Academic literature on the topic 'Vassar College History teachers'

As a proponent of efforts to bring anthropology to a wider audience, especially through pre-college education, I have worked with education faculty on my own campus to expose more teachers-in-training to anthropology; organized in-service workshops for pre-college teacher; compiled and edited materials for pre-college teachers and for interested anthropologists (see "For Further Reading"); and urged our professional organizations to provide more support services for pre-college teachers. Since 1985 I have been exploring yet another approach—working directly with pre-college youth in a summer program and academic year follow-up activities. Intensive, and therefore time-consuming, often tiring, and sometimes frustrating, the experience has nevertheless been are warding one. Such direct contact with youth—and with associated parents, teachers, school administrators, and community resource persons—can provide anthropologists with a means to influence education and to enhance the image of anthropology—a means compatible, moreover, with most academic careers.

In the Cape Colony, and then in South Africa generally, the twentieth century was to see the emergence, growth, and final closure of teacher training colleges. South Africa was one of the few Anglophone countries on the African Continent which, in 2003, did not have a separate and dedicated system of Teacher Education Colleges.1 From the 1920s on, there was a spirited debate over whether primary school teacher training was better achieved in the training college or the university. The publication of the National Education Amendment Act (No 73 of 1969) finally placed all teacher training, primary/elementary and secondary, within University Faculties of Education. The present study investigates the history of the Grahamstown Teacher Training College (GTTC) which was officially recognised in 1894 for the training of young white women. The GTTC was an independent college, founded and owned by an Anglican Religious Community for women, the Community of the Resurrection of Our Lord (CR), but it was also an Aided College of the Cape Education Department. As an Aided College, the GTTC was subject to Government Inspection annually, and the students wrote the official examinations set by the Department of Education. The College was run entirely by women and existed for 81 years. The emphasis in the college was on the practical professional training offered. The focus was on the ‘complete’ education of the student, rather than merely on the content of the curriculum. This study shows that the GTTC more than earned its reputation of being one of the finest training colleges in South Africa and that it was indeed a unique educational development. A feature of particular note was that the college was a trail-blazer, a pioneer in the field of education practices. It was the first college to introduce class music and class singing, the first to employ a physical education teacher, to have a full-time librarian and elocutionist, and it was at the GTTC that the assignment method of study was introduced. All these factors are highlighted in the course of this study.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) Program continues to expand annually with increased numbers of high school students nationwide enrolling in AP courses and taking end-of-course AP exams, in hopes of earning college credit and strengthening high school transcripts. As the College Board promotes increased minority student participation (specifically African-American and Hispanic students) in AP courses, AP teachers face new challenges as potential first-generation college students enter their classrooms with below-level reading scores and a lack of essential critical-thinking skills needed for college-level assessment. The participants in this study are five AP U.S. History Teachers from urban, suburban, and rural Title I high schools. In this inquiry, I explore how their backgrounds and experiences shape their approaches to curriculum and pedagogy in their respective environments. I conducted two separate interviews with each teacher: the first addressed their formative years and educational experiences, while the second focused on their teaching philosophies and how they deliver course content. The data revealed similar instructional practices among the participants, all of whom choose student-centered teaching models to varying degrees to enhance student engagement. This discourse highlights the need for further inquiry into the perspectives of AP teachers in Title I schools to inform future policymaking decisions within schools and school districts to enhance historically marginalized student populations’ college and career opportunities.

