"It is the purpose of the writer to explore, through this paper, the field of materials of instruction in order to ascertain how a supervisor of instruction in a small rural county might work effectively so as to improve the learning opportunities for children through a better use of materials. Through a survey of the literature in the field of materials of instruction and a consideration of the nature of supervision in a small county, the writer hopes (1) to gain an understanding of need for a variety of materials, (2) to gain a knowledge of instructional materials, (3) to see the role of the supervisor in aiding the teacher in certain aspects of materials, and (4) to make recommendations in regard to the improvement of instruction in Wakulla County as influenced by materials"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1952." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Mildred E. Swearingen, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-56).

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africain fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, October 2013. / Unable to load abstract.

The major purpose of this investigation is to make a limited but definite contribution to the task of revising the course of study in bookkeeping for the Indianapolis high schools.

This study measures the effectiveness of the National Computer Systems (NCS) Learn SuccessMaker Math Concepts and Skills computer program on standardized test scores at a middle school in east central Florida. The NCS Learn Company makes three claims for the SuccessMaker interactive computer program, Math Concepts and Skills (MCS): 1. Student Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores will improve from using the software 30 hours or more; 2. The increase in FCAT scores is directly related to the length of time the students' spend using the program; 3. The software package grading system is equivalent to the FCAT scoring. This study was designed to evaluate each claim. To test the first claim, the FCAT Norm Referenced Test (NRT) Mathematics scale scores of the 6th-grade middle school students were compared to the same students' previous FCAT scores. The scores were compared before and after they used the Math Concepts and Skills program. An independent t test was used to compare the scores. There was a statistically significant difference in scale scores when the students used the MCS program for 30 hours or more. Further investigation is needed to establish the causal effect for the observed differences. To test the second claim, the 6th- and 8th-grade students' time on task in the laboratory was compared to their change in FCAT scores. A Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.58 was found to exist for the complete 6th-grade data set and a 0.71 correlation for the 8th-grade group. To test the third claim, the MCS computer program grade equivalent scores were compared to the mathematics FCAT Level using the dependent t test to see if the two scores were equal. The analysis revealed that the difference in the two scores was statistically significant. Therefore the claim that the two scores are equivalent was not true for this data set. Recommendations were made for future studies to include qualitative data, a control group, and larger sample sizes. Studying the effect of the Math Concepts and Skills program on FCAT scores continues to be a project for investigation as implementation of the computer software is contingent on improving FCAT scores.

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Published Article / Social justice as a higher education project in South Africa has been a subject of intense debate mainly at institutional level, with considerable time and energy devoted to how such projects should take shape. There is, however, a need for a more profound understanding of how such an agenda plays itself out at classroom level. By engaging a self-study methodology, I argue for how the critical spaces that comprise a teacher education pedagogy curriculum can be effectively harnessed to foreground issues of social justice. I proceed to theorise an integrated social justice model for a pedagogy curriculum by demonstrating how the social justice teacher education pedagogue, a social justice pedagogy and a social justice troubling of disciplinary knowledge is likely to shape the social justice dispositions of the imagined student teacher.

<p> Nurse educators are barraged with competencies, standards, outcomes, and initiatives to consider when developing, evaluating, or revising curriculum. The constructivist grounded theory study discovered and compared the perceptions and processes of faculty related to their preparedness and confidence in evaluating, developing, and revising nursing curriculum. Faculty&rsquo;s constructions were used to develop a middle range descriptive theory <i>Challenged and Overwhelmed.</i> From further faculty recommendations on strategies <i> Supported and Empowered: a Model of Understanding to Support Faculty&rsquo;s Growth and Competence in Curriculum Development, Evaluation, and Revision </i> was created to support faculty&rsquo;s growth and competence in curriculum development, evaluation and revision. Findings such as the low confidence found in most faculty, including the very experienced when it came to assessing curriculum, and the inadequate knowledge of curriculum as well as strategies discovered to benefit faculty are shared that assist faculty&rsquo;s growth and competence in curriculum development, evaluation and revision. These strategies can be used to improve faculty development, educational strategies, and graduate education, resulting in better nurse educator preparedness. Improving educational strategies through better competency will improve the nursing profession. Educator competency, preparation, the faculty shortage, standards, initiatives, and educational competencies and curriculum reform were reviewed. Quality information for educators is provided for evaluating and improving current nursing curriculum, and to guide strategic planning and facilitate nurse program success. Faculty perceptions of how to increase competence, and improve preparation for their role developing, evaluating and revising curriculum were shared.</p>

