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Teachers\u27 perspectives on changes in general and special education: Examining the pieces of the puzzle

To understand the impact of special education and educational changes that have occurred in rural schools in Iowa since 1975, this ethnographic qualitative inquiry examined the dispositions, beliefs, contexts, and recalled experiences of four teachers who began teaching around the time the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) was enacted in 1975 and continued teaching until after the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was enacted in 2002. In addition, the research project explored the teachers\u27 views of the impact various educational changes had on them, their colleagues, and the students they taught. The group of four participants, with a combined 123 years of teaching experience, met after the first two individual semi-structured, audio recorded, empathetic interviews were conducted; to conclude the study, a final individual interview was conducted with each participant. I examined transcripts to interpret the jigsaw puzzle pieces of the retired educators\u27 contexts using the lenses of disability studies, teacher career cycle, and educational change. In this study of change and special education, participants\u27 puzzle pieces were related to six themes: responsibilities, technology, curriculum, law/accountability, factors outside school, and preparation and professional development. Among the pieces that differed by participant were educational background, relationships with principals, knowledge of special education, and beliefs about inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education setting. Insufficient professional development and ongoing support for change led to lack of implementation or short-term implementation of innovations. This interpretation may add a different perspective to the existing literature about educational change and special education, experiences of veteran teachers who actually served between the initial passage of the EAHCA and the passage of NCLB. Such information may be beneficial for educators seeking to increase academic achievement of students labeled with disabilities and other marginalized students, and lessen the negative impacts of ongoing educational change on students and teachers. It may also inform those who prepare teachers and who provide professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators so change is presented in a meaningful manner and differentiated professional development is provided throughout teachers\u27 careers

"Poor boys"? --gendered learning experience in the English subject in Hong Kong.

Lui, Wai Shan.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-155).Abstract also in Chinese.Title --- p.iAbstract --- p.iii論文摘要 --- p.iiiAcknowledgments --- p.ivTable of Contents --- p.vChapter Section One: --- "The Research Question, theoretical context and methodological considerations"Chapter Chapter One --- The ´بLanguage Education' Question --- p.1Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction: The Gendered Achievement Gap in English --- p.1Chapter 1.2 --- The Research roblematic --- p.6Chapter 1.3 --- Form One Students in a Band One EMI Working Class School in Hong Kong --- p.8Chapter Chapter Two --- Gender and English as a Second/Foreign Language Education Studies in ContextsChapter 2.1 --- Theoretical Contexts: From Male Dominated Subjects to Female Dominated Subjects --- p.16Chapter 2.2 --- Borrowing Frameworks from Gender and Mathematics and Science Education Studies --- p.26Chapter 2.3 --- Research Questions --- p.33Chapter 2.4 --- Structure of this Report --- p.37Chapter Chapter Three --- Making the Familiar Strange --- p.40Chapter 3.1 --- Ethnography at Home: Tension and Inspiration with Personal Experience --- p.40Chapter 3.2 --- Multiple Identities and Old and New ower Relations --- p.53Chapter 3.3 --- Qualitative Analysis and Writing --- p.61Chapter Section Two: --- Findings and AnalysisChapter Chapter Four --- Students´ة Perception of English: An “Inferior´ح and “Feminine´ح Subject --- p.66Chapter 4.1 --- The Funny but Boring English Lessons (and the Boring but Interesting Mathematics Lessons) --- p.66Chapter 4.2 --- Hierarchy of Academic Subjects --- p.86Chapter 4.3 --- "Authority and Masculinity of ""Objective"" Knowledge" --- p.90Chapter 4.4 --- The Making (or the Unsuccessful Making) of Objective Academic Subjects --- p.95Chapter 4.5 --- Conclusion: The Valuable but Inferior Subject --- p.103Chapter Chapter Five --- Learning as Identity Construction: The Case of English --- p.105Chapter 5.1 --- "Achiever by Instrumental Rationality: Jackson, the ""Career Plan´ح Boy" --- p.105Chapter 5.2 --- "Achiever by Feminine ersona Over-acted: Ricky, the ""Maria"" boy" --- p.109Chapter 5.3 --- A Communal Activity: Girls as a Group --- p.117Chapter 5.4 --- Conclusion: Interplay between Gender Identity and Learner Identity --- p.119Chapter Chapter Six --- Being in a Colonized World: Students´ة Social Struggles over English Learning --- p.121Chapter 6.1 --- Middle Class Normative Ideal and Working Class Struggle --- p.121Chapter 6.2 --- Anxiety over EMI Identity --- p.126Chapter 6.3 --- L2 Learners´ة Sense of Ownership --- p.129Chapter 6.4 --- Value of L1 Resource --- p.133Chapter 6.5 --- Overpowering Colonialism through the Power of Masculinity --- p.135Chapter 6.6 --- Conclusion: Deficiency Model of the Colonized --- p.139Chapter Section Three: --- ConclusionChapter Chapter Seven --- The Complexity of the ´بLanguage Education，Question in Feminism --- p.141Appendix: Interview and Observation Guide --- p.148References --- p.15

