Following a constructivist paradigm, the research employed a case study approach combining qualitative and quantitative research methods to explore the process of curriculum development of two BA/TEFL programs in Mainland China. Research data sources included questionnaire responses, interview data, university archives and documents, and field notes from case-site visits. The questionnaire survey was completed by 137 graduating student teachers and 86 past graduates teaching in secondary schools, from both programs. Altogether 54 stakeholders in the programs, i.e. program heads, teacher educators, student teachers, past graduates and employers, were interviewed to find out their opinions about strengths and weaknesses of the programs. Content analysis was carried out to identify the salient features of the curriculum planning process, which included decision-making features and degree of involvement by various stakeholders. / The research findings shed light on our understanding of the process of curriculum planning and revision of BA/TEFL pre-service teacher education programs in normal universities in China. They have helped raise awareness that curricular decisions directly affect the degree of student teachers' preparedness for their future teaching profession. Therefore, it is very important for curriculum decision-makers to identify and cater for the needs of program recipients in the process of curriculum development. / The results revealed that the curriculum processes at both BA/TEFL programs followed a primarily top-down approach, and the program heads played an essential role throughout the entire process. Teacher educators and student teachers were not very actively involved. Past graduates and schools that employed the graduates were almost never consulted about the curriculum. The findings also revealed that student teachers from the two case sites held different attitudes towards their learning and professional preparation in their respective programs; this was largely due to the variations in the curricula. Factors such as student in-take, the educational backgrounds of the teacher educators and the approaches adopted for the English language enhancement courses may also have contributed to the cultivation of pre-service teacher qualities. / This research focused on the curriculum planning process of BA/TEFL programs at normal universities in Mainland China. It aimed to examine the procedures that each program followed in curriculum improvement, especially with regard to the level of involvement of different stakeholders and other possible factors, which had an impact on the curriculum decisions. This study was conducted because there was a pressing need to improve pre-service teacher education programs in the Chinese educational context, and curriculum development was of primary importance. / This research has implications for the curriculum development of BA/TEFL programs not only in normal universities but also comprehensive universities that have started teacher education practice. It also has indicated that there is a need to develop TEFL professional standards in the Chinese context, which would inform the curriculum improvements of the BA/TEFL programs in terms of the forming and revision of the curriculum goals and objectives. / Wu Zunmin. / "June 2005." / Adviser: Jane Jackson. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0170. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 296-312). / 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 English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

This study examines teachers’ beliefs in the nature and malleability of intelligence, how these beliefs may vary in different academic domains, and whether those beliefs have any significant relationships with teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, epistemological beliefs, and proposed interventions for struggling students. Findings showed that teachers exhibited a more fixed view of the nature of intelligence when survey items were framed in terms of math, not language arts or domain-general items. There was also evidence suggesting that teachers’ beliefs in the fixed entity nature of intelligence are significantly correlated with holding a traditional unidimensional conception of intelligence. However, little evidence was found indicating a relationship between teachers’ various beliefs and their proposed strategies for struggling students. The results have implications for research on lay conceptions of intelligence, and for teacher education curricula.

