A large segment of society is either preparing to enter the work force, or is already engaged in some chosen line of work. Preparing to enter the work force takes a considerable amount of time and effort. The decision to follow one career path over countless others may, on the surface, appear to be discretely individual. But when viewed from a sociological perspective, occupational choices are implicitly and explicitly reached through a consensus of contributing factors. Consequently, an occupational identity is not how an individual describes a personal work-related self, but is rather dialectic. It is the merging, albeit, negotiation of viewpoints which causes persons to view themselves in relationship with how others think of them. It is expected that students newly enrolled in music education degree programs will, with time, replace erroneous lay conceptions of music teaching with those presented in curricula and espoused by significant role models. However, the professional socialization process, characteristic of music education degree programs, has not always been successful in transforming students’ personal perspectives of music teaching. This transformation process is critical toward the development of occupational identities that are congruent with school music teaching positions. There has been an established line of research in music education that examines who school music teachers are from a sociological perspective. When pursuing this literature, however, it became evident that, over time, the term identity had been used under many different guises, incorporating mixed perspectives from among the social sciences. The studies that have dealt with occupational identity have done so for different purposes, employing different theories and methodologies. While any of these previous research protocols may be useful for particular purposes, the reality is that the terms identity and occupational identity have become interchangeable. The term identity is sometimes used to denote self-concept or role concept without being clear about what these mean or how or if they are different from occupational identity. The underlying issue here, and a principle concern for music education, is whether or not music education degree programs are guiding preservice music teachers toward an occupational identity that matches with the occupation. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the field of occupational identity by developing a researcher-designed measurement tool for occupational identity in music education. This study focused solely on preservice music teachers, their perceptions and demonstrable behaviors, associated with the changes that might occur over the course of their professional preparation. The data in this investigation, subjected to principal components analysis, resulted in a 5-component solution rotated to simple structure using oblique Oblimin rotation. Thirty-five items from a pool of 106 with component loadings >.35 explained 57% of the total variance. Reliability estimates using Cronbach’s alpha were .93 for all 35 items and ranged from .92 to .66 for the five components.

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The purpose of the study was to examine the teacher education curricula in exemplary agricultural teacher education programs. I identified eleven exemplary agricultural teacher education programs through a call for nominations to a national listserv of the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE). Course syllabi and course checksheets provided by each of the selected institutions were analyzed to determine patterns of professional course requirements and specific professional topics at each of the universities. Competencies were derived from assignments or topics expressed in course syllabi. Data analysis established common themes among the programs studied. The resulting list of professional topics was examined to yield five overarching curricular areas: Experiential Components, Foundations, Program and Curriculum Planning, Teaching and Methods, and Technology. Microlesson presentations and managing Supervised Agricultural Experience programs were the only professional topics addressed in all programs studied. The study also revealed that professional course titles were very different at the participating institutions. No institution covered all of the topics. Treatment of topics among institutions varied widely. Although literature reveals that the field of education is trying to establish itself as a profession, few of the programs studied offered courses focusing solely on professional development, professional organizations, or professional ethics. Many of the programs studied did address professionalism issues, but it may have been provided in only one lecture. Using the course syllabi provided by each exemplary university, I was able to identify 16 courses taught in pre-service agricultural education and 118 common topics. Not all topics were addressed at each university nor were all courses presented. Microlesson presentation and Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs were the only two topics all universities addressed. From the 118 general topics, five general curricular clusters were established: teaching methods, program and curriculum planning, foundations, experiential components, and technology. / Master of Science

In a mixed method study, teacher efficacy and contributing theoretical constructs of teacher concerns and teacher orientation with preservice teacher candidates were examined. Intermediate/Senior mathematics preservice teacher candidates from two major Ontario Universities’ Faculties of Education participated in this study. Data sources included a web-based survey containing two teacher efficacy scales and short answer questions, interviews with the preservice teacher candidates, and Intermediate/Senior mathematics course and program information collected from course instructors. Complexity theory provides support for the mixed methods methodology and the integrated and complex nature of teacher efficacy and its contributing factors. The literature on teacher efficacy rarely ventures into the secondary school mathematics preservice teacher level of teacher professional development. The study more clearly identifies teacher efficacy with preservice mathematics teachers and how teacher efficacy relates to teacher concerns and teacher orientation. The findings deepen the understanding of the connections between the constructs of teacher efficacy, teacher concern, and teacher orientation. Following from these findings, changes and considerations for preservice teacher preparation programs in order to more fully prepare secondary school mathematics teachers are described.

