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The Antecedents and Consequences of Teacher Professional Discretion Over Curriculum and Instruction: A Grounded Theory Inquiry
Title
The Antecedents and Consequences of Teacher Professional Discretion Over Curriculum and Instruction: A Grounded Theory Inquiry.
Creator
Spittler, Marc, Sivo, Stephen, Katzenmeyer, Conrad, Boote, David, Short, Edmund, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
With the ever-changing requirements of a secondary level of education and the application of standardized testing criteria to determine proficiency in mastery of the subject matter, the attempt to create a standard and acceptable curriculum for all school sites has left the control of the schools. Now classrooms are scrambling for focus, guidance and support with curriculum development and implementation. Over the last three decades, there have been numerous research studies that have...
Show moreWith the ever-changing requirements of a secondary level of education and the application of standardized testing criteria to determine proficiency in mastery of the subject matter, the attempt to create a standard and acceptable curriculum for all school sites has left the control of the schools. Now classrooms are scrambling for focus, guidance and support with curriculum development and implementation. Over the last three decades, there have been numerous research studies that have examined the place of the classroom teacher in the process of creating curriculum for their classroom with mixed results. The efforts to reform secondary education, from the federal level to the local level, have shut out the local input from teachers and professionals in their particular fields as to what the curriculum in the classroom should be and left that decision to people outside the classroom environment.This research study was conducted to derive a theory developed on the empirical basis of teacher input through the lens of the methodology of grounded theory. Its goal was to identify the underlying issues and problems associated with classroom teachers; input into local curriculum as well as the barriers to changing the prevailing thought of classroom teachers on curriculum. Classroom teachers from two separate academic subject matters that are currently being taught at the middle school level were interviewed and their responses were coded using the classical grounded theory methodology and processes.The resulting research shows that the involvement of classroom teachers is considered a benefit to the local curriculum development, regardless of experience in the classroom or length of service as a teacher. While most teachers feel that their input is paramount to learning in their particular classroom, teachers admit that they lack the skills to effectively create curriculum for implementation. It is in this manner that teachers strive to do what is best for their students; however, in some cases they lack the support and direction from the district, state or federal level. Knowing the issue as it appears to the classroom teacher, the creation, implementation and execution of locally created curriculum would be and is met with great resistance due to the adherence to the prevailing thoughts on curriculum development at the state of federal level and the need to comply with and execute the curriculum within the existing frameworks.Further studies in looking at the existence of and use of locally teacher created and implemented curriculum, in different state or regional areas, would contribute to a better and clearer understanding of the particular issues that surround and deal with teacher involvement in the classroom curriculum decision making process. It is believed that the use of the grounded theory model as a methodological research tool provides a pathway for all interested parties to be open and candid about the issue and provide a better introspective look at the issues at hand.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFE0004796, ucf:49726
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004796
Comparative Analysis Of Centers For Entrepreneurship At Two Central Florida Universities
Title
Comparative Analysis Of Centers For Entrepreneurship At Two Central Florida Universities.
Creator
Blencke, Carl, Boote, David, Sivo, Stephen, Katzenmeyer, Conrad, Ford, Cameron, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Studies have attempted to explain the linkage between achieving success in the field of entrepreneurship and the pedagogy instituted to teach the skills entrepreneurs need to achieve success in their chosen endeavors. It is widely known and well documented that people have experienced entrepreneurial success with limited, and sometimes no formal entrepreneurial training. The ever present question of (")can entrepreneurship be taught(") has been debated from many varying perspectives. The late...
Show moreStudies have attempted to explain the linkage between achieving success in the field of entrepreneurship and the pedagogy instituted to teach the skills entrepreneurs need to achieve success in their chosen endeavors. It is widely known and well documented that people have experienced entrepreneurial success with limited, and sometimes no formal entrepreneurial training. The ever present question of (")can entrepreneurship be taught(") has been debated from many varying perspectives. The late Peter Drucker pragmatically once said (")The entrepreneur mystique? It's not magic, it's not mysterious, and it has nothing to do with the genes. It's a discipline. And, like any discipline, it can be learned(") (Drucker, 1985).A study conducted by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity recently determined that almost half of Americans with college degrees are overqualified for their jobs. Many studies have also concluded that college graduates accumulate greater lifetime earnings than non-college graduates. Yet the escalating costs of attending college and the diminishing prospects of job security after attaining a college degree have brought the cost of education to the precipice of a potential (")education bubble("). Student loan debt exceeds One Trillion Dollars and the typical student loan needs to be repaid over ten years at nearly seven percent interest. Similar to the recently experienced (")housing bubble(") there is a genuine concern, as it relates to education, that today's populace is paying too much for something that yields limited value. Therefore, the question of (")can entrepreneurship be taught(") should be supplanted with (")can entrepreneurship be learned?(") (")Are graduates capable of applying their academic training to produce tangible results?(")If there are too many academic degrees being generated that are unable to be absorbed into a stagnant job market, it would stand to reason that a college degree, from a business school or any co-curricular discipline, without significant concentration in the study of entrepreneurship, serves only a limited purpose in a growing, capitalistic society that is predicated on job growth. Centers for entrepreneurship provide an excellent foundation for invigorating new college graduates from multiple academic disciplines with the motivation and desire to achieve success in business as entrepreneurs. This comparative analysis of two thriving and vibrant Centers for Entrepreneurship at major universities in the growing central Florida region examines their best practices and compares them to current national guidelines established by the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, a 200 + member organization domiciled in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana that serves as the key junction for university-based entrepreneurship centers across the United States to collaborate, communicate and jointly advance excellence in entrepreneurship (www.globalentrepreneurshipconsortium.org).The evaluator and author of this dissertation implemented procedures similar to those used in accreditation reviews and applied professional judgment techniques to design a connoisseurship evaluation of entrepreneurship centers at two major universities --- The Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL and The Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL.We have all heard the Horatio Alger (")rags to riches(") stories of entrepreneurs who (")bootstrapped(") their business ideas without benefit of any formal business or entrepreneurial education. But it is just as great a likelihood in the coming years that we will admire those who give the credit for their success to the concepts they mastered in an entrepreneurial studies program and how their alma maters provided mentors through their centers for entrepreneurship who saved them from committing an abundance of mistakes by trial and error as they transported their business ideas from conceptualization to realization.This research will assist centers of entrepreneurship as they strive to incorporate standards of excellence to benefit students who endeavor to become business and job creators in the future.
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Date Issued
2013
Identifier
CFE0004819, ucf:49755
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004819