The problem of this study was predicting teachers' job satisfaction and performance based upon selected factors in personal background and organizational properties of their school. The purposes of this study were to determine (1) whether seven organizational properties of a teacher's work environment were important in predicting five job satisfactions and job performance, (2) whether the five job satisfactions were important in predicting teacher job performance, and (3) whether there were significant differences in five job satisfaction scores and in performance rating between teachers grouped by fifteen independent variables. This study concluded that the use of data collected on the seven organizational properties increased the prediction of job satisfaction and performance. The addition of the five job satisfactions and seven organizational properties increased the prediction of job performance. The specific independent variables that had the highest relationship on criteria mean scores were Teaching Field, Teaching in Area of Preparation, Expenditure per Student, and Campus Size for elementary teachers. For secondary teachers the highest relationships were on Contract and Salary.

Concerns based adoption model (CBAM) instruments were used to examine instructional practices of six graduates from a highly stylized, inquiry-based secondary math and science preparation program. Teachers were in the first or second years of teaching mathematics in six different secondary settings, ranging from poverty to wealthy schools. CBAM assumptions were tested. The primary assumption about concerns was that new teachers’ highest concerns would be within the self and task dimensions. According to Hall and Hord, it was assumed that the levels of use are typically in the orientation and preparation stages as a new teacher begins to implement an innovation, in the case of this study, inquiry-based instruction. All three instruments of the CBAM model were used for data collection and included: the Survey of Concerns Questionnaire, Innovation Components Configuration Map, and Levels of Use matrix. Teachers were observed, interviewed, and surveyed, three times each, across a five-month period. The findings from this study showed that the teachers had similar concerns and levels of use, which supported the assumptions outlined by the CBAM principles. Across the six teachers, the self and task concerns were high, aligning with the assumptions. However, unrelated and impact dimensions were noted, in opposition to the assumption. Likewise, assumptions of the levels of use were upheld in the orientation and preparation levels of use noted in the observations. Some mechanical levels of use were observed for a few of the teachers, an anomaly to the assumption.

The aim of this thesis is to examine how secondary teachers in the subject of history are using the textbook in their teaching. Four questions are being dealt with in this thesis. What importance is being placed on the use of history textbooks by the secondary teachers? What priorities do the secondary teachers have? How do they deal with student interests? And what is the importance of the secondary teachers’ work experience?  I have interviewed four secondary teachers with different work experience to complete this thesis. A Dictaphone has been used in all the interviews.  Research has shown that textbooks now have a central role in teaching and the lack of alternative materials and reduction of teaching hours has made it difficult to replace.  The main conclusions of the thesis are that the history textbook has a dual role depending on the teacher you ask, and that the history book is used differently by the teachers. The priorities vary depending on the students that are currently enrolled and their interests are. Teachers with less work experience have a rather negative attitude to the textbook and believe that it can be rigid, while teachers with more experience see it as a tool for engaging the weaker students. However, the history textbook is required, and even the teachers who are not using the history textbook can all confirm that: because even a teacher who is not using it has the history textbook for the students to have something to refer to if needed.

The purpose of this paper is to study how some upper secondary teachers define and understand the terms New Religious Movement, New Religiosity and cult. We also look at what the teachers teach about and why they pick those specific parts of the course. Firstly, to get a wider view of this subject we looked at previous research about the teaching of New Religious Movements. In addition to the previous research we did our own research where we interviewed upper secondary teachers from two different schools. Secondly, for our results we analysed the transcripts by using two different theoretical frameworks: religious didactics in the form of abductive perspective in connection to the didactical questions - what, why and how? We have also used a hermeneutic interpretation when looking at the empirical material.Through our research we found that teachers have some difficulties defining the terms “New Religious Movements”, “New Religiosity” and “Cults”. They also have a problem with differentiating them from each other. The research shows that even the teachers’ selection, planning and implementation of their teaching varies between the schools for different reasons. Some of this stems from the teachers’ capacity within the subject, different interpretations of the syllabus and the influence that students have on the teaching.

