Emotional competence is empirically associated with children’s success both socially and academically. Emotion knowledge and emotion regulation, the components of emotional competence, help children navigate interactions with peers and teachers in order to reach their goals while respecting the needs of others. An abundance of research exists on curricula to build social-emotional skills, as well as research on the role parents play in socializing children about emotional competence. However, little research exists on emotion socialization by teachers. Literature on what pre-service teachers learn about emotion socialization and emotional competence is even smaller. This study aims to learn what Early Childhood Education students at a large, urban northeastern university learn about emotional competence and emotion socialization through the use of surveys, interviews, and written reflections on the student teaching experience. A mixed-methods design elicits both breadth and depth of data on the topic. Pre- and post-measures show significant differences in self-efficacy relating to emotion socialization practices, but not knowledge or practices learned through the student teaching experience. Interview data shows pre-service teachers do believe emotion socialization to be part of their teaching role and that they influence the types of emotions felt and expressed by students in the classroom. Results will help improve the student teaching program and help the larger field of early childhood education learn about how to make the student teaching experience as helpful as possible. / Educational Psychology

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is intended to serve as a planning tool to ensure that school teams provide students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) (Blackwell & Rosetti, 2014). An essential step in the IEP process includes the development of meaningful and measurable IEP goals based on students’ present levels of performance and specific areas of need (Christle & Yell, 2010). Despite the significant role that the IEP plays in meeting legal requirements of the IDEA, research has shown that the quality of IEPs for students with disabilities is generally low (Blackwell & Rosetti, 2014; Rakap, 2015), especially for students with autism (Etscheid, 2003). Research evaluating IEP quality for students with autism revealed that many IEPs failed to include goals and objectives that addressed students’ deficits in social communication or social interactions (Ruble, McGrew, Dalrymple, & Jung, 2010) despite explicit recommendations for best practices (NRC, 2001). The purpose of this study was to train pre-service teachers to use results from a curriculum-based assessment to write quality IEP goals and objectives for students with autism. The study used a randomized group design in which undergraduate students (N = 32) enrolled in an introductory special education course were randomly assigned to a training group. Participants assigned to the Captivate Group (n = 16) participated in a series of interactive eLearning modules in which there were opportunities for the learners to respond to questions and engage in various learning interactions. The training provided to participants in the Video Group (n = 16) served as a treatment-as-usual condition in which participants viewed video recordings of the eLearning modules, but did not have opportunities to engage in any learning interactions. A two-way mixed analysis of variance was conducted to examine within group differences from pre- to post- test and between group differences based on the method of eLearning training received. Additional analyses were conducted in order to compare the quality of goals and objectives written for academic skills and goals targeting communication skills. Results indicated significant improvement for both groups on the quality of written goal and objectives from pre- to post-test . Although the Captivate Group performed slightly better on the post-test, there was no significant effect for training received. Additional analyses examining group outcomes on specific quality indicators revealed some noteworthy differences between groups. The data also confirmed statistically significant differences between participants’ total academic scores and total communication scores at pre-test, meaning that goals and objectives written for academic skills met more quality indicators compared to goals and objectives written for communication skills. A second paired samples t-test on participants’ post-test totals showed significant differences in quality for the Video Group, but not the Captivate Group. / Special Education

The purpose of this study was to examine if certified special education teachers who instruct emotionally disabled students experience the same barriers to retention when compared to other special educators. Also, this study answered the hypothesis whether significant relationships exists between the variables of staff development, stress and burnout, compensation, student discipline, role conflict, workload, and administrative support and teacher retention. One hundred forty two certified special education teachers from school districts in regions six and seven of southwestern Virginia completed a seventy-nine Likert style questionnaire for this study. Demographic profiles were outlined based on responses from special education teachers. Gender of participants was twenty-two males and seventy-eight females. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to validate predictor variables and aided in the development of the special education teacher survey. Principal component analysis interpreted the loadings of survey items on identified constructs. Results of the analysis revealed a strong correlation between the factors of Administrative Support, Compensation, Staff Development and the retention of special education teachers who work with emotionally disabled students. Fourteen percent of respondents chose to leave their positions compared to eighty-six percent who planned to stay. Findings indicated that administrative support, compensation, and staff development were the three most significant factors that influenced certified special educators' decisions to stay or leave their assigned positions. In addition, results of this study revealed that additional factors of student discipline, role conflict, stress and burnout, and workload were less significant, but were considered to have relevancy with minor roles towards a teacher's retention. It can be perceived that the three major constructs serve as a foundation that supports the four remaining individual constructs (stress and burnout, student discipline, role conflict and workload). These constructs were considered to be secondary underlying issues of teacher retention that surface and negatively impact teacher performance and job satisfaction, if not supported by the three major constructs over an extended period of time. Further, results confirmed that Administrative Support exhibited the strongest correlation among survey items and was found to have the most influence on the retention of special education teachers. / Ed. D.

