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This study was designed to discover, using an interview technique, patterns in perceptions of self, teaching context, and relationships between the two, of selected teachers in alternative secondary education programs. A theoretical framework derived from perceptual psychology was used as the basis of the interview schedule and the analyses of responses. An interview schedule was developed and field-tested prior to use in the study. Teachers from three metropolitan school districts in 10 alternative programs were contacted by letter asking for volunteers. Most of the programs were designed for disaffected students. Twenty-three teachers were interviewed by the investigator. Tape-recorded responses to the questions were analyzed in two ways according to selected concepts from perceptual psychology. In the first analysis, questions analyzed for perceptions of self, context, and the relationships between the two generated responses from which patterns seemed to emerge. Patterns in perceptions of self indicated that teachers focused on the importance of satisfying needs, of total life experiences, and of personal freedom in their work. Patterns in perceptions of context, i.e., alternative secondary education programs, showed that teachers focused on the importance of education as process and of dealing with students as individual persons. They advocated changes in traditional programs in these directions. Patterns in perceptions of relationship between self and context suggested that teachers focused on a personal and positive interaction between themselves and their work while being aware of inherent limitations and hindrances. In the second analysis, patterns analyzed for characteristics of perceptual field and the adequate self yielded the following findings ranked in order of expressed importance. First, perceptual field characteristics which emerged were: direction (87% of responses), and fluidity (58% of responses). Stability, resistance to change, did not seem to emerge. Teachers demonstrated prominently their awareness of satisfying needs, their own and their students', indicating the direction of their perceptual field. This awareness was followed by a less prevalent but still noteworthy readiness to change their methods and behaviors, fluidity of field, in order to accomplish their goals. Perhaps the prevalence of these two characteristics explains the absence of the characteristic of stability. Second, characteristics of the adequate self which emerged were: possession of rich and available perceptual field (94% of responses), openness to experience (90% of responses), positive self-perceptions (68% of responses), and capacity to identify with others (47% of responses). The teachers' responses indicated that they drew on past experiences and were open to new ones in order to function in their work. Their view of themselves was positive. Capacity to identify with others was the least evident. Four teachers emerged as having some atypical perceptions. They worked in two programs, one designed for academically able students and the other for senior students seriously interested in pursuing professional careers. This group perceived content as having more prominence than process and considered their role to be more similar to that of traditional teacher and academic counselor. Conclusions based on perceptions of these teachers were as follows: First, teachers tended to be person-oriented, aware of their own and students' needs. Second, teachers appeared to be process-oriented, favoring educational alternatives so that more students be educated. Third, teachers seemed aware of the total context of their work, the gratifying dimensions as well as the limitations. Fourth, teachers accented person and process in responses indicating the characteristics of direction and fluidity in their perceptual field. Fifth, teachers appeared to demonstrate two characteristics of the adequate person, openness to experience and possession of a rich perceptual field, lightly more than others.

The literature in the field of teacher education has recognized the cooperating teacher as the most important member of the professional team which supervises the clinical laboratory experience of the student teacher. In fact, various educators have noted that no single individual has so direct an influence as the cooperating teacher in shaping the attitudes, skills, and ideas of a prospective teacher. In spite of the recognition given to the significant role the cooperating teacher plays in the daily supervision of the student teacher, information is still missing on the identification and validation of important tasks or competencies necessary for the cooperating teacher to perform. The purpose of this study was to identify specific competencies of secondary school cooperating teachers, to determine the degree of importance of these competencies, and to analyze the differences in perceptions regarding the most important competencies. Respondents in the study were cooperating teachers, student teachers, and university supervisors associated with student teaching programs at The University of Arizona during the 1978-79 academic year. The study was conducted in the following manner: (1) A search of the literature was completed to locate lists of existing cooperating teacher competencies. (2) A list of cooperating teacher competencies published in 1966, by the Association of Teacher Educators was adopted as a starting point for competency identification. (3) A jury of eleven experts critiqued the original 35 competencies for appropriateness and clarity. These experts also offered suggestions for additional competencies. (4) The list of competencies was then revised to include new competencies, strengthen each existing competency, eliminate duplication, and correct grammatical inconsistencies. (5) To insure content validity, the list was next critiqued by two research specialists, who examined the competencies for appropriateness, clarity, and completeness. (6) Revised once again, the final list served as the data gathering instrument for this study. All 32 competencies identified in this study were validated. The most crucial competency identified as necessary/most important for the cooperating teacher was a human relations competency, that of maintaining communication. In fact, those competencies considered to be more directly related to maintaining interpersonal human relations and those more closely related to classroom interactions were perceived by all groups as more important for the cooperating teacher than were other competencies. Consistently, cooperating teachers viewed competencies as more important than did student teachers. As a result of their perceptions, university supervisors placed themselves in a middle position with perceptions overlapping those of both cooperating teachers and student teachers. Experience in teaching and subject matter specialization had little effect on perceptual differences regarding competencies. Experience in supervision and amount of graduate study did not impact on perceptual differences at all. Integrating these competencies into teacher education inservice programs would necessitate determining the following: (1) perceived need for developing each competency; (2) current level of competency integration; (3) instructional methods for facilitating competency achievement; (4) criteria for assessing achievement of competencies. Data from this study will be useful to the extent that it provides an expanded base on which to make decisions regarding the professional development of the cooperating teacher.