Orientador: Edson do Carmo Inforsato / Banca: Flávia Graziela Moreira Passalaqua / Banca: Denise Maria Margonari / Banca: Luci Regina Muzzetti / Banca: Fabio Tadeu Reina / Resumo: A prática educacional vem passando por um momento de rupturas devido às várias questões que ocupam o cenário educacional, entre as quais a presença de um Estado Avaliativo, buscando qualidade e excelência por meio de um sistema nacional de medidas. Atualmente, há muitas capacitações para o professor universitário nos cursos de pós-graduação, tanto no lato sensu quanto no strictu sensu, mas elas concentram-se apenas nas áreas de conhecimento, nas quais o professor atua. Na parte pedagógica é mínimo o esforço para se capacitar o professor para que ele tenha um desempenho melhor com os seus alunos e, desse modo, atue de forma mais efetiva na graduação. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é conhecer as expectativas docentes dos professores de instituições públicas e particulares do estado de São Paulo, quanto à formação continuada de docentes universitários. Para isso, discutiremos essa formação sob três óticas: 1) A expectativa quanto à idade do docente; 2) Expectativas quanto à relação de trabalho com a instituição (Pública ou Particular) em que leciona e o incentivo à formação continuada; e 3) Expectativa do docente com relação à formação continuada. Foi feita a coleta de dados em sujeitos, por meio de um questionário fechado on-line, em todas as instituições de ensino superior pública e privada do estado de São Paulo. Para a análise estatística dos dados obtidos no questionário enviado aos docentes, foi utilizada a tabela de Burt. É uma tabela de resíduos que possuem distr... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The educational practice is going through a moment of ruptures due to the several issues that have come to occupy the educational scene, among which the presence of an Evaluation State seeking quality and excellence through a national system of measures. Currently, there are many trainings for the university professor in postgraduate courses, both in the lato sensu and strictu sensu, but they focus only on the areas of knowledge, in which the teacher acts. In the pedagogical part, there is minimal effort to train the teacher so that he performs better with his students and, thus, he acts more effectively in the graduation. Therefore, the objective of this study is to know the teachers' expectations of the professors of public and private institutions in the state of São Paulo, regarding the continuing education of university teachers. For this, we will discuss this formation under three perspectives: 1) The expectation regarding the age of the teacher; 2) Expectations regarding the working relationship with the institution (Public or Private) in which he teaches and the incentive to the continuous formation; and 3) Teacher's expectations with respect to continuing education. Data were collected on subjects through an online closed questionnaire, in all public and private higher education institutions in the state of São Paulo. For the statistical analysis of the data obtained in the questionnaire sent to the teachers, the Burt table was used. It is a table of residues that ha... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Thesis (M. Ed.) --University of the North, 1977 / Refer to the document

Thesis (Ph.D (Education)) --University of the North, 1978 / Refer to the document / HSRC (Human Sciences Research Council) and University of the North

A Professional Paper on "Techniques of Instruction" as seen through the eyes of this writer, to Portland State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Education.

Orientador: Maévi Anabel Nono / Banca: Alvanize Valente Fernandes Ferenc / Banca: Luciana Aparecida Nogueira da Cruz / Resumo: A formação continuada de professores em serviço ganha destaque no Brasil a partir da Lei nº 9.394/96 - Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional, que traz essa formação como um direito dos professores. A partir dessa Lei, o Ministério da Educação, por meio das Secretarias Municipais e Estaduais de Educação, investiu em programas de formação continuada que são alvos de críticas de muitos pesquisadores como Candau (1996), García (1999), Canário (2002), Nóvoa (1995; 2008), Imbernón (2010), que veem, como a verdadeira formação continuada, a que acontece na escola, entre os professores, a partir da identificação das necessidades formativas do grupo. Para Salles e Russeff (2003) e Nunes et al. (2005), o poder público tem o papel de implementar políticas de formação continuada, e sua qualidade e consonância com as necessidades formativas dos professores não estão relacionadas ao fato de a formação acontecer na própria escola ou fazer parte de uma política pública maior. Inclusive, para Salles e Russeff (2003), a crítica à formação continuada como política pública de governo, assim como a ideia de que a formação continuada deve ocorrer somente nas escolas sob a responsabilidade dos professores, é oriunda de uma política neoliberal que, entre outras coisas, retira do Estado a responsabilidade pela educação de qualidade. Diante desse contexto, por meio da pesquisa aqui apresentada, busca-se analisar um programa de formação continuada em serviço desenvolvido no município de São... / Abstract: The Continuing Teachers Education in service in Brazil stands out from the Law No. 9.394 / 96 - Law of Directives and Bases of National Education, which brings this formation as a right of teachers. Based on this Law the Ministry of Education, through the Municipal and State Secretariats of Education invested in Continuing Teachers Education programs that are the subject of criticism by many researchers such as Candau (1996), García (1999), Canário (2002), Nóvoa (1995; 2008), Imbernón (2010). These authors see as the true continuous formation that one which happens in the school among the teachers, from the identification of the formative needs of the group. For Salles and Russeff (2003) and Nunes et al. (2005), public power has the role of implementing policies for Continuing Teachers Education, and their quality and consistency with the education needs of teachers not relate to the fact that the formation happens in the school itself or is part of a larger public policy. Even for Salles and Russeff (2003), the critique of Continuing Teachers Education as a public policy of government, as well as the idea that Continuing Teachers Education should occur only in schools under the responsibility of teachers, comes from a neoliberal policy that, among other things, it takes away from the state the responsibility for quality education. In this context, the research presented here aims at analyzing a continuing in-service education program developed in the municipality of São ... / Mestre