The goal of this research was to assess the Virginia three-year provisional teaching license preparation path for earning a teaching license with an endorsement in Business and Information Technology (BIT) and Marketing Education (MKED). The study examined BIT and MKED teacher preparedness as it relates to core teaching and program management competencies for CTE educators who enrolled and completed Virginia's three-year teacher provisional licensure route to determine the effectiveness of the routes themselves. The research studied how the participants teacher preparation path impacted teachers' preparedness and how the elements of the provisional path contributed to the teacher's confidence in teaching. The study had one main research question and two sub-questions. The first sub-question emerged into five themes. They include lack of support system, struggle to implement essential teaching competencies, struggle to implement essential program management competencies, taking coursework while teaching does not work, and slight improvement by third year, but still a struggle. The second sub-question emerged into three themes. They include the need for effective support system, need for increased funding for teacher pay and required college courses, and need for focused training on specific CTE competencies. Three key conclusions from the study were BIT and MKED teachers need specific preparation training focused on core CTE teaching and program management competencies prior to entering the classroom, need a student teaching and/or co-teaching experience prior to entering the classroom by themselves, and need effective and active mentoring as well as administrative feedback and support during the entire three-year provisional licensure process. / Doctor of Philosophy / The study examined BIT and MKED teacher preparedness as it relates to core teaching and program management competencies for CTE educators who enrolled and completed Virginia's three-year teacher provisional licensure route to determine the effectiveness of the routes themselves. A qualitative research design was used for this study to determine the factors that affect the first year and third year provisionally licensed BIT and MKED teacher competency obtainment in the state of Virginia. A pre-survey of essential core teaching and program management competencies was given to create awareness of the interview topic to the interviewees. This survey was followed by an in-depth interview to gather rich data relating to the obtainment of core competencies. Three key conclusions from the study were BIT and MKED teachers need specific preparation training focused on core CTE teaching and program management competencies prior to entering the classroom, need a student teaching and/or co-teaching experience prior to entering the classroom by themselves, and need effective and active mentoring as well as administrative feedback and support during the entire three-year provisional licensure process. The results of the research may help improve the provisionally licensed teacher path route for prepare beginning BIT and MKED teachers in Virginia. The research will add to the literature by providing (1) information on how to improve provisional-teacher license preparation programs, (2) suggesting methods of training in these programs, and (3) showing the significance of beginning CTE teachers' professional relationships with administrators and mentor teachers. The results of the study could also assist school districts to better allocate resources and staff to effectively help provisionally licensed teachers.

