ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Capacity Building and Districts&apos; Decision to Implement Coaching Initiatives
Author: Mangin, Melinda M.
Date: 2014-06-23
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Capacity Building,Coaching (Performance),School Districts,Educational Planning,Program Implementation,Literacy,Ideology,Interests,Case Studies,Qualitative Research,Educational Policy,Educational Practices,Decision Making,Superintendents,Administrator Attitudes,Principals,Coordinators,Semi Structured Interviews,Teacher Role,Information Utilization,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Elementary Secondary Education

The United States has experienced tremendous growth in the development of coaching initiatives including professional training programs, state endorsements and resources for coaches. These developments bring attention to the potential for coaching to improve education. They also raise the question of how best to facilitate implementation in local districts. One approach is to build capacity for coaching in schools and districts. Capacity building, as a policy tool, can facilitate the skills and knowledge necessary to engage in new practices. To understand the influence of capacity building efforts on districts&apos; decision to implement coach initiatives, this study examines how one Regional School District (RSD) worked to build capacity for literacy coaching among its 20 constituent districts over three years. To analyze the data, I employed Weiss&apos; (1983) decision-making framework, which examines the influence of ideology, interests and information on policy positions and decision outcomes. Findings suggest that the RSD&apos;s ongoing capacity building efforts influenced districts&apos; decision to implement coach roles, even in districts that initially expressed no interest in coaching. In addition, formal district leaders played an important role in shaping the interplay between information, ideology, and interests. This study provides insights into the utility of capacity building for implementing coach roles and into the &quot;politics&quot; behind coaching initiatives.
A Look inside Mathematics Coaching: Roles, Content, and Dynamics
Author: Mudzimiri, Rejoice
Date: 2014-06-23
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Coaching (Performance),Mathematics Education,Faculty Development,Mathematics Teachers,Instructional Improvement,Elementary School Mathematics,Elementary School Teachers,Classroom Observation Techniques,Experienced Teachers,Mentors,Teacher Role,Teacher Responsibility,Educational Practices,Class Activities,Models,Training Methods,Profiles,Program Content,Educational Strategies,Group Dynamics,Interaction,Evaluation Criteria,Protocol Analysis

Mathematics classroom coaching is used across the United States as a means for improving instruction, with the ultimate goal of improving student learning. The job assignments of coaches can vary widely across schools and districts. Regardless of the various forms that coaching can take, there is the consistent expectation that a coach&apos;s day-to-day work will positively influence classroom instruction. The study reported here attempts to gain a more complete picture of the job of an elementary mathematics coach based on the observation of seven coaches in five different districts for a day. We report the variety of ways we observed elementary mathematics coaches interact with teachers, and what roles and responsibilities they take on. Our analysis of these data led us to create a template for conducting observations of mathematics classroom coaching, which could be used by researchers seeking to conduct studies about coaching or by administrators seeking to document the day-to-day work of coaches.
Building Teachers&apos; Data-Use Capacity: Insights from Strong and Developing Coaches
Author: Huguet, Alice
Date: 2014-06-23
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Capacity Building,Coaching (Performance),Mentors,Data,Evaluation Utilization,Information Utilization,Instructional Innovation,Faculty Development,Skill Development,Interviews,Middle School Teachers,Educational Practices,Learning Theories,Online Surveys,Observation,Administrator Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Supervisor Supervisee Relationship,Theory Practice Relationship,Teaching Skills

Coaching has become a central strategy in district and school efforts to build teacher capacity to interpret and respond to student learning data. Despite their popularity, there is limited research on the implementation of these initiatives. This article begins to addresses this gap by examining the elements of a coach&apos;s practice that appear to build teachers&apos; skills and knowledge to use data to guide instructional decisions. Drawing on sociocultural learning theory and interview and survey data collected in four middle schools--two with &quot;strong&quot; coaches and two with &quot;developing&quot; coaches--we find that coaching to build data-use capacity appears to rely less on the official title or model (i.e., data coach vs. instructional coach) and more on the diversity of coach practices as well as content area and interpersonal expertise. Further, administrators play an important role in shaping the work of a coach through their mediation of political dynamics in a school. The article concludes with implications for coaching practice, as well as suggestions to guide future research and theory development.
Charting the Research on the Policies and Politics of Coaching
Author: Woulfin, Sarah L.
Date: 2014-06-23
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Coaching (Performance),Educational Policy,Politics of Education,Role Perception,Teacher Role,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Models,Research Needs,Educational Practices,Mentors,Educational Change

