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Teacher leadership is a relatively new concept in the South African educational field, with a few studies recently conducted. As a school principal, I have long held the incontrovertible view that it is the innovative and committed leadership of all stakeholders, teachers in particular, that is required for school improvement. Collectively, the experience, qualification, skills and passion of teacher leaders forms the cornerstone for collegiality, partnership and wide-scale participation in transforming schools into centres of excellence. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Hostile school environments are a cause of concern and a perennial international educational problem. The UNICEF’s Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) approach is an international intervention meant to safeguard learners against hostile school environments. The CFS approach mandates schools to offer learners environments and conditions that uphold children’s rights and enhance their development to full potential. The purpose of this mixed methods research study, employing a concurrent triangulation design, was to explore the role of teachers in the promotion of CFS environments. Holsti’s (1970) role theory formed the theoretical framework of this study. The research questions focused on teachers’ understanding of the CFS concept, support offered, strategies employed, challenges encountered, and the implications for teacher professional development. The data collection methods were questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and document analysis with school heads, teachers and learners in the seven government urban secondary schools in Mutare district of Manicaland province in Zimbabwe. Quantitative and qualitative data were independently analysed and merged at the interpretation stage through triangulation of results. Major findings reveal that teachers have poor understanding of the CFS concept, are offered moderate support, occasionally employ viable strategies, and are hindered by various factors in the process of promoting CFS environments. The study’s implications for teacher professional development are rooted in identifying sustainable approaches that adequately equip teachers with relevant information, skills and attitudes that ensure the promotion of CFS environments.

The teaching profession, like many other professions, has rules and regulations that guide the conduct of its members. Teachers and those who aspire to take up teaching are expected to conduct themselves and discharge their duties in an impeccably professional manner. However, there is concern especially among education authorities regarding unprofessional conduct of some of those employed in schools and colleges. This action research study is a response to this concern. Its goal was to explore issues of professional conduct as part of the induction process of new members entering the teaching profession, and to thereby develop a better understanding of how best to raise student teachers’ awareness around professional conduct issues. The study used a qualitative research framework located in the interpretive paradigm. Three theoretical frameworks informed the design and subsequent analysis of the findings, namely, Burn’s transformational leadership, Mezirow’s transformative learning and Kolb’s theory of experiential learning. Two cycles of workshops around issues of professional conduct were conducted over a period of four weeks with a sample of 40 pre-service student teachers: final year students enrolled in the college’s three year Diploma in Education programme, all members of a science education class. Data collection strategies used were semi-structured interviews, observation and the use of reflective journals, among others. Analysis of the data involved identification of emerging themes and patterns. Initial findings indicate that prior to the commencement of the cycles of action research, participants appeared to have a limited understanding around issues of professional conduct, but that this changed as they participated in the workshops. The data of the study suggest that further steps need to be taken to establish optimal ways of incorporating professional conduct issues into the college’s teaching curriculum.

This research was based on a multi-case study design focused on the leadership practice of high school principals and assistant principals and their roles in improving graduation rates. The study sought to answer one overarching research questions: In schools that demonstrate an increase in graduation rates what leadership practices are evidenced in principals and assistant principals and teacher leaders. One sub-question addressed the tools and interventions that the leadership team practices in relation to improving graduation rates and the second sub-question addressed the accountability of changing standards with respect to graduation rates. A third sub-question sought to answer how interactions of principals and assistant principals relevant to improvement in student performance are interpreted by faculty and staff. The purposeful sample from each of the three high schools consisted of one principal, four