Ao longo da história brasileira, a área da Educação esteve presente em diversas discussões políticas. Sabe-se que, ainda hoje, são necessárias muitas mudanças a fim de se promover sua almejada melhoria. Dessa forma, a formação de professores bem qualificados tem sido uma das principais medidas adotadas para alcançar o aprimoramento da Educação no país, sendo que, nos últimos 20 anos, a Educação a Distância (EAD) tem sido uma das preferências dos programas de governo para proporcionar tal formação. Nesse novo e conturbado cenário, a reflexão sobre a qualidade dos cursos de formação docente torna-se essencial, além do fato de que tais cursos devem estar adequados às especificidades do grupo que se deseja formar. Sendo assim, acredita-se ser necessário conhecer quem são os professores envolvidos nesses processos de formação, assim como suas motivações ao ingressarem em tais cursos. A partir dessas questões, como objetivo geral, a presente pesquisa pretendeu contribuir para a ampliação dos conhecimentos sobre a motivação de professores de Biologia em cursos de formação docente continuada na modalidade à distância. Como objetivos específicos, pretendeu-se: 1. Identificar as principais motivações dos professores (cursistas) para participarem do Curso de Especialização para Docentes de Biologia (EspBio) do programa Rede São Paulo de Formação Docente (RedeFor) e; 2. Investigar as concepções dos tutores sobre a motivação de tais cursistas, assim como estabelecer quais critérios esses tutores utilizaram para identificar tal motivação. Foram elaborados dois questionários, sendo que um deles foi respondido por 53 cursistas e o outro foi respondido por um grupo de 9 tutores. Como principais resultados, encontrou-se que as principais motivações para ingresso dos professores no EspBio estavam relacionadas à ampliação de conhecimentos e atualização na área de Biologia, além da ampliação de metodologias de ensino. Os docentes também consideraram a aprendizagem na modalidade à distância mais motivadora que a presencial devido à flexibilidade de tempo que a primeira oferece. Os tutores, por sua vez, elencaram como critérios para identificação de docentes motivados ao aprendizado o comportamento ativo dos mesmos (quando participam intensamente do que é solicitado), a busca de informações complementares ao curso, a assiduidade no ambiente virtual de aprendizagem, a preocupação com a qualidade do que era produzido além da preocupação em prestarem esclarecimentos ao tutor quando eventuais contratempos ocorressem. A partir dessa pesquisa acredita-se ser necessário um olhar mais atento para cursos de formação docente, sejam presenciais ou à distância, para que os mesmos possam atender às expectativas dos professores envolvidos, tornando tais cursos mais adequados às especificidades do grupo em questão. Além disso, acredita-se na importância da permanente a capacitação do tutor, já que o mesmo tem grande contribuição para o sucesso da EAD. Por fim, acredita-se que, apesar de os resultados da presente investigação somarem-se aos diversos trabalhos realizados na área em questão, espera-se que maiores estudos sobre o tema sejam realizados, a fim de se contribuir, efetivamente, para a melhoria dos cursos de formação docente. / Throughout Brazilian History, Education was present in many political discussions. It is known that, even today, many changes are necessary in order to promote their desired improvement. Thus, the well-qualified teachers learning has been one of the main measures adopted to achieve the improvement of Education in Brazil, where in the last 20 years, Distance Learning (DL) has been one of the preferences of government programs to provide teachers learning. In this new and troubled scenario, the reflection about the quality of teachers learning courses becames essential, beyond the fact that such courses should be appropriate to the specific group it want to form. Thus, it was believed that is necessary to know who are the teachers involved in these formation processing and such as their motivations to enrolling these courses. From these questions, the general objective of the present research is contribute to the expansion of knowledge about the motivation of biology teachers in teacher training courses in distance mode. As specific objectives, we intend to: 1 Identify the motivation of teachers (also called \"cursistas\" in this work) to participate in a specialization course for teachers of biology (EspBio) e; 2. Try to identify the tutors\' conceptions about the motivations of his cursistas, as well as establishing the criteria they used to identify such motivation. Two questionnaires were developed: one was answered by 53 teachers from São Paulo and the other one was answered by a group of nine tutors. As a result it was found that the greatest motivation declared by teachers was related to their improvement and updating knowledge in Biology, beyond