There has been much discussion in the sociological literature as to the relative importance of different influences that impinge upon recruits undergoing professional socialization. Merton et. al. (1957), see faculties of professional training institutions as being very influential, whereas Quarantelli et. al. (1964), see this group as relatively less so, and instead, see recruits taking 'different paths’ through professional school and being subject to a variety of influences. Few writers however, deal with the problem of why some groups in the training situation are important to different trainees and others are not. It is the aim of this thesis to find out what conceptions of their future roles recruits bring with them to the training situation, why they find different groups in this situation important to them, and what changes these initial conceptions undergo. Students being prepared for teaching careers were selected as the research case. It was assumed that recruits entering training would be fairly indiscriminate, holding diffuse, idealistic conceptions of their future roles. Such occupational role conceptions (or occupational self concepts, as we called them), it was further assumed, determined which groups would become important to them (their reference groups). It was further hypothesised that exposure to the realities of their occupation, (in this case, teaching practice) would cause a change in recruits’ occupational self conceptions, and thus, their choice of reference groups. Thus recruits completing their course will have more specific and realistic occupational self concepts, be more discriminating, chose different reference groups, and evaluate their practice experiences differently, than those just beginning their training course. A sample of 112 trainee teachers at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Education were selected, of whom 57 were in their first year and 55 in their final year of training. The time factor prevented a longitudinal study from being conducted, thus beginning and completing teachers were compared, and from this, inferences made about possible processes of change. Data were gathered by a questionnaire designed to - a). determine which reference groups were influential to trainees. b). find students' evaluations and perceptions of their experiences during training. c). discover what occupational self concepts trainees held by the use of an attitude scale. The results obtained showed, that contrary to our predictions, beginning trainees did not have a more diffuse conception of their occupational role than completing trainees. A possible explanation for this was put forward in terms of differential familiarity with the statements of educational philosophy that made up the attitude scale. Neither, it was found, were completing teachers less idealistic than beginners, nor did they positively evaluate teaching practice to a much greater degree than the latter. The failure of these predictions were explained by differential interaction patterns which acted as 'insulating' factors against the experiences of teaching practice. The two predictions that were supported were that beginning trainees would be less discriminating than completing trainees, and that occupational self concepts were an important determinant of what reference group a trainee chose. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

This qualitative study explored the effects of trauma as well as coping mechanisms used to deal with post-traumatic stress experienced by ILS paramedics providing emergency care services in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. It also looked at the competencies needed to cope with traumatic stress and promote biopsychosocial well-being. It is argued that it is important to look at this subject from a South African perspective since most of the published research on the sources and effects of trauma on paramedics and other frontline emergency services personnel experience comes from developed countries. It was discovered that there is minimal empirical research from South Africa on similar topics, except for a study in the Cape Town metropole. In addition to that, most published research relied on quantitative data collection methods. Through qualitative case study research this thesis draws on observations and relevant data gathered by way of semi-structured face to face interviews with eleven operational Intermediate Life Support (ILS) paramedics who work in the Gauteng province. Data is gathered on the sources of stress and coping mechanisms currently used by the paramedics. The gathered data was analysed using thematic analysis. The results show that the sources of stress for paramedics include attending gruesome scenes, extreme pressure to save lives and attending a scene where a child or a colleague is involved. It was also observed that the paramedics have a set of coping strategies to manage post-traumatic stress which are both positive and negative coping strategies. In addition to interviews with ILS paramedics from whom data is gathered on their education and training, the results in this thesis gathered insight from a panel of six experts who were engaged through a focus group discussion. These experts have demonstrable expertise in curriculum development, trauma counselling and training. The panel recommended that the training of the paramedics must be more realistic such that the paramedics are better equipped to deal with the challenges they may encounter in the work environment. It was also revealed that those who train paramedics are not well equipped to deliver the health and wellness module. It can be concluded that some paramedics are not well equipped to deal with traumatic events they encounter in the field. The researcher recommends that the health and wellness module be delivered by people who are specifically trained to deal with mental health issues. Insights gathered in this study will help the paramedics, those they help and their families.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2002. / Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 24, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Education. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2006. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-175).

The dominant theme is the examination of the development of the Teachers' Registration Movement and within this context to consider the elements of conflict bearing on policy and decision-making. The submission explores the relationship between private teachers, as represented by the College of Preceptors and external agencies, in ways that no other work does: the position of the government in relation to private teachers is considered in the context of the royal commissions on education, of the early examinations provided by the College of Preceptors, Oxford and Cambridge universities and the Royal Society of Arts, and of the Scholastic Registration Association. Ground-breaking themes are employed in that (a) a comprehensive account of the Teachers' Registration Movement is presented; (b) there is a consideration of the way in which conflict and divisions emerge within this development; (c) there is an examination of how elementary and secondary teachers interacted with the state over teachers' registration (this involved a small-scale project conducted by me within the Education Department. University of Wales, Swansea in 1999); (d) attempts are made to relate issues of the past to present-day practice, e.g. the re-emergence of earlier principles to the Beloe Report recommendations. The submission's extension of knowledge in the field is supported therefore in terms of the archival coverage between 1846 and the present day, and of explaining in considerable detail the financing, membership, policies, individual contributions, rules governing registration, and overall effectiveness of the teacher registration councils. As far as these issues are concerned, it is the focus on conflict within the development of the Teachers' Registration Movements that sets it apart from other contributions. Works prior to the submission did not have access to all of the relevant documentation at TNA and relied on other less informative sources. The essential task was to interpret a series of events that had not been fully examined before.

This study begins with a perceived crisis of confidence in professional knowledge. The traditional, positivist, "theory into practice" approach to the development of a professional knowledge base has been found to be unable to satisfactorily explain expert action—especially in situations of complexity and ambiguity such as those routinely found in teaching. Much recent literature, however, has taken the approach that professional knowledge must be constucted by the practitioner In the context of the practice. In this view, theory is developed from practice by reflecting on one's action-related knowledge. Unfortunately, because they tend to be Intellectually isolated and routinely having to deal with many clients at once, teachers have few opportunities to use this approach. The problem addressed in this study is how to provide a professional development experience which fosters reflective activity and the personal construction of knowledge by teachers within the context of their classroom practice. The primary theoretical perspectives which underpin this study are those of "constructivism", in which learning is viewed as an active process of constructing concepts by connecting new information with prior knowledge, and "reflection as reconstruction of experience" in which reflective activity is seen as a way of reconstructing understandings within the context of practice. These perspectives, together with a brief review of related literature regarding reflection within the teaching profession, provide the theoretical framework of the study. The study consists of a case analysis of a professional development activity which was designed to promote the reflective activity of teachers. The activity gave two participant teachers an opportunity to observe and discuss videotaped recordings of each other's practice over a period of several months. The resultant discussions were audiotaped by the Investigator and transcribed for analysis. Informal examination of transcripts and analysis of metaphor were used to identify elements of teacher knowledge. Instances of reflective activity were identified using a "clue structure" or set of criteria. The study concludes that elements of teacher knowledge can be identified in a such a discussion of teaching practice, that instances of reflective activity were evident during the time period of the study, and that the professional development activity was perceived by the teachers as being of personal benefit. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

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No description available.