Doctor of Education / This case study looks at the impact of closing an urban secondary school. It considers the experiences of the students, the staff and the parents. It does not argue with the decision to close the school but concentrates on the experience for those most closely involved. The thesis is guided by the main research question which is: “What is the impact of school closure on the various elements of a school community and is there a way to close a school and minimise this impact?” Supplementary questions seek to describe how the closure was undertaken and what factors can be identified which helped ease the transition for those involved. While seeking to develop theory grounded in the research the findings have also been informed by theory associated with grief, place attachment, emotion in the workplace and change. Unpublished primary documents such as transcripts of group interviews, responses to written questionnaires and minutes of meetings are the basic sources of data for this thesis. The researcher was an active participant in the closure and well known to all respondents. The thesis concludes that although keeping the school open for the final year was of benefit to the morale and adjustment of staff it was probably less beneficial for the students involved. It suggests that with proper counselling support and identification of the closure as a critical incident, a quick closure would help student learning outcomes and prevent teacher de-skilling. It also confirms the importance of a school, or probably any institution, in the emotional life of those associated with it. Note: The students in this study range in age from 13 to 18 years of age in Years 7 through to 12.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics published their vision of active, problem-centered instruction with a goal of conceptual understanding in 1989. Fifteen years after these reforms were proposed the changes are reflected in school policy and elementary mathematics curriculum, but only limited change has actually occurred in classroom instruction. With the belief that the classroom teacher is the key person affecting educational change, this case study examines the journey of five elementary classroom teachers as they transformed their mathematics instruction from traditional to reform-based, with the purpose of identifying the key elements that influenced the changes. This is a multi-case study involving five elementary classroom teachers who have recently been the recipient of the Elementary Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics. All of these teachers began teaching with traditional textbook programs and have changed their teaching to reform-based, problem-centered instruction. Over the course of two one-hour interviews each teacher told the story of his or her changes, explaining the influences, the key resources, the influential people, and the support they received in the process. The cases are individually presented; then all five are examined together in a cross-case analysis using a constructivist theoretical perspective. Three key elements were found to be influential in the teachers' change journeys. First, all five were self-motivated to make changes in their mathematics instruction. They were looking for practices that would give their students both better understanding and positive dispositions. All believed the reform-based instruction met these goals. Second, all five engaged in rich professional discussions about the changes they were making. These discussions were in groups with high levels of trust, in which the teachers freely shared concerns and successes, asked questions, and compared experiences. They were learning communities that supported the teachers' development of pedagogy and knowledge, allowing them to become confident practitioners. Finally, all five teachers were passionate about their teaching. The learning of their students and the improvement of their teaching were the prime considerations in the changes they adopted and the knowledge and skills they developed. / Graduation date: 2004

For the past 100 years, the prominent instructional model for all public education in the United States has been teacher/content centered with the intent of covering a discrete body of knowledge in a given period of time. As the end of the twentieth century approaches, natural, social, political, and economic forces are influencing community college instructors to transition from content centered instruction to a student centered approach to teaching and learning as part of the national education reform agenda. The purpose of this study was to document, through a case study, the experience of one community college instructor as she attempted to transition from a traditional content focused teaching model to an outcome-based/learner centered model. A literature survey provides a review of education reform as it relates to instructors in a community college. A learner centered training model from industry, is applied as a framework for outcome-based/learner centered instruction in community colleges. Participant observation, surveys, and interviews were the methods used to collect data. Six hypotheses were generated from the study: 1. Learner centered/outcome-based teaching is more complex and takes greater skill in basic teaching techniques than teaching in a traditional content framework. 2. An instructor whose teaching experience has been exclusively content focused may find it difficult to create authentic learning tasks. 3. Collegial influence is a major factor affecting the ability of one instructor to change instructional practices. 4. A single instructor's ability to change instructional practice in one course is limited by the way the program curriculum is designed. 5. Learning is enhanced by human relationships that foster trust and reflective practice. 6. Teaching and learning is complex and multifaceted in nature: it is not a logical linear process. / Graduation date: 1996

Doctor of Education / This case study looks at the impact of closing an urban secondary school. It considers the experiences of the students, the staff and the parents. It does not argue with the decision to close the school but concentrates on the experience for those most closely involved. The thesis is guided by the main research question which is: “What is the impact of school closure on the various elements of a school community and is there a way to close a school and minimise this impact?” Supplementary questions seek to describe how the closure was undertaken and what factors can be identified which helped ease the transition for those involved. While seeking to develop theory grounded in the research the findings have also been informed by theory associated with grief, place attachment, emotion in the workplace and change. Unpublished primary documents such as transcripts of group interviews, responses to written questionnaires and minutes of meetings are the basic sources of data for this thesis. The researcher was an active participant in the closure and well known to all respondents. The thesis concludes that although keeping the school open for the final year was of benefit to the morale and adjustment of staff it was probably less beneficial for the students involved. It suggests that with proper counselling support and identification of the closure as a critical incident, a quick closure would help student learning outcomes and prevent teacher de-skilling. It also confirms the importance of a school, or probably any institution, in the emotional life of those associated with it. Note: The students in this study range in age from 13 to 18 years of age in Years 7 through to 12.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education