Although each of the life stories and cases of teachers are personal and specific, and although they have already become subjects of attention for anthropologists, educationalists, sociologists and psychologists, there is still a lack of in-depth research examining the actual processes and dynamics of teaching careers as experienced by individuals. This is especially true of China. The actual situation of teachers’ professional development in China remains a mystery. Since biography, the changes in society and their impact on education are intimately connected, this study intends to uncover and explore these connections in relation to Chinese College English teachers. It discusses and studies eight Chinese College English teachers’ professional development stories in the specific context of one university. The main aim of the study is to reveal how those teachers in a Chinese context and at different stages of their careers, construct, maintain and develop their professional identities. The study explores, in particular, how far China’s educational changes over the past sixty years (1949-2009) have impacted on these three groups of Chinese College English teachers’ professional identities. The focus on teachers’ lives in this study will enable the teachers’ voice to be heard. The study draws data from three groups of Chinese College English teachers: early-career, mid-career and late-career, reflecting the footprints of China’s educational changes over the past sixty years. It hypothesises that the professional identity construction of these teachers may be influenced by the Chinese historical background that their professional development may be a microcosm of Chinese history of education and that the career of each group may be in stark contrast with the others. To fully understand their professional development, a life history narrative was adopted. During eight-week’s fieldwork, a series of in-depth interviews combining topical interview with narrative interview were carried out with eight College English teachers at Sun Yat-sen University. A voice-centred approach combining (i) a voice-centred relational method of data analysis with four steps of reading and (ii) thematic narrative analysis was undertaken. Drawing on stories identified from Reading 1 and combining it with thematic narrative analysis method, I looked for what I think to be ‘critical events’. In Chapter 4, teachers’ stories are told in ‘I’ poems generated from Reading 2, which combines longer summaries of the content of the transcript and direct quotes to illustrate diverse and sometimes conflicting factors which influenced the development of teacher identity along with the participants’ professional teaching journeys. The narratives of each individual are guided by the processes they went through in their professional development (becoming a teacher - being a teacher - future development) and therefore were able to illustrate any general patterns that could be found in other interviews. Participating teachers’ stories illustrate the complexity of the experiences of Chinese College English teachers. Their experiences have shown the dynamic nature of teachers’ professional identity construction in times of educational changes. Their stories illustrate how the broader sociocultural and political context shapes teachers’ professional identity and how teachers play out their agency throughout the process of their professional identity construction. Based on roles emerging from Reading 2 which focuses on how the teachers speak about themselves and combining it with thematic narrative analysis, teachers’ professional identity construction is examined through the lens of what they do (their professional role identities) in Chapter 5. The findings show that no matter which career stages they were at, they are all capable of taking on the roles of manager, professional, acculturator and researcher. The construction of role identities is a self-internalised process, which needs continuous negotiation through interactions in specific social settings. In Chapter 6 teachers’ professional identity construction of the relational context of teaching was explored by combining thematic narrative analysis with Reading 3 which focuses on how teachers talked about themselves in relation to others. From the difference between teachers at different career stages, the findings reveal the teachers’ professional identity construction is a process of self-mirroring based on their understanding of how others (especially students and colleagues) perceive them. Moreover, there are two steps of the self-mirroring process: the individual recognises who she or he is and the individual identifies her or his uniqueness. Since the second step only showed in the mid and late-career teachers’ stories, the first and second step appears to be in a sequence. The connection between the teachers’ professional identity construction and the context was investigated in Chapter 7. In this chapter thematic narrative analysis is combined with Reading 4 which sets the context by placing the teachers within the cultural context and social structure. Analysis showed the teachers’ sense of professional identity appears to be largely characterised by their personal histories and experiences and it is constantly reshaped by the new relationships developed within the professional context where the initial conception of teaching and teachers confronts changes. Throughout the participating teachers’ life stories, even though they were unique, they were not disengaged from society and context. On more than one occasion, they made reference to different social and contextual issues that were shaping their selves either consciously or unconsciously. Additionally, when the narratives of all participating teachers are brought together they reveal important aspects of how the broader community - society and context - behaves and evolves. The contextual influences in teachers’ professional identity construction in this study could be classified in three main categories: micro-social, meso-social and macrosocial, which are interwoven with each other. Furthermore, the study provides the evidence to show that teachers’ career stages, employment status and life stage/age all contribute to their perceptions of their professional identity construction. Through each teacher’s stories, we are able to get to know each teacher as a whole person with complex lived realities. Those individual voices can be put together to show the collective voices from each group and those groups can be put together to show the collective voices from the cohort of eight College English teachers. The research is significant in collecting individual voices from Chinese College English teachers, and building their collective voice through exemplification, orchestration and amplification. Individual stories are examples which show how teachers live and struggle in their meso context with cultural uniqueness and the macro context of reforms. The hypothesis (see page iii) was not fully upheld – i.e., personal/individual and meso context seemed much more significant than macro. Teachers’ experiences and interpretations are orchestrated through comparing, contrasting and building theory/theories from the ground stories as an attempt to produce a new but coherent narrative at an intellectual level. The orchestration of teachers’ voices can be amplified in terms of its scope of impact and to inform the public of the subjective reality experienced by teachers. This small-scale, in-depth research project attempts to begin that process. It is anticipated that it will resonate with teachers who lived under the same context, and illuminate their perspectives for those who did not.

