Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'National Teachers' Association of Liberia'

The purpose of this study was to compare the attitudes of faculty at: (1) Division I NCAA and NAIA institutions, (2) Division I and II NAIA institutions on selected issues related to intercollegiate athletics, and (3) Division I NCAA and NAIA institutions toward selected issues related to intercollegiate athletics when demographics variables are considered. The problem was to determine if there were significant differences between the attitudes of the faculties.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Harvard University, 1999.
Title from screen (viewed on July 23, 2009). Includes vita. Graduate School of Education, Harvard University. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 257-270).

The following is a doctoral dissertation that studied administrators’, teachers’, and parents’ perceptions and attitudes related to an early childhood center/preschool accreditation experience. A qualitative case study of one preschool center focused on the influence that the decision to pursue accreditation and implement the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) self-study process had on administrators, teachers, and parents. Interviews with administrators, teachers, and parents explored (a) issues that motivated the pursuit of NAEYC accreditation; (b) the NAEYC guidelines and their experience of the self-study and quality-improvement process; and (c) their perception of outcomes following accreditation. Current NAEYC guidelines are based on key child development theories and research, and require programs to integrate Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) in school curricula and staff training. It was necessary to explore how these NAEYC recommendations regarding DAP were interpreted during the quality-improvement and accreditation process. Key themes and issues around the accreditation experience were revealed through analyses of qualitative data. This case study of NAEYC accreditation illuminated factors in the decision to pursue accreditation and implement quality improvements leading to NAEYC accreditation. This case may serve as a model of a successful accreditation process to encourage early childhood centers to undertake quality improvements and pursue national NAEYC accreditation.

The following is a doctoral dissertation that studied administrators', teachers', and parents' perceptions and attitudes related to an early childhood center/preschool accreditation experience. A qualitative case study of one preschool center focused on the influence that the decision to pursue accreditation and implement the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) self-study process had on administrators, teachers, and parents. Interviews with administrators, teachers, and parents explored (a) issues that motivated the pursuit of NAEYC accreditation; (b) the NAEYC guidelines and their experience of the self-study and quality-improvement process; and (c) their perception of outcomes following accreditation. Current NAEYC guidelines are based on key child development theories and research, and require programs to integrate Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) in school curricula and staff training. It was necessary to explore how these NAEYC recommendations regarding DAP were interpreted during the quality-improvement and accreditation process. Key themes and issues around the accreditation experience were revealed through analyses of qualitative data. This case study of NAEYC accreditation illuminated factors in the decision to pursue accreditation and implement quality improvements leading to NAEYC accreditation. This case may serve as a model of a successful accreditation process to encourage early childhood centers to undertake quality improvements and pursue national NAEYC accreditation.

Texas programs in pre-service art teacher preparation vary little. Since 1970, the National Art Education Association (NAEA) has created voluntary standards in hopes of decreasing variability among programs. In 1999, the NAEA published Standards for Art Teacher Preparation, outlining 20 content areas that art pre-service programs should provide their students. To obtain information on the implementation and the extent to which these 20 standards are being implemented, a questionnaire was sent to all programs in Texas. The 20 standards were the dependent variable for the study. The four independent variables used in this ex post facto study were: the size of the institution where the program exists; the number of full-time art faculty; the number of full-time art education faculty; and, the number of undergraduate art education students who graduated last year. The 20 standards or provisions were scored on a Lickert scale with six options: zero (not taught) to five (comprehensively taught). The response size (N = 23) was 47% of the state's 49 approved programs. The results from the survey suggest no significant difference among programs. However, the results showed a significant difference in the number of provisions taught between programs with no art educators and those with 1 to 3 art educators. One art educator seemed to increase the number of pedagogical provisions taught but did not increase the extent or enhance the degree to which each provision was taught. A comprehensively taught response to the NAEA provisions on the questionnaire was further investigated through analysis of catalog course descriptions and correspondence with participants. The results are estimated in credit hours and indicate that there may be a point where time on task decides the limit that constitutes a comprehensive preparation. Perspectives on content are discussed and regarded as too subjective to define comprehensive preparation. Comprehensive time on task varies with content, which may imply an unconscious marker of time shared by educators that defines a comprehensive preparation for each provision. Changing and local standards in art pre-service programs may have produced a range of interpretations regarding the meaning of "comprehensively taught.";