Secondary educators must be knowledgeable in their content while increasing the academic literacy of their students, a process further complicated when working with students who are long-term English learners (LTELs). This mixed-methods study explored the knowledge, practices, and perceptions of six secondary teachers working to develop the academic literacy of LTEL students in content-specific classrooms. Set within a sociocultural framework, the study provides a greater understanding of the challenges and successes educators experience when working at the secondary level with students with diverse learning needs. The data were collected in two phases. Phase I included a quantitative survey of teachers, designed to acquire demographic information from participants who met the inclusion criteria: educators who taught a content-specific course and had a minimum population of 10.7% LTEL students in at least one of their classes. These data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Phase II consisted of qualitative one-on-one interviews, classroom observations, and follow-up interviews. Data analysis for Phase II included transcribing the interviews and taking notes on emerging themes. Qualitative data were also provided by the classroom observations using the Observation Protocol for Academic Literacies. Notes created in each of the classrooms were coded by themes and used in the creation of profiles for each educator. Themes that emerged through the one-on-one interviews and classroom observations were used to create questions for the follow-up interviews. Findings add to the body of research regarding content-specific secondary teachers’ knowledge and perceptions about the academic literacy development of their LTELs.

This study is a collective case study. It assesses the various aspects of distance teacher education in the five institutions. These are the University of Zambia, the Zambian Open University, the National In-Service Teachers’ College, the Nkrumah College of Education and the Copperbelt Secondary Teachers’ College. Distance education practitioners‟ and distance students‟ views on the management of distance teacher education in Zambia were elicited. The researcher collected data using semi-structured individual and focused group interviews, and observations. In addition, relevant documents such as reports, policy documents and statistics were used. Also, the researcher analysed instructional study materials (modules) to establish whether they were suitable for distance students. The researcher employed qualitative methods in the collection and analysis of data. Triangulation was used in order to verify the information given during this study. In terms of theory, a comprehensive literature review was carried out to determine the works other researchers had done in the area of open and distance education, especially in the field of the management of distance teacher education. The Literature review revealed that good management of distance teacher education depends on how the various aspects of distance education are managed. Furthermore, the evidence from the literature review indicates that good management of distance teacher education improves the quality of distance teacher education. Apart from ZAOU, the other four institutions are dual-mode institutions. They offer distance education programmes and full-time programmes. The same lecturers teach both distance and full-time students. The findings concerning the strengths of the management of distance teacher education in Zambia were: a recognition by providers and clients of the importance of distance teacher vi education, an awareness of the challenges of distance teacher education as displayed in their guidelines and a positive attitude towards distance teacher education. The findings concerning the weaknesses were: inadequate student support services, inadequate channels of communication, inadequate training and professional development, problems relating to integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in distance education delivery, problems concerning assignments and examinations, inadequate records management, inadequacy regarding interactive instructional materials, problems relating to staffing, and a lack of national policy on distance education in Zambia. The overall conclusion is that the management of distance teacher education in Zambia is reasonably effective. However, the areas of concern highlighted above should be given attention if institutions that offer distance teacher education programmes are to provide quality distance teacher education. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Education Management)

<p>The aim of this thesis is to contribute to knowledge about how the work and profession of upper secondary school teachers is understood and shaped by the teachers in the beginning of the 21st century, and to relate that understanding of work and professional development to the strivings of the teachers’ trade unions and the state. With the implementation of an innovation as a starting point, the teachers’ narratives also described their work in a broader sense. Connections and contradictions between those descriptions of everyday work are analysed in relation to central ideas in research and state and trade union policy. The empirical data were mainly generated through interviews and studies of state- and teachers’ trade union policy documents. Twenty-three teachers at four upper secondary schools were interviewed twice, with a one year interval. Five school leaders were also interviewed. A minor questionnaire added data concerning professional development. 102 documents published by the State and the teachers’ trade unions between 1964 and 2004 were analysed using critical discourse analysis.</p><p>The analysis is eclectic, drawing on perspectives and conceptions from theories on professions, organisations, school development and the frame factor theory. The overall approach of the study is practice related research and includes an intention to draw attention to connections between micro and macro levels.</p><p>The analyses of the teachers’ narratives on implementation indicate that they were able to do the job despite unsatisfactory conditions thanks to high work morale and extensive experience. The infrastructure provided by the frame factors was weak or working at cross purposes. The school-wide support for development was stronger at one of the four schools.</p><p>The teachers’ formal freedom of action was substantial. In practice it was restricted by frame factors and the fact that the potential freedom was not fully used. Thus, the actual autonomy was more limited than it appeared to be. The school culture included elements of balkanised and contrived collegiality. Many tasks were delegated to the interdisciplinary work teams, but the teams did not seem to live up to expectations. Primarily, they lacked time and an appropriate group composition. There was a clash between the interdisciplinary work teams and the teachers’ need to co-operate within subject work teams. The teachers did not regard interdisciplinary work teams as useful for school or professional development.</p><p>Supportive conditions for long-term, shared learning and dialogue between researchers and practitioners were largely lacking. Visions such as learning organisations were far removed from the everyday life in the schools. Changes in organisational structures at the schools have partly been counterproductive.</p><p>The far-reaching restructuring of the Swedish upper secondary schools implemented from the end of the 1980s and during the 1990s was in line with international reform trends. It also had specific national characteristics. The concept professional teachers was introduced in some Government bills around 1990. The teachers’ trade unions adopted the concept and it became increasingly significant in trade union policy during the 1990s. At the turn of the millennium it was a dominant idea in their documents.</p><p>During the 1990s several influential discourses became established as shared views between the State, trade unions and some researchers, e.g. what I have called change and professional discourses. They were rarely problematized in state and teachers’ trade union policy documents. The two agreements between the teachers’ trade unions and the employers, in 1995 and 2000, constituted another component of what has been termed a system-shift in the Swedish school system. They influenced the teachers’ working conditions and implied new strategies for the trade unions. The professional, change and management discourses salient in the documents were brought into schools with insufficient opportunities for the teachers to develop a deep meaning of the discourses.</p><p>The study emphasizes the importance of practice oriented studies, related to wider contexts, in order to provide insights into teachers’ work and professional development. It also brings nuances to, and problematizes theoretical conceptions and discourses in the field.</p><p>Key-words: teaching profession, upper secondary teachers, change, school reform, professional development, school development, frame factors, school governance, school policy, trade union</p>