This study sought out the perceptions of middle school (any combination of grades 5-9) educators in 19 states regarding the specific learning experiences that should be included in the curriculum for the preparation of junior high/middle school teachers, the skills or characteristics that are needed by a junior high/middle school teacher to best meet the needs of the early adolescent, the desirability of a discrete middle school certificate and the reasons why or why not. Using the data collected, a paradigm was designed for a junior high/middle school teacher training program that reflected the best thinking of these educators. This middle school study utilized a modified Delphi Technique in surveying the perceptions of administrators, teachers holding secondary certificates and teachers holding elementary certificates currently employed at junior high/middle schools, North Central Association associate state chairmen, and college of education professors. The three primary points emerging from this study are (1) that the lines of communication need to be opened between educators in the junior high/middle schools and those at institutions where policies, teacher preparation programs and certification requirements regarding middle school education (and educators) are being formulated, (2) that those same policies, teacher preparation programs and certification requirements be formulated on the basis of research data gathered directly from those educators in junior high/middle schools, and (3) that a middle school teacher's characteristics are considered by those involved currently in middle school education to be more important than his/her skills.

There is little or no information regarding stress levels among teachers in semi-rural government secondary schools in South Africa. Furthermore, findings regarding the relationship between gender, age and teaching experience and teacher stress appear to be equivocal. The present study aims to examine the levels of stress among a group of semirural secondary school teachers, and whether there is a relationship between stress levels and gender, age, teaching experience and medical/psychiatric treatment. The researcher employed a survey using the Professional Life Stress Scale (PLSS) to assess teachers' stress levels. The demographic checklist consisted of the following items: gender, age, length of service in the teaching profession, psychiatric or medical treatment during the previous 3 months. Participants included 102 teachers, 38 of whom were males and 64 were female, from 9 selected government schools in the Durban semirural area. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample. T-tests were used to determine the relationship between gender and total stress scores, as well as to determine gender differences on individual items on the PLSS. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship between age and teaching experience and total stress scores. Chi squares were used to determine whether there was a relationship between gender and category of stress. In addition, reasons for obtaining medical/psychiatric services were examined. The research findings indicate that these secondary teachers are experiencing high levels of stress and that gender, age, teaching experience have no significant effect on their levels of stress. In addition, few participants seek psychological and medical services and most participants report psychosomatic symptoms. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

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The primary purpose of this study is to determine if three coping strategies (exercise, hobbies, and social support) were related to some or all of the three dimensions of burnout (Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment). One hundred and forty-three secondary school teachers from schools in urban and suburban areas of Eastern Canada participated in this study. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to assess burnout scores and a coping strategies questionnaire was used to assess participation in activities. Exercise and social support were positively related to the Personal Accomplishment dimension of burnout.

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between age, teaching experience, and major degree preparation area of the last degree earned of senior high school women teachers in Indiana and their motivation to pursue administrative careers. A second purpose was to report the opinions of women teachers relative to perceived opportunity to actively seek a position in administration at the senior high. school and/or central office level.An opinionnaire was designed to solicit responses from female senior high school teachers in Indiana concerning age, years of teaching experience, major degree preparation area of the last degree earned and their motivation to pursue administrative careers. Women teachers were asked to respond to questions requiring personal opinions on mentoring, relocating to assume an administrative position, interview opportunities for administrative positions, and the perceived reasons administrative positions were denied the respondent. In addition, the teachers were asked to state perceived opinions regarding the opportunity for women to actively seek an administrative career at the senior high school and/or central office level.One thousand names of women teachers in Indiana senior high schools, grade 9 through grade 12, were drawn by the Bureau of Educational Research from computer lists at the Department of Public Instruction. Six hundred twenty-two teachers responded to the opinionnaire.The responses to all questions soliciting demographic information were reported by number and percentage in three categories:1. Total number of respondents,2. Women who indicated an interest in pursuing administrative careers, and3. Women who stated they were disinterested in administrative careers in education.Responses to open-ended questions were separated into the following two categories and reported by percentage and/or number:1. Women who indicated an interest in pursuing administrative careers, and2. Women who stated they were disinterested in administrative careers in education.The following major findings were derived from the analysis of data:1. Of the 622 respondents, 142 respondents or 22.8 percent indicated an interest in pursuing administrative careers in senior high schools or central administration offices.2. Sixty-eight and four-tenths of the women interested in administration as a career were younger than 40 years of age.3. The largest number of respondents in each group, women who indicated an interest in administrative careers and women who indicated a disinterest in administrative careers, had taught from 5 to 15 years.4. The largest number of respondents in each group, women who indicated an interest in administrative careers and women who indicated a disinterest in administrative careers, reported the English degree as the major preparation of the last degree earned.5. Sixty-six and three-tenths of the 622 respondents indicated a lack of encouragement from administrators in their home district in regard to pursuing administrative careers.6. Twenty-one percent of the respondents perceived the major reason women have not pursued administration careers was due to family responsibilities.7. Eleven and seven-tenths percent of the respondents perceived the socialization process imposed on the American female as reason women have not pursued careers in school administration.8. Of the respondents who indicated an interest in pursuing careers in school administration, none cited family responsibilities as a limiting factor in the pursuit of an administrative career.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2007. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." Under the direction of Walter S. Polka. ETD. Electronic version approved: May 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 133-143) and appendices.