the possibility of expands their teaching methodologies in this area. Teachers also considered learning in distance mode more motivating than the classroom because of the flexibility of time that the first offer. The tutors, in their turn, listed as a criterias to identify motivated teachers to learn the active behavior the teachers had in the course (when they participate intensely than is required), the search for additional information, attendance in the virtual learning environment, concern about the quality of what they had produced , besides concern about the clarifications to the tutor when any misadventure happen. From this research, it is believed that a closer look at teacher education courses be necessary, either presencial or at a distance, so that they can meet the expectations of the teachers involved, making these courses more appropriate to the specific group concerned. Furthermore, we believe in the importance of permanent tutor training because they have a great contribution to the success of Distance Learning, even though their role sometimes were neglected. Finally, we believed that, despite the results of this research add up to the various works carried out in the area in question, it is expected that further studies be conducted on the subject, in order to contribute effectively to the improvement of teachers learning courses.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2000. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-215). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Science and mathematics education in Australian senior secondary years is experiencing declining enrolments, negative student attitudes, a shortage of qualified teachers and a curriculum that lacks relevance to contemporary life (Masters, 2006, Smith, 2003, Tytler, 2007). Such evidence calls for transformation in secondary science and mathematics education and acknowledges that teachers’ professional learning is central to achieving required transformation. Fulton Senior Secondary School is a purpose built school designed to respond to the perceived crisis in teaching and learning of science and mathematics in the final years of schooling. It is also the site in which this qualitative interpretive case study was conducted. The purpose of the research was to investigate the processes and outcomes of teachers’ professional learning in a setting that was designed to promote innovation and reform. The research, conducted over a period of six years, used grounded theory methods to answer questions about what supported and sustained teachers’ learning, and what were the outcomes of this learning for teachers, students and the school. To achieve an authentic account of the teachers’ lived experiences, I positioned myself as an insider-researcher, working intensely and thoughtfully with staff at Fulton over a period of six years. The study revealed the nature of the interactions between contextual conditions, organisational elements and relationships factors that influenced teachers’ professional learning. An explanatory model of professional learning was developed as an outcome of the theorising process. This identified the importance of alignments between: teachers’ capacities, characteristics and sense of personal agency; and specific contextual conditions, organisational elements and relationship factors. Successful alignments were identified as affordances for teachers’ learning and formed the basis of the explanatory model. In essence, the contextual conditions, organisational elements and relationship factors of Fulton provided the architecture of an explanatory model of professional learning. The teachers acted as explorers of this architecture. The research revealed that teachers brought existing beliefs and practices to Fulton, but through incidental and intentional learning, these beliefs and practices were expanded and often changed. Teachers developed deep understanding of many factors associated with effective pedagogy including: learning and learning processes; new science and mathematics content; effective curriculum design; and authentic assessment processes. The teachers were open to challenges and recognised their roles as learners in achieving the vision of the school. Their outcomes varied, but each teacher’s learning influenced both the students and the school as a learning organisation. There was considerable evidence that the investment in teachers as learners was pivotal to achieving the vision of transforming science and mathematics education in the senior secondary years at this school.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Wyoming, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on August 4, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-252).

Thesis (M.A.)--Sonoma State University, 2000. / Website pages reproduced within the thesis. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-148).