The aim of this thesis is to contribute to knowledge about how the work and profession of upper secondary school teachers is understood and shaped by the teachers in the beginning of the 21st century, and to relate that understanding of work and professional development to the strivings of the teachers’ trade unions and the state. With the implementation of an innovation as a starting point, the teachers’ narratives also described their work in a broader sense. Connections and contradictions between those descriptions of everyday work are analysed in relation to central ideas in research and state and trade union policy. The empirical data were mainly generated through interviews and studies of state- and teachers’ trade union policy documents. Twenty-three teachers at four upper secondary schools were interviewed twice, with a one year interval. Five school leaders were also interviewed. A minor questionnaire added data concerning professional development. 102 documents published by the State and the teachers’ trade unions between 1964 and 2004 were analysed using critical discourse analysis. The analysis is eclectic, drawing on perspectives and conceptions from theories on professions, organisations, school development and the frame factor theory. The overall approach of the study is practice related research and includes an intention to draw attention to connections between micro and macro levels. The analyses of the teachers’ narratives on implementation indicate that they were able to do the job despite unsatisfactory conditions thanks to high work morale and extensive experience. The infrastructure provided by the frame factors was weak or working at cross purposes. The school-wide support for development was stronger at one of the four schools. The teachers’ formal freedom of action was substantial. In practice it was restricted by frame factors and the fact that the potential freedom was not fully used. Thus, the actual autonomy was more limited than it appeared to be. The school culture included elements of balkanised and contrived collegiality. Many tasks were delegated to the interdisciplinary work teams, but the teams did not seem to live up to expectations. Primarily, they lacked time and an appropriate group composition. There was a clash between the interdisciplinary work teams and the teachers’ need to co-operate within subject work teams. The teachers did not regard interdisciplinary work teams as useful for school or professional development. Supportive conditions for long-term, shared learning and dialogue between researchers and practitioners were largely lacking. Visions such as learning organisations were far removed from the everyday life in the schools. Changes in organisational structures at the schools have partly been counterproductive. The far-reaching restructuring of the Swedish upper secondary schools implemented from the end of the 1980s and during the 1990s was in line with international reform trends. It also had specific national characteristics. The concept professional teachers was introduced in some Government bills around 1990. The teachers’ trade unions adopted the concept and it became increasingly significant in trade union policy during the 1990s. At the turn of the millennium it was a dominant idea in their documents. During the 1990s several influential discourses became established as shared views between the State, trade unions and some researchers, e.g. what I have called change and professional discourses. They were rarely problematized in state and teachers’ trade union policy documents. The two agreements between the teachers’ trade unions and the employers, in 1995 and 2000, constituted another component of what has been termed a system-shift in the Swedish school system. They influenced the teachers’ working conditions and implied new strategies for the trade unions. The professional, change and management discourses salient in the documents were brought into schools with insufficient opportunities for the teachers to develop a deep meaning of the discourses. The study emphasizes the importance of practice oriented studies, related to wider contexts, in order to provide insights into teachers’ work and professional development. It also brings nuances to, and problematizes theoretical conceptions and discourses in the field. Key-words: teaching profession, upper secondary teachers, change, school reform, professional development, school development, frame factors, school governance, school policy, trade union