Facing relentless pressure to improve student achievement, many states and districts are using coaching as a policy lever to promote changes in practice. This special issue centers on the policies and politics of coaching, and this editorial commentary highlights what we know about the role of coaches and coaching in the field of education. Then I introduce and synthesize the special issue&apos;s seven empirical contributions. Taken together, these papers, using qualitative and quantitative methods, attend to the implementation of diverse coaching models. These papers surface novel findings on the coaching of both teachers and principals and have implications for scholars, reformers, and practitioners. Finally, I make recommendations for future research on coaching that is grounded in theory and which would advance our understanding of both educational policy and change.
An Investigation on the Dominant Career Anchors of Faculty Members: The Case of Mersin University
Author: Unal, Burcu
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Investigations,College Faculty,Teacher Role,Teacher Responsibility,Career Choice,Gender Differences,Marital Status,Tenure,Academic Rank (Professional),Rating Scales,Job Security,Professional Autonomy,Goal Orientation,Family Work Relationship,Career Development,Teacher Attitudes,Job Satisfaction,Foreign Countries

Due to social, economic, and political changes, as well as changing institutional priorities, the permeation of managerialism has impelled universities to redefine the roles and functions of its faculty members. Therefore, researchers from various disciplines have focused on the career choices and paths of such members. In this context, the purpose of the present study is to identify the dominant career anchors of faculty members and examine these anchors in regard to their academic status, gender, marital status, and administrative position in their organization. The sample consisted of 306 faculty members of nine faculties at Mersin University. The data, obtained by the Career Anchors Scale, were first developed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses by the researchers, and then analyzed using descriptive statistics, a t-test, and a one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The analyses revealed that the dominant career anchors of the faculty members were job security, service and dedication, and autonomy independence. Furthermore, significant differences were observed in the career anchors of faculty members with respect to their academic status, gender, marital status, and administrative position in their organization. These results suggest that faculty members value a career that not only ensures economic security and stability but also allows maintenance of a healthy work-life balance.
A Validity and Reliability Study on the Development of the Values Scale in Turkey
Author: Dilmac, Bulent
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Values,Test Reliability,Test Validity,Educational Practices,Psychometrics,Rating Scales,College Students,Factor Analysis,Measurement Techniques,Questionnaires,Test Construction,Adult Students,Replication (Evaluation)

The purpose of the present study is to examine the initial psychometric properties of the Values Scale for adults. While developing the first stage of the Values Scale, open-ended data on the values held by 216 university students were obtained. During the second stage, the validity and reliability studies of the 60-item Values Scale obtained by the categorization of the data were conducted on a total of 616 adults who were studying at or who had graduated from the universities in the province of Konya, Turkey. A total 39 values falling under nine factors were obtained as a result of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficients of the Values Scale were calculated on a factor basis. As a result of the analyses, the Cronbach alpha values were calculated as 0.90 for &quot;Social Values,&quot; 0.80 for &quot;Career Values&quot; 0.78 for &quot;Intellectual Values,&quot; 0.81 for &quot;Spirituality,&quot; 0.78 for &quot;Materialistic Values,&quot; 0.61 for &quot;Human Dignity,&quot; 0.66 for &quot;Romantic Values,&quot; 0.65 for &quot;Freedom,&quot; and 0.63 for &quot;Futuwwa (Generosity and Courage).&quot; Consequently, the first psychometric findings indicate that the Values Scale can be used as a valid and reliable measurement tool.
Conceptual Understanding of Science Teacher Candidates Regarding the Reason for Measurement and Evaluation and for Determining Learning Change
Author: Kurnaz, Mehmet Altan
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teachers,Science Teachers,Case Studies,Qualitative Research,Concept Formation,Measurement,Evaluation,Learning,Change,Questionnaires,Content Analysis

Determining the learning quality and the role of measurement and evaluation are accepted as part of the duties and responsibilities of teachers and operators in structured teaching programs. This qualitative case study research examined teacher candidates&apos; conceptual understanding of the reasons for measurement and evaluation and for determining of the learning change to ascertain if trained teacher candidates met the required expectations. The study participants were determined using criteria sampling and consisted of 101 science teacher candidates. The data was collected using open ended questions, which were analyzed using content analysis. The research found that the teacher candidates&apos; conceptual understanding as to the reasons for evaluation and determining the learning change were inadequate. It was found that the participants were unable to relate the measurement and evaluation purposes with learning change, and that the understanding of the measurement and evaluation concepts aimed at determining the need for learning change did not coincide. The data suggested that there could be teacher training insufficiencies and that the duties and responsibilities of the new teaching programs encumbered the teachers. In this context, it was suggested that determining the learning changes by measurement and evaluation practices be emphasized during teacher training.
The Usage of E-Governance Applications by Higher Education Students
Author: Öktem, M. Kemal
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Governance,Internet,College Students,Computer Use,Citizen Participation,Student Surveys,Socioeconomic Status,Factor Analysis,Foreign Countries

