published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study examines the impact of personal attributes on student teachers' failure to pass or marginal success in the terminal field experience. Interviews were conducted of faculty at five Washington and two Oregon teacher education programs, who served as supervisors of student teaching. The interview was of the "depth" type described by Masserik (1981,) open-ended, interactive, and designed to encourage the sharing of case histories and subjective experience according to interpretive inquiry protocol as outlined by Lincoln and Guba (1985.) Its goal was to surface fundamental assumptions about and idiosyncratic language used to describe those attributes deemed critical to a preservice teacher's success. The format was flexible to allow respondents to guide and determine the final shape of the study (Goetz and LeCompte, 1984.) Interviews were tape-recorded, and transcripts re-submitted to respondents for additions, corrections, and elaborations. Interview transcripts were analyzed by a process of modified analytic induction (Bogdan and Biklan, 1982) and comparative analysis (Spradley, 1979) for recurring precepts and constructs related to personal attributes and the labels used to identify them. These were further collapsed into categories of cover and included terms, and used to construct a taxonomic model of personal attributes implicated in failure and marginality in student teachers. Initial categories which emerged were Extrapersonal, Irremediable, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Attributes. Respondents' identified as critical the Intrapersonal and Interpersonal categories, which were further collapsed into three major attribute domains: Efficacy (including ego strength, locus of control, flexibility, and reflection) Relatedness (including empathy, self-assertion, and people-skills) and Heartfeltedness (including belief system, commitment, effort and passion.) Additional attributes identified by respondents as bridging and connecting the domains were imagination, authenticity, responsiveness and with-it-ness. Several themes emerged: 1) Respondents ascribe failure and marginality primarily to personal attributes, citing technical incompetence as causal only in combination with attribute deficits; 2) reluctance to judge subjectively produces formal evaluations that do not adequately reflect the role of personal attributes; 3) pressure to pass marginal students is seen as both cause and effect of a failure of the gatekeeping function; and 4) early identification of personal attributes likely to require and/or intractable to remediation is deemed essential.

There are three purposes of this study: (1) to determine the degree of interaction between pupils and student teachers and teaching effectiveness as rated by pupils; (2) to determine the significance of difference of pupil ratings between those who express "more" and those who express "less interest" in the course taught by the student teacher whom they were asked to rate; and (3) to study other variables such as sex, age, and achievement in order to show how they relate to pupil and student teacher interaction.

Five field workers and their coordinator of the National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE), an in–service upgrading course for under-qualified teachers in KwaZulu–Natal, South Africa, were interviewed to find what meaning and practices informed them in carrying out their work with teachers. This study was conducted within the interpretive paradigm and was qualitative in nature. Hence, data was collected using semi–structured interviews. No attempt has been undertaken to generalize the findings as the participants were few. This study is warranted and the findings have relevance for future research. The key findings of the study are as follows. a) Guidelines for supervision – NPDE field workers and the NPDE coordinator revealed that the time frame for one day workshops was too short and this did not allow field workers the opportunity to address critical issues pertaining to the supervision process. b) Responsibility towards the NPDE students revealed that the NPDE field workers were not directly involved in choosing the number of NPDE students they had to assess and supervise. c) Professional development with regard to classroom observation – a lack of professional development revealed that fieldworkers had to rely on their own knowledge and reading to prepare themselves to supervise and assess the NPDE students. d) The role of the NPDE field workers in assessing and supervising the NPDE students – the inappropriate title was key element that emerged from the finding. e) Supervision out of class – revealed that this was done once the classroom assessment. f) Collaborative partnerships between students and field workers – partnerships formed seemed to be the key element that emerged from the finding. The partnerships formed was based on love, trust and understanding. g) Experiences of the NPDE field workers – The data revealed that field workers experiences during their supervision and assessment of the NPDE students were very enlightening. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2011.

The problem of this study was to determine the relationship between the effectiveness of student teachers as measured by student ratings and situation-specific anxiety toward the act of teaching. Data for the study were obtained by the use of the Teacher Anxiety Scale and the Student Evaluation of Teaching Scale. The statistical evidence does not justify a conclusion that there is a relationship between the effectiveness of student teachers as measured by student ratings and situation-specific anxiety of student teachers toward the act of teaching. The statistical evidence does not support the conclusion that pupil ratings of student teachers are significantly affected by the student teacher's level of anxiety, sex, or teaching level. Furthermore, there is no statistical evidence given by the study that there is a significant difference in situation-specific anxiety among student teacher groups (Elementary or Secondary) according to sex or level of student teaching.

The purpose of the study was to determine the validity and reliability of a revised observation and evaluation instrument of middle and secondary pre-service clinical teaching to be used as part of the clinical supervision cycle and for formative purposes. The North Texas Appraisal of Classroom Teaching (NTACT) serves as a performance assessment tool utilized by a south-central university-based educator preparation program for the evaluation and supervision of pre-service teachers during their last semester of their program. The researcher piloted and field-tested a redesigned observation and evaluation instrument (NTACT-V2) on observer participants with varying educational experiences in the south-central region. To accumulate evidence of validity and reliability, this study employed methods of factor analysis and generalizability study for developing a valid and reliable instrument to guide the refinement process of the NTACT observation and evaluation instrument. Some of the significant conclusions reached in this study were (a) the NTACT-V2 is a practical, user-friendly classroom observation and evaluation instrument; (b) the instrument refined and developed in this study exhibits appropriate content, face, and criterion validity as determined by a panel of experts and an extensive review of the literature; and, (c) a variety of observers can use the evaluation instrument with relative ease while achieving a high degree of reliability.

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Bibliography / Student teachers are faced with the challenge of adapting their teaching so as to accommodate active learning through self-assessment, peer assessment and reflection. The objectives of the study were therefore to explore how active learning may be enhanced through self-assessment, peer assessment and reflection. The participants in the study were second- and third-year students at Rundu Campus of the University of Namibia. The research employed a case study design with qualitative data and using a descriptive, contextual approach. Semi-structured interviews, focus-group interviews and observations were utilised to obtain data. Once consent was obtained from the relevant authorities, second- and third-year student teachers were interviewed. Ethical requirements were adhered to throughout the research process. The findings indicated that students had both positive and negative perceptions in respect of self-assessment, peer assessment and reflection in promoting their active engagement in learning. Overall, the findings of the study revealed positive signs that active learning can be enhanced by student teachers through the use of strategies such as self-assessment, peer assessment and reflection. The study also pointed to implications of the research for teacher education practices and possible future research.