assistant principals and one teacher leader. Data collection methods included interviews, observations and qualitative document review of high school graduation rates. The study reveals six major findings: (a) school leaders establish a clear vision, mission or goal to increase graduation rates, (b) identification, management and evaluation of academic enrichment programs are necessary interventions for student success, (c) school leaders build a culture of student learning and achievement through a system of processes, programs and support initiatives, (d) the leadership team is knowledgeable, strongly motivated and devoted to their role as leaders in serving all students, (e) school leaders use data as guiding variables in making decisions regarding at-risk student achievement and success, and (f) school leaders develop and foster positive relationships with students and teachers. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Yao, Jingdan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-70). / Abstracts in English and Chinese; appendix in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.ii / Table of Contents --- p.iii / List of Tables --- p.iv / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Definitions of Teacher Leadership --- p.2 / Major Approaches of Leadership Research --- p.4 / Leadership Complexity --- p.6 / Moral Leadership --- p.9 / Personality and Leadership --- p.11 / Evaluation of Teacher Leadership --- p.19 / Subordinates' A ttitudes --- p.22 / Objectives and Hypothesis of the study --- p.26 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Method --- p.28 / Participants --- p.28 / Measures --- p.29 / Procedure --- p.33 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Results --- p.34 / Teacher Leadership Behavior --- p.34 / "The Relationship among Teachers Self-ratings and Student-ratings in Leadership, and Student Outcomes" --- p.39 / Personality and Leadership --- p.40 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- Discussion --- p.43 / Leadership Behavioral Model of Head Teachers --- p.43 / Moral Leadership of Head Teachers --- p.46 / Criteria of Teacher Leadership Performance --- p.48 / Personality Predictors of Head Teacher Leadership --- p.50 / Implication of the Present Study --- p.52 / Limitations and Future Direction --- p.53 / References --- p.54 / Appendix --- p.71

Based on the research findings, the researcher suggested ideas for the betterment of social work profession, social work education and also direction for future research. The researcher hoped that the suggestions would facilitate further development of social work knowledge and social work profession. / The findings of this study revealed that all participants affirmed the importance of social workers' use of self However, most of them felt quite perplexed in the positive use of self in their helping process. Even though they did not consciously utilize self, all of them showed that they were deeply involved in this helping profession. The ways they used their self were very diversified which included self-awareness, self acceptance, self-disclosure and self-presentation. Their use of self ranged from the cognitive level to the affective level. They were pragmatic in using the self Some clang to use self as an instrument, taking it as a technique in direct social work practice. Others opened up themselves and fully involved in the helping process. / The narratives of the participants showed that their lived experiences, especially at their early years, had important influences on their use of self At the same time, their professional learning and direct practice experiences were also crucial factors in affecting their re-construction of self and the use of self. Besides the above, Chinese culture and the strong emphasis of management and accountability in the profession were also important environmental factors. For some participants, they struggled in their self assurance and felt confused in their self-evaluation in an atmosphere of managerialism in their work setting, and they found it difficult in exercising their self On the one hand, they assured themselves of their proper attitude in their helping profession; while on the other, they experienced a sense of failure and self-doubt in their helping career and have difficulties in integrating themselves. / This research was a narrative analysis of Taiwan clinical social workers' use of self in their helping process. The purposes of this research were to understand clinical social workers' subjective experiences and their interpretation of self and their use of self in the helping process, to explore how the self was shaped in their personal and professional life, and to find out how Chinese culture influenced the development of self and the use of self in their professional practice. Fifteen clinical social workers in Taiwan participated in this study. Each of them was invited to attend two or three in-depth interviews with the duration of two hours each. / 鄭佩芬. / Adviser: Mong Chow Lam. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-03, Section: A, page: 1031. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 290-308). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Zheng Peifen.