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a preschool program followed the recommendations outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in their joint position statement "Early Childhood Mathematics: Promoting Good Beginnings." Six teachers were randomly selected from three of the preschool program's six locations that are situated in an urban city in North Texas. Two parts of this program's approach to mathematics were investigated: the teachers' instructional practices and the program's curricular materials. Data came from observations using the Classroom Observation of Early Mathematics-Environment and Teaching (COEMET) protocol and field notes. Each teacher participated in three interviews over the course of this research. Analyses of these sources provided insights into teachers' instructional practices for mathematics. Reviews of curricular documents and lesson plans for mathematics instruction provided information pertaining to the math curriculum used at this preschool program. All of these data sources were analyzed using the framework presented in NAEYC and NCTM's position statement. Analysis of the data indicated that, although teachers did not have any knowledge of these guidelines, teachers followed some of these recommendations; such as presenting children with daily developmentally appropriate mathematics activities and connecting mathematics to classroom routines. Other practices did not align with NAEYC and NCTM's suggestions, such as offering children few opportunities to engage in problem-solving situations and providing an inconsistent integration of mathematics into meaningful activities related to other content areas. Several possible factors may have influenced teachers' use of these recommendations. Teachers' prior educational opportunities, the program's curriculum materials, and the teachers' prior experiences with mathematics all may have contributed to the teachers' understandings of high quality mathematics instructional practices. Results from this research help to provide the foundation for future investigations of how teachers of young children follow NAEYC and NCTM's recommendations.

Thesis (MEd (Specialised Education))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
The site for the study is a Western Cape school for industry that became a school of skills in 1999. According to the S.A. National Association for Specialised Education (SANASE) (2001:1), a school of skills, also referred to as a special school, caters for intellectually mildly disabled learners (IMD learners) who are characterised by their poor scholastic abilities in reading, writing and arithmetic skills, low self-esteem, poor self-concept, lack of motivation to study and their inability to cope with academically orientated work. These would be learners who were previously in mainstream schools but whose learning difficulties resulted in their being placed at special schools. These learners pose particular challenges to their school environments, and teachers who work with such special needs learners require specialised training to equip them for their tasks. Teachers at schools of skills, however, generally have no additional training. This study had as focus teachers' understanding of their roles at a school of skills. This study uses an ecosystemic approach within an interpretive research framework to obtain in-depth data on teachers' understanding of the learners' learning needs and the concomitant challenges to classroom learning and their teaching. It also explored teachers' interpretations of their professional positioning amidst the demands posed by an outcomes-based curriculum. The study found that, despite ongoing in-service training initiatives, teachers insist that they need learner-specific guidance as they were incapable of providing suitable learning to their learners. They believe that their learners will need life-long learning support. Such beliefs create barriers to successful learning and can also marginalize learners, preventing them from being part of the mainstream of community life. The study found that the successful implementation of inclusive classroom learning is left largely to teachers' personal initiative. Although some teachers achieved positive results, the majority of teachers at the site failed to provide successful learning. It seems that learning success at schools of skill is dependent on positive teacher expectations of learners learning.

