This study evaluated the effectiveness of a new teacher induction program as implemented in a rural school district in central North Carolina. All beginning teachers with 3 or less years of experience, all school-based administrators, and all mentoring teachers were the target participants. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the…

This dissertation examines how teachers respond to state-wide labor reforms. In 2013 and 2014, the state of North Carolina drastically altered compensation for teachers. Policymakers affected labor by attempting to revoke tenure for all teachers (and succeeded in eliminating it for new teachers), discontinuing supplemental pay for advanced…

To explore the relationship between theory and practice in evaluation, we focus on the perspectives and experiences of student evaluators, as they move from the classroom to an engagement with the social, political, and cultural dynamics of evaluation in the field. Through reflective journals, postcourse interviews, and facilitated group…

This study is concerned with the experiences of beginning teachers working with a district-employed mentor. Based on Illeris's (2002) Three Dimensions of Learning, this study sought to understand the cognitive, emotional, and social processes involved in working with a mentor. This is a qualitative study using the research method of phenomenology…

This case study dissertation investigated the perceptions of mentor teachers in regard to their professional practice, teacher leadership, and workplace satisfaction. The researcher investigated the lived experiences of these teachers within the bounds of their prescribed relationships with a beginning teacher. This dissertation is motivated by…

This study is concerned with the experiences of beginning teachers working with a district-employed mentor. Based on Illeris's (2002) Three Dimensions of Learning, the study sought to understand the cognitive, emotional, and social processes involved in working with a mentor through the use of one-on one, in-depth interviews. Nine beginning…

Underlying all pedagogical decisions are dispositions that animate, motivate, and direct abilities evident in the patterns of one's frequently exhibited behavior (Ritchhart, 2001). Although the research on teacher dispositions remains inconsistent, and the intensity with which dispositions are evaluated seems to be waning, middle level educators…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand and "make sense" of how beginning teachers experience and define lack of principal/administrative support during their beginning years of teaching. Utilizing grounded theory as a conceptual framework, I sought to deconstruct the stories and lived experiences of nine beginning…

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) sent a research team to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) on October 23-24, 2008, to conduct interviews with individuals who play important roles in the university's teacher preparation program. These interviews, along with additional documentation provided by UNCG and identified by…

Building a stronger teacher workforce requires the thoughtful orchestration of multiple processes working together in a human capital system. This white paper presents a framework that can be used to take stock of current efforts to enhance the teacher workforce in school districts or educational organizations, as well as their underlying theories…