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Technology, in one or more of its various forms, is now a part of everyday life for most South African citizens. Many schools are equipped with various forms of technology, at great cost to sponsors, schools, parents or the government. However, this technology is not always exploited and full use is not made of it. As access is not the issue, other factors needed to be considered: in this case, teachers’ beliefs, attitudes and knowledge. This thesis explores the cognitive factors which affect the acceptance and use of technology. Teacher cognition and the factors which influence teacher cognition were examined. Following Borg, teacher cognition is defined as “the unobservable cognitive dimension of teaching – what teachers know, believe and think” (Borg, 2003, p. 81). Teacher cognition determines whether or not a teacher will use technology, if the external barrier of access is removed. In order to study the various aspect of teacher cognition, a case study was performed, which studied 6 teachers at 4 schools. All the schools in this study had some level of access to technology. Following Borg, initial experiences with the educational system (i.e. the teacher’s experience as a learner), teacher training, the context the teacher worked in (as well as social factors and private use) and classroom experience were all examined in order to discover the factors which most affect technology acceptance in teaching. The findings show that having easy access to well-maintained and functioning technology cannot be underestimated. In the study, support from other teachers, particularly those in leadership roles, led to an increase in technology use. This support needed to be explicit; general support did not seem to be effective. These findings suggest that technology integration needs to happen at a ‘whole school’ level.

The research described in this report was undertaken with four teachers of English as Home Language in two different secondary schools in Johannesburg. The researcher’s purpose was twofold: (i) to uncover the attitudes of selected grade nine teachers to the English Home Language curriculum statement for grade nine; (ii) to establish how, if at all, the Revised National Curriculum Statement featured in the teachers’ construction of the subject English as home language. The data for this case study consisted of individual teacher interviews, notes from observations in the classroom of each teacher and artefacts such as teachers’ term plans and examples of learners’ texts. Findings from an analysis of this data indicate varied understandings of and attitudes towards this curriculum statement. These have translated into equally varied implementation of the curriculum. Analysis of the teachers’ interviews gave little indication of the rich and varied learning activities that they planned and implemented. In this case study, the difference between how teachers talked about the new curriculum and how they enacted it in their classroom practice was marked.

This qualitative dissertation explored the professional learning experiences and perceived needs of four beginning high school English teachers in two NYC schools and the ways and means those needs were being addressed or not addressed. Through in-depth interviews with the teachers, my renderings from the interviews focused on how discourse shapes an understanding of the professional learning opportunities that operate as openings and constraints for teachers’ professional growth. I drew on the work of historian Michel Foucault as a theoretical framework to examine the production of a teacher’s sense of “self” as an effect of power/knowledge relations circulating within the dominant school discourses in which they are situated and the larger educational context at this historic moment.

University of Macau / Faculty of Arts and Humanities. / Department of English

This dissertation explores teacher identities as they emerge, recede and collide with one another in the classrooms of four participating English teachers at the Cooperative School, a pseudonymous, single school site that is home to the researcher as well as to the study participants. Focusing first on how these teachers see themselves and how they articulate their roles, the study then turns to an analysis based on Judith Butler's theories of identity formation. The role of normative power in identity formation is exemplified by what the paper calls "The Regime of Teacher Norms," i.e., Teacher as Expert, Teacher as Guide, Teacher as Professional and Teacher as Boss.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Abstract This study focuses the work stress by children¡¦s English teachers and their Coping Strategies so as to find out if there is a correlation between work stress and background variables, such as sex, age, marriage status, whether English teachers majored in English at college, and whether English teachers assumed administrative duties concurrently. The author has invited four English teachers for children in Tainan area to take part in the research project, and has gathered data via semi-structural intensive interviews for summarization and analysis. Four participants were highly interested in sharing their experience with the author. The author has reached conclusions as follows: 1. The work stress sensed by children¡¦s English teachers subjectively are resulted from the varied abilities of students, shortage of professional know-how, classroom management, and teachers¡¦ workload. 2. The Coping Strategies taken by children¡¦s English teachers include participation in on-job training programs, search for support in and outside campus, as well as emotion adjustment. 3. As to the relationship between work stress and background variables: the relationship was inconsistent with respect to sex, age, and whether English teachers majored in English at college; and the relationship was consistent with regard to marital status, English teachers¡¦ seniority, whether the English teachers assumed administrative duties concurrently, the grade of class, the number of students in the class, and whether the English teachers had received professional training programs. 4. Regarding the relationship between background variables and Coping Strategies: the relationship was consistent with respect to the English teacher¡¦s seniority and personal characteristics. The aforesaid results are presented to faculty training institutions, children¡¦s English teachers, and future researchers for their reference.