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A COMPARISON OF ROUTES TO CERTIFICATION:INSTRUCTIONAL DECISIONS AND TEACHER PREPARATION
Title
A COMPARISON OF ROUTES TO CERTIFICATION:INSTRUCTIONAL DECISIONS AND TEACHER PREPARATION.
Creator
Trogan, Amy, Hahs-Vaughn, Debbie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This research study examined whether there is a relationship between teacher preparation and instructional practice. The dataset for this study was the1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Specifically, variables created in SASS from the information provided by the Public School Teacher Questionnaire were utilized. The teacher population sample for this research study was derived from these data and then separated into two groups (alternatively and traditionally-certified teachers)...
Show moreThis research study examined whether there is a relationship between teacher preparation and instructional practice. The dataset for this study was the1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Specifically, variables created in SASS from the information provided by the Public School Teacher Questionnaire were utilized. The teacher population sample for this research study was derived from these data and then separated into two groups (alternatively and traditionally-certified teachers) based on certification variables within the dataset. The study conducted was a correlational study with instructional practices variables extracted from the dataset. Using Chi Square Goodness of Fit statistical tests, the data were analyzed to determine if teacher preparation influences instructional practice. Therefore, the research questions for this research study were: 1. Is there a statistically significant relationship between whether teachers are alternatively-certified or traditionally-certified and the extent to which they use state or district standards to guide instructional practice in their main teaching assignment? 2. Is there a statistically significant relationship between whether teachers are alternatively-certified or traditionally-certified and whether they use groupings of students in their classroom to teach students who learn at different rates? 3. Is there a statistically significant relationship between whether teachers are alternatively-certified or traditionally-certified and the extent to which they use the information from state or local achievement tests to group students into different instructional groups by achievement or ability? 4. Is there a statistically significant relationship between whether teachers are alternatively-certified or traditionally-certified and the extent to which they use the information from state or local achievement tests to assess areas where they need to strengthen their content knowledge or teaching practice? 5. Is there a statistically significant relationship between whether teachers are alternatively-certified or traditionally-certified and the extent to which they use the information from state or local achievement tests to adjust their curriculum in areas where their students encountered problems? Overall, while there were statistically significant relationships between certification type and various instructional practices, the effect sizes were very small (ranging from -.005 to .036). This suggests that the statistical significance may be an artifact of the large sample size and that there may be little practical significance. Therefore, a relationship was not found between the type of teacher preparation program and instructional practice.
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Date Issued
2011
Identifier
CFE0003750, ucf:48763
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003750
ALTERNATIVE TEACHER CERTIFICATION:AN INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ALTERNATIVE TEACHER CERTIFICATION IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA ACCORDING TO PRINCIPALS' PERSPECTIVE
Title
ALTERNATIVE TEACHER CERTIFICATION:AN INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ALTERNATIVE TEACHER CERTIFICATION IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA ACCORDING TO PRINCIPALS' PERSPECTIVE.
Creator
Torres, Nelson, Murray, Kenneth, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
ABSTRACT Alternative Certification Programs (ACPs) have been established in 47 states across the country, including Florida, to help alleviate the teacher shortage many public school districts have been experiencing during the last two decades. This teacher shortage has been reported to be more prevalent in areas where fully qualified and committed teachers are most needed. Current literature has identified areas such as inner-city schools, at-risk and minority students, bilingual education,...
Show moreABSTRACT Alternative Certification Programs (ACPs) have been established in 47 states across the country, including Florida, to help alleviate the teacher shortage many public school districts have been experiencing during the last two decades. This teacher shortage has been reported to be more prevalent in areas where fully qualified and committed teachers are most needed. Current literature has identified areas such as inner-city schools, at-risk and minority students, bilingual education, math and physical sciences, and the special education field as the educational areas where the shortage is most significant. Faced with this dilemma, states have instituted ACPs as unconventional ways to attract and recruit potential teacher candidates from professional fields outside the profession of education and assist them in becoming fully certified and highly qualified teachers. The objective of any ACP is to provide an alternate way for an interested professional to become a teacher without going back to a college or university. Therefore, any ACP functions as a supplement to traditional college education programs in preparing prospective teacher candidates. The focus of this study is the Alternative Certification Programs established by the public school districts in the state of Florida as required by state statutes. It was designed to assess the effectiveness of such programs based on the perspectives, attitudes, and perceptions that selected public school principals have on these programs and on alternatively certified teachers. These principals were identified and selected by their respective school districts. A questionnaire, created in part by the researcher, was used to identify the perspectives, attitudes, and perceptions public school principals have on ACPs and alternatively certified teachers. Data on the different ACPs were collected directly from the different public school districts and from Internet Web sites established by the districts. The researcher contacted 67 Florida public school districts requesting information on their respective ACPs and asked them to select and identify three school principals who had experience with alternatively certified teachers to participate in a survey concerning their attitudes, perceptions, and perspectives about alternatively certified teachers and the alternative certification programs. The researcher asked that the three principals be selected one each from the grade levels of elementary, middle, and high school. Findings indicated that the alternative certification programs throughout the State of Florida are producing highly qualified teachers whose overall performance has been rated as equal to or better than that of newly hired traditionally certified teacher. These findings are based on the responses provided by the principals who completed and returned the 20-item questionnaire and on other existing literature and data on the state's alternative certification program. The overall impression from the principals' responses is that they are satisfied with the quality work and performance of their alternatively certified teachers.
