This study examines teacher and curriculum development in the period of intense curriculum policy reform of the mid-1990s. It is based largely on interviews conducted with teachers in four New Zealand secondary schools. It documents and analyses the thinking and strategising that informed their attempts as teachers and curriculum leaders to develop their individual and collective practice and respond to external demands for change. The accounts are contextualised within the history, politics and culture of New Zealand secondary schooling since the Thomas Report on the Post-Primary school Curriculum in 1943, and parallel developments in secondary schooling in other anglophone countries.The study attempts to understand the workgroup, organisational and systemic constraints within which secondary school teachers conduct their work and how they seek to exercise their individual and collective agency in order to gain more control and knowledge of their occupational circumstances. The study links contemporary dilemmas of practice to longer standing, embedded tensions of curriculum content, pedagogy and assessment. It identifies continuities and discontinuities of secondary schooling practice in the decades since the 1940s and shows how contemporary policy options and proposed solutions are simply the latest staging post in a protracted sequence of political efforts to solve 'problems' of curriculum and credentialing. In some respects, the official policy texts introduced in the 1990s spoke directly to teachers, own pragmatic concerns and aspirations. Thus, in this study, teachers and curriculum leaders engaged creatively and energetically with the challenges posed by school-based Unit Standards trials because they appeared to offer the opportunity to end secondary teachers' long search for meaningful alternatives to examination dominated schemes of work, assessments and credentials. However, curriculum innovation always took place alongside other day-to-day routines and seasonal patterns of work. For curriculum leaders in this study, these multiple demands meant that any potential benefits of voluntary curriculum innovation had constantly to be weighed against its costs in terms of other workgroup priorities, the energies and dispositions of fellow workgroup members and their personal health and well-being.

This thesis is concerned with the relationship between the education system and its critics - with the terms in which programmes of educational reform are viewed by critical intellectuals, and with the claims and limitations of a particular mode of 'principled' critique. It explores this concern in relation to a number of recent developments in Australian education policy, describing the debates that they have engendered and identifying the political ambiguities that attend them. Three case studies are developed. The first is drawn from reactions to the recent bureaucratic reorganisation of higher education, especially those responses concentrated on the defence of the humanities. The second concerns developments in post-compulsory education, especially the construction of the new national credentialling system based on the assessment of 'Key Competencies'. The third addresses the endemic problem of educational assessment and equity. While each of these case studies is discussed in its own right, the three areas of discussion supplement one another within an overall argument concerning the relationship between the education system and a particular mode of 'principledt critique. In exploring this relationship, the thesis puts the case that we require a more historically-informed understanding of current problems in Australian education and a more pragmatic appreciation of the achievements of the existing education system. The issues raised are timely ones. Matters of educational policy have become particularly pressing over the past decade, as Australian education has undergone significant changes. In recent years, we have seen the effects of the drive towards a national education system, of the reorganisation of higher education, of the development of schemes for national credentialling and of the reconstruction of links between schooling, training and industry. These reforms have been driven by some pressing imperatives: to produce a trained and flexible workforce; to monitor levels of literacy and numeracy at a national level; and to satisfy the 'unmet demand' for increased educational places, while managing a limited educational budget.

This study examines the teacher visions, or idealized images of classroom practices, held by second-year alternatively certified special education teachers. In particular, it explores the range of visions maintained by New York City Teaching Fellows who begin teaching in "hard-to-staff" subjects and schools after minimal pre-service training, noting gaps which emerge between vision and practice. Given the brevity of the Fellows' preparation and the context of their schools, I sought to discover how Fellows navigated these gaps, and the role played by on-the-job learning in this process. / The study consisted of a larger cohort of 47 second-year special education Teaching Fellows and a smaller cohort of five. I distributed a questionnaire to the 47 Fellows, both to uncover the range of visions and gaps within that group, and to find five Fellows for a more in-depth study. The Fellows from the in-depth study, all of whom noted gaps between vision and practice, participated in three semi-structured one-hour interviews over the course of one school year. In addition, I conducted two classroom observations of each Fellow and analyzed classroom documents. / I found that none of the 47 Fellows mentioned special education when describing their teacher visions on the questionnaires. Following up with the smaller cohort, I discovered visions of special education which were blurry or inaccurate---leading to substantial gaps between vision and practice. These gaps, in turn, let to feelings of guilt and frustration. On-the-job learning was little help in navigating gaps, given the conditions of the participants' "hard-to-staff" schools. Fifty-four percent of the larger cohort said they were unlikely to continue teaching in New York in five years, while in the smaller cohort, two teachers had left their original placements within two years. Participants from the smaller cohort also discussed the difficulty of achieving their visions within special education as it was implemented at their schools. / This study concludes that the design of the New York City Teaching Fellows program practically ensures the presence of gaps between the vision and practice of special education, and at the same time does not do enough to help its teachers negotiate them.

