Emily E. Stitsinger. Elementary Principals’ Views on the Relationship between the School Library Media Center and Student Achievement

Evelyn Daniel

This study surveyed the opinions of principals on the relationship between the school library media center and student achievement. Principals from six local North Carolina school districts were invited to fill out a questionnaire online. Results were examined for correlations between principals’ opinions on student achievement as it related to several variables. Questionnaire statements pertaining to student achievement, funding, technology, and communication were each analyzed. The findings from this study reaffirm the need for increased communication between the school library media specialist, principal, and faculty. They also expose the same uncertainty unearthed by previous studies that principals display when it comes to the connection between the school library media center and student achievement. The small response size prohibited any conclusive findings but did highlight areas for further research. While survey results only reflect principal opinions rather than demonstrated causality, they still suggest a disparity between principals’ beliefs and current research in the field.

EXPLORING TEACHERS’ BELIEFS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE JOURNALING: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY OF JAPANESE PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ TRANSFORMATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES IN AN EFL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM

Toshinobu Nagamine

 

This qualitative case study was implemented to describe, interpret, and document preservice EFL teachers’ learning processes through collaborative journaling and gained awareness for all participants (including myself as a participant-observer). Four preservice EFL teachers in Japan (two males and two females) participated in the study. At the time of the investigation, they were all undergraduate students studying in an EFL teacher education program at a Japanese university. To investigate their learning processes, a prime focus was placed on the participants’ beliefs about language learning and teaching. Thus, this study was to understand what it meant for the participants to learn how to teach through collaborative journaling in the setting studied and what it possibly meant for them to change (or not to change) their beliefs during the term of the investigation. The data collection was done over a nine-month period that covered the participants’ practicum. This study consisted of three research phases: pre-practicum phase, mid-practicum phase, and post-practicum phase. In the pre-practicum phase, I entered the participants’ community and asked the participants to form a collaborative-learning group and keep a collaborative journal. As a participant-observer, I kept the journal together and discussed what we had written in bi-weekly meetings. I used the collaborative journal for two purposes: (a) to collect the 

phase, mid-practicum phase, and post-practicum phase. In the pre-practicum phase, I entered the participants’ community and asked the participants to form a collaborative-learning group and keep a collaborative journal. As a participant-observer, I kept the journal together and discussed what we had written in bi-weekly meetings. I used the collaborative journal for two purposes: (a) to collect the