The aim of this study was to carry out an investigation of history as a correspondence subject for practising teachers and to make an assessment of work at the Graaff- Reinet College for Continued Training. The problems experienced by lecturers and students involved with the study of history at this institution receive particular attention. At intervals throughout the study attention is given to the need for further training for teachers who are in- service. Teacher qualifications in the Cape Province are also examined to see potential needs for further training in the future. Having determined a need, it is proposed that correspondence courses are best suited to cater for it. A study is made of the models, background and approaches used by other institutions in various parts of the world. Distance education started in England at the end of the eighteenth century. This idea has spread to various countries and today teaching and learning by correspondence takes place in most countries of the world. It is different to conventional classroom education and thus has certain unique characteristics. The definition, characteristics, background and methodology are important if the problems involved are to be understood. These aspects indicate how effective and popular this form of study has become. Particular attention is given to the teaching of in-service teachers who are upgrading their qualifications. The existing and proposed College history syllabi are examined in as far as their appropriateness and relevance are concerned. Emphasis is given to history at Graaff- Reinet College because the author is a history lecturer at this institution. An extended questionnaire was designed and used to collect the required data on the subjects who were from two groups of students studying history at the College, one in 1986 and one in 1987. A pilot study was done in 1986 and a more extended questionnaire was completed by the 1987 students. In chapter six the results of the questionnaire are analysed and particular attention is given to the students' background, motivation for studying and difficulties they encounter. Finally, recommendations are made about how this form of teacher upgrading can be improved and extended in the future

This educational biography is a study of Alexander Campbell's (1788-1866) educational activities and educational thinking. These activities included the following: his creation of Buffalo Seminary; advocacy for common schools at the Virginia State Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830; participation in the Western Literary Institute and College of Professional Teachers of Cincinnati, Ohio (an organization for educators); speeches on education and common schools; founding Bethany College in present-day Bethany, West Virginia; and his discussion of educational issues in his journal, the Millennial Harbinger. The study explores how Campbell's unique early-life affected his future educational life. His early-life included intensive study under his highly educated father, home-training in Christian piety, and studying for a time at the University of Glasgow. The study focuses especially upon Campbell's involvement in the College of Teachers, his founding of Bethany College, and his major educational ideas. Some of Campbell's major educational emphases include: the need for public education; human knowledge as a national resource; moral education; lifelong learning; female education; student interest; a broad and holistic conception of education; a focus on early childhood education; utilitarian education; and the power of education. This study concludes that the overarching theme of education as power pervades Campbell's educational thinking.

