The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine teachers' perspectives of the key factors contributing to the retention of rural teachers who entered teaching through an alternate route certification program in Mississippi. It was specifically the goal of this study to understand how alternatively certified teachers perceive their own characteristics (e.g., teacher preparation, personal experiences), school conditions (e.g., students, administration), and compensation (e.g., salary, benefits) to be related to their decision to remain in the profession. In this study, 9 rural alternate route teachers were interviewed from 8 schools in Mississippi. The research questions were: (1) How do rural alternate route teachers who stay describe their decision to continue teaching in terms of teacher characteristics?; (2) How do rural alternate route teachers who stay describe their decision to continue teaching in terms of school conditions?; and (3) How do rural alternate route teachers who stay describe their decision to continue teaching in terms of compensation? Sher's (1983) rural retention 3 C's framework provides a model for understanding retention. Sher proposed that attracting and retaining teachers in rural schools is a function of 3 C's: teacher characteristics, school conditions, and compensation. The data revealed that for teacher characteristics teacher preparation that included practice teaching combined with coursework was important, and participants valued experience working/teaching children. Data also revealed school conditions factors as student were a source of satisfaction for teachers, most teachers had little induction and mentoring support, teachers lacked administration and collegial support, and teachers found networks of support outside the school setting. The data revealed that the relationship between compensation and retention is complex, and that compensation was less important than intangible benefits. Although the study failed to find a simple and direct cause of retention, these findings do provide further insight into teacher retention. The findings of the study suggest implications for teacher preparation, school districts, and policy.

The purpose of this study is to explore the process of career development experience of non-traditional route teachers serving in junior high schools. Depth of interview method which is expected to make this study closer to the respondents¡¦ life experiences is used to collect the participants¡¦ courses of choosing teaching and presented by the patterns of life stories. The researcher explores the mood changes from these teachers¡¦ courses including growth background, integrating with the road of education, practice stage, exam participation, and future career plans to comprehend why they choose teaching as a career. The researcher concludes the following results according to the collection analysis and induction from these six respondents. 1.Internal personal factors and external environmental factors can affect the career choice from the non-traditional route teachers. 2.The information and learning process are the foundation of choosing teaching as career. 3.The process of exam participation and mental adjustment is the critical period to choose teaching as career. 4.The problems which the non-traditional route teachers face with in reality can provide development for the future researches. It is expected that the study can be the reference for the teacher training institutions and for the non-traditional route students and plan to choose teaching as career in the future. It is also expected that the suggestions according to research conclusions can be the reference for follow-up researches. 1.The suggestion to the non-traditional route students. 2.The suggestion to the teacher training institutions. 3.The suggestion for the researches in the future.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-11T14:41:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MariaFLC_DISSERT.pdf: 2159584 bytes, checksum: c7690122812938b723f2a603162543e8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-10 / This dissertation is the result of an analysis of how a group of teachers conceive digital technologies and how these modes of perception become the route of training workshops in an educational environment. We start from the initial research question seeking to understand how modes of conceiving and producing with digital technologies transform the course of training workshops for teachers in a public school, emphasizing attention to you in the know - live process. As a working hypothesis, we believe that the meeting of teachers with digital technologies in an exercise experience of authorship, enhances the understanding of technology as a device that modifies the ways of life school, learning, knowledge. The experience of the workshops encouraged the development of research that we believe do with the subject teachers when they lend us their actions, experiences, emotions. The network of theoretical underpinning of the research studies considered the Biology of Cognition by Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela (2011), the inventive knowledge perspective that brings in Henry Bergson (1979), understanding the relationship of Gilbert Simondon human - machine (1958, 1989) , known as the philosopher