Ao longo da história brasileira, a área da Educação esteve presente em diversas discussões políticas. Sabe-se que, ainda hoje, são necessárias muitas mudanças a fim de se promover sua almejada melhoria. Dessa forma, a formação de professores bem qualificados tem sido uma das principais medidas adotadas para alcançar o aprimoramento da Educação no país, sendo que, nos últimos 20 anos, a Educação a Distância (EAD) tem sido uma das preferências dos programas de governo para proporcionar tal formação. Nesse novo e conturbado cenário, a reflexão sobre a qualidade dos cursos de formação docente torna-se essencial, além do fato de que tais cursos devem estar adequados às especificidades do grupo que se deseja formar. Sendo assim, acredita-se ser necessário conhecer quem são os professores envolvidos nesses processos de formação, assim como suas motivações ao ingressarem em tais cursos. A partir dessas questões, como objetivo geral, a presente pesquisa pretendeu contribuir para a ampliação dos conhecimentos sobre a motivação de professores de Biologia em cursos de formação docente continuada na modalidade à distância. Como objetivos específicos, pretendeu-se: 1. Identificar as principais motivações dos professores (cursistas) para participarem do Curso de Especialização para Docentes de Biologia (EspBio) do programa Rede São Paulo de Formação Docente (RedeFor) e; 2. Investigar as concepções dos tutores sobre a motivação de tais cursistas, assim como estabelecer quais critérios esses tutores utilizaram para identificar tal motivação. Foram elaborados dois questionários, sendo que um deles foi respondido por 53 cursistas e o outro foi respondido por um grupo de 9 tutores. Como principais resultados, encontrou-se que as principais motivações para ingresso dos professores no EspBio estavam relacionadas à ampliação de conhecimentos e atualização na área de Biologia, além da ampliação de metodologias de ensino. Os docentes também consideraram a aprendizagem na modalidade à distância mais motivadora que a presencial devido à flexibilidade de tempo que a primeira oferece. Os tutores, por sua vez, elencaram como critérios para identificação de docentes motivados ao aprendizado o comportamento ativo dos mesmos (quando participam intensamente do que é solicitado), a busca de informações complementares ao curso, a assiduidade no ambiente virtual de aprendizagem, a preocupação com a qualidade do que era produzido além da preocupação em prestarem esclarecimentos ao tutor quando eventuais contratempos ocorressem. A partir dessa pesquisa acredita-se ser necessário um olhar mais atento para cursos de formação docente, sejam presenciais ou à distância, para que os mesmos possam atender às expectativas dos professores envolvidos, tornando tais cursos mais adequados às especificidades do grupo em questão. Além disso, acredita-se na importância da permanente a capacitação do tutor, já que o mesmo tem grande contribuição para o sucesso da EAD. Por fim, acredita-se que, apesar de os resultados da presente investigação somarem-se aos diversos trabalhos realizados na área em questão, espera-se que maiores estudos sobre o tema sejam realizados, a fim de se contribuir, efetivamente, para a melhoria dos cursos de formação docente. / Throughout Brazilian History, Education was present in many political discussions. It is known that, even today, many changes are necessary in order to promote their desired improvement. Thus, the well-qualified teachers learning has been one of the main measures adopted to achieve the improvement of Education in Brazil, where in the last 20 years, Distance Learning (DL) has been one of the preferences of government programs to provide teachers learning. In this new and troubled scenario, the reflection about the quality of teachers learning courses becames essential, beyond the fact that such courses should be appropriate to the specific group it want to form. Thus, it was believed that is necessary to know who are the teachers involved in these formation processing and such as their motivations to enrolling these courses. From these questions, the general objective of the present research is contribute to the expansion of knowledge about the motivation of biology teachers in teacher training courses in distance mode. As specific objectives, we intend to: 1 Identify the motivation of teachers (also called \"cursistas\" in this work) to participate in a specialization course for teachers of biology (EspBio) e; 2. Try to identify the tutors\' conceptions about the motivations of his cursistas, as well as establishing the criteria they used to identify such motivation. Two questionnaires were developed: one was answered by 53 teachers from São Paulo and the other one was answered by a group of nine tutors. As a result it was found that the greatest motivation declared by teachers was related to their improvement and updating knowledge in Biology, beyond the possibility of expands their teaching methodologies in this area. Teachers also considered learning in distance mode more motivating than the classroom because of the flexibility of time that the first offer. The tutors, in their turn, listed as a criterias to identify motivated teachers to learn the active behavior the teachers had in the course (when they participate intensely than is required), the search for additional information, attendance in the virtual learning environment, concern about the quality of what they had produced , besides concern about the clarifications to the tutor when any misadventure happen. From this research, it is believed that a closer look at teacher education courses be necessary, either presencial or at a distance, so that they can meet the expectations of the teachers involved, making these courses more appropriate to the specific group concerned. Furthermore, we believe in the importance of permanent tutor training because they have a great contribution to the success of Distance Learning, even though their role sometimes were neglected. Finally, we believed that, despite the results of this research add up to the various works carried out in the area in question, it is expected that further studies be conducted on the subject, in order to contribute effectively to the improvement of teachers learning courses.

