This study was conducted to determine if varying amounts of mathematics preparation and varying attitudes toward mathematics by teachers had a significant effect on the mathematics performance of their eighth grade students. Mathematics preparation was determined by the total number of college credits a teacher had accumulated and attitude toward mathematics was determined by a survey using the Revised Math Attitude Scale authored by Aiken and Dreger in 1961. In addition to mathematics preparation and attitude, the teacher characteristics of sex, age, years of experience, ethnicity, and type of certification were also observed and analyzed in relation to student performance. The sample population consisted of 30 eighth grade teachers from 10 middle schools in a large southwestern metropolitan school district and their 1,368 students. Student performance was measured by using the student math scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. All variables in the study were tested at the .05 level of confidence using multiple regression and analysis of variance. None of the variables were significant predictors of student performance when the teachers were analyzed as an entire group. When divided into subgroups by student achievement levels, teachers with greater amounts of preparation had a significant effect at the .05 level of confidence with high achievement students; teachers with high attitudes toward mathematics had a significant effect at the .05 level of confidence for students of medium achievement. All other variables were insignificant for the subgroups. Conclusions were drawn that the individual teacher characteristics examined were not significant predictors of student performance unless students were grouped by achievement levels. This indicated that "more" in terms of math preparation for teachers or the concept of being a specialist at the middle school level was not a significant predictor of teacher effectiveness.

Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study employed a longitudinal cross-lagged panel design to evaluate the effect of teachers’ self-efficacy on their motivation to participate in professional development. Data were collected from 43 Hong Kong secondary school teachers at 2 measurement points. The cross-lagged panel analyses revealed teachers’ higher self-efficacy predicted lower motivation to join the professional training programme. However, this negative effect brought by self-efficacy was only significant if the programme was appealing to the teachers at Time 1. Correlation statistics also showed that teachers with higher self-efficacy tended to rate their familiarity of the programmes higher at both measurement points. The meaningfulness of the programmes was also positively correlated with the motivation to join the programmes. / published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The purpose of this study was to compare middle level teachers' perception of their working environment under two different organizational structures: departmental (DEP) and Interdisciplinary Teaming Organization (ITO). In addition within the ITO schools, this study compared the working environment perception of teachers between different schools and between team members and non-team members. ITO is characterized by organizing teams of teachers around a core of subjects and providing them with a block of time, a common planning period, and shared students. Studies suggested that ITO provided circumstances for increased cooperation among teachers and enhanced decision making participation comparing to DEP schools. As a consequence teachers reported more job satisfaction and higher level of efficacy. However, very few studies were found to study these differences at the school level. The sample of this investigation consisted of 78 middle level teachers--Forty-seven teachers from two middle schools with ITO and thirty-one teachers from two DEP junior high schools. Subjects were administered a slightly modified questionnaire, previously used with elementary teachers, consisting of 16 different scales depicting the various aspects of the teachers' working environment. In addition, in order to enhance the analysis of the results other data was collected through open-ended interviews, as well as 2-way Analysis of Variance of teacher background components was conducted. The findings revealed: (1) ITO teachers felt more positive than DEP teachers with regard to the factors: faculty cohesiveness; socialization and recruitment of new teachers; goal-setting; teacher evaluation; instructional coordination; homogeneity and shared values; and instructional rewards. No significant differences were obtained with regard to job satisfaction, efficacy and decision making participation. (2) No significant differences in attitudes were obtained between ITO members and non-members within each ITO school. (3) Teachers in ITO 2 school felt more positive than ITO 1 teachers on only three scales: decision making participation, managing student behavior, and instructional rewards. Results suggest that ITO has a positive impact on the teachers' working environment, however, decision making participation, job satisfaction and efficacy level may be affected more by other factors. Future research should focus on improving the effectiveness of ITO.