This study explores the effectiveness of a technology-focused preservice education program by interviewing practicing teachers who have graduated from the program. The views of the teachers are examined with reference to Darling-Hammond‟s (2006) theoretical framework for teacher education, and Mishra and Koehler‟s (2006) TPCK model. The findings indicate that the teachers who participated in this study value the aspects of their preservice program that they can use in their teaching practice. There is also evidence that a preservice program which is infused with technology enables preservice teachers to adopt new pedagogies using technology into their own teaching practice. The intent of this study is to identify areas where the preservice program may be strengthened and to promote further research into technology integration in preservice education. / UOIT

Increasing numbers of English language learners (ELLs) and diminishing services for those students is resulting in mainstream teachers across the United States taking on the responsibility of teaching ELLs. This demands the preparation of all teachers to teach ELLs. Yet adequate preparation of these educators depends on insight into the beliefs that preservice teachers carry with them to the classroom. These beliefs are critical in their impact on teacher behavior and teacher expectations of ELLs. Remarkably, what preservice teachers believe about ELL issues is overlooked in research. The purpose of the present study was to look beyond these previously explored paths of ESL, bilingual, multicultural, and foreign language education to discover preservice Pre-K through 8th grade mainstream teachers’ beliefs about language learning in order to better inform future teacher preparation programs. The research questions used to accomplish the purpose of this study focused on what beliefs pre-service teachers at Texas A&M University hold regarding second language learning and teaching before ESL coursework, how those beliefs change after ESL coursework, and what variables influence these pre-service teachers’ beliefs about English language learning and teaching? A total of 354 individuals participated in the study. They were involved in ESL coursework during their participation in the study. The data were collected from August of 2006 to May of 2007. This study had a mixed method design. The research instruments included a Likert-scale questionnaire and focus group interviews. The interviews were analyzed according to the constant-comparative method. The questionnaires were analyzed based descriptive statistics, paired sample t-tests, and hierarchical multiple regression. Major findings of the study include that before ESL coursework, preservice teachers largely undervalued ELLs’ L1, yet they were aware of ELLs in mainstream environments and positive about ELLs themselves. Coursework was found to be effective in that after ESL coursework there was an obvious shift toward greater alignment in beliefs with principles of ESL education. Interviews underscored the role of field experience, teacher educators and ESL courses in impacting belief change.

This is a study to answer ¡§who am I ?¡¨ in educational context. ¡§Who am I ? ¡¨ is the beginning of self identity. Identity uncover one¡¦s images of himself as a way of understanding his practice, explicitly seeking a link between image and practice. By concerning identity and education, this study focus on preservice teacher¡¦s identity. The purposes are investigating preservice teacher¡¦s identity and the factors influencing it. The participants are five elementary preservice teachers. This study employs the qualitative research as the methodology for this study. The qualitative research is base on the way of one-year interview to collect the information and use the interview document to record the feeling and experience by writing word to word. The main findings are summarized as follows: 1. Preservice teacher¡¦s identity is constructed by interaction between self and others in practical training. 2. Preservice teacher¡¦s identity includes multiple role performances. 3. Facing the identity confusion, preservice teacher presents passive resistance. 4. Preservice teacher¡¦s identity affects perfprmances in practical training and obtaining teacher identity. 5. Colleagues help a lot in practical training. This study show the model and the pictures (role performances) of preservice teacher¡¦s identity. the model provides a framework to realize preservice teacher¡¦s identity. Finally, some suggestions are proposed for student teachers, teacher preparation system and future studies.