Internationally the contribution that teachers’ learning can make in bringing about change in education, by improving outcomes for young people, is a topic of ongoing interest. Influenced by discourses of professionalism, in Scotland education policy has developed over time to support and structure teacher learning throughout the teaching career. However, the lived experience of being a teacher is a socially constructed act located in multiple realities. Policy in action may, or may not, reflect the intentions of policy makers. Within the context of Primary Education, in which 92% of teachers are women, this qualitative study explores women Primary Teachers’ experiences and understandings of professional learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 women Primary Teachers and 12 opinion shapers. Critical analysis of relevant educational policy also took place in order to explore dominant policy discourses. A Grounded Theory approach was adapted for data analysis and theory construction. Sensitised by thinking tools provided by feminist theory and Bourdieu, the findings suggest early schooling plays an important part in shaping experiences and understandings of learning. Moreover, gender matters in understanding women Primary Teachers’ experiences and understandings of learning. Early gendered learning identities seemed to notably influence how learning was negotiated and enacted later as a woman, as a teacher and thus as a professional. The woman teacher participants in this study were theorised as Caring Teachers. However, Caring Teachers is not a homogenous construct as the women performed as Nice women, as Confident women, as Kind women and as Authoritative women. Influenced by early schooling and a desire to be ‘good teachers’, the Nice and the Kind women produced themselves within traditional discourses of femininity, of compliance and subordination. This performance of a teacher was vulnerable to policy demands as, despite the rhetoric of professionalism, education policy constructs Class Teachers as technicians. In contrast, the Confident and Authoritative women, more likely to be Chartered Teachers, produced themselves somewhat differently. Their habitus predisposed them to perform as a learner with some confidence. However, although the Confident women and Authoritative women understood and enacted teacher learning differently, their learning too was constrained by the limitations of policy-sanctioned discourses. Informed by the findings of this small-scale study, I argue that teacher learning is subject to complex, interwoven understandings of woman, of learner and of teacher as professional. Attention, therefore, should be given to the interrelated nature of the aforementioned constructs as Women Primary teachers’ learning and professionalism has played, and will continue to play, an important role in shaping the outcomes available to children.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 144-151). Also available in print.

This thesis reports a research project studying how people become tertiary teachers in New Zealand. While studies of many aspects of tertiary teaching, teacher professional development and workplace learning have been published, no comparative study of tertiary teacher development across different types of institutions had been carried out. Few previous studies had linked the concept of learning in a community of practice with teachers' workplace learning. A qualitative, interpretive research framework was adopted, using three case studies. Data were gathered from institutional documents, educational developers and experienced teaching staff of three representative institutions, a polytechnic, a wananga and a university, from mid-2000 to mid-2001. Data gathering strategies included semi-structured interviews with teachers and educational developers, examination of documents, a teacher questionnaire and some class observations. Interview transcripts and other data were analysed to identify common themes, and findings were reported as three individual cases before integration. It was found that most tertiary teachers' learning about teaching and how to teach was in-service, mainly informal and experiential, and the knowledge gained was mainly tacit and process-oriented. Although that was complemented by varying amounts of formal learning, gained through courses or professional development activities, few tertiary teachers have sought or gained teaching qualifications. While institutions have central policies and procedures to support in-service teacher development, their implementation is often uneven, with little integration or balancing of the parts. Differences of practice were observed both between institutions, and between departments within institutions, indicating the importance of context for tertiary teachers' development. It was concluded that non-formal workplace learning is likely to continue to be the mainstay of tertiary teacher development, and that it needs to be refocussed and approached from a fresh angle. The perspective of learning in a community of teaching practice provides a conceptual framework for integrating different levels and forms of support for tertiary teachers. Recommendations for strengthening tertiary teacher development are addressed at three levels: institutions (as social learning systems); communities of practice within those institutions (such as departments, discipline groups, programme teams, or campus whanau); and individual teachers (whose teaching identities develop within those communities).

Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed 7/16/2009). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-112).