As the New Curriculum Reform proceeds to its second stage, the key roles played by teachers in curriculum implementation are increasingly recognized by policy makers and researchers. As a result, teacher professional development has become the focus of a series of major policies, projects and plans. However, are teachers empowered by such measures, especially by officially sanctioned institutionalized learning? From the perspective of teacher leadership, this study attempts to examine the teachers' role in training and to explore the possibility of a teacher-led professional development. In this study, teacher-led professional development refers to (1) teachers' self-direction and autonomy over their own professional growth, and (2) teacher leaders' influence over the professional community. The major research questions of this study are: (1) What are the power relations between the state, university professors and school teachers? In the context of power relations, what is teacher leadership? (2) What kind of teacher leadership exists in the Chinese schools? (3) What are the obstacles that prevent teachers from leading? What conditions are necessary for teachers to genuinely own their professional development? / In order to answer the above questions, documentation research and field research was conducted at state, provincial, municipal, district and school levels. Documentation research warranted content analysis of relevant policies and field research warranted observations and interviews in two schools. / In the United States and the United Kingdom, two policy stances were developed in response to global change: policies for standardization, accountability, and assessment; and policies for capacity building and good practices. Teacher leadership is a reform strategy in the second stance. It postulates that teachers should become leaders in curriculum, instruction, school restructuring and professional development. This study is an attempt to explore teacher's leadership over their professional development in the Chinese Mainland. / This study argues that the existing system of teacher professional development in the Chinese Mainland is power-coercive, and formal teacher leadership was characterized by hierarchy, meritocracy and instrumentalism all of which have a negative impact on teacher professional development. The state performs multiple roles as reformer, monopolizer, legislator and enforcer. To implement the New Curriculum, "technologies of power" are employed and they form a tight control over the process of continuing teacher education. University professors have a relatively smaller impact on teachers as their effects on school reform are dubious. Teachers feel deprofessionalized and powerless in most institutionalized training which offer no choice and autonomy. Confronted by the state's monopoly of power, distorted professional values, weak professional awareness, and weak support from school leader, teacher leadership faces strong challenges. The finding of this study suggest that in order for teacher leadership to emerge, four conditions are necessary: delegation of power to school and teacher, reconstruction of professional values, more support from school leaders to teacher leaders, and a collaborative teacher culture. / 陳崢. / Adviser: Leslie Lo Nai Kwan. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 2956. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 278-293). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Chen Zheng.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experience of parents and professionals living in a large metropolitan city in South India who were raising and/or working with a child with an autism spectrum disorder. The study explored the unique perspectives of parents and professionals regarding their beliefs and practices about autism, as well as the nature of the parent-professional relationship. Nineteen parents (all mothers) and 21 professionals were interviewed in person at four schools, an early intervention program, a hospital clinic, and a physician’s office. Themes were developed using qualitative software, and reliability was established through multiple coders and member checks. The meaning of health, illness, and disability vary greatly across cultures and across time. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model provided the conceptual paradigm to examine how broad cultural beliefs in the macrosystem, local services in the exosystem, parent- professional relationships in the mesosystem, and practices at home and school in the child’s microsystem worked together to explain autism spectrum disorders for this group of participants at this point in history. Four major themes emerged from the study that related to parents’ and professionals’ beliefs about causes of autism, expectations from treatments and services, nature of parent-professional partnerships in managing a child’s autism, and the current ‘state of things’ with regard to autism in one South Indian city. Across the themes, parents and professionals embraced two seemingly contradictory yet perfectly compatible cultural beliefs: a modern, scientific approach and a traditional Indian viewpoint. The treatments offered to children were similar to Western practices, with the addition of traditional Indian practices (e.g., yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, Siddha). Parents were mostly happy and comfortable with their interactions with the professionals. Parents valued collaboration and respect but also acknowledged that the relationship was vertical in nature, with professionals having more authority. Professionals’ assessment of their relationship with parents was influenced by their overall views about the families—positive or negative—which in turn was influenced by what they believed caused the child’s autism (e.g., genetics/scientific causes vs. cold parenting and departure from traditional family structure). Services for children with autism in India are rapidly expanding, though the vast majority of those affected are not diagnosed or treated.