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Date Issued
2006
Identifier
CFE0001420, ucf:47060
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001420
THE EFFICACY OF EFFORT: DIFFERENCES IN TEACHERS' SENSE OF EFFICACY BASED ON TYPE OF TEACHER TRAINING AND NUMBER OF YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Title
THE EFFICACY OF EFFORT: DIFFERENCES IN TEACHERS' SENSE OF EFFICACY BASED ON TYPE OF TEACHER TRAINING AND NUMBER OF YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
Creator
Shane, Julie, Allen, Kay, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Current federal reforms require a highly-qualified teacher in every classroom to promote higher levels of student performance. In an attempt to provide a sufficient and sustainable number of highly qualified teachers in the workforce, alternative certification training programs have come alongside traditional college of education training programs. Proponents of alternative certification programs contend the process of on-the-job training will potentially address the problem of teacher...
Show moreCurrent federal reforms require a highly-qualified teacher in every classroom to promote higher levels of student performance. In an attempt to provide a sufficient and sustainable number of highly qualified teachers in the workforce, alternative certification training programs have come alongside traditional college of education training programs. Proponents of alternative certification programs contend the process of on-the-job training will potentially address the problem of teacher shortages. However, opponents see these programs as an inadequate training process with future ramification for both teachers and students. As more and more classroom teachers are choosing alternative certification routes, there is growing uncertainty as to whether or not this is an effective way to train teachers. There is a substantial body of research that indicates a teacherÂÂ's self efficacy beliefs can be an indicator of his or her performance in the classroom. Evidence demonstrates a relationship between teachersÂÂ' beliefs about their personal ability to affect studentsÂÂ' achievement and the outcomes of both the teachersÂÂ' and the studentsÂÂ' efforts (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2007). By identifying strengths and weaknesses in self-efficacy beliefs, it is possible to provide interventions such as professional development or peer mentoring to increase an individualÂÂ's sense of efficacy, which could then improve his or her teaching performance, and ultimately improve student achievement. The purpose of this research study was to identify and describe the differences between (1) the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers from traditional college of education programs and from alternative certification programs in order to identify patterns or correlations between type of training and teachersÂÂ' sense of efficacy, and (2) the self efficacy beliefs of novice, experienced, and expert teachers in order to determine patterns or correlations between years of experience and teachersÂÂ' sense of efficacy. This research study investigated the self-efficacy beliefs of 125 high school teachers in Brevard County, Florida, with either college of education training or alternative certification training and with either novice, experienced, or expert classroom teaching experience. The first part of the study analyzed teachersÂÂ' responses to the 24 items on Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk HoyÂÂ's TeachersÂÂ' Sense of Efficacy Scale; the second part analyzed 6 researcher-designed items referring to teacher training programs and personal classroom experience. The three subscales that directed the items on the questionnaire were Efficacy for Student Engagement, Efficacy for Instructional Strategies, and Efficacy for Classroom Management. Factor analyses indicated 21 of the 24 items from the current research study loaded on the same three factors identified on the TeachersÂÂ' Sense of Efficacy Scale. The 6 items created specifically for this study loaded into two factors identified appropriately as training program and classroom experience. A reliability analysis resulted in a total alpha coefficient of .9271 for the 24 items on the TeachersÂÂ' Sense of Efficacy Scale for the 125 participants in the current research study which is consistent with an alpha of .94 in previous studies using the same scale. A total alpha coefficient of .6973 was determined for the 6 researcher-designed items. Findings from the t-tests and ANOVAs indicated that there was no relationship between self-efficacy beliefs of college of education trained teachers and alternative certification trained teachers; few relationships between novice, experienced, and expert teachers; and few interaction effects between type of teacher training and number of years of classroom experience. While the results of the study did not reveal statistically significant differences in the teacher groups, the teachersÂÂ' responses and comments indicated personal classroom experiences created higher levels of self-efficacy than teacher training programs. Contrary to the researcherÂÂ's expectations and conventional wisdom, both alternative certification teachers and novice teachers perceived themselves to be efficacious in the classroom. One possible explanation for the failure to reach statistically significant differences in the type of training and years of experience variables is that there simply are not distinct differences. Generally teachers with alternative certification training are immersed in programs that provide on-the-job training and support from a mentor, and as experts in their field of study, they exhibit self-assurance in their classroom behaviors. Commonly novices enter teaching with high expectations and they bring innovative practices and a fresh outlook to the classroom. Another possible explanation for the failure to reach statistically significant differences is the over-representation of some groups which could possibly have skewed the results. From the group of 125 participants, 86 teachers had college of education training while only 39 had alternative certification training. There were 79 expert teachers with ten or more years of experience, 35 experienced teachers with four to nine years, and only 11 novice teachers with three or less years. While the results of the research study did not offer statistically significant differences in the groups of teachers, there is much practical significance to be gained for district and school-level personnel in planning professional development opportunities. By identifying the strengths and weaknesses in teachersÂÂ' self-efficacy beliefs, professional development and peer support can be provided to address the unique needs of each teacher group. Recommendations were made for a synthesis of current practices from both college of education programs and alternative certification programs: a series of half-day internship experiences with relevant content coursework could be combined with on-the-job experience and mentoring support based on current alternative certification programs. This research study lacks generalizability, so further research should include middle school and elementary teachers, and teachers from other counties and states. Because teachersÂÂ' self-efficacy beliefs are personal and not necessarily reflective of actual practice, an investigation of the relationship between perceived self-efficacy beliefs and observed classroom effectiveness should be investigated.
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Date Issued
2010
Identifier
CFE0003268, ucf:48558
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003268