First Nations leadership development within a Saskatchewan context

The Saskatchewan First Nations leadership development study is essentially a continuation of my previous research on First Nations leadership and spirituality (2002). The purpose of this study was to explore First Nations leadership and leadership development in Saskatchewan within the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations organizational context. To accomplish this, the study involved an extensive literature review on Indigenous and Western leadership and leadership development theories. Further, an examination of four established and prominent North American Indigenous leadership development programs was conducted to gain further understanding of Indigenous leadership. In addition, 10 First Nations leaders from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations participated in in-depth interviews. Qualitative inquiry was chosen for this study because qualitative research methods were congruent with First Nations methods of sharing and preserving information. In-depth interviews with semi-structured questions were conducted to obtain information on Saskatchewan First Nations leadership and leadership development. All but one participant agreed to the use of an audio taped interview. Once the interviews were complete, Atlas-ti, a computer software program, was used to assist in the coding, categorizing, and thematic emergence process. The four Aboriginal leadership development programs that were examined were University of Arizona’s Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy, Pennsylvania State’s American Indian Leadership Program, Banff Centre’s Aboriginal Leadership and Management Program, and the Aboriginal Leadership Institute Incorporated, located in Winnipeg. These programs strived to remain current and were involved in research initiatives. Moreover, they all attempted to incorporate First Nations culture, history, and issues alongside Western leadership skills, training, and education. They evolved, adapted, and were sensitive to change and innovation in leadership development. First Nations leadership development programs, like those studied, are valuable because they unite Aboriginal leadership for the purpose of personal and professional growth.The First Nations leaders that participated in this study shared personal and professional leadership and leadership development experiences and philosophy. The leaders indicated that being a First Nations leader was challenging because it continuously contended with two fundamentally different cultures – Western and First Nations. In addition, First Nations poverty, lack of funding, residential school effects, addictions, among other things, made leadership difficult. Because First Nations leadership is physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually taxing, many of the Chiefs cited internal rather than material satisfaction. Moreover, these leaders were often motivated by a cause and the desire for collective well-being and positive change. Family, community members, other leaders, Elders, and the ‘Creator’ were acknowledged as sources of strength and inspiration. The First Nations leaders who participated in the study perceived leadership development as a life-long process of formal and informal learning experiences. Consequently, many of the leaders indicated that leadership development began in childhood with individual and family development. The leaders described a First Nations leadership development program that was flexible (able to work in community, tribal, and provincial settings), cognizant of First Nations culture, needs, and issues, and aware of current and innovative leadership practices. First Nations leadership development should also incorporate Western knowledge, skills, and education. This First Nations leadership investigation has provided invaluable insight into the values, beliefs, worldview, and philosophies that entail and ultimately constitute Indigenous leadership and leadership development. Studies that focus on Indigenous leadership development ultimately have significant implications for theory, research, fundamental, and practical applications for learning organizations

The Teachers\u27 Perspective of Critical Thinking Skills Development in Middle School Gifted Students in the Social Studies Classroom through the Use of Primary Sources

Gifted education, although having been a part of the United States educational fabric since the early 1900s, has various definitions and programs throughout the nation. Many gifted students are being placed in regular education programs without consideration of their needs. In 1991 Wineburg began researching and proposing using primary sources for analyzing and research skills in social studies classrooms as a possible way to meet the needs of gifted students while teaching problem solving and critical thinking skills. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover two connected concepts: The perception middle school social studies teachers\u27 have toward critical thinking skills and the development of critical thinking skills in gifted students, particularly through the use of primary sources. This phenomenon was researched with the cooperation of nine participants in a medium sized school district in South Carolina. Among the nine participants, three are National Board certified, two are endorsed for gifted education through the South Carolina Department of Education, and their teaching experience varied from one to twenty years. Using the constant comparative method, data were collected through survey, interviews, and classroom observations. The data indicated that these middle school social studies teachers had knowledge of and utilized primary sources to develop critical thinking skills even though they had not previously defined the concept. However, they were lacking professional development and knowledge of gifted students\u27 needs in the classroom

The dwelling house

Why she returned she did not kno