This research study has investigated the beliefs that prospective primary school teachers hold about the epistemology of mathematics, and the teaching and learning of mathematics. In particular, it considered the following questions: * What beliefs and attitudes about mathematics and mathematics education do first year primary school student teachers bring into their tertiary education? * Are any of the students' beliefs about mathematics and mathematics education similar to the beliefs of the teacher educators in mathematics education and how do students interact with first year mathematics education subjects in the teacher education course? * How do students' attitudes and beliefs influence their success in learning new mathematics at this stage of their lives? * How do students' beliefs and attitudes affect their ideas on good practice in the teaching of mathematics in the primary school? The research design was qualitative, using a case study investigation of 50 students in their first year of a teacher education course. The students' passage through the first year mathematics education subjects provided valuable insights into their beliefs, principally by means of interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The study was designed to have pedagogical outcomes for the students, by embedding the collection and interpretation of data in the teaching and learning of their course. My personal perspective throughout this research has been that mathematics is a socio¬cultural phenomenon, and that the learning of mathematics is achieved through the mediation of language, social interaction and culture. This perspective of mathematics and the learning of mathematics has influenced the choice of methodology and the research questions asked. Results indicated that students often held two or more philosophies of mathematics and moved between these philosophies, depending on context. Further, students generally considered that the characteristics of a good teacher included being supportive and enthusiastic. Good pedagogy was believed to incorporate practical activities demonstrating relevance, and providing 'fun' for pupils. However, an alarming result was that having higher order knowledge about mathematics was often seen by the students as being a disadvantage for a teacher, principally because students believed such teachers would be less empathetic to struggling pupils. These beliefs affected students' interactions with the first year university mathematics education subjects, as their beliefs about the importance of subject matter knowledge were at variance with the beliefs of the teacher educators. This dissonance led to devaluing of the mathematics education subjects by some of the students. The study has led to the conclusion that a number of the students' beliefs about mathematics, and the teaching and learning of mathematics, should not be left unchallenged. Those beliefs dealing with ideas on good pedagogy should be strengthened, while beliefs about the nature of mathematics and the value of subject matter knowledge should be made more transparent and addressed. On the other side of the coin, teacher educators need to acknowledge the differences in the beliefs that student teachers and teacher educators might hold, and to consider ways of making mathematics education courses more relevant and meaningful for students.