This study aims to analyze the factors affecting the Internet usage of university students using e-governance applications. It is important to examine these factors to understand why the online citizen participation is not increasing as expected, while Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage is improving in governance. Governance is an understanding that aims to provide more efficient and effective government applications. It consists of constructing interactive relationships between governments and citizens. New information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide interactive opportunities to citizens. We focus on students because they constitute an important subset of citizen population. The methodology of this study consists of data collected by a survey of 328 university students of Hacettepe University between 2011 and 2012. The sample is taken from six colleges of this university. Our results show that factors affecting the usage of e-governance applications are mainly related to the Internet usage variables rather than socio-economic status of students. Internet security, Internet usage level, Internet usage ability, and Internet usage tendencies are independent variables that have significant effects on the solution of the problem of improving ICTs usage in the processes of governance.
Academic Locus of Control, Tendencies Towards Academic Dishonesty and Test Anxiety Levels as the Predictors of Academic Self-Efficacy
Author: Yesilyurt, Etem
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Locus of Control,Ethics,Test Anxiety,Predictor Variables,Self Efficacy,Academic Achievement,Preservice Teachers,Preservice Teacher Education,Student Teacher Attitudes,Student Surveys,Rating Scales,Structural Equation Models,Foreign Countries

Many studies have focused on finding the level of effect that academic locus of control, tendencies towards academic dishonesty, and test anxiety levels have had on academic self-efficacy, and providing a separate explanation ratio for each. The relationship among the effects of the academic locus of control, tendencies towards academic dishonesty, test anxiety levels and academic self-efficacy with each other and explanation ratios of these relationships to each other were tested in this research. The participating group of the research consisted of 256 teacher candidates in their 2nd year of education at the Faculty of Education at a University in Turkey in the spring semester of the 2010-2011 academic year. The research was conducted using the relational survey model. The Academic Self-efficacy Scale, Academic Locus of Control Scale, The Scale of Academic Dishonesty Tendencies, and The Scale of Test Anxiety Levels were used as data collection instruments. Data was analyzed via SPSS 16.0 and AMOS 17.0 software programs. Consequently, it emerged that tendencies towards academic dishonesty, test anxiety, and academic locus of control together significantly and positively affect and account for academic self-efficacy. In other words, it was found that tendencies towards academic dishonesty, test anxiety levels, and academic locus of control are crucial predictors of the academic self-efficacy of teacher candidates.
Relations of Cognitive and Motivational Variables with Students' Human Circulatory System Achievement in Traditional and Learning Cycle Classrooms
Author: Sadi, Özlem
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Human Body,High School Students,Prior Learning,Logical Thinking,Learning,Self Efficacy,Locus of Control,Scientific Attitudes,Biology,Science Achievement,Learning Processes,Grade 11,Conventional Instruction,Pretests Posttests,Comparative Analysis,Multiple Regression Analysis,Motivation,Foreign Countries

This study is aimed at investigating the relationships among students' relevant prior knowledge, meaningful learning orientation, reasoning ability, self-efficacy, locus of control, attitudes toward biology and achievement with the human circulatory system (HCS) using the learning cycle (LC) and the traditional classroom setting. The study was conducted with two teachers and four classes for a total of 60 11th grade students from high school. One class for each teacher was assigned as an experimental group and treated with 5E LC instruction and the other class was assigned as a control group and treated with traditional instruction (TI). The Human Circulatory System Achievement Test (HCSACT) was administered twice as a pre-test and after the treatment period, as a post-test to both the experimental and control groups. The Learning Approach Questionnaire, Test of Logical Thinking, Self- Efficacy Scale, Locus of Control Scale and Attitude toward Biology Scale were also administered to all students. The results indicated that the LC improved students' achievement in the HCSACT compared to TI. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that in the learning cycle classrooms, the main predictors of achievement on the HCSACT were students' reasoning ability (45.8%) and their prior knowledge (15.9%). In traditional classrooms, students' meaningful learning orientation (40%) and locus of control (9.8%) were the main predictors of achievement.
Dancing the Threshold from Personal to Universal
Author: Snowber, Celeste
Date: 2014-10-06
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Art,Educational Research,Autobiographies,Human Body