O conhecimento produzido na universidade torna-se acessível à sociedade por meio da extensão universitária. Assim, esta dissertação foi desenvolvida com o objetivo de apresentar um diagnóstico da extensão universitária sob a ótica dos docentes da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR. O estudo foi contextualizado com um amplo referencial baseado em alguns autores, com abordagens a respeito do papel da educação e da universidade com FÁVERO (1980), SILVA (2002) e SANTOS (2005); o uso das tecnologias e mais especificamente a educação tecnológica, em REIS (1995) e LIBÂNEO (2001); a questão da importância da identidade, com BOTOMÉ (2001) e GIDDENS (2002), até focalizar a extensão propriamente dita, com GURGEL (1986), TAVARES (1997) e NOGUEIRA (2000), e associá-la a uma comunidade de prática com WENGER (1998). A abordagem metodológica pautou-se nas pesquisas qualitativa, de natureza interpretativa, e quantitativa, do tipo levantamento. Foram realizadas entrevistas com os gestores para verificar a concepção de extensão universitária existente na Instituição. Foram enviados, simultaneamente, por meio eletrônico, questionários a todos os docentes dos Campi da UTFPR, localizados nas cidades de Apucarana, Campo Mourão, Cornélio Procópio, Curitiba, Dois Vizinhos, Francisco Beltrão, Londrina, Medianeira, Pato Branco, Ponta Grossa e Toledo. Essa ação possibilitou conhecer o entendimento dos docentes em relação às ações extensionistas, as formas de articulação com a sociedade, o uso dos recursos tecnológicos bem como averiguar as opiniões dos professores em relação ao desenvolvimento da cultura extensionista na Instituição. Conclui-se, com esta dissertação, que a extensão não é considerada uma atividade menor em relação ao ensino e à pesquisa na Instituição; que os docentes não têm clareza a respeito do conceito e das funções da extensão universitária na UTFPR e que há necessidade de esclarecimentos sobre a identidade da Instituição. Visando à consolidação da institucionalização da extensão na UTFPR, foram sugeridos o registro e divulgação das ações extensionistas bem como a flexibilização da carga horária docente, com um mecanismo de pontuação do currículo ou definição de métricas. A implantação de comunidades de prática em extensão na UTFPR possibilitaria a criação de espaços para reflexões e sociabilizações de saberes e experiências. Os resultados dessa pesquisa poderão contribuir para um repensar de estratégias que visem ao fortalecimento da função social da UTFPR, para um maior envolvimento da comunidade interna, bem como para a indissociabilidade entre o ensino, a pesquisa e a extensão.
The knowledge produced at university becomes available to society through the university extension. Thus, this dissertation was developed with the purpose of presenting a diagnosis of university extension activities under the perspective of professors from Federal University of Technology - Parana - UTFPR. The study was set against a broad framework based on some authors, with approaches to the role of education and university, with FÁVERO (1980), SILVA (2002) and SANTOS (2005); the use of technology and more specifically, technological education, in REIS (1995) and LIBÂNEO (2001); the question of the importance of identity with BOTOMÉ (2001) and GIDDENS (2002), up to focusing on the extension per se, with GURGEL (1986), TAVARES (1997) and NOGUEIRA (2000) and assign it to a community of practice with WENGER (1998). The methodological approach was based on a qualitative research, an interpretive nature, and quantitative, survey-type. Interviews were conducted with managers to verify their point of views over extension definitions currently applied within UTFPR. Simultaneously, a set of questionnaires to all professors of the UTFPR Campi, located in the cities of Apucarana, Campo Mourão, Cornélio Procópio, Curitiba, Dois Vizinhos, Francisco Beltrão, Londrina, Medianeira, Pato Branco, Ponta Grossa and Toledo was sent by mail. This action allowed to know about the professors’understanding in relation to the extension activities, the way they interact with society, the use of technological resources as well as evaluate the professors’ views in relation to cultural development extension at the university. This dissertation concludes that the extension is not considered minor activity in relation to teaching and research at the university; that the professors do not have clarity about the concept and functions of the university extension at UTFPR and there is need for greater understanding on the identity of this university. As a suggestion from professors, aiming at consolidating the institutionalization of extension activities of UTFPR, the registration and disclosure of extension activities as well as the flexibility of teaching hours along with a scoring mechanism of the curriculum or set of metrics. The implementation of communities of practice in the UTFPR extension would provide the creation of spaces for reflection and for knowledge and experience sharing. The results of this research could contribute to a rethinking of strategies aimed at strengthening the social function of UTFPR for greater involvement of the internal community, as well as the inseparability involving education, research and extension.

