Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1946.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin, School of Nursing. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record.

The literature on industrial policy and managing economic development, typically, has focused on the role of the federal government, and more recently, on that of state governments. However, policies of the federal government and the specific development initiatives of state governments are not the whole story of economic management. Throughout the country, local government officials, working jointly with business and citizen groups, are actively engaged in local economic development, some more successfully than others. The hypothesis of this dissertation is that industrial policies at the national and state level have limited direct impact on local economic development in New England. The research is essentially exploratory in nature. The dissertation begins by examining the theoretical framework for the industrial policy debate at both the national and state levels. Industrial policies, implicit and explicit, are analyzed at the national, state and local levels. The case-study approach, involving one industrial community in each of the six New England states, formed the basis of the research. Each of the six communities chosen exhibited a similar industrial heritage as well as socio-economic characteristics. The expectation was that communities with like conditions, population growth, employment characteristics, industrial mix, education, skill levels and income characteristics, would react similarly to opportunities and change. This, however, was not the case. The principal research findings are that there are disconnections between industrial policies at the national, state and local levels. Although national and state industrial policies tend to address similar issues they approach them from very different perspectives, thereby achieving varied results. Furthermore, state and local policy makers are particularly conscious of political boundaries often leading to insular and parochial policies. Measurable indicators, such as unemployment rates, tax revenue, and income levels, offer only a limited explanation for economic strength within a community. Qualitative factors such as leadership, motivation, timely institutional responsiveness, local development capacity, sensitivity to labor force dynamics, positive attitudes toward development efforts and sensitivity to community history, and political and social culture, appear to play a more significant role in local economic development than do "top-down" industrial policies.

This article explores how inservice teachers articulate and challenge notions of effective teaching as part of an environment of high-stakes teacher evaluation (HSTE) in Tennessee. Drawing on data from public forum speeches at school board meetings, policy documents, and interviews, we used thematic discourse analysis to investigate how teacher effectiveness is discursively constructed by teachers. Findings demonstrate how participants drew upon competing definitions of effective teaching to build a discursive case for potential areas for improvement regarding the observation of teaching as part of HSTE policies. Because measures of teacher performance are an issue of much debate in the United States, teachers’ descriptions of the relationships between teaching evaluations, observations, professional development, and student learning are critical to understanding how to develop effective procedures for observation and evaluation. Implications for developing evaluation informed by teachers’ experiences are discussed.

This applied dissertation was designed to verify the effectiveness of professional learning communities (PLC), as it relates to the participation of administrators and teachers. Prior studies have emphasized the importance of continuing learning experiences for school administrators while working. Chiptin (2013) pointed out the importance of a learning network for principals, in which principals would support each other and share knowledge as well as having a forum to discuss common problems. The writer used a quantitative questionnaire copyrighted by Southwest Educational Development Laboratory as the instrument for the research. The main purpose of analyzing the data quantitatively was to measure the effectiveness of the PLC and the participation levels of the administrators and teachers in the PLCs in the target public school district. The results suggested that administrators and teachers perceived PLCs as a collaborative process in which their opinions and suggestions are shared in a democratic fashion. However, when it comes to the final decision, administrators have the last say. Moreover, administrators listen to teachers’ opinions and suggestions on how to solve problems and how to make the best decisions when it comes to student-centered learning. Furthermore, administrators take into consideration the opinions and suggestions of faculty and staff members when making the final decision. Recommendations include conducting a mixed-method study using both qualitative and quantitative data to provide a better understanding of cultural background between schools’ geographic location and culture as well as the individual staff members’ culture, as contrasted with the PLC dynamics. In addition, this study was conducted to provide better insight into specific student-centered activities and teacher practices.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the critical skills necessary to develop in new principals as perceived by both new principals and the central office administrators responsible for their development and support. The study also examined the extent and variety of the support offered to new principals and attempted to ascertain the type of support considered most valuable from the perspectives of both new principals and central office administrators. A focused interview protocol and the administration of the Beginning Principals' Critical Skills Survey were conducted with each of the 23 new principals and the 11 central office administrators representing 11 school districts in Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. The new principals had completed one full year in the principalship as of June 1995. The 23 new principals were surveyed at the beginning of their second year in the principalship and again midway through the year. One hundred percent of the surveys administered were returned. Both groups of respondents reported many critical skills necessary for new principal success with agreement on the top four out of five skills mentioned. Budgeting was the critical skill identified often by new principals that was not mentioned by central office administrators. The induction practices most valued by both sets of participants were collegial support groups, pairing (mentoring) with a veteran principal from within the district, and peer group problem solving and idea sharing. The survey responses of the new principals midway through the school year did not change significantly, though technical skills, such as budgeting and scheduling, generally received a higher rating of importance in the second administration of the survey. Recommendations for new principal support include: (1) the commitment of school district resources to the socialization and induction of new principals, (2) the development of district support programs that incorporate collegial group meetings and mentoring, (3) the utilization of a network of support resources from various agencies, such as university, school district, professional association, research laboratory, etc., to structure a comprehensive mentoring program for new principals, and (4) the development of multi-year professional growth plans.

This dissertation presents research that addresses the question of how professional development influences inservice teachers' professional identity. In three journal articles, specific inquiries address research questions drawn from this broader conversation. In article one, we answered the question of what unifying characteristics democratic educators exhibit in their pedagogies and methods. By conducting an integrative literature review, we find that those who indicate that they are democratic educators used four major pedagogical categories including inquiry methods, artistic methods, oral methods, and student-centered methods. In the second article, we addressed the question of how professional development influences teachers' professional civic identities. In an analysis of a qualitative descriptive survey, we found five major representative identity themes: innovative classroom practice, empathetic learning environments, relationships of trust, voices of confidence, and social connectedness. In the last article, we addressed the question of how affective identity may impact teacher practice. This qualitative exploratory study identified six potential intersections of affective outcomes and practice including gratitude and enhancing partnerships, empathy and building relationships, curiosity and focusing on improvements, excitement, and changes in classroom practice, hope and stronger advocacy, and passion and understanding diversity. By studying the lived experiences of teachers in a specific professional development program this dissertation captures aspects of inservice teachers' growth that can serve to influence the continued development of theory and research on professional identity growth and professional development programs.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to understand the opportunities for professional learning teachers encounter over the span of their careers. I conduct two qualitative case studies of mid-career teachers from Ontario, Canada to obtain insights into their teacher development experiences over their first eight years in the teaching profession. The analysis of interviews conducted during this period led me to identify four learning opportunities that were significant for the participants: mentoring at the beginning of the career, learning from and with colleagues, mandated collaborative learning, and part-time graduate studies. The teachers highlight the limits and possibilities of these opportunities considering their professional needs and contexts. Drawing on these findings, some practical recommendations for the design and implementation of teacher development programs are suggested.

This study examined educators' preferences for learning technology integration skills in order to provide the education community with justifiable data concerning the need for educator training alternatives. A survey was distributed to compare preservice educators, inservice educators, and professional development personnel's perceived effectiveness of eight training methods (N=759). The four research questions examined were: Do differences exist among preservice educators, inservice educators, and professional development personnel in the perceived effectiveness of different methods for learning technology integration skills? (2) Do differences exist among preservice educators, inservice educators, and professional development personnel in the perceived effectiveness of different methods for learning technology integration skills when categorized by age? (3) Do differences exist among preservice educators, inservice educators, and professional development personnel in the perceived effectiveness of different methods for learning technology integration skills when categorized by total hours of instruction? (4) Do differences exist among preservice educators, inservice educators, and professional development personnel in the perceived effectiveness of different methods for learning technology integration skills when categorized by locus of control? All groups were measured for similarities and differences in preferences on credit classes, workshops, open computer labs, technology personnel support, peer support, online help, printed documentation, and trial and error. In addition, those training preferences were cross-referenced with age, training hours, and the locus of control personality factor. MANOVAs and post-hoc analyses were performed for each major research question as well as trends in the data were examined. This study indicated that the most effective training methods were technical support, peer support, and credit courses. The least effective training methods were online help, printed documentation, workshops, and computer labs. Age, amount of training hours, and locus of control score did not provide as much information as did educator type when predicting training preference. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that educator training programs be revamped to include the methods that the educators themselves have affirmed as effective for learning technology integration skills. This assures that teachers are prepared to integrate technology into the curriculum and students are prepared for a technological society.