High novice teacher turnover rate and shortage of skilled novice teachers continue to be an unsolved issue in the U.S. educational system. Novice teachers often suffer low teaching efficacy which may reduce their teacher resiliency and lead to teacher turnover. Past studies suggested that novice teachers’ low teaching efficacy results from their scant teaching experience and their inability to assess impacts of their teaching on students. The failure for novice teachers to utilize effective pedagogies and improve student learning often results in elevated professional anxiety, frustration, and motivation to quit teaching. Recent studies pointed out that learning analytics could help novice teachers to teach more effectively by tapping into student data and data analytics. But how to structure a professional development for novice teachers to learn to utilize learning analytics in teaching remains a question. To address these issues, a survey study and a case study are conducted in this research. The survey study analyzed 72 teachers’ perceptions and experience of using learning analytics in teaching. The results indicated common barriers for teachers to use learning analytics such as lack of awareness of learning analytics, insufficient computer skills and math/statistics knowledge. Also, when teachers considered learning analytics useful their usage of learning analytics correlated positively with teaching efficacy and teacher resiliency. Built upon insights from the survey study, the case study recruited five novice teachers and investigated the effects of a learning analytics professional development. The results suggested that after the learning analytics professional development, all participants have generally improved their learning analytics knowledge, teaching efficacy, teacher resiliency, and developed higher confidence and intention to use learning analytics in future teaching. One implication of these results is that using teaching scenario could be an effective format to structure learning analytics professional development to improve novice teachers’ competence in assessing teaching practices and their teaching efficacy. Another implication is that learning analytics professional development could be implemented as intervention in teacher education programs to reduce the likelihood of teacher turnover before novice teachers start teaching formally.

Quality Circles (QC) took root in Japan during the 1960s and was introduced into the U.S. in 1974. Today, many people believe QCs can increase teacher and school effectiveness. Beyond the realm of opinion, however, little research supports this belief. This study had three purposes. The first was to review QCs' literature. The second was to identify QC structures and problem solving procedures. The third was to test QCs in an educational setting and to analyze their effects on the attitudes of teachers. Methodology. QC groups and comparison groups were established at four school sites. Two measurement instruments, the Work Environment Scale (WES) and the Group Environment Scale (GES), were selected. Both the QC group and the non-QC group were pre tested using the WES. QC experience (treatment) was provided for the QC group. After six months, post testing was conducted to identify attitude changes regarding the work environment. The QC group was pre and post tested using the GES in order to identify change in participants' attitudes regarding relationships within the QC group and attitudes about the group's effectiveness. Findings. Hypothesis One: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about their work environment. In eight out of ten WES subscales, QC attitudes changed in the predicted direction. In only two cases, however, was the change statistically significant. Hypothesis Two: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about their work environment as compared to non-circle members. In eight of the ten WES measures, attitude improvement for the QC group exceeded that of the non-QC group. In only three cases was this improvement statistically significant. Hypothesis Three: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about other circle members. In four of five measures, change occurred in the direction predicted. In only one case was this change statistically significant. Hypothesis Four: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about the effectiveness of the group. All five measures of group effectiveness showed statistically significant change. Conclusions. (1) QCs can operate successfully in an educational setting. (2) The attitudes of QC participants toward their work environment improved when compared to the attitudes of non-participants. (3) QC problem solving QC worked effectively in the educational sites. (4) QC participation improved personal relationships.

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The problem of this study was to determine whether the attitudes toward selected supervisory practices among the teachers and supervisors of Region X, Texas and Karachi, Pakistan, are similar or different according to their sex, age, marital status, educational attainment, and years of experience.

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M.S.

The problem of this study is to determine the normal teaching load of teachers teaching in the various fields in certain selected high schools of Texas.