<p> This mixed methods study was conducted in a large school system in Georgia. The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast a variety of methods used to support new elementary teachers to increase both self-efficacy and retention. Traditional support methods such as teacher preparation, induction, mentoring, and administrator support were included in this study. In addition, minimally researched areas of new teacher support including instructional coaching, professional learning communities, observation/feedback, and online support were examined. </p><p> The data sources utilized in this study included an online new teacher survey, a new teacher focus group, and an administrative interview with the Executive Director for Human Resources Staffing for the school system. Based on the results, developing key partnerships between schools systems and teacher preparation institutions along with year-long student teaching experiences or residency programs is recommended to promote new teacher success. Additionally, the school system's own alternative teacher certification program exhibited positive results. Beginning teachers also expressed a desire for training on paperwork, student support meetings, and programs specific to the school system. </p><p> A common thread across all data sources was that support from people is extremely helpful to new teachers. In particular, mentoring and coaching were helpful across all three data sources. Moreover, online support including social networking and educational websites were shown to be extremely useful to novice teachers. Results also indicated that the opportunity to observe other teachers was tremendously beneficial and desired by 100 percent of new teachers who had not received that opportunity.</p>

<p> Since the 1970s, a continuous decline in the number of males entering into the teaching profession has resulted in significant underrepresentation of male teachers in public schools, especially in elementary schools. The problem is applications to elementary school positions by females far outnumber applications by males. This qualitative phenomenological study was designed to identify potential male elementary school teachers&rsquo; perceptions of teaching in the primary grades and how the perceptions are influenced. Nine male veteran teachers and 11 male nonveteran teachers participated in the study. All data were collected with in-depth interviews using open-ended questions. Six relevant themes pertaining to attracting and retaining male teachers in elementary teaching emerged during data processing, including the decision to teach, stereotypical expectations about elementary teaching, the importance of money, reducing barriers for male teachers, the benefits of teaching, and technological teaching orientations. Exploration of the emergent themes on an individual basis provides information for school leaders that will help refine recruiting practices and allow leaders to target potential male elementary teachers more effectively.</p>

<p> This qualitative, phenomenological study explored the teacher perceived barriers of using mobile devices in the K-5 classroom. Research confirms teachers face various types of variables and become reluctant to use technology within their curriculum driven lessons. This study sought to understand what teachers perceive as barriers, and how the perceived barriers interfere with the daily instruction through mobile devices in all subject areas. The problem guiding the study was based on the fact that teachers are given mobile devices, but do not fully integrate them into the classroom instruction. The study used a purposive sample of 12 elementary teachers. The findings from the study were derived from interviews using open-ended questions and an observation. Both were used to gather data based on the lived experiences of the participants. The data was analyzed and the following themes were discovered: Time constraints, management issues, inadequate number of devices, professional development/training concerns, and lack of knowledge. These findings may provide school leaders with specific areas to address, possibly reduce, or eliminate the barriers that cause teachers to limit their use of mobile devices.</p>

<p> In the current knowledge economy, a connection exists between globalization and global macro policies and the micro level effect of these policies at the local classroom level. This study begins by establishing globalization's impact on education at the local level by operationalizing 21^st century instruction as a global educational outcome that is actually a macro policy with micro effects. With this framework in place, this study examines the ability of a higher education institution to prepare pre-service teachers to provide 21^st century instruction in the public middle school setting. In order to examine the connection between higher education and the public middle school, the study utilizes qualitative research to examine the level of preparation pre-service teachers receive at the higher institution level. The study also utilizes qualitative research to study participants at the public middle school level in order to measure the degree of 21^st century instruction in the classroom resulting from their higher education pre-service preparation. The study finds that a connection exists between the university and the public middle school setting. The professor participants clearly conceptualize globalization and 21^st century instruction. Additionally, the teacher participants also conceptualize globalization and 21^st century instruction. However, a point of diffusion exists between the active and intended curriculum suggesting that conceptualization is not the same as instructional delivery. Finally, the results support the hypothesis that globalization has an impact on classroom instruction at the local level.</p>