This descriptive study was undertaken for the primary purpose of identifying attitudes and beliefs of secondary teachers toward staff development. Participants in the study included the total population of teachers in two high schools in a southwestern school district. The objectives of the study were to identify the attitudes and beliefs of teachers toward staff development as an important part of their professional growth, and toward the organization, processes, and personnel involved in staff development. Also to be identified were the level of knowledge and interest teachers have of specific topics for staff development programs, and similarities/differences in teachers' attitudes based on school, department, number of years teaching experience, education level, participation in a career ladder program, and gender. The data was collected using a two-part, modified Likert scale questionnaire. The findings of the study suggest that the teachers from the school itself should plan staff development, including the content which should be based on the teachers' needs as determined from an open-ended questionnaire, and that the instructors should be teachers from the school or the school's administrators. Staff development programs should incorporate a variety of teaching methods, although lecture was rated as the least desirable single method by the teachers. Staff development should be regular and on-going, with quarterly sessions receiving the most agreement from the teachers. It should be held at the school itself, during released time, and job-related. The teachers agreed that staff development should be evaluated throughout the school year, by the teachers, assessing whether its objectives had been met. Participation should not be mandatory, but depend upon the content of the program and the needs of the individual. Incentives to participate should include the intrinsic value of improved teaching ability, salary increases, university credit, and increased student achievement. Finally, over seventy percent of the teachers agreed that staff development is an important part of their professional growth.

The problem with which this investigation was concerned was the relationship between selected facilitative characteristics of human interaction and other factors associated with the secondary teacher. These factors included job satisfaction and courses completed beyond the bachelor's degree.

by Law Ning Chi. / Added t.p. in Chinese and English. / Thesis (M.A.Ed.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.i / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.iii / INTRODUCTION / Background of the study --- p.1 / Purpose of the study --- p.5 / Concept of humor --- p.6 / Concept of burnout --- p.8 / REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE / Humor / Some of the early humor theories --- p.11 / Humor in education --- p.14 / Measure of sense of humor --- p.20 / Burnout / Prevalence of teacher burnout --- p.22 / Symptoms of teacher burnout --- p.23 / Sources of stress and burnout --- p.25 / Measure of burnout --- p.27 / Humor and Burnout --- p.29 / METHOD / Measures --- p.33 / Hypothesis --- p.35 / Pilot Study --- p.36 / Main Study --- p.36 / RESULTS / Reliability of Instruments --- p.40 / General Comparisons --- p.40 / Relation between Humor and Burnout --- p.46 / Prediction of Burnout by Humor --- p.54 / DISCUSSION / Teacher Burnout Phenomenon in Hong Kong --- p.64 / "Teachers' Background Characteristics, Humor, and Burnout" --- p.64 / Humor and Burnout --- p.66 / Recommendations for Future Research --- p.68 / REFERENCES / APPENDICES

Hong Kong educational system has faced drastic changes. In the past few years, there are various reform policies being implemented in view of the changes and needs in the new global economy. Grounded in the perspective of symbolic interactionism, the present life histories research studies the transformation of secondary school teachers' lives in the local context of education reforms, from 1997 to 2005. The results reveal how teachers narrate the teaching profession as pilgrimage, which explains the formation of the moral identity and the frame of reference of the practitioners. Teachers treasure humanistic values, believe in development of young people through "life-to-life" long-term interaction, and trust in emancipation through education that delivers knowledge, fosters civic development and personal growth. However, in the context of education reforms dominated by the neoliberal, managerial and performativity discourse, the pilgrimage and its heritage have been threatened. The meso context, including the leadership style of principals and the organizational relationship among teachers, has impact on teachers comparable to that of the macro context of education reforms. It is through the meso context that education reforms are mediated, or distorted, in school level. Ontological narratives of teachers have become fragmented, as their character is being corroded in a context of education reforms and school culture that revitalize and redefine professional identity under the hegemonic discourse. Teachers engage in a reflexive project, which is a dynamic interaction of the self and the social context, with a role to be played by self-conscious emotions. Discussions would be made on the need for rebuilding the narrative identity of the teaching profession, together with the implications on implementation of education reforms in the local context. / Ho Yuk Fan. / "May 2005." / Adviser: Tsang Wing Kwong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2526. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 381-394). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

The focus of this study was on the work values of secondary school teachers. Values have been defined in many ways. The common agreement is that values are standards, beliefs, or principles that do guide and direct a person's behavior. The values a teacher holds will influence a student due to the natural role-modeling effect in the classroom. With the advent of career education and exploration of the world of work, the values held toward work become a timely topic. The discussion of values and value clarification in all aspects of a person's life is one that is becoming very popular in education.