The dilemma of connecting the personal and the universal has been one grappled with by artists, poets, and performers for ages. The author&apos;s philosophical underpinning has sought ways to connect the personal and universal, private and public; and her scholarly, performance, and poetic work has been rooted in the tradition of the lived curriculum and the soil of autobiography. This is the paradox, beauty, and mystery of interconnecting autobiographical work, whether that is poetic, narrative, artistic, or embodied ways of inquiry for others and ourselves.
An Analysis of the Use of Social Stories in Teaching Social Skills to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Author: Sani Bozkurt, Sunagul
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Story Telling,Autism,Pervasive Developmental Disorders,Skill Development,Interpersonal Competence,Meta Analysis,Instructional Effectiveness,Best Practices,Research Methodology,Classification,Statistical Analysis,Children,Teaching Methods,Asperger Syndrome,Research Design,Sentences,Maintenance,Generalization

Social stories play a significant part in the teaching skills and behaviors to children with ASD who lack social skills. The purpose of this study is to analyze studies in which social stories were used for teaching social skills to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The present study includes a descriptive review and meta-analysis of single-subject studies that met the criteria. In all studies, social validity, maintenance, and generalization data were collected in 56.25%, 50%, and 31.25% of the respective studies. Although most studies showed that social stories were effective in teaching social skills to children with ASD in the descriptive study, in the meta-analytic study, the mean of Percantage of Non-overlapping Data (PND) scores for all studies was 63.43%, with a range of 0% to 100%. Results suggest that social stories should not yet be considered as evidence based practice for teaching social skills to individuals with ASD. However, social stories seem to be a promising practice that warrants future research. Results will be discussed extensively and future directions for research and practice will be addressed. [This paper was presented at 1st International Early Childhood Intervention Conference &amp; EURLYAID Annual Conference 2012, Braga, Portugal. This paper was presented at 22nd International Conference on Special Education, Trabzon, Turkey.]
Evaluation of Turkish Grammar Instruction Based on Primary School Teachers' Opinions
Author: Anilan, Hüseyin
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Elementary School Teachers,Opinions,Grammar,English Instruction,Holistic Approach,Qualitative Research,Phenomenology,Teaching Experience,Structured Interviews,Demonstrations (Educational),Teaching Methods,Learning Activities,Educational Practices,Relevance (Education),Course Content,Workbooks,Alignment (Education),Scheduling,Program Length,Guidelines,Teaching Guides,Curriculum Evaluation,Curriculum Guides,Educational Resources,Student Evaluation,Barriers

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the holistic approach to Turkish grammar instruction in the first stage of primary education from the opinions and experiences of Turkish primary school teachers. This study is a qualitative research designed as a phenomenological study. The study participants were selected using maximum variation and criterion sampling, both of which are purposive sampling strategies. Thirty-two primary school teachers working at public primary schools in Turkey during the spring term of 2011-2012 were selected as the study participants. Data were collected using a written structured interview, then analyzed descriptively, from which themes were developed. The results showed that the study participants employed methods such as using relevant examples, teaching the grammar rules implicitly and using activities. It was found that some participants allocated a separate class hour for grammar teaching, while others found the Turkish Course Curriculum for Grades 1-5 inadequate. Some participants found the grammar teaching content and activities in the teaching set (i.e., students' textbook, students' workbook and teachers' book) inadequate both quantitatively and qualitatively, and therefore, turned to different resources. Overall, it was found that there were inadequacies in the teaching set because of a lack of explanations, exercises and examples, and a clear relationship to the students' social environment.
Learning from e-Family History: A Model of Online Family Historian Research Behaviour
Author: Friday, Kate
Date: 2014-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Genealogy,Historians,Online Searching,Research,Behavior,Ethnography,Qualitative Research,Diaries,Information Literacy,Search Strategies

Introduction: This paper reports on doctoral research which investigated the online research behaviour of family historians, from the overall perspective of local studies collections and developing online services for family historians. Method: A hybrid (primarily ethnographic) study was employed using qualitative diaries and shadowing, to examine research behaviour. Twenty-three family historians completed paper-based diaries over a six-month period, capturing their research behaviour. Eleven researchers were shadowed, allowing direct observation of undirected research behaviour and of directed queries. Analysis: A thematic inductive analysis was conducted; qualitative data from both sources were coded using NVivo to identify recurrent issues and key themes arising from the data. Results: Patterns in behaviour were categorised as actions, strategies and outcomes. Personal and social elements of research were very important, supporting the findings of Yakel and Fulton in this regard. Needs were both informational and affective, with a great deal of personal involvement and commitment. Participants displayed many traits of well-developed information literacy. Conclusions: A model of online research behaviour is proposed, which is circular yet continuous; this illustrates a search that repeats yet extends, and with every revolution a researcher&apos;s knowledge of background issues and context grows.