<p>Despite Minnesota&rsquo;s investment in professional development in content area literacy, secondary students are not showing expected literacy gains. A lack of literacy proficiency limits future options for students. The purpose of this study was to examine content-area literacy strategy inclusion and its relationship to professional development in the context of complexity theory, efficacy theory, transformational learning theory, structured teaching, and constructivism. A cross-section correlation survey research study was conducted to investigate the relationship of time spent in systematic professional development, type of professional development, rate of strategy inclusion, and confidence in literacy strategy inclusion in lesson design. Convenience sampling was employed to secure secondary teachers (<i>N</i> = 65) in public schools in Minnesota. The Spearman Rho Coefficient calculation was used to analyze these 4 variables; relationships were determined at (<i> p</i> &lt; .05) and (<i>p</i> &lt; .01) confidence levels. According to the results of the study, self-selected professional development is related to the frequency of literacy strategy use and confidence in literacy strategy use. Time in professional development is a critical issue in confidence of literacy strategy use. Recommendations for local districts include providing a menu of self-selected literacy professional development options. This study may impact social change through providing educators improved literacy instruction, resulting in more competent adult readers and informed decision-makers. </p>

<p> Online learning has become a prevalent method of instruction in higher education. There are many reasons for this change in pedagogy, including rapid developments in technology, as well as the logistic challenges of enrolling in college, such as commuting and coordinating work schedules. The quality of online instruction and its impact on teacher preparation, however, has yet to be fully investigated. The purpose of this study is to add to the existing literature regarding online learning and its use in teacher preparation. This study, more specifically, compared the effects of differentiated use of a specific online learning environment, the IRIS Center for Training Enhancements (http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/index.html), on knowledge of teacher candidates in two sections of a <i>Teaching Exceptional Learners</i> course for general education undergraduate and graduate teacher candidates. Pre- and post-instructional concept maps were used to measure growth in knowledge in this counterbalanced study. Results indicate both methods of instruction, in-class and at-home, with the IRIS modules are effective for increasing the knowledge base of general education teacher candidates. Analysis of the data showed no significant differences in learning between the two methods. While preference of methods differed, overall, participants felt the IRIS modules were beneficial and made an impact on their learning.</p>

<p> Current test data reveal that in every state, at every grade level tested, school-aged males are scoring lower on reading assessments than their female counterparts. Given the instrumental role of the elementary reading teacher and the data documenting growing male underachievement, this quantitative study investigated the relationship between preservice teachers' knowledge and beliefs and sense of efficacy for reading instruction for boys. </p><p> The quantitative study involved 97 participants enrolled in Texas A&amp;M University-Corpus Christi's student teacher program during the Fall semester of 2012 and the Spring semester of 2013. Participants were distributed among the three elementary level Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies degree programs: Bilingual, Early Childhood, and Reading. Descriptive data provided the information for this study as it related to what the student teachers knew about reading instruction for boys, what they believed about reading instruction for boys and whether, in effect, these aligned with their sense of self-efficacy as it related to boys and reading instruction. </p><p> Three instruments were administered: Knowledge About Boys and Reading Instruction Survey (KBRI), Beliefs About Boys and Reading Instruction Survey (BBRI), and the Teacher Sense of Efficacy for Boys and Reading Instruction Survey (TSEBRI). Data were analyzed using frequency distribution and multiple regression analysis. </p><p> Multiple regression analyses concluded that there was a statistical relationship between the preservice teachers' depth of knowledge and their teacher sense of efficacy for literacy instruction for boys. No statistical significance was found in looking at the relationship between the student teachers' beliefs about boys and reading and their teacher sense of efficacy. </p><p> Results indicate that the student teachers' perceptions concerning their sense of efficacy in regard to reading instruction for boys were more consistent and had higher associations with their knowledge about the subject than did the student teachers' beliefs about boys and reading and reading instruction. These findings suggest that student teachers' depth of knowledge and traditional beliefs about gender have important implications for teacher educators, teachers, administrators, and researchers, all of whom strive to ensure that all of today's students are equipped with the academic skills they will need to become productive citizens.</p>