碩士
國立暨南國際大學
教育政策與行政學系
94
The main object of this study is aiming to investigate the organizational operation performance of National Teachers' Association (NTA) R.O.C. in Taiwan. After exploring different kinds of testees with various backgrounds, an evaluation of the analysis results will be provided to illustrate how the testees understand about the operational performance of NTA by analyzing various characters of testees. In order to examine the performance, the operational content of NTA is divided into four levels in this study shown as follows: First of all, the level of promotion teachers' professionalism; secondly, the level of raising teachers' welfare and rights; thirdly, the level of local cooperation and communications with diplomatic organizations; and fourthly, the level of participation in educational business and policies. The higher score of each level and question is marked, the more approval about the operational performance of NTA supported from the testees will be. In this thesis, literature analysis and questionnaire survey are the major methods utilizing for investigation. The testees are including five types: the senior members of NTA organization, the representatives of NTA members' council, the senior members of local teachers' association organization, the experts and scholars in the relative fields, and the administrative staffs on different positions of educational organizations. The total numbers of the delivered and returned questionnaires are 976 and 502, respectively, where the effective questionnaires are 478 and its percentage is reached to 48.97%. The results which have been accomplished of this research are discussed in the following: A. The testees' opinions on four levels are very different depending upon their personal positions. The senior members of NTA and local teachers' association organizations and the representatives of NTA members' council have the highest score in five types of testees, and the opinions between two groups are reached significant difference. B. The performance degree of NTA on four levels for whole testees could be arranged in order from high to low given as: Level four, level two, level one, and level three. Moreover, the scores of the local teachers' association members are higher than that of the NTA members and council representatives. C. On the first level, the testees all agree that NTA could progress teachers' professionalism through holding some promotion activities periodically except the administrative staffs. However, all testees agree that NTA do not have sufficient funds for the development of this point. The other relative point is that if NTA have paid much attention on promoting teachers' professional knowledge and techniques. All members of teachers' association agree the effort identically, on the contrary, the administrative staffs do not think so. The experts and scholars keep the attitude neutral. D. On the second level, whole members of teachers' association, experts, and scholars all agree that NTA could provide good information for teachers' employment efficiently. Furthermore, the members also agree that NTA is able to take the commitment to group litigation for their benefits. E. On the third level, the experts, scholars, and administrative staffs do not agree that NTA assisting schools in dealing with unsuitable teachers is proper. The members keep the attitude neutral on this point. The communication performance with diplomatic organizations, such as national parents associations, is regarded by the members, experts, and scholars. The administrative staffs keep the attitude neutral. But, the cooperation performance with parents associations is tending to inadequate. F. On the fourth level, the members, experts, and scholars agree that NTA could play a role of pressure groups to concern with the education policies as a superintendent. However, the administrative staffs still keep the attitude neutral. According to the previous conclusions, we provide some suggestions as follows: First of all, NTA would try to do their best for obtaining more support and cooperation with the academia and other relative organizations. Secondly, based on the effort for raising teachers' rights, NTA would pay more attention to the development of their own professionalism and self-respect functions. Thirdly, NTA would improve the communications with administrative and educational organizations. The lastly, NTA would put more effort on the overall operation performance in east Taiwan and offshore island districts.

This study seeks to understand the implications of the Ghana National Association of Teachers’ (GNAT) programmes on members, and to investigate the perception of members regarding their commitment to the union. The period, 1995 to 2014 was chosen because it marked the era of fragmentation of GNAT, and the formation of other teacher-unions which broke the monopoly of GNAT as the sole teachers’ union in Ghana. The main objective of the study is to examine the implications of member commitment on GNAT programmes. Specifically, the study intends to investigate the perceptions of satisfaction, participation and loyalty of union members. It also attempts to examine the responses of the union to challenges within the organization. The study was based on interviews of key informants and a survey of members and former members of GNAT. Structured questionnaires were used as instruments. Data Analysis was by the application of Excel and SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Presentations are displayed by graphs, frequency tables and pictorials. In order to understand commitment of respondents, the survey measures members’ satisfaction, participation and loyalty to GNAT. These variables are related to programmes, hence questions on variables were asked in relation to programmes. This study has found out that GNAT membership decline can be partially explained by decline in levels of member participation and satisfaction with programmes. The study, has however noted that despite members’ dissatisfaction with GNAT programmes, the majority of them are still committed to the union. One possible reason for the high loyalty of members could be the value that they attach to the union. The study therefore concludes that the members' perception is not, by itself, a sufficient variable for understanding the union’s decline. The study recommends that the communication system of GNAT be improved. It also recommends that due to changing composition of membership with respect to age and qualifications, there is need to broaden the professional development of members especially those in leadership positions by fashioning programmes to meet their needs. There is also need to engage members in establishing the training needs in the Ghana National Association of Teachers that would be included in the training programmes in order to make them more attractive.

碩士
國立臺南大學
教育經營與管理研究所
93
The educational policy has its “unique character”. Every pressure group has its own pressure stratagem to meet its policy. The study aims to explore the stratagem of the National Teachers’ Association (NTA) operating in enacting Teacher’s Law. Interview and document analysis are adopted as methods for data collection. Eight of the key staff of the NTA are interviewed. The main findings of this study are listed as following: 1.The process of enacting Teachers’ Law involves different stages facing with different “pressures”. Specially, the legislature and administrative departments have their underground pressures which should be understood. 2.Although National Teacher Association (NTA) pushes enacting Teacher’s Law through a lot of pressure stratagem, some difficulties are found, for examples, its inner conflict and ignorance about political public relations and incompetence to gain support from the public, and limited researching work. (1)The inner conflict makes the NTA lose its organization energy. Each pressure policy can hardly be tuned to each other; thus, the effects they should have elaborated are badly reduced. (2)The NTA doesn’t master political public relations (3)The stance of enacting Teachers’ Law doesn’t get the support and agreement from relevant groups, secondary and elementary schools teachers, and the public. (4)The researching work is short and little. 3.The role of NTA in the process of enacting Teacher Law should be reconsidered since it can make it success or failure. Finally, according to the results, several suggestions for the NTA and further research are proposed in this study.