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference between the reading achievement test scores of first graders who have had reading instruction using a combination of structured educational television and the basal reader approach and the test scored of first graders who have had reading instruction using a combination of non-structured educational television and the basal reader approach. Two groups of first graders, a control group and an experimental group, comprising of twenty-three students in each group, were used in this study. The control group and the experimental group were taught using the basal reader approach and were exposed to television. The experimental group had follow-up lessons. Both groups were tested after eight weeks with the use of the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Test (reading scores). Findings from the posttest data revealed that there was not a significant difference in the reading achievement of students in the two groups.

This study aims to investigate the ways in which EFL teachers in Saudi Arabia use, design, and evaluate their teaching materials, in a context where teachers are expected to use only the prescribed textbooks inside the classroom. The extent to which teachers supplement and adapt the set textbook is used as an indicator of their willingness and ability to adapt their teaching in response to the needs of the learners in their classrooms. Saudi teachers’ willingness and ability to take control of their personal teaching and learning in this way is investigated using Huang’s framework of autonomy. The study explores the different responses of the teachers in the study to the policy of the Ministry of Education regarding the use of the prescribed textbook and the extent to which through their use, design and evaluation of teaching materials, teachers are able to enhance their professionalism. Data was collected using classroom observations and semi-structured interviews of 6 male EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers in Saudi public schools and analysed using Narrative and Grounded theory approaches. The hybrid approach adopted for this study proved useful in uncovering much rich information about teachers’ perceptions about and use of the textbook and the implications of the extent to which they engaged in materials development in response to the needs of their students. The study revealed different perceptions and degrees of responsiveness to the need to adapt materials for the learners in the classroom. In some instances, whilst teachers described themselves as exercising autonomy the observation of classroom practice was not entirely consistent with such a perception. Conversely, some teachers were more proactive in the classroom than responses in interviews might suggest. The study builds on previous work into the trend for learners in EFL classrooms in Saudi Arabia to exercise more learner autonomy and the relationship between learner demands, the capacity of teachers to engage in materials development and teacher professionalism is examined. The study concludes that more research into providing scope for adaptation and variation in the use of textbooks in EFL in classrooms in Saudi Arabia could shed light on how institutional and personal constraints on teacher autonomy could be mediated without jeopardising the quality and consistency of learning and teaching.

In the 21st Century, the need for Tanzania to navigate through the impact of globalisation with a more responsive school curriculum was evident, and TC2005 was an effort towards this end. My study was on the formulation, management and implementation of TC2005 with special emphasis on disadvantaged localities. I sought to answer three central questions: (1) What role did curriculum stakeholders play in the TC2005 process and with what effect? (2) How relevant and practicable was TC2005 to students, parents and communities? 3) How was management carried out and with what effect to actual classroom teaching? Critical Policy Sociology (CPS) was the conceptual framework guiding the research with data availed through questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and documentary review. Purposive sampling provided the 201 participants of the study from state and non-state institutions, local and central government, school heads, teachers, parents and students. Data corpus was mainly transcriptions and summaries. An eclectic model adopted from Vidovich (2001), Gale (2002), Ball 1994, 1993) and Bowe et al (1992) guided data analysis with contexts that influenced production and enactment of TC2005 identified and interpreted. The findings suggested the existence of unequal power relations between the state and stakeholders with the former not only controlling and dictating terms from the centre, but also excluding even practitioners. Bi-partisan politics were also portrayed with parties struggling for inclusion of their values as the centre fought to retain status quo. The good intentions of TC2005 was noted, but weighed down by a multitude of limitations e.g. lack of resources, influence of the polity, donor pressure and global agenda. Finally, management of TC2005 process was authoritarian rather than participatory and thus the best use of other people’s skills to arrive at more effective decisions was not made. Hence TC2005 featured rigid syllabuses that were to be translated using State-vetted textbooks. Teachers’ sense of autonomy was eroded to render them unable to broker and craft their own policies as professionals.