<p> The principal plays a key role in establishing a culture of collaboration and ongoing learning, and his/her actions related to effecting change are vital to the success of the school. A principal can contribute to the advancement of teacher expertise by engaging in specific behaviors. One such behavior is focused feedback, which leads teachers to reflect on their instructional routines. Given with intentionality, it is a powerful tool. Therein lies the motivation for this study.</p><p> The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to examine the practices in which principals engage during classroom post-observation feedback, and their effect on teacher professional growth. Seven teachers at 2 Southern California Catholic high schools were interviewed to capture their perceptions of the effect that principal feedback has had on their professional growth. Although much research has revolved around the impact that principals' actions have on the enhancement of teacher practice, very little research has focused on these effects from the perspective of the teacher. Capturing teachers' perceptions about the way their principals' actions impact their instructional practice may add to the existing body of knowledge in the field of education related to the way principals promote the use of effective practices at their schools. It may also shed light on the need for the teacher's voice to be heard and taken into consideration when making decisions on and implementing policies that are directly related to improving teacher practice.</p><p> Three main ideas emerged from a review of the existing literature: (a) <i> there is a direct connection between the principal's actions and teachers' professional growth;</i> (b) <i>principal feedback produces lasting changes in instructional practice, especially when given immediately following the teaching;</i> and (c) <i>teachers are reflective practitioners seeking to improve their practice on an ongoing basis.</i> Educational institutions may be able to utilize the findings of this study to inform their practice, and or to re-examine their policy on evaluation processes.</p>

<p> This critical ethnographic collective case study examined the process of becoming a teacher in the context of visual art education. This longitudinal study was grounded in larger educational concerns regarding the preparation of teachers for socially and culturally diverse U.S. public schools. This framing of teacher learning went beyond traditional dichotomies in educational research that maintain an artificial boundary between learning to teach content and learning to teach all students effectively and equitably. </p><p> In order to re-integrate the study of teacher learning, this research foregrounds the transactional relationship between a preservice art teacher&rsquo;s social locations (e.g., race, class, sex-gender, language) and how s/he makes sense of what it means to be an &ldquo;art teacher.&rdquo; Specifically, the study asked (a) how preservice art teachers negotiated their emerging art teacher identities in a university-based teacher education program, (b) how their social positions were implicated in that process, and (c) how their teacher identities were meditated by cultural narratives, artifacts, and practices. This approach eschewed simplistic and reductive analyses of teacher identities in order to attain a nuanced understanding of the multiple, sometimes contradictory social processes involved in becoming a teacher.</p><p> This collective case study centered six preservice art teachers with varied racial, class, gender, and sexual identities, all of whom attended the same undergraduate teacher education program in the southwestern U.S. Social practice theory of identity, and critical curriculum and cultural theory were employed in constructing a multi-leveled relational analysis of the commonalities and divergences in participants&rsquo; self-understandings over time.</p><p> Findings showed historical patterns of institutionalized racism, as well as complex class and sex-gendered meanings of art. These inequitable norms were reproduced in ways distinctive to the asocial and apolitical &ldquo;common sense&rdquo; knowledge that was mobilized within the world of art teacher education. Some participants experienced alienation and marginalization based on their social positioning in relation to the world of art education. The findings also illuminated the polyvalent nature of identity through the coexistence of hegemonic identities as well as counter-hegemonic agency. Implications and possibilities for generating more critical, equity-oriented teacher education and art education research, practice, and policy are considered.</p>

<p>The purpose of this study was to explore teacher experiences, attitudes, feelings, and beliefs regarding professional development in order to plan professional development in the future. Eighteen teachers, the elementary school improvement coordinator, and elementary principal were interviewed or participated in a focus group, in a semi-structured environment using a set of questions to gather data. Financial records for professional development expenditures, teacher credentials, agendas from professional development activities, school calendars, and grants were reviewed to get a better understanding of past professional development in the district. This research indicates that teachers: (a) are unsure whether professional development improves teacher quality and/or student achievement (b) have had a lot of diverse professional development experiences; (c) like professional development that is interactive, easily implemented, and applicable; (d) feel more time needs to be allocated for professional development; (e) do not feel they are involved in the planning process of professional development; and, (f) that there's a lack accountability, sustainability, and focus related to professional development. Implications can be generalized for all teachers, but more specifically, from this research for this individual district. </p>