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<p>Smoking is still the leading cause of death and illness in Canada today (Wong, 1990). The process of addiction begins for many as early as 12 years of age (Health Canada, Canadian Association for School Health, Canadian Council on Smoking and Health, Heart and Stroke Foundation, 1991), and currently, only 3% of people ever begin smoking beyond their teens. King and Coles (1992) established that by age 15,22% of males and 29% of females are occasional or regular smokers. These and other statistics clearly establish that smoking is a major health care concern. In order to effectively reduce or eliminate this problem, the root causes or determinants of smoking behaviour must first be recognized. The various demographic, socioeconomic, personality and biologic factors (Flay, d'Avernas, Best, Kersell & Ryan, 1983) must be addressed by comprehensive strategies which include the goals of promotion, prevention, intervention and support. These goals should be achieved by means of appropriate instruction, social support, support services and physical environmental intervention (Council for a Tobacco-Free Ontario [CTFO], 1991; Garcia, d'Avernas & Best, 1988).</p> <p>The focus of this paper is instruction, which is defined to include a well developed curriculum, relevant teaching and learning materials and appropriate teacher preparation. The principles of a Social Influences Approach are applied to the development of TOBAC-NO!, a grade six smoking prevention curriculum unit for the Hamilton Board of Education.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

This project examines the role of values in a teacher-constructed global education curriculum. Using several strategies, both teacher and student values were made explicit. The teacher's strategy was to pinpoint career events which had impacted on the curriculum that she had designed. These career events were synthesized into several value statements. Action research was used to suggest value positions for the students. The intersection of teacher and student values led to suggestions as to how these intersecting values could be integrated into the teacher-constructed curriculum. Values that did not intersect, and the idea of alienation, a "nonvalue" were also cons1dered as add1tions to the curriculum. The project argues for making the values of all the stakeholders in a teacher-constructed curriculum explicit as a means of continually revitalizing such a document. / Master of Arts (MA)

As the key leader at the school level, the principal plays a central role in the implementation of professional development programs and measurement of the outcomes of these activities (Elmore, 2000). This investigation explored high school principals' roles in and principals' perceptions of teacher professional development as a mechanism for improving teacher instructional practices. The 15 high school principals interviewed for this study were from one region in a southeastern state. Using the professional development standards developed by the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) (2001) to frame this study, a non-experimental descriptive research design was employed. Specifically, data collection methods included focus group interviews and document analysis. Three focus group interviews were conducted, each lasting approximately 90 minutes. Data sources were the transcripts from the focus group interviews with principals and information from each principal's school improvement plan. Data from both the transcripts and document review were sorted and categorized using the long-table approach (Krueger & Casey, 2000). Data were organized into the NSDC domains of context, process, and content. The findings indicated that principals assumed the responsibility for providing professional development at their school and reported that as part of that responsibility they performed the following eight roles: (a) connected the professional development to school and/or division goals, (b) allowed teachers to play a part in their professional development, (c) provided the resources of funding and time for professional development, (d) provided support and encouragement for implementation of the professional development, (e) held a variety of professional development activities at their school, (f) collected student achievement data to determine the professional development needs, (g) determined the effectiveness of the professional development in classrooms, and (h) allowed teachers to choose the professional development activity to attend. The two roles, supported in the literature, which only a few principals discussed were: implementing PLCs and providing on-going, continuous professional development with follow-up. One area of concern reported by the principals was the reality that all teachers do not implement the professional development in their classrooms. Five major conclusions were drawn from the findings in this study. Principals value teacher professional development as a mechanism to change teachers' instructional practices and accept the responsibility for implementing professional development at their schools. The majority of the professional development activities reported by the principals were generic type professional development activities that related to all teachers. However, principals do not expect that all teachers will implement the innovations in their classrooms. PLCs, in which teachers are working collaboratively to improve student achievement, are not being implemented in all reporting participants' high schools. Time is an important factor in determining the implementation of the professional development in the classroom. / Ed. D.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of Texas principals as to the degree to which their local school districts are meeting their ongoing professional development need. The study was conducted to analyze and describe the survey and interview responses of Texas principals as to their perceptions of the degree to which their local school districts provide learning experiences aligned with their needs. Texas principals’ perceptions regarding the characteristics of important and meaningful professional learning experiences were explored. The study included an analysis of the extent to which Texas principals perceive that the learning opportunities they are provided adequately meet those needs. Additionally, various factors influencing principals and their perceptions were examined. These factors included type of school, school setting, school system size, characteristics of students, and characteristics of the principals. The perceptions of school district staff development administrators were analyzed regarding topic importance, topic provision by the local district, and the usefulness of those topics. Finally, the perceptions of the principals and the staff development administrators were compared. Thirteen school districts participated in this study. Of the 273 principals surveyed, 155 completed the survey, yielding a return rate of 56.8%. One campus principal from each of the 13 districts was interviewed. Additionally, 13 district staff development administrators were surveyed and interviewed. Data analysis produced several findings. First, as a whole, principals rated the importance of each of the 22 proposed professional development topics at or above the important level. However, the degree to which local school districts provided training on those topics varied according to the size of the district and the setting of the campus. Second, the relationship between the professional development provided and the quality, or usefulness, of that school district’s training was considered strong for several of the 22 topics. Finally, principals and staff development administrators agreed on several characteristics of successful professional development efforts. This study’s findings offer implications for campus principals and school districts striving to meet the individual, campus, and district needs for professional development.

