<p> The purpose of this study was to examine how much K-12 science teachers working in a virtual school experience a community of practice and how that experience affects personal science-teaching efficacy and science-teaching outcome expectancy. The study was rooted in theoretical frameworks from Lave and Wenger's (1991) community of practice and Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy beliefs. The researcher used three surveys to examine schoolteachers' experiences of a community of practice and science-teaching efficacy beliefs. The instrument combined Mangieri's (2008) virtual teacher demographic survey, Riggs and Enochs (1990) Science-teaching efficacy Beliefs Instrument-A (STEBI-A), and Cadiz, Sawyer, and Griffith's (2009) Experienced Community of Practice (eCoP) instrument. </p><p> The results showed a significant linear statistical relationship between the science teachers' experiences of community of practice and personal science-teaching efficacy. In addition, the study found that there was also a significant linear statistical relationship between teachers' community of practice experiences and science-teaching outcome expectancy. The results from this study were in line with numerous studies that have found teachers who are involved in a community of practice report higher science-teaching efficacy beliefs (Akerson, Cullen, &amp; Hanson, 2009; Fazio, 2009; Lakshmanan, Heath, Perlmutter, &amp; Elder, 2011; Liu, Lee, &amp; Lin, 2010; Sinclair, Naizer, &amp; Ledbetter, 2010). The researcher concluded that school leaders, policymakers, and researchers should increase professional learning opportunities that are grounded in social constructivist theoretical frameworks in order to increase teachers' science efficacy.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to understand the life history of a female teacher by examining her beliefs about leaving a teaching legacy and by analyzing the narratives of four educational leaders as they reflect on the generative behaviors of this teacher. The research questions guiding this study were: (a) What elements of this teacher's life history contributed to creating a legacy of educational leaders? (b) What are the perspectives of the educational leaders impacted by this teacher as they relate to crafting an educational legacy? (c) How do the life stories of the teacher and educational leaders intersect to reveal narrative resonance - the ability of stories to interact in such a way that they influence other stories? </p><p> A review of relevant literature examined legacy creation or generativity. In addition, this study critiqued scholarship that extends narrative research approaches, specifically, fictional research texts. Since fictional research products can be catalysts for reflection and discussion, the final chapter of this study is presented as a fictionalized research-narrative that emerged from analysis of the data. </p><p> The data in this study included interview texts, participant artwork, reflections from the participant's journal, excerpts from the researcher's journal, and poetry written both by the participant and the researcher. The data were analyzed by using open and focused coding, employing the constant comparison process, and through artifact analysis. The data analysis of this qualitative study resulted in specific findings. First, the main participant demonstrated generative traits contributing to a legacy of educational leaders. Her compassion for all students, her passion for teaching/learning, her content knowledge, and her flexibility in the classroom all manifested themselves in the lives of the educational leaders participating in this study. Additionally, the narratives from the participant demonstrated narrative resonance, Stories, it seems, have their own legacies.</p>

<p> The books we care about are part of us (Sumara 1996, 2002). It is the story of this literary experience as told by three currently practicing English teachers that interests me when I ask, "How does a teacher's personal reading inform his or her understanding of curriculum?" Seeking the representation of this story, I employ qualitative methods that value unique perspectives, interpretations, and the presence of my subjectivity (van Manen, 1990; Seidman, 2006; Jardine, 2006). The combined use of autobiography&mdash;in the tradition of <i>currere</i> (Pinar, 1975)&mdash;and the hermeneutic method (Heidegger, 2008; Nakkula &amp; Ravitch, 1998) best matches this responsibility. By representing the profound impact of personal reading on my teaching of literature, I contribute my autobiographical voice and story to this study. </p><p> This dissertation is influenced by contemporary literary theory, Sumara's (1996, 2002) scholarship on reading and curriculum, and Rosenblatt's (1994, 1995) reader response theory. Data collection follows Seidman's (2006) discussion of semi-structured conversations, analysis is performed with attention to van Manen's (1990) qualitative human science design, and representation is carried out following Seidman's (2006) description of participant narrative profiles. I begin this analysis by exploring two super-ordinate themes: personal reading and curriculum understanding. Sub-themes in the area of personal reading are unique. Sub-themes representing curriculum understanding are consistent across participants. These sub-themes include a teacher's definition of curriculum, professional identity, and teaching of literature. Analysis reveals a recognizable relationship between each teacher's personal reading and curriculum understanding: each teacher's personal reading experience is reflected in his or her teaching of literature. </p><p> Through its exploration of the relationship between personal reading and curriculum understanding, this study provides a glimpse into the tangled intricacies of curriculum. Since many reading experiences described in this work were born outside of the classroom, this study confirms the perspective that curriculum includes all learning opportunities inside <i>and</i> outside the classroom. Beyond this confirmation, this study reaffirms several key components of teaching and learning: the fundamental function of literature to interrupt familiarity, the role of teacher as interrupter, and the respect for existential experience as a source of scholarship.</p>

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As teachers of writing, we inherit terms, all of which have complicated and ongoing histories. The field of rhetoric and composition has an impressive collection from which to choose: "dialogism," "writing as a way of thinking," "critical thinking," and "writing to learn," to name a few. These terms creep into our vocabulary. We take them into the classroom. / We form and reform our theories of writing as we internalize and make sense of the language we inherit. The challenge is, then, to constantly consider whether our practice reflects our emerging theories and whether our theories are in sync with our practices. Our theoretical understandings most visibly surface when we explain what we value in student writing--the nexus of theory and practice. / In the dissertation, I examine the ways in which our evaluation of student writing can reveal the gaps between our theory and our practices. From these gaps, my own self-examination reveals our stories as teachers, writers, and readers emerge. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2503. / Major Professor: Richard Straub. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This study examined the metaphors for teaching of a preservice physical education teacher characterized as a "difficult student." The purpose was to gain an understanding of the perspectives from which this teacher operated and why he was labeled a "difficult student." Metaphors were characterized as frames that reveal how teachers view their profession. No studies of metaphors in physical education were found. The social constructivist and symbolic interactionist perspectives formed the framework for this study. The subject was a 27 year old, white, male, delayed entry student, with experience as an athlete and a coach. Data was gathered during and after the subject's student teaching semester via formal and informal interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. The constant comparative method of data analysis was used. The subject's metaphors for teaching were the teacher as facilitator (including the scholar, presenter, and entertainer metaphors), coach, and friend. The investigation revealed that some of the subject's philosophical views and beliefs about the acquisition of professional knowledge conflicted with those supported by his program. Characteristics of the subject were often consistent with those of delayed entry students. These characteristics and philosophical differences appeared to account for much of the difficulty encountered. The researcher concluded that gaining an understanding of the subject's perspectives earlier in his program could have helped the teacher preparation professors and instructors deal with his differences in a mutually beneficial way. This might have led to a more constructive view of the subject as being "different" rather than "difficult." / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-11, Section: A, page: 3446. / Major Professor: Charles H. Imwold. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyze how college level Elementary Education majors made meaning, or came to know about elementary teaching and learning, while engaged in the use of the case study method. This research was an attempt to understand how prospective teachers make sense of the problematic situations described in the cases. The research questions included: How do prospective teachers make meaning, or come to know about elementary teaching and learning, while engaged in the case study approach? What meaning emerges from the prospective teachers' dialogue both with peers and the instructor? Is critical thinking exhibited in their reflections on the cases? / The methods employed in this interpretive study involved the collection of qualitative data through participant observation, interviewing, document analysis, and personal journals. A constructivist epistemology was embodied into collection and interpretation of data. / The immersion approach to teaching critical thinking was employed in that specific critical thinking processes were not made explicit but an in-depth understanding and analysis of the content of the cases was promoted. Kurfiss' model was used to assess the prospective teachers' thinking while engaged in the case study approach. / Assertions constituting grounded theory (Strauss, 1989) were generated from this study and subsumed in three emergent themes. (1) Constructing multiple perspectives: the prospective teachers constructed complex ways of viewing their own and others' schools and new ways of viewing problems that occur in teaching. (2) Considering contextual factors in decision-making: the prospective teachers identified and applied contextual information to frame problems and make decisions. (3) Acknowledging and examining beliefs about teaching and learning: the prospective teachers conveyed awareness and reflected on how their beliefs affected the way they taught. / The results of this study suggest that the case study approach used in an environment with small cooperative learning groups, large group discussions, contextually rich cases, and a skilled instructor facilitates prospective teachers' critical thinking and social construction of knowledge about teaching and learning. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-09, Section: A, page: 3176. / Major Professor: Kathryn Scott. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The purpose of this study is to describe the student teaching internship in context, with a special focus on the cooperating teacher. Three sentizing concepts were used to help provide a framework and focus for the study: documenting the student teaching internship in practice, focusing on the roles and relationships of the participants within the student teaching triad with special consideration given to the cooperating teacher's roles and relationships, and also developing a research design that explored other understandings and provided opportunities to gather information from unexpected, unplanned occurrences. / Three types of qualitative data collection were used throughout the study: non-participant observations, formal and informal interviews, and document collection (Jacobs, 1987). Data collection and data analysis were concurrent, identifying preliminary categories through analytic induction and constant comparison techniques (Goetz & LeCompte, 1984). After the preliminary data collection, a domain analysis was conducted to insure systematic treatment of the data in manageable units for final analysis (Spradley, 1980). / During data analysis, three major categories emerged organizing the roles and relationships of the cooperating teacher during the internship period: the professional role, the supervisory role, and the social role. Across these organizing domains, two recurring cultural themes were identified which defined the actual curricular practices of the setting: the modification of the formal physical education program and the conflicts, interactions, and negotiations of the major participants. / The findings of this study suggest that current teacher education programs are inconsistent with the context and culture of the real teaching world. Several recommendations for teacher education programs, student teaching, and college supervision were provided along with suggestions for future research in teacher education-physical education. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3472. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

This study examined whether expanding educational opportunity in Indonesia had an eroding effect on the quality of education and explored policy alternatives to maintain educational quality in general and teaching quality in particular. The researcher first analyzed secondary data from the last 10 years to see whether there was a decline in the quality of education. Then, employing in-depth interviews with policy makers at the central level, a policy mediator at the provincial level, and a policy implementer at the school level, the researcher attempted to verify the findings and discover factors to explain them. The study investigated the importance of and changes in teacher qualities: it also assessed the discrepancy between policies for improving teaching quality designed at the central level and their implementation and results at the school level. / The study was conducted in Jakarta, Cirebon, Bandung, Palangkaraya, and Banjarmasin; it involved 39 respondents consisting of decision makers at the ministry, educational officials at the provincial level, deans of teacher training institutions, school supervisors, principals, and teachers. The results show that expenditure per student and educational quality in general declined. The decline is related to the changes in teacher qualities such as competence, distribution, motivation, discipline, and welfare. Also, the policies developed to improve teaching quality are more successful in providing educational means, such as raising teacher qualifications, providing teaching aids, and training, than in achieving educational ends. / Finally, the study recommended systematic improvement through short-term and long-term policy measures involving retraining of teachers, establishment of educational facility banks, reforms in the incentive system, improvement in the teacher distribution system through refining the information system and local authorization, and improving the cooperation and coordination between teacher training institutions and provincial offices of education. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3414. / Major Professor: John C. Bock. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.