Dr. Kwan Hsu was neither a superstar nor a celebrity. Her name does not come up in conversations about important contributors to her field of biophysics nor is she instantly recognizable for her contributions to Portland State University's international program or the state of Oregon's business ties with China. Yet she was a contributor, a cog-in-the-wheel, at the very least, in all of these areas and more. She was a peripheral member of a well-known Chinese family, but few in the United States know of or perhaps have interest in, but otherwise, she had no great connections or family ties to generate interest in her story. How does one process a collection for a woman who does not meet the traditional criteria for excellence or success or public interest for an archive? Where is the value to the larger historical narrative of our time in preserving the memories of someone who was non-remarkable, or, conversely, someone who may be even too unique to contribute to that greater narrative? These are the questions I wrestled with when I first came to this collection. As my research progressed, I realized that I faced more questions, and that to come to any understanding that might answer them, I was going to have to research the history of archives and archival processes. Science, the Cold War, Communist China, women, the immigrant experience, all of these issues became part of my thesis, however shallowly I was able to investigate them. Questions of identity and historiography, of power and discourse were explored. In the end, what I found was that a collection that on the outside looked unimpressive and unenlightening, could indeed be very valuable, and provide insight into any number of areas of current interest in historical research. This is that story.

AbstractAesthetic education with a writing focus has occurred in the United States through two vehicles: textbooks in classroom-based instruction or self-help books in extracurricular instruction. Writing self-help books, or texts which address a readership interested in learning about writing independent of a teacher or university, played a significant role in guiding countless individuals during the twentieth century and continue to do so today (For the purposes of this article, “self-help” refers exclusively to self-help literature offering advice about the act of writing and not to any of the myriad of other self-help topics [dieting, relationships, and so forth]). The evolution of these self-help books paralleled the development of college and university writing courses that arose early in the twentieth century: indeed, a powerful informal aesthetic education has been occurring through self-help books. In this chapter, I perform a textual analysis of five twentieth-century self-help books, all attracting substantial readership: Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer (1934); Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write (1938); Peter Elbow’s Writing Without Teachers (1973); Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones (1986); and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird (1995). An examination of these popular twentieth-century self-help books reveals four areas of overlapping content. Collectively, self-help books on writing address the role of the unconscious in composing, issues of control, the holistic nature of composing, and failures in traditional teaching, and they all formulate a broader argument about the universal ability of humans to be creative.

This chapter explores another venture that was close to Isaac Mayer Wise’s heart. In 1854, the Israelite contained an announcement calling the Jews of Cincinnati to a general meeting with a view to establishing ‘a college on the pattern of German universities, connected with a theological seminary, and a seminary for teachers, in order to promulgate science and the interests of Judaism among our fellow-citizens’. An institution of the dimensions contemplated needed more than local support, and Wise immediately took the lead in organizing such support outside Cincinnati through speaking tours. These tours give fresh evidence of Wise’s wide-ranging interests and self-confident versatility. He had written on theological matters; he had written history; he had written novels. Now he turned his hand to descriptive writing.

This chapter looks at aspects of identity and emotion in life at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, as envisaged by its founder and as experienced in its early decades. Many historians now strive to discern emotions from the past and to understand the lives of their subjects as experienced in bodies and with feeling. To study emotions is to understand what inspired fear, love, anger, or anxiety, while acknowledging that both the triggers for these emotions and the ways they were expressed are historical indeed. Thinking of Corpus Christi, such embodied experiences happened at its dining tables, in its chapel and library, and in the chambers shared by pupils and teachers; outdoors too, along the paths that led from task to task, and in the gardens. The chapter then considers the spaces inhabited by Corpus members, and the objects which helped form the experiences that made Corpus an ‘emotional community‘.

As more young children enter public education, leaders and principals need to understand informal modes of education that have documented success with young children. In New York City, this need has become more urgent as city funding increased the number of early childhood programs in public schools. With this increase, school leaders need to extend their learning to support these teachers, children, and families. Bank Street College has a long history of work in these spaces and supporting the development of teachers and leaders in these communities. This chapter uses two case studies to outline professional learning models, one with a network of early childhood programs and the other with a K-8 school. The rationale is that change occurs through thoughtful and supportive learning experiences that include reflection and time to consider what is needed to alter teacher/leader practices. The results of these programs can be used by school leaders to support their work with early childhood teachers and form professional learning partnerships with colleges and external organizations.