This study was directed at investigating the need for practical experiences in the undergraduate education of secondary school teachers in Greece.The judgement concerning such a need was based on the conclusions drawn from the examination of international practices in the field of practical experiences and from the perceptions of first year Greek teachers regarding the need for such experiences.The education of Greek secondary school teachers was compared with the education of similar teachers in France, Germany and the United. States. The perceptions of Greek teachers concerning the need for practical experiences were assessed through their response to a questionnaire. Of the 350 beginning teachers contacted, 180 responded. The questionnaire consisted of 20 items which described skills identified through the literature as outcomes of practical experiences. The twenty skills were classified under the following seven subcategories:1. Classroom management2. Planning for instruction3. Application of learning theories4. Teacher awareness of his/her strengths and weaknesses 5. Awareness of student needs 6. Student evaluation 7. Awareness of the multiple duties of the teacherUsing a four-point, agree-disagree scale, the respondents rated each skill first as to its importance and then as to the adequacy of their training with regard to the skill. The relative importance and adequacy score for each skill was determined by calculating the percentage of respondents who rated the skill important or their preparation adequate.Demographic information on the teachers was collected for the description of the sample and to serve as independent variables in the analysis of the data.. One-way analyses of variance were performed to investigate the significance of the selected variables on the degree of importance and adequacy of each subscale. On the basis of the one-way analyses of variance, two independent variables were selected for a multi-analyses of variance.The following conclusions were based on the findings of the comparative examination of teacher education systems and on the analyses of the survey data.1. In all systems except that of Greece the importance of practical experiences has been recognized and ways have been devised to incorporate practical experiences in the education of secondary school teachers.2. In the French, the German, and the American systems, there was a discernible trend toward improving education courses offered in universities by strengthening the practical experiences component.3. The analysis of the survey data indicated that more than 84°,%% of the Greek teachers felt that the skills were important, but less than 37% considered their training in these skills adequate.4. Greek teachers' perceptions of the importance of the classroom management skills differed significantly depending on the university from which they had graduated.5. Greek teachers' perceptions of the importance of skills for the application of learning theories differed significantly depending on the kind of pre-service teaching experience the respondents had. Those teachers with substitute teaching experience rated these skills more important.6. Teachers who had not received any kind of practical experiences during their education rated the adequacy of their preparation in classroom management skills as less adequate.7. Math/science teachers, more than any other subject matter teacher, considered classroom management skills important. They also perceived their preparation regarding these skills as least adequate.International developments regarding practical experiences in teacher education and the need for such experiences expressed by Greek teachers strongly suggest that some form of practical experiences be incorporated into the education of secondary school teachers in Greece.

The purpose of this study was to assess the affective component of the secondary teacher preparation program at Ball State University. Three population groups enrolled during fall quarter, 1979, voluntarily took part: 1) university supervisors of secondary student teachers; 2) classroom supervisors of secondary student teachers; and 3) secondary student teachers.The assessment was conducted by means of an original instrument. The Inventory of Affective Teaching Skills measured three dimensions of responses for 21 affective teaching skills. The three response dimensions were: 1) To what extent is this skill important to effective teachers? (Valuing); 2) To what extent do you believe the skill was included in the BSU teacher training program? (Training); 3a) To what extent was the student teacher proficient in this skill? (Proficiency); and 3b) To what extent are you (the student teacher) proficient in this skill? (Proficiency). The response alternatives ranged from 1-NONE to 5-EXTENSIVE.The null hypotheses stated that there would be no differences between group responses on the three dimensions. The hypotheses were tested using the multi-variate analysis of variance F-test. Results indicated that there were significant differences between the responses of the three groups on the three dimensions. The three null hypotheses were rejected.Mean scores for each of the 21 variables (items or skills) were also examined and compared across groups and across dimensions. It was found that university supervisor group scores were highest for Valuing (3.8014, and lower for Proficiency (2.8652) and Training (2.8644). Classroom supervisor group scores were highest for Valuing (3.7165), lower for Training (3.0276) and lowest for Proficiency (2.9413). Student teacher group scores were highest for Valuing (4.0158), lower for Proficiency (3.5008), and lowest for Training (3.3436).Highest overall mean scores were from student teachers (3.6219), lower from classroom supervisors (3.2284), and lowest from university supervisors (3.1650). The overall mean scores resulted in the following rankings: lst, support pupil efforts; 2nd, motivate and involve pupils; 3rd, recognize pupil progress; 19th, use simulations and games; 20th, use objectives in disciplining; and 21st, use role-play and role-reversals.The researcher concluded that although the three groups valued the affective teaching skills, they perceived that the skills were not adequately included in the training program. Affective teaching skills which concerned general classroom interaction such as motivating, supporting, and involving pupils were ranked high. Specific affective techniques which combined affective with intellectual and analytical processes were ranked low.