The purpose of this research will be (1) to explore the preservice teachers¡¦ understanding of issues in classroom management; (2) to investigate the impact of asynchronous online discussion on preservice teachers¡¦ learning about classroom management; (3) to investigate the relationship between preservice teachers¡¦ reflections, worksheet and asynchronous online discussions; (4) to analyze preservice teachers¡¦ opinions about incorporating asynchronous network system into their classroom and teaching. The participants of this study come from 56 preservice teachers taking Classroom Management Course in NSYSU Teacher Education Program. The Classroom Management Course requires teaching practicum as well as encourages preservice teachers to participate in SCTnet, which is an online professional community for teachers. They can interact, discuss and share experiences online. This 18-week course includes a series of activities such as seminar discussion, interviewing intern and expert teachers, assignment, small group activities in the classroom and asynchronous online discussion. The course aims to integrate theory and practice and to develop preservice teachers¡¦ professional competences in teaching and their classroom management skills. Qualitative research methods were implemented to conduct these studies. The data collection includes assignments, comments of asynchronous discussion board, interviews and questionnaires. Document analysis is used to explore preservice teachers¡¦ interpretation of classroom management knowledge and reflection. This study reaches the following five conclusions: 1. It is a progressive process that preservice teachers understand classroom management issues with the help of course instructor and assignments. 2.The course instructor initiated and leaded discussions in asynchronous discussion board. As time goes by, preservice teachers can actively propose issues for discussion and make statements. Through dialogues, preservice teachers better understand classroom management issues. 3. Due to the lack of practical experiences in teaching, there are over 50% of preservice teachers whose reflection of assignment stagnates no-reflection level. 4. Preservice teachers¡¦ reflection level is influenced by their involvement level in learning, information use behavior and the types of discussion topics in asynchronous discussion board. 5. Most preservice teachers feel satisfied with Classroom Management course and the instructor¡¦s teaching method. In addition, based on the above conclusions, the author proposes recommendations on teacher education curriculum, preservice teachers¡¦ reflection and issues for future research.

Given the importance placed on probability and statistics in the PK-8 curriculum by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000) and on teachers by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (1995) and the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (2001), it is important to know how well preservice teachers understand topics that are vital to a thorough understanding of the probability and statistics topics emphasized by national standards. It is necessary for a teacher to thoroughly understand the subject matter in order to teach effectively, but that is not sufficient. A teacher must also be able to successfully communicate with the students about that material. Therefore, this study utilized a standards- and literature-based assessment to study 210 preservice teachers with the goal of taking the first step in determining whether current PK-8 preservice teachers are prepared to teach select probability and statistics topics specified in standards documents. The assessment contains 11 probability and statistics items with a total of 23 parts in a variety of shortanswer, multiple-choice, and extended-response formats. It is described in detail in Chapter III and reproduced in Appendix A. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that for this sample of PK-8 preservice teachers, the assessment measured the underlying constructs on which it was based. Preservice teachers?? ability to answer these items varied greatly. For short-answer and multiple-choice items, the percentage of preservice teachers incorrectly answering an item was as high as 87% and as low as 18%. For extended-response items, incorrect answers were provided by as few as 12% of the participants on one item and by as many as 83% on another. Individual responses were analyzed to illustrate correct conceptions and misconceptions of these preservice teachers. There was not a statistically significant difference between responses based on the grade band the participants were preparing to teach, but students specializing in mathematics and science did perform better than other participants. Although effect sizes were small, the amount of time elapsed since an elementary statistics class was taken and the number of methods courses taken were positively associated with performance on this assessment.

This study was done to investigate the types and intensity of teaching concerns preservice teachers have during their coursework and how these are connected to early field experiences (EFE). A survey was conducted comparing preservice teachers in an on-campus versus an on-site course at a local elementary school. Participants (N = 99) were asked about 26 types of concerns and these groups were compared; only one significant difference was found, that the on-campus group had more general teaching concerns than the on-site group. Fuller's (1969; 1974) research on immature versus mature teaching concerns was corroborated by the survey items and factor analyses, although no change over time was found. School-based field experiences were significantly listed by both groups as being the most useful experience in their teacher education; therefore, it is recommended that opportunities be created for preservice teachers to participate in EFEs.