This project examines “positive change” with regard to queer/LGBTTITQetc. education-activism in Vancouver, British Columbia directed at building what has been described as “queer-friendly schools” through the development and implementation of policy, as well as activist work connected to those efforts. I employ elements of autoethnography and participatory research by documenting and analyzing my education-activist work in this context and that of others with whom I have done this work. I situate this project within the broader context of the education system and queer/LGBTTITQetc. education-activist efforts in British Columbia. In the process, I problematize what is meant by or capable of activism and “positive change.” As demonstrated in the literature review, various understandings of sexuality, gender, activism, educational leadership, and “positive change” are available to inform queer/LGBTTITQetc. education-activism. This thesis examines how these understandings sit in tension with the practicalities, limitations, and contradictions of activist engagement at the school district level of a complex, politicized public school system. My engagement with the literature, documentation of the practical work, and exploration of a number of guiding questions with the project’s participants comprise the bulk of this project.

Sensitivity of Value Added School Effect Estimates to Different Model Specifications and Outcome Measures

The major purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between Japanese colonial policies and colonial education, and its impact upon the contents of public elementary school and the language textbooks. Through a variety of analyses, the study intended to discuss the issues relating to the formation and implementation of Japanese colonial educational policies in Taiwan, and to prove the colonial elites to reproduce specific Japanese cultural values, political orientations on the minds of Taiwan¡¦s children in public elementary school. This study, based upon the result of review of related literature and documents and the analyses of the contents of public school¡¦s language textbooks, traced several controversies in the formation and implementation of Japanese colonial educational policies during the occupation period. To deepen the researchers¡¦ understanding of the process, some in-depth interviews of educated people aged over 70 were also conducted. The final conclusions were reached through the combination of these three steps of explorations and some suggestions have been achieved. The conclusions of this study were as follows: ¢¹. The implementation of colonial policies is based on the extent of how the colonial education was practiced. The goals and intentions of colonial elites could also be found in the colonial education policies. ¢º. The colonial education policies changed along with the needs of social situations in Taiwan and in Japanese, and perspectives of the key colonial elites. ¢». The key components which the language textbooks were trying to brain wash Taiwan¡¦s children were teaching Japanese language, moral education, knowledge and skills in life, the spirit of Japanese culture, and the development of healthy bodies in students. ¢¼. The contents of language textbooks changed along with the changes of colonial education policies. The perspectives of colonial elites could also be found in the changing of shifts of emphases in the contents of the language textbooks. ¢½. The formation and implementation of colonial educational policies in Taiwan are based on Japan¡¦s colonial policies, and the control of contents and their ideology in language textbooks were the major approaches. Two suggestions for further study were provided by the researcher as follows¡G ¢¹. Suggestion for related studies Based upon the conclusions of the study, interested researchers can deepen their understanding of the topic by analyzing textbooks of other subjects, extending the study¡¦s span to include elementary schools in 1941-1945, and conducting more oral history interviews. ¢º. Suggestion for comparative studies The conclusions of this study could be the starting points for the researchers to conduct a comparative study the contents of school textbooks in Japan, Taiwan, Manchu and Korea during the colonial period.

