practices that frame teachers' working lives and through which teachers work out who they are or should become and what and how they (should) think. This analysis contributes new perspectives to debates in teacher education about teacher preparation and the knowledge required of teachers in current 'new times'. The final cluster of arguments brings together these macro and micro aspects of professional knowledge and identity with a case study of how new teachers negotiated a recent educational reform of senior secondary school qualifications in New Zealand. This reform has had a significant impact on secondary schools and on the way teachers, and New Zealanders in general, think about education, achievement and success. It was found that this reform significantly challenged new teachers to question their beliefs about assessment and justice in education, and what counts as success. This case study draws attention to the tensions between equity, academic excellence and standards-based assessment, and contributes to understanding how teacher professional knowledge forms both in the context of a specific educational policy reform and in relation to educational reform in general. This study contributes new knowledge to the formation of teacher professional knowledge and identity in an educational climate of change in New Zealand. The findings offer new insights for teacher educators, policymakers and schools into how teachers build, shape and sustain professional knowledge; how they juggle contradictions between a desire for justice, policy imperatives and teacher education rhetoric; the self-constructed, but contingent nature of professional knowledge and identity; and the urgency to address identity formation as part of teacher education and to take account of the dynamic ways in which identities form. These matters need to be articulated in teacher education both pre-service and in-service in order to address teacher retention and satisfaction, and teachers' commitment to equity reform in education.

Thesis (M. Ed.(Educational psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

The promulgation of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995, will transform the way in which learning is designed, developed, implemented, managed, assessed and evaluated. Many different organisations, institutions, industries and sectors understand the guiding principles and concepts of this Act but are grappling with all the forces and factors that impact and influence the implementation of the Act. The Act introduces the National Qualifications Framework, which will impact on learning and present many challenges and opportunities for education and training and development practitioners in South Africa. Because of the newness of this Act, many organisations, institutions, industries and sectors are in the process of waiting until all the relevant South African Qualifications Authority structures are in place before embarking upon some sort of action. Traditionally, most learning has been 'inputs' based (course content, course duration, course entrance requirements and course methodology). The South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995, will refocus learning to 'outputs' (outcomes), with a fundamental shift in thinking about the way in which learning is designed, developed, implemented, assessed and evaluated. This shift may be described as "it does not matter where, when or how one learns, but what one learns, why one learns and if one has learnt". The South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995, will also transform learning organisations in the way they plan and do things. The seven automobile manufacturers, together with the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA), are challenged with these paradigm shifts. This dissertation was therefore concerned with these central issues in 'operationalising' the principles and concepts of the National Qualifications Framework within the automobile industry. The study revealed that most of the organisations in the automobile industry: • Are not well enough informed about the latest developments of the South African Qualifications Authority; • Do not necessarily have access to current, relevant and reliable information about the National Qualifications Framework; • Are all dedicated to uplifting the knowledge, skills and abilities of their staff through their 'multi-skilling model' for education and training and development; and • Support the underlying principles and concepts of the National Qualifications Framework. The automobile industry is therefore presented with many challenges and opportunities for the provision of education, training and development. Some challenges and opportunities for the automobile industry are: • The need to refocus education and training and development programmes/projects to ensure national alignment and international comparability; • The need to develop education, training and development staff in line with the 10 education, training and development practitioner roles; • The need to keep abreast with national initiatives impacting education and training and development. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Durban-Westville, 1998.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-233).

Thesis (EdD)--Open University.

Thèse (M.Ed.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, en association avec Universidade do Estado da Bahia, 2004. / Bibliogr.: f. [231]-246. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.