Submitted by isabela.moljf@hotmail.com (isabela.moljf@hotmail.com) on 2016-08-04T17:06:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 kleniodasilvavanderley.pdf: 1339868 bytes, checksum: b72bad359d14c8ea4d41a601e4887b3b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-08-05T11:48:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 kleniodasilvavanderley.pdf: 1339868 bytes, checksum: b72bad359d14c8ea4d41a601e4887b3b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-05T11:48:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 kleniodasilvavanderley.pdf: 1339868 bytes, checksum: b72bad359d14c8ea4d41a601e4887b3b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-01-22 / A presente dissertação analisou o curso de formação docente em nível médio, Curso Normal Médio, em seis escolas da Rede Estadual de Ensino do Estado de Pernambuco, jurisdicionadas à Gerência Regional de Educação – GRE, Litoral Sul. Justifica-se a investigação, considerando a experiência do autor tanto como professor do Curso Normal Médio, quanto como Analista Educacional na GRE Litoral Sul, desde 2008, sendo o último cargo até a data da realização da pesquisa. Esse estudo é importante para Gerência Regional de Educação Litoral Sul, pois vem revelar o andamento do curso Normal Médio, seus desafios e possibilidades. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com base na metodologia qualitativa, o método estudo de caso, as entrevistas e a pesquisa documental em seis escolas. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com técnicos da Secretaria de Educação do Estado de Pernambuco, o gestor da GRE Litoral Sul, gestores e professores de prática pedagógica de cada unidade escolar, além da análise documental e revisão bibliográfica. A partir do suporte teórico respaldado em Luckesi (2000), Pimenta (1997, 2002, 2005, 2006), Freire (1996, 2003), Gatti (2000), Veiga (2006), Santiago (1998), Sacristán (2000), Silva (2000), Libâneo (2005), Luck (2000) e Guimarães (2004). Foi estruturado um plano de ação para o fortalecimento do Curso Normal Médio, a partir de lacunas reveladas no estudo proveniente da formação continuada para os professores formadores, acervo de livros nas bibliotecas específicos para a formação de professores; quantidades de escolas que ofertam esse curso no mesmo município, adequação do acompanhamento do curso por uma coordenação, recurso financeiro, divulgação e esclarecimentos a comunidade e coordenador de curso com um perfil adequado, com aplicabilidade na GRE Litoral Sul, quanto em toda rede estadual de ensino. / The present dissertation analyzed the teacher training course on high school level, in six schools of the Educational State Network of the State of Pernambuco, linked to the Regional Educational Management (GRE, in Portuguese) of the South Coast. The study is justified considering the author’s experience as a teacher on such course, as well as an Educational Analyst at the GRE South Coast, since 2008, holding such position until this research was conducted. This study is important Regional Management of the South Coast, as it reveals the processes of the teacher training course on high school level, its challenges and possibilities. The research was developed based on qualitative methodology, the study case method, interviews and documental research in six schools. Semi structured interviews were conducted with technicians of the Education Secretariat of the State of Pernambuco, the manager of the GRE South Coast, managers and pedagogical practice teachers of each school unit, besides documental analysis and bibliographical research. As theoretical support we utilized works by Luckesi (2000), Pimenta (1997, 2002, 2005, 2006), Freire (1996, 2003), Gatti (2000), Veiga (2006), Santiago (1998), Sacristán (2000), Silva (2000), Libâneo (2005), Luck (2000) and Guimarães (2004). An educational action plan was structured to strengthen the Teacher Training course on high school level, from the gaps revealed in the study related to the continuing training of the training teachers, books specific to teacher training on the libraries, amount of schools that offer such course on the same town, adequacy of the course follow-up by the oversight coordination, financial resources, disclosure and communication with the community and course coordinator with a suitable profile, applicable at the GRE South Coast, as well as to the entire educational state network.

Change is critical in most organizations. International schools attempting to redefine 21st century education for their students are innovating pedagogies and schools’ structures. However, the leader of an organization or school may be the most influential advocate for or barrier to change. International schools’ leaders continue to play a role in the diffusion of distance education. This study identified the knowledge and experience of international school leaders and identified themes that are related to the likelihood distance education would or would not be adopted by the schools they lead. This applied dissertation describes international school leaders’ knowledge and use of innovation diffusion theory in adopting distance education into kindergarten-Grade 12 East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS). International schools are a unique niche in the global educational environment. Triangulating data from EARCOS school leaders collected through individual innovativeness surveys and coding open-ended interview transcripts provided insight to school leaders’ knowledge and use of innovation diffusion theory when applied to adopting or rejecting the use of distance education within their schools. Data collected in this study indicated that EARCOS school leaders’ use of formalized planning when diffusing innovations, including distance education, within their schools varied depending on the scale of the innovation and the stakeholders involved. EARCOS school leaders rated themselves higher on average in individual innovativeness when compared to other innovativeness survey normative groups. Several other key themes emerged from the data including the following: Opinion leadership and change agents play a vital role in diffusing innovations in EARCOS schools. School leaders need to be adaptable and recognize opinion leadership within their schools to diffuse innovations efficiently. EARCOS school leaders rated themselves as highly innovative but were reluctant to explore innovative ways of delivering instruction, including distance education. Distance education was not seen as relevant in EARCOS schools, even though school leaders recognized their students would be exposed to online learning upon matriculation. Barriers to the diffusion of distance education exist in EARCOS schools including cost to develop distance education programs and courses, existing school structures, and the perceived absence of need.

This Q methodology study focused on the perspectives of diverse community leaders concerning how their perceptions of leadership behaviors and practices were used to influence K-12 public education. The leaders’ perspectives were identified, described, analyzed, and compared with others who shared similar views through the use of Q methodology. Through purposeful and snowball sampling, a diverse group of community leader participants first responded to an open-ended questionnaire, inviting them to provide the leadership behaviors and practices they use to influence K-12 public education. This process of concourse development resulted in a total of 263 statements. These statements were then systematically reduced to 42 statements to be used in the Q sample, or research instrument. The Q sample represented the broad perspectives of the opinion domain and specifically addressed the content of the research question: How do community leaders perceive that their leadership behaviors and practices are used to influence K-12 public education? In the second stage of this Q methodology study, 45 community leader participants sorted these 42 statements to best reflect how they believed they most influenced public education. Following each sort, participants provided a rationale for their ± 4 statements which were used to further inform the data interpretation. These 45 Q sorts were then correlated to one another, and these intercorrelations were factor analyzed. Four factors were then rotated and extracted for this study. These four factors were analyzed abductively through examining the holistic placement of statements within their respective factor arrays, the descriptive comments provided following the Q sorts, and the demographic characteristics of the participants who comprised each factor. As a result of this analysis, the four factors were named: (a) Voice the Story and the Needs of My Underserved Community, (b) Provide Resources, Advocacy, and Grassroots Mobility, (c) Learn About Educational Issues to Lobby and to Serve, and (d) Build Supportive and Personal Relationships with Key School Stakeholders to Stay Informed.

The City of Dallas Environmental Education Initiative (EEI) is a hands-on, inquiry-based, K-12 water conservation education program that teaches students concepts about water and specific water conservation behaviors. Few descriptions and evaluations, especially quantitative in nature, of water conservation education programs have previously been conducted in the literature. This research measured the quantitative effects and impacts of the education program on water use in single-family homes in Dallas, Texas. A total of 2,122 students in 104 classrooms at three schools in the Dallas Independent School District received hands-on, inquiry-based water conservation education lessons and the average monthly water use (in gallons) in single-family homes was analyzed to measure whether or not there was a change in water use. The results showed that over a period of one calendar year the water use in the single-family homes within each school zone and throughout the entire research area in this study experienced a statistically significant decrease in water use of approximately 501 gallons per home per month (independent, t-test, p>0.001). Data from this research suggests that EEI is playing a role in decreasing the amount of water used for residential purposes. Additionally, this research demonstrates the use of a quantitative tool by which a water conservation education program’s effect on behavior change can be measured. This research shows great promise for reducing use and increasing the conservation of our world’s most precious resource.

In this dissertation, I sought to understand foster parents’ perceptions of giftedness, how foster children’s strengths, gifts, and talents affect their experiences and those of their foster parents, and what resources and information foster parents have for supporting their foster children’s education and gifts. To understand these beliefs, I analyzed quantitative and qualitative survey data from 53 foster parents throughout the United States and analyzed interviews from 14 of those foster parents. Most foster parents surveyed perceived their foster children as a little or very different academically and in other ways than their peers not in foster care, and perceived they had different educational experiences than their peers, largely attributed to their lived experiences prior to entering and during foster care. Most participants felt their foster children’s abilities, strengths, and talents affected foster parents a little or very much. Interviewed and surveyed foster parents defined giftedness as including the following attributes: academic achievement, natural ability or innate talent, intelligence, domain-specific capabilities, performance or skills above average for their age or above their peers, unique approaches to learning, and motivation for learning. Interviewees also addressed non-academic forms of giftedness, socioemotional characteristics of children with gifts and talents, and noted that these students may have some difficulties in school. Foster parents explained the adaptations they have made to their parenting because of their foster children’s strengths, talents, and abilities, and highlighted the unique life experiences of foster children, which were not only hinderances but also could help them succeed academically and in life. Participants also expressed why they think foster children are not identified for gifted education programming. Foster parents had many needs related to their foster children’s education and strengths, talents, and abilities. They made recommendations to those who train new foster parents and provide ongoing training to current foster parents; to schools and teachers of foster children; and to new foster parents about how to best meet the needs of foster children and encourage their gifts and talents.

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As educational leaders navigate change initiatives inherent in implementing Common Core academic standards and the Local Control Funding Formula, a focus on research-based practices through which leaders mediate policy and create and support environments in which teachers trust the principal, colleagues, and clients may contribute to academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between teacher trust in the principal, in colleagues, and in the students and parents who are their clients, and academic achievement. Specifically, the association between teacher trust and the difference in achievement between students of Latino and White ethnicities in California schools was investigated. The school percentage of students proficient or advanced on the 2013 California Standards Test in English Language Arts and standardized scores from the Omnibus Trust Scale constituted the data sources for this research. Multiple regressions were the primary statistical tests used to analyze the data. The results showed a statistically significant relationship between school disadvantaged economic status and achievement as well as a statistically significant relationship between school disadvantaged economic status and teacher trust in clients. After controlling for disadvantaged economic status, investigation of the relationship between teacher trust and achievement revealed a statistically significant association between teacher trust in the principal, in colleagues, and in clients and school academic achievement. When examining the relationship between teacher trust and the difference in achievement between students of Latino and White ethnicities, no statistical significance was detected. Additional research on the difference in achievement between students of Latino and White ethnicities, using measures of teacher trust as predictor variables with a larger sample, is recommend.

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