This study is a collective case study. It assesses the various aspects of distance teacher education in the five institutions. These are the University of Zambia, the Zambian Open University, the National In-Service Teachers’ College, the Nkrumah College of Education and the Copperbelt Secondary Teachers’ College. Distance education practitioners‟ and distance students‟ views on the management of distance teacher education in Zambia were elicited. The researcher collected data using semi-structured individual and focused group interviews, and observations. In addition, relevant documents such as reports, policy documents and statistics were used. Also, the researcher analysed instructional study materials (modules) to establish whether they were suitable for distance students. The researcher employed qualitative methods in the collection and analysis of data. Triangulation was used in order to verify the information given during this study. In terms of theory, a comprehensive literature review was carried out to determine the works other researchers had done in the area of open and distance education, especially in the field of the management of distance teacher education. The Literature review revealed that good management of distance teacher education depends on how the various aspects of distance education are managed. Furthermore, the evidence from the literature review indicates that good management of distance teacher education improves the quality of distance teacher education. Apart from ZAOU, the other four institutions are dual-mode institutions. They offer distance education programmes and full-time programmes. The same lecturers teach both distance and full-time students. The findings concerning the strengths of the management of distance teacher education in Zambia were: a recognition by providers and clients of the importance of distance teacher vi education, an awareness of the challenges of distance teacher education as displayed in their guidelines and a positive attitude towards distance teacher education. The findings concerning the weaknesses were: inadequate student support services, inadequate channels of communication, inadequate training and professional development, problems relating to integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in distance education delivery, problems concerning assignments and examinations, inadequate records management, inadequacy regarding interactive instructional materials, problems relating to staffing, and a lack of national policy on distance education in Zambia. The overall conclusion is that the management of distance teacher education in Zambia is reasonably effective. However, the areas of concern highlighted above should be given attention if institutions that offer distance teacher education programmes are to provide quality distance teacher education. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Education Management)

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur gymnasielärare i ämnet idrott och hälsa uppfattar och resonerar om elever som har åtgärdsprogram eller som riskerar att inte uppnå kunskapskraven. Vidare syftar studien till att belysa vilka diskurser och maktrelationer lärarna är en del av och hur dessa förhåller sig till varandra vid bedömning och betygsättning av dessa elever. För att nå syftet används fyra kvalitativa intervjuer tillsammans med fyra befintliga åtgärdsprogram i ämnet idrott och hälsa. Empirin analyseras sedan med hjälp av diskursanalys samt begreppen makt och kategorisering. Studien visar att lärarna delar in elever som riskerar att inte uppnå kunskapskraven i ett antal olika kategorier: lata och bekväma, rädda, ointresserade, språkliga förbistringar och fysiologiska och eller psykologiska orsaker. Beroende på vilken kategori eleverna anses tillhöra resonerar lärarna olika om hur undervisningen bör bedrivas gällande dessa elever. Genomgående är närvaron av stor betydelse för hur eleverna kategoriseras och därefter behandlas i undervisningen av lärarna. Studien visar även att lärarna inte har all makt när det gäller bedömning och betygsättning av dessa elever. Utan de måste i själva verket förhålla sig till andra diskurser såsom ledningsinflytande, elevinflytande och i viss mån även föräldrainflytande. Dessa tre diskurser befinner sig i kamp med diskursen om lärarinflytande om makten över bedömningen och betygsättningen. / The aim of this study is to investigate how upper secondary teachers in physical education describe and discuss about students with an individual education plan (IEP) or at risk of not achieving the national knowledge requirements. Furthermore, this study aims to illustrate the discourses and power relations teachers are a part of and how these relate to each other in the assessment and grading of these students. The investigation is based on four qualitative interviews plus four existing IEPs which are analyzed with help of discourse analysis and the concepts power and categorization. The investigation shows that the teachers divide the students at risk of not achieving the national knowledge requirements in a variety of categories: lazy and comfortable, afraid, uninterested, language difficulties and physiological and or psychological reasons. The investigation shows that the teacher reasons differently about the education depending on which category the student belongs to. Throughout the investigation the student’s attendance levels are important in relation to how the teachers categorize and thereafter treat the students. The investigation also highlights that the teacher does not have all the power when it comes to the assessment and grading of these students. The teachers have to relate to other discourses like the discourse of management influence, the discourse of student influence and to some extent the discourse of parental influence. These three discourses find themselves in a struggle with the discourse of teacher influence about the power over the assessment and grading.