<p><!-- Fragment document type declaration subset: ArborText, Inc., 1988-1999, v.4002 --> <formattedtext>The Experience of Sacred Breathwork&trade;: Healing Through Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness</formattedtext>

<p> Much of the resistance for returning to education seems to be related to the same reasons students left school to begin with. The reason for dropping out and resisting to return to school may be a result of too much emphasis on academic preparation and too little emphasis on satisfying the perceived needs for preparing a youth for adulthood. Four themes emerged from the field-note based interviews: (1) all students do not learn the same way, (2) there is a need for more participatory learning, (3) learning should be relevant to life as perceived by the student, and (4) there is a dislike of computer content that is not supported by personal instruction. While these themes are supportive of past research efforts and may not seem remarkable, the solutions offered by the participants to improve these problems are worthy of consideration, and may be of use to both secondary and adult education.</p>

<p> This study examined the ways in which mid-career ensemble directors and administrators (some with musical and some without musical background) described the effect of implementing standardized teacher evaluations on their practices and perspectives. Participants described the application and critique of the evaluation tools, particularly the Danielson Framework for Teaching, on their process and pedagogy. There is little information on how in-service teachers&mdash;specifically ensemble directors&mdash;locate themselves in their practice and how they articulate their process and pedagogy. There is also little literature on mid-career teachers, both in identity formation and self-reflection. Mid-career ensemble educators who have an established professional identity may find imbalance in light of the new policies, and have to negotiate and manage the contemporary evaluation systems predominantly designed for English and Math. Further, if supervisors do not understand what learning and assessment processes look like in a middle or high school band, orchestra, or chorus setting, they might try to evaluate with criteria that apply to a social studies or chemistry class. Without critically reflecting on how these evaluations affect pedagogy and process, educators may fall into routines of trying to reach a particular benchmark, instead of imagining ways to engage with their students.</p><p> A phenomenological interview approach was used to solicit the participants&rsquo; voices and to allow their narratives to describe their lived experiences with teacher evaluation in ensembles. The participants&rsquo; personal and shared narratives help to better explain and navigate the changing waves of educational policy. Data collection involved interviews and document review of the contemporary evaluation systems, in particular, the Danielson Framework for Teaching. Data analysis uncovered themes of conflicting identities in the classroom, misaligned interpretations of student-centered learning, as well as discourses based on location and the privileges associated with place. Teachers negotiated their performer/conductor and educator selves; administrators negotiated their leader and educator selves.</p><p> This study found that the Danielson evaluative tool, when poorly implemented in an ensemble setting, is faulted and lacks content validity. Additionally, while ensembles function rather traditionally in public schools, embracing a more open rehearsal pedagogy with conductor as facilitator may help to assure more student-centered learning.</p>

<p> Recent initiatives aimed at improving the quality of Head Start programs have included an increased focus on the instructional strategies of Head Start teachers. One factor that researchers have associated with higher quality classroom instruction and increased child achievement in the K-12 grades is teachers' sense of self-efficacy (Berman &amp; McLaughlin,1978; Ghaith &amp; Yaghi, 1997; Guo, Piasta, Justice &amp; Kaderavek, 2010; Justice, Mashburn, Hamre &amp; Pianta, 2008; Nie et al., 2013). Thus far, research on early childhood teacher self-efficacy has almost exclusively relied upon survey and other types of quantitative data to answer questions about this important construct.</p><p> This study of Head Start teacher self-efficacy builds upon this body of research by utilizing a multiple case study to explore Maine Head Start teacher self-efficacy. This qualitative study examined the ways in which self-efficacy is developed and influenced by the context in which teaching occurs. Interviews with Head Start teachers and educational leaders as well as onsite observations were conducted to examine teachers' delivery of instructional support and their belief in their ability to do so in ways that benefit children.</p><p> Findings from this study indicate that elements of the teaching environment such as time for planning and reflection, relationships with colleagues, and the amount of time with children can and do influence teachers' provision of instructional supports. In addition the study found that teachers embed instructional supports within a cycle of intentional teaching that includes formative assessment data used to plan for, modify, and individualize instructional supports for children. Formative assessment data also confirmed the benefits of instructional support strategies for the teachers in this study and acted as evidence of mastery that sustained teachers' instructional self-efficacy. </p><p> These findings offer important information for educational leaders and other professionals who wish to optimize the conditions under which Head Start teachers provide effective instructional supports and build instructional self-efficacy. Information from this study can also be used to inform the types of policies and practices that best support teachers in their instructional support of children.</p>