Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

to many, however, it constantly appears as an instructional problem. The final two chapters serve as excellent summary statements. Chapter 13 emphasizes the application of previous text material to the classroom situation. Of great significance is the author's discussion of commonly defined independent, dependent, and moderator variables. The final chapter focuses on evaluation in the overall sense, particularly as it relates to programs of study. The principles of measurement and research design are applied to the evaluation process through several ex-

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application:

This study guide is a companion to the classic book by Richard DuFour and Robert Eaker: Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement. It can be used by individuals, small groups, or an entire faculty to identify key points, raise questions for consideration, and suggest steps that might be taken to promote the Professional Learning Community (PLC) concept in a school or district. This guide is arranged by chapter, enabling readers to either work their way through the entire book or to focus on the specific topics addressed in a particular chapter.

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Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement

An Analysis of Robert E. Lucas Jr.'s Why Doesn't Capital Flow from Rich to Poor Countries?

For young people with refugee backgrounds, establishing a sense of belonging to their family and community, and to their country of resettlement is essential for wellbeing. This paper describes the psychosocial factors associated with subjective health and wellbeing outcomes among a cohort of 97 refugee youth (aged 11-19) during their first three years in Melbourne, Australia. The findings reported here are drawn from the Good Starts Study, a longitudinal investigation of settlement and wellbeing among refugee youth conducted between 2004 and 2008. The overall aim of Good Starts was to identify the psychosocial factors that assist youth with refugee backgrounds in making a good start in their new country. A particular focus was on key transitions: from pre-arrival to Australia, from the language school to mainstream school, and from mainstream school to higher education or to the workforce. Good Starts used a mix of both method and theory from anthropology and social epidemiology. Using standardized measures of wellbeing and generalised estimating equations to model the predictors of wellbeing over time, this paper reports that key factors strongly associated with wellbeing outcomes are those that can be described as indicators of belonging e the most important being subjective social status in the broader Australian community, perceived discrimination and bullying. We argue that settlement specific policies and programs can ultimately be effective if embedded within a broader socially inclusive society - one that offers real opportunities for youth with refugee backgrounds to flourish.

Longing to belong : social inclusion and wellbeing among youth with refugee backgrounds in the first three years in Melbourne, Australia

This paper focuses on the significance of physical education teacher education (PETE) in the diffusion of 'new' thinking about sport teaching in physical education. It explores issues arising from a case study investigation that sought to respond to the critical commentary about the form and substance of sport teaching in physical education by supporting innovation in school curriculum and pedagogy through pre-service teacher education. The study was designed to challenge PETE pre-service teachers' thinking about sport curriculum and pedagogy in physical education, introduce them to new thinking about models and specifically, the sport literacy model (Drummond & Pill, 2011; Pill, 2009, 2010). Details of the research design are presented and the insights that the data have provided in relation to challenges and opportunities that teacher educators and teacher education courses confront in seeking to promote and support curriculum and pedagogical innovation are discussed.

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Rethinking Sport Teaching in Physical Education: A Case Study of Research Based Innovation in Teacher Education

This research focused on the perceptions of pre- service and beginning health and physical education (HPE) teachers in relation to their preparedness for teaching. A questionnaire was designed to engage with teacher professional standards addressing (i), professional knowledge; (ii), professional relationships and (iii), professional practice. Follow-up interviews with randomly-selected teachers facilitated deeper interrogation of the issues. Findings indicated that both groups felt that their training had prepared them well in relation to most elements of the three aspects of the professional standards. Pre-service teachers had concerns with some elements of professional knowledge: specifically, knowledge and understanding of numeracy, ICT and literacy as they related to the teaching of HPE; and behaviour management. Beginning teachers had similar concerns in relation to professional knowledge and about their ability to plan and use valid and reliable assessment strategies. Data supported previous research that emphasised the ongoing nature of learning as a teacher.

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Meeting the Standards? Exploring Preparedness for Teaching

Consistently, it has been reported that persons with disabilities face multiple challenges in societies and thus it is important that deliberate intervention programs are initiated to empower them to overcome exclusion. The United Nations has taken the lead through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) project, which is a framework for assisting countries and donors in their efforts to alleviate poverty. This article documented the experiences of persons with disabilities with respect to global efforts towards poverty reduction via SDGs. Face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with 48 individuals with disabilities (hearing loss n = 11, visual impairment n = 15, and physical disability n = 22) who were drawn from four districts in the Northern Region of Ghana. Analysis of the interview data revealed common themes related to hardship, poverty, limited access to education, and underemployment. The results indicated that the SDG project engendered little tangible improvement in the lives of persons with disabilities. The need for concerted efforts to address barriers faced by individuals with disabilities is discussed extensively.

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Poverty alleviation among persons with disabilities via United Nations' sustainable development goals in Ghana: Voices of stakeholders with disabilities

Teaching practices respond to the prompts, resources and inherent potential of a school’s physical, social and cultural landscape. This study involved how teachers adapt their practice in response to contemporary flexible learning environments. An Australian case study focused on how teachers framed and enacted changes in practice by perceiving action possibilities of the flexible environment and (re)configuring the classroom environment over time through their professional agency. An enactment model of teacher adaptation is proposed, based on the case study and the relevant literature. The model suggests that the phases in the adaptation process are awareness, experimentation and coherence.

Teacher adaptation to flexible learning environments

Mobile technology coupled with Internet accessibility has increased not only how we communicate but also how we might engage in learning The ubiquity of mobile technology, such as smart phones and tablet devices, makes it a valuable tool for accessing learning resources on the Internet The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model has been used in previous studies to investigate how different forms of technology have been used and accepted This paper reports on mobile technology use and acceptance using the UTAUT model as a theoretical framework to examine how a group of Malaysian pre-services teachers’ utilised mobile technology for their learning The study found that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, attitude toward technology and self efficiently are all significant determinants of behavioural intentions to use mobile devices for learning The researchers conclude that the result of their study has far-reaching implications for educational providers to understand how students’ use mobile technologies as a key component of their university studies

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Karen Swabey

Papers

Rethinking Sport Teaching in Physical Education: A Case Study of Research Based Innovation in Teacher Education

Meeting the Standards? Exploring Preparedness for Teaching

Poverty alleviation among persons with disabilities via United Nations' sustainable development goals in Ghana: Voices of stakeholders with disabilities

Teacher adaptation to flexible learning environments

Pre-Service Teachers' Acceptance and use of Mobile Learning in Malaysia