of technology and also the buildings on the modus operandi of care developed by Virginia Kastrup (2004, 2005) and Claudia Rodrigues de Freitas (2011). While intervention research, the methodological procedures involved the proposition workshops in which teachers interacted with digital technologies, conducted various productions related to its unique demands and their pedagogical activities and at the same time, the analysis of productions that are woven in the form of networks conversations in which teachers share the learning experience. Observed recurrences and movements of transformation referred to understand how the technologies in the construction of knowledge. We follow the inventive production pathways that allowed the observation and analysis of changes in networks built by teachers, cognitive processes referred to the way we perceive the technologies that we can observe in the coordination of gestures, ideas and emotions in the making. The enactive perspective of knowing that brings us Varela (2001) contended do the research we observe that emerged from be - do - knowing teachers. As a result of the work we distinguish cognitive processing referred to attentional processes in themselves do with digital technologies. By analyzing images, and written productions that make up this intervention study, we observed movements in which teachers, in the early stages of the workshops, gave visibility to a thrill of insecurity, fear of not knowing operate, anguish, a certain discomfort and resistance in producing with digital tools. Furthermore, the group of tools for use or disposal when no longer needed rejected the technology concept. In the course of the experience of the workshops, we have in ducts greater articulation in the interaction with digital technologies and changes in the way people feel and perceive when confidence in making himself steps in and interferes in our understanding of technology, now as a partner in circumstances of daily life / Esta dissertação é o resultado de uma análise sobre como um grupo de professores concebem as tecnologias digitais e como esses modos de percepção se transformam no percurso de oficinas de formação em um ambiente educacional. Partimos da questão inicial da pesquisa buscando compreender como os modos de conceber e de produzir com as tecnologias digitais se transformam no percurso de professores durante oficinas de formação em uma escola pública, enfatizando a atenção a si no processo de conhecer-viver. Como hipótese de trabalho, acreditamos que o encontro de professores com tecnologias digitais, em uma experiência de exercício de autoria, potencializa o entendimento de tecnologia enquanto dispositivo que modifica os modos de viver a escola, a aprendizagem, o conhecimento. A experiência das oficinas favoreceu o desenvolvimento da pesquisa que acreditamos fazer com os sujeitos professores, quando estes nos emprestam suas ações, experiências, emoções. A rede de sustentação teórica da pesquisa considerou os estudos da Biologia da Cognição de Humberto Maturana e Francisco Varela (2011); a perspectiva inventiva do conhecimento que nos aporta Henry Bergson (1979); o entendimento da relação humano-máquina de Gilbert Simondon (1958; 1989), conhecido como o filósofo da técnica e ainda, as construções sobre as formas de funcionamento da atenção desenvolvidas por Virgínia Kastrup (2004; 2005) e Cláudia Rodrigues de Freitas (2011). Enquanto pesquisa intervenção, os procedimentos metodológicos envolveram a proposição de oficinas em que professores interagiram com tecnologias digitais, realizaram diferentes produções relacionadas às suas demandas singulares e às suas atividades pedagógicas e, ao mesmo tempo, à análise de produções que se tecem na forma de redes de conversações em que professores compartilham as aprendizagens na experiência. Observamos as recorrências e os movimentos de transformação referidos ao modo como entendem as tecnologias na construção de conhecimento. Acompanhamos os percursos inventivos de produção que permitiram a observação e a análise das transformações nas redes construídas pelos professores, processos cognitivos referidos a modo de perceber as tecnologias que podemos observar na coordenação de gestos, ideias e de emoções no fazer. A perspectiva enativa do conhecer que nos aporta Varela (2001) sustentou o fazer da pesquisa em que observamos o que emergia do ser-fazer-conhecer dos professores. Como resultado do trabalho, pudemos distinguir transformações cognitivas referidas aos processos de atenção a si no fazer com tecnologias digitais. Ao analisar imagens, produções e escritas que configuram esta pesquisa intervenção, pudemos observar movimentos em que os professores, nos momentos iniciais das oficinas, davam visibilidade a um emocionar de insegurança, medo de não saber operar, angústias, um certo desconforto e resistência na produção com ferramentas digitais. Além disso, o conceito de tecnologia acolhido pelo grupo era o de ferramentas para uso ou descarte quando não mais necessário. No transcurso da experiência das oficinas, temos nas condutas uma maior articulação na interação com as tecnologias digitais e mudanças no modo de sentir e perceber, quando a confiança no próprio fazer entra em cena e interfere na direção do entendimento da tecnologia, agora como parceira nas circunstâncias do viver cotidiano