建立護理專業身份是個體與護理專業相聯繫的概念，個體對護理專業在社會角色與自我概念之間取得平衡。在專業社會化中，產生專業的知識、技能、價值與自我身份的過程。在社會急速發展和世界護理專業發展影響下，澳門護理專業教育出現強中有弱、弱中有強的局面。這現狀對中學生選擇護理、護士學生對知識價值的主動學習、日後在專業發展中持續創新都產生影響。因為護士人力的緊缺，護理教育能否幫助學生建立專業身份成為關注的重心。 / 鏡湖護理學院是澳門歷史最長的護理教育機構，於2002年起開辦澳門首個四年制護理學學士學位課程。課程理念奠基於鏡湖慈善會歷史和性質，命名「從人到仁」，推動以關懷為核心的護理全人教育。學院在護理學士學位課程中加入了一些元素，希望幫助學生在進入專業的早期即打下良好基礎，建立專業身份，從而加強教育的全面效果。究竟澳門鏡湖護士學生在護士學習的過程中如何建立專業身份，課程對護士學生身份認同的成效怎樣?本研究目的正是希望回答以上兩個問題。 / 研究者選取了二十名畢業生和八名教師參與是次研究。採用質性研究取向的個案研究法。透過深度訪談和文件查證分析取得所需研究資料。經過對個案資料的綜合深度討論以及不同個案的分析比較，得出以下研究發現：鏡湖護士學生的專業身份認同是通過五個轉變表現出來，包括：1. 責任重大、尊重生命；2. 與苦難同行、全人護理；3. 護理與生活同在、發揮專業才能；4. 立足專業知識、像護士般思考和行動；及5. 成為團隊、薪火相傳。分析歸納受訪畢業生及教師資料可以看到，鏡湖現行學士學位課程對學生建立專業身份是有明顯的影響作用。大部份學生是通過臨床實踐和生活實踐，處理健康問題，和幫助人們建立健康生活方式，來建構自我的專業身份。除了課程影響之外，關懷的學院文化、教師的言傳身教、醫院與學院的關係，以及學生的個人因素均對學生專業身份認同有影響作用。 / 根據這些發現，本研究嘗試從護理教育層面和未來研究層面提出建議，務求完善促進護士學生身份認同的課程理念和課程設置，優化人文與環境因素，以便進一步提升護理教育的質素，培育具公民專業精神的護理人員。本研究亦嘗試對當中的一些理論與概念展開討論，並修訂或補充了它的不足。 / The formation of nursing professional identity links the individual with the nursing profession. In this process the individual strives to maintain a balance between her professional role and her self-identity. It is a process of developing professional knowledge, skills, value and self-identity. With rapid social changes as well as worldwide development in the nursing profession, Macau’s nursing education is in a situation where strengths and weaknesses co-exist and interact with each other. Such a situation will certainly have significant impact on secondary school graduates’ decision to choose nursing as a future career, nursing students’ pursuit of nursing education as well as the possibility of their contributing to the nursing profession via creative innovation. Owing to the shortage of nurses, whether nursing education is able to help the students establish a concrete professional identity has become a major concern at present. / Being the most long-standing nursing education institution in Macau, Kiang Wu Nursing College established the first four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing Programme in 2002. The philosophy of the programme, named ─From Personhood to Benevolence", is founded on the history and nature of Kiang Wu Charitable Association with the aim of fostering holistic nursing education that centres on care. To enhance the holistic impact of education, Kiang Wu Nursing College adds some new elements to the programme in order to enable students to formulate their professional identity. How did nursing students of Kiang Wu Nursing College form their professional identity in the course of learning, and how effective was the programme in forming students’ sense of professional identity were precisely the two questions that the present study aims at answering. / The researcher selected 20 nursing graduates and 8 nursing educators as participants of the study, which employed a qualitative case study method. In-depth interviews and document reviews were first conducted to collect the required data. After having undergone thorough examination of the collected data as well as detailed analyses and comparisons of various cases, it was found that the sense of professional identity of students of Kiang Wu Nursing College was developed through the following five crucial changes that they had experienced, including shouldering important responsibilities and respecting life, confronting hardship and offering holistic nursing care, leading a life inseparable from nursing and capitalizing on professional competences, developing professional knowledge, and thinking and acting like a nurse, as well as becoming part of the team and carrying forward the nursing spirit. Through summarizing and analyzing the data of the interviewed graduates and teachers, it was discovered that the current bachelor’s degree programme of Kiang Wu Nursing College played an important role in influencing the formation of students’ professional identity. Most students constructed their professional identity by solving people’s health problems and assisting others in developing a healthy lifestyle through their practice in clinical environment and in daily life. In addition to the programme, other aspects including the College’s caring culture, faculty’s role model of effective and appropriate behaviours, connection between the Hospital and the College, as well as students’ personal factors all contribute to the formation of students’ sense of professional identity. / On the basis of the above findings, the present study puts forward some suggestions with regard to nursing education and in the interest of future studies, in order to improve the programme philosophy and programme design for the fostering of students’ sense of professional identity, as well as to optimize the humanistic and environmental attributes for the further enhancement of the quality of nursing education and for the cultivation of nursing professionals who demonstrate civic professionalism. In addition, the study discusses some of the relevant theories and notions, and proposes revisions or solutions for their deficiencies. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 尹一橋. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 331-350). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Yin Yiqiao.