Thesis advisor: Irwin Blumer / Over the past decade, demands and expectations placed on after school programming have changed dramatically. In the new standards based culture of accountability, after school time is seen as an opportunity to provide additional time to learn and demonstrate learning to standards. Professional development opportunities offered has not kept pace with demands being placed on after school programs. After school programs must have protocols in place to evaluate and implement professional development plans in the most effective manner possible. This study was conducted to support programs with planning professional development by assessing the impact of prevalent forms of professional development available on teaching practice and perception. The research questions were: What are teachers' perceptions of how involvement in teaching a new science program affected teaching practice in the after school program? How do teachers' perceive the three models of professional development - intervention, self-initiated, and district directed - contributed to teacher learning? Data was collected in the form of journals, interviews and observations utilizing a pool of five teachers who implemented a new set of science classes during after school time. Findings included a positive increase in perceptions of practice and teacher learning. The level of increase was a function of accurately identifying teacher needs and mapping the best forms of professional development while taking into account teacher's learning/working style. The literature review stated clearly the impact of properly aligned professional development. It underscored the need for professional learning to take place in the context of a collaborative environment that supports teacher change. The study indicates that, irrespective of the form, professional development completed in the context of a collaborative learning community has the ability to create sustainable change. It is the collaborative discussion that serves as the basis for the ongoing professional development. Each form has a particular audience for whom the impact will be the most direct, however, professional development in any form will have an impact on teacher perception and practice. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Joseph Pedulla / The most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, focuses on the continued importance of teacher professional development. There are a great deal of challenges involved with delivering high-quality teacher professional development to all teachers, however, such as time, geography, and available resources. Online professional development is emerging in the literature as a viable alternative to traditional face-to-face online professional development. With the recent emergence of such a trend, however, very little research had been conducted on the quality of the individuals providing the online PD to teachers. The aim of this study was to examine one online facilitator-training program which was designed to train facilitators in the skills and best practices associated with delivering high quality PD to teachers across eight states. Using survey data collected over a two-year period, this dissertation explored the relationship between facilitator trainee ratings of training workshop quality and teacher outcomes of interest through a set of five regression equations. While only three of the relationships were found to be statistically significant, all provided valuable insight nonetheless. Specifically, the significant contributions include; a better insight into the relationship between training facilitators to deliver PD specifically in an online format and teacher perception of course quality, a series of tools to measure this relationship with other facilitator training programs in the future and, a contribution to the sparse literature currently available on this topic. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation.

Professional development has been deemed ineffective for several decades. This ineffectiveness could stem from the one-size-fits-all professional development designs, and the inconsistencies and contradictions pointed out in professional development research (which is used to create these designs). Investigating how subject taught (STEM and non-STEM), Title I status of the school (Title I and non-Title I), and grade level of instruction (elementary, middle and high) could influence teachers’ preferences regarding components included in an effective design is a step toward resolving some of these inconsistencies. The research design was an embedded mixed method – an overall causal-comparative design embedded with interviews. Interviews determined teachers’ perceptions of an effective professional development design. The survey investigated preferences for nine components: content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, active learning, duration, alignment with goals and policies, follow-up, collaboration, support, and resources (tangible and intangible). In the interviews, teachers communicated a need for differentiation based on grade level of instruction, Tittle I status of the school, and subject taught, with high percentages of agreement with the final questions of the survey. The ordinal logistic regression indicated that subject taught and Title I status of the school did not have a statistically significant effect on the dependent variable. Breaking up participants according to grade level of instruction (elementary versus secondary) had a statistically significant effect on teachers’ preferences regarding the components included in an effective professional development design. This indicated that professional development should be differentiated based on elementary and secondary instruction. When the researcher reviewed the components, some showed that the independent variables, Title I status of the school and grade level of instruction had a statistically significant effect. Although the ordinal logistic regression revealed a lack of statistical significance, percent differences indicated that factors such as subject taught, Title I status of the school, and grade level of instruction influenced teachers’ preferences regarding specific components in an effective professional development design. These findings illustrate promise that in a larger study, statistical significance might be present. Thus, professional development should be differentiated based on subject taught, Title I status of the school, and grade level of instruction. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection