http://hdl.handle.net/1903/2233 2013-06-20T10:16:52Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13852 Title: Borderlands and Border Crossing: Japanese Professors of English and the Negotiation of Translinguistic and Transcultural Identity Authors: Rudolph, Nathanael John Abstract: Recent scholarship in the field of ELT posits that critical constructions of the Native Speaker/Non-Native Speaker and Native English Speaker Teacher/Non-Native English Speaker Teacher binaries in the ELT literature have oversimplified and essentialized categories of teacher identity (e.g., Menard-Warwick, 2008; Park, 2012) and as a result cannot account for contextualized negotiations of borders of linguistic and cultural identity around the world. In the interest of addressing this issue, the following study explores the lived experiences of four Japanese professors negotiating their translinguistic and transcultural identities in the field of English language teaching (ELT) in Japan, and how through these experiences they have arrived at challenging who they might be or become as English language learners, teachers and users. Employing narrative inquiry and the use of semi-structured interviews, the study attempts to provide a sociohistorically-situated account of participants' lived experiences conceptualizing and negotiating borders of being and becoming as English language learners, users and teaching professionals. In doing so, the study attempts to examine the interplay of local and global discourses of identity implicated in the construction and perpetuation of borders within ELT in the Japanese context. The study seeks to encourage dialogue in the ELT research and teaching community both within and beyond Japan, related to how these discourses might adversely affect learner, teacher and user identity and contextualized language teaching. In addition, the study attempts to contribute to debate within ELT scholarship regarding who "non-native" teachers might be or become and the roles "native" and "non-native" teachers might play in globalized ELT. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13851 Title: Beneath the District Averages: Intradistrict differences in teacher compensation expenditures Authors: Malkus, Nathaniel Nelson Abstract: Previous research indicates that typical district budgeting practices mask large between-school teacher compensation expenditures (TCE) differences, that teacher sorting drives those TCE differences, and that TCE differences drive overall resource inequities. While scarce accurate school-level resource data has hindered intradistrict equity research, extant analyses have shown substantial TCE differences disadvantage schools with more non-white, poor and low-performing students. Though compelling, these findings are limited empirically because they examine small numbers of districts and conceptually because they examine average salaries, which cannot control for between-school differences in pupil-teacher ratios or student compensatory needs that could legitimately alter TCE between schools. Empirically, this study expands evidence of intradistrict inequities by measuring TCE variation using universe teacher-salary data for schools and districts in 16 states. Conceptually, this study allows for improved intradistrict TCE equity comparisons through a novel weighting approach that adjusts per-pupil TCE to control for differences in schools' compensatory needs and pupil-teacher ratios. Using detailed data for four states, each district's de facto staff-allocation weights are estimated and used to weight schools' student counts to statistically control for different allocations of teachers relative to student compensatory needs. Schools' TCE is indexed by weighted pupil counts to control for legitimate TCE differences associated with compensatory needs. By measuring TCE at the student level while controlling for compensatory needs, this weighted per-pupil TCE approach provides a more precise measure of intradistrict TCE equity than the average salaries used in previous research. Using descriptive statistics, district-level OLS regressions and hierarchical models on schools within districts, these analyses gauge the scope of TCE inequity and identify the district and school characteristics associated with it. Findings reveal that TCE variation is a widespread district phenomenon, and that districts with greater between-school variation in student poverty, race, and performance have more TCE variation. Within districts, schools with more poor, non-white, and low performing students receive below-average TCE. At the district and school levels, teacher sorting is strongly associated with the distribution of TCE. These findings suggest that intradistrict TCE inequities are widespread and divert targeted compensatory funds. Moreover, intradistrict resource equity deserves increased policy and research attention. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13848 Title: MULTICULTURAL PEDAGOGIES: THREE TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION Authors: Prell, Vanessa Sylvie Calvo Abstract: While multicultural curriculum is widely used, little is known about how teachers conceive of this curriculum. The purpose of this thesis is to explore teachers' understanding and implementation of multicultural curriculum, including the factors that affect, their beliefs about and practices of multicultural education. My study identifies two pedagogies of multicultural education: student centered and curriculum centered. These pedagogies are shaped by the teachers' view of student engagement, teacher authority, curriculum flexibility, and critical thinking. Teachers' motivations to include multicultural curriculum derived from personal experiences with race and culture. However, teachers struggled with organizational barriers such as limited time, incomplete multicultural knowledge, unachievable curriculum standards, and incompatible mandated texts. This research opens avenues for increased reflection upon and use of multicultural curriculum. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13817 Title: A Case Study Analysis of Middle School Principals' Teacher Selection Criteria Authors: Woodburn, Jane Lai Abstract: ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: A CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPALS' TEACHER SELECTION CRITERIA Jane Lai Woodburn, Doctor of Philosophy, 2012 Dissertation directed by: Professor Carol Parham, Chair Department of Education Leadership, Higher Education and International Education The hiring of middle school teachers to positively impact student achievement--is this a process of teacher selection or teacher attraction for schools, respectively, with low teacher turnover and schools with high teacher turnover? Since research indicates that the most important variable influencing student achievement is having a highly qualified and effective teacher in the classroom, principals need to have an understanding of their criteria and process for hiring the best teachers for their schools. This qualitative multiple case study investigated the teacher selection criteria and process used by middle school principals so that the findings could add to the body of knowledge that enables principals to make better hiring decisions. Using John Seyfarth's Model of the Selection Process as a guiding conceptual framework, this research study sought to answer the questions: What characteristics do middle school principals look for in hiring teachers? How do the unique characteristics of schools influence principals' teacher selection criteria? What process do principals use to select teachers using their criteria for selection? What facilitates principals' ability to select teachers who meet their selection criteria? Six middle school principals in a large suburban public school district--three from middle schools with high teacher turnover and three from middle schools with low teacher turnover--were interviewed. Collected interview data were analyzed using a manual coding process and NVivo, a Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software. For validation, an external auditor conducted a review of the qualitative data analysis and methodology. A summary of the findings revealed that the principals' teacher selection criteria included job-specific (content knowledge, pedagogy, adolescent learner characteristics, ability to scaffold instruction/use data) and nonjob-specific (ability to build relationships, be collaborative, kid-oriented, flexible, enthusiastic, professional, committed to student learning) factors; unique characteristics of the school did not generally appear to influence the principals' teacher selection criteria; principals selected teachers through an interview panel process; and principals identified how central office, institutions of higher education, colleagues, and panel members could help facilitate hiring the best matches for their schools. The findings and analysis of data led to the conclusions and recommendations in Chapter V. Knowledge of the principals' teacher selection criteria provides insight as to what principals are looking for so human resources staffers can create pools of candidates that match the principals' criteria. Future research can focus on the relative importance of job-specific and nonjob-specific factors, whether principals are actually using their espoused criteria for selection, and the impact of their hiring decisions on the longevity and effectiveness of the teachers they select using their criteria. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z