The diploma thesis, which is called Building of the State amd national culture in Carpathian Ruthenia, deals mainly with federal activities in the east of the Republic. It focuses mainly on the operation of Czech teachers and their contribution to creating the new state . The work is divided into five chapters.The first expands on the influence of teachers on the development of the national idea of single state of newly annexed Ruthenia. The second part describes the activities of the Czechoslovak organizations that were created since 1919. The third section describes the activities of such organizations that were not focused on the national idea, but were created solely for the joy of their members. The fourth chapter describes the Ruthenian societies as a counterweight to those of Czechoslovakia, also including examples of their way of thinking. The last section lists additional organizations, which were based on Ruthenia, but it did not prove to be important within the whole concept of this work. KEYWORDS association, culture, national idea, bulding of the state, teachers, adult education, Czechoslovak republic, Carpathian Ruthenia

The purpose of this study was to establish the perception of Grade One teachers regarding the school readiness of Reception Year learners in relation to the new national Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS). The study also provides recommendations on how to implement CAPS in Grade R so that teachers, learners and parents experience the easiest possible transition to Grade One. The research took the form of a case study, building on current trends related to the subject of Reception Year CAPS curriculum implementation, and using the Interpretive approach as its essential, functional paradigm, which focuses on experiences of the world based on the culture and previous experiences of each individual, with an emphasis on mutual understanding. By using this strategy to explore Grade One teacher perceptions regarding the school readiness of the Reception Year learners, this project was centred on an in-depth and detailed analysis of a person, group or situation as a sample of the whole, and involved a systematic collection of data and analysis. This led to a conclusions-based report on the findings, all the while focusing on five Grade One teachers and their Head of Department at a public primary school in Pretoria, Gauteng. Preliminary findings suggested that learners coming into Grade One could in fact be adequately prepared during Grade R for successful assimilation in the CAPS curriculum material, if all stakeholders overcome the challenges they face during this important phase of academic development. This study has shown that varying amounts and levels of training amongst the teachers is a hindrance to proper CAPS curriculum implementation and therefore, the Head of Department, the school and ultimately the Department of Education has to ensure parity in the area of teacher training in terms of CAPS curriculum implementation. The study has shown that, due to the different sites where learners did their Reception Year, the school and the Grade One teachers faced learners who came into their classrooms with differing levels of exposure to the formal schooling system. Some learners may have no CAPS curriculum exposure at all. This means that, if the Department of Education is to succeed in implementing the CAPS curriculum in Grade R, then it needs to assist schools more in the form of providing funds for primary schools to build and add space for the Grade R classrooms. Finally, the study showed that a language backlog remains one of the main challenges learners have to face. Historically, Early Childhood Development Centres were never required to use English as a medium of instruction. In fact, teaching in the preschool classroom, which includes Grade R, is still mostly done in one of many mother tongue languages, depending on the location of the centre. With the move to make Grade R part of formal schooling and moving the Reception Year class to a primary school, CAPS requires careful curriculum implementation from Grade R to Grade Three, although instruction in English is only required from Grade One.
Curriculum and Instructional Studies
M. Ed. (Specialisation in Curriculum Studies)

Christian Education South Africa (CESA), formerly known as Accelerated Christian Education (South Africa) or ACE(SA), represents a significant number of evangelical Christian schools in South Africa. Most CESA schools are multiracial· and part of charismatic fellowships. The purpose of this study was to investigate CESA {its roots, philosophy of education and methodology) and to evaluate the quality of Christian education offered at CESA schools. Firstly, 'sound Christian education' was defined. Secondly, a model for assessing Christian education was developed. The SAPPAB model with its six criteria (spiritual, academic, physical, practical, administrative and balance) assess both the biblical and t educational 'soundness' of an education programme . . Information was gathered over six years by way of interviews, surveys, ethnographic and in-depth case studies. Evaluations included individual CESA schools, CESA as an organization and the ACE programme. The major finding was that individual CESA schools do contribute meaningfully to sound Christian education, but that the organization as such lost its vision and its influence.
Educational Studies
M. Ed. (History of Education)