IN A WEALTHY NORTHEASTERN STATE, two schools are near each other geographically but far apart in every other way. The school in the city sits beside an abandoned lot in a community that has lost most of its industrial jobs. “The physical appearance of the school is bleak, depressing. The hall is dark and dingy. . . . The playground outside is all brown wood and it is completely surrounded by hard pavement.” The library has not been used for 13 years; even the faculty bathrooms have no toilet paper or soap. The gym leaks. There is one computer for every 35 students, and none of the classrooms is wired for the Internet. The principal has trouble attracting qualified teachers in many fields and has none trained in computer instruction; according to the scholar who looked at these schools, teachers mainly use the computers to keep the students busy playing games when they have completed their worksheets. In this school 98 percent of the students are non-Anglo, more than two-thirds are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches, almost three in ten are in special education. The residents of the district have a per capita income of $17,000 a year. In the suburb nearby, the school is “housed in a modern building and surrounded by large, well-maintained athletic fields. [It] boasts such amenities as a spacious school library furnished with rows upon rows of book stacks, and a high-ceilinged auditorium with theater-style seating and a grand piano on stage. Not only does the school have computers in every classroom, it also has a fully equipped computer lab, staffed by an instructor.” There is one computer for every four students, all wired for Internet use. Teachers have aides as well as access to “resource teachers” who specialize in various academic fields, help with curricula, and give “guest lectures” in classrooms. Most students participate in the orchestra, chorus, or specialized bands (or perhaps all three). One fourth-grade teacher, a graduate of Vassar College, was chosen over more than 200 competitors for her job, and along with the others in the school is paid considerably more than the state average. In this school 95 percent of the students are Anglo, fewer than one percent are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, and only 5 percent are in special education. Residents of the district have a per capita income of $70,000.

Abstract The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) supports a number of local community initiatives to encourage public involvement in decisions regarding environmental waste management and remediation. Native American tribal communities, in most cases, operate as sovereign nations, and thus have jurisdiction over environmental management on their lands. This paper provides examples of initiatives addressing Native American concerns about past radioactive waste management practices — one addresses uranium mining wastes in the Western United States and the other, environmental contamination in Alaska. These two projects involve the community in radioactive waste management decision-making by encouraging them to articulate their concerns and observations; soliciting their recommended solutions; and facilitating leadership within the community by involving local tribal governments, individuals, scientists and educators in the project. Frequently, a community organization, such as a local college or Native American organization, is selected to manage the project due to their cultural knowledge and acceptance within the community. It should be noted that U.S. EPA, consistent with Federal requirements, respects Indian tribal self-government and supports tribal sovereignty and self-determination. For this reason, in the projects and initiatives described in the presentation, the U.S. EPA is involved at the behest and approval of Native American tribal governments and community organizations. Objectives of the activities described in this presentation are to equip Native American communities with the skills and resources to assess and resolve environmental problems on their lands. Some of the key outcomes of these projects include: • Training teachers of Navajo Indian students to provide lessons about radiation and uranium mining in their communities. Teachers will use problem-based education, which allows students to connect the subject of learning with real-world issues and concerns of their community. Teachers are encouraged to utilize members of the community and to conduct field trips to make the material as relevant to the students. • Creating an interactive database that combines scientific and technical data from peer-reviewed literature along with complementary Native American community environmental observations. • Developing educational materials that meet the national science standards for education and also incorporate Native American culture, language, and history. The use of both Native American and Western (Euro-American) educational concepts serve to reinforce learning and support cultural identity. The two projects adopt approaches that are tailored to encourage the participation of, and leadership from, Native American communities to guide environmental waste management and remediation on their lands. These initiatives are consistent with the government-to-government relationship between Native American tribes and the U.S. government and support the principle that tribes are empowered to exercise their own decision-making authority with respect to their lands.