The purpose of this study was to describe factors giving rise to flow in the context of the student teaching experience, utilizing Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory as a model. Over a two- week period, twenty participants each twice completed a rating scale revealing perceived levels of challenge and of skill in respect to eight teaching activities. Five of these participants volunteered to be interviewed a week later. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed for analyzing the data generated in the course of this study. Quantitative techniques were used to categorize participants according to the four quadrants of Csikszentmihalyi’s flow model, as well as to distribute eight teaching tasks within these four quadrants. Qualitative methods were employed to guide interpretation of patterns observed in the quantitative data. The information generated by the rating scale indicated that the perceived challenge levels of task demand were slightly higher than the perceived skill levels of participants. In terms of percentage of participants’ responses grouped within each of Csikszentmihalyi’s quadrants, more responses fell into the flow quadrant than into non-flow quadrants. Both of these results indicated promising potential for achieving flow on the part of the student teachers who participated in this study. The information generated by the rating scale gives rise to a variety of possible interpretations, some of which seem to be corroborated by information gained through the interviews. It is especially noteworthy that according to the quantitative data, the high anxiety-producing activity of managing students was rated among activities highly associated with flow experience. An interpretation of these findings supported by the qualitative data is that even though the task of managing students was perceived to be very challenging, the process of interacting with students and sharing students’ success led these student teachers to feel that they were adequately dealing with the demands of the task. Thus, the potential to experience flow under such an anxiety-producing activity was correspondingly increased. The results of the content analysis supported Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory model in that five interrelated elements of that model were identified by the participants as affecting their capacity to experience flow. This study revealed that the single element most conducive to cultivation of flow was receiving focused feedback in the course of work toward a clearly defined goal. Furthermore, the strategies of flexibility and positive thinking emerged from this study as flow-conducive elements, since all three flow-quadrant participants reported that restructuring their attitudes and perceptions towards these ends enabled them to achieve flow, albeit the conditions under which they experienced flow varied. Four distinctly different behavior patterns distinguished flow-quadrant from non-flow-quadrant student teachers: a) metacognitive awareness; b) willingness to seek help; c) cultivation of a sense of challenge; and d) development of effective stress-management strategies. Each of these four dimensions can be viewed as dichotomous, in that a positively perceived experience in each dimension facilitated a flow experience, while a negatively perceived experience in this same dimension tended to thwart achievement of flow. Finally, this inquiry revealed the individual character of the circumstances under which these student teachers experienced flow, pointed to the crucial role of the cooperating teacher role in facilitating flow, and provided insights into creating an optimal context for cultivating of flow during the student teaching experience. / Ph. D.

This project focuses on the way that new graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) in English develop both their professional identity as teachers and their view of Composition as a field. Drawing on social theories of disciplines (Prior, 1998; Hyland, 2004; Carter, 2007), disciplinary enculturation (Hasrati, 2005; Bazerman and Prior, 2005; Thaiss and Zawacki, 2006), and legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Wenger 1998), this dissertation examines the transition that composition GTAs undergo during their first year of graduate school. Many of these GTAs move from little or no knowledge of Composition as a discipline to teaching their own writing courses. I focus on GTAs from MA and MFA programs at a large research university in their first year of teaching composition. Using multiple types of data, including in-depth interviews, observations of practicum and mentoring sessions, and teaching genres written by the GTAs, I construct a narrative that shows the role that teaching composition plays in the overall identity construction of graduate students as professionals. This wide data set has allowed me to see the various ways (and various genres) in which Composition is constructed in the lives of new GTAs. Teacher preparation programs offer a variety of assistance, including experience shadowing current teachers, practicum courses and individual or group mentoring. I study the ways these activities help GTAs in one first-year writing program move toward a fuller understanding of and participation in Composition, and how these experiences relate to the overall graduate student experience. Each of these experiences helps move GTAs toward participation as composition teachers. However, the degree to which these GTAs participate in Composition as a discipline has to do with their relationships with mentors and the connections they make between the multiple communities of practice that they must continually navigate. / Ph. D.

Science instruction in the early years of a student’s education career is essential to a student successfully continuing science in their secondary and postsecondary careers. However, the amount of high-quality science instruction students receive at the elementary level has been steadily declining for two decades, resulting in an inequitable imbalance in those who pursue STEM careers, a lack of critical science literacy in the U.S. populace, and a shortage of qualified employees entering the U.S. economy. Much of the lack of science instruction can be traced to decreased training of teachers to teach science during elementary credentialing programs or the complete absence of said training. This qualitative study sought to understand, through multiple-case study analysis, what makes one university “successful” at teaching science methods to their pre-service teachers and what makes another “unsuccessful.” Through interviews, observations, and an online document review, the author found that pre-service teachers entering the elementary school classroom need to feel they have the content knowledge necessary to teach science, feel they can overcome and work within barriers to high-quality science instruction in the K-12 system, and feel ready and prepared to teach science by their chosen Teacher Preparation Program.

Adolescence is a time of rapid and sometimes widely varying changes in the voice (Cooksey & Welch, 1998; Gebhardt, 2016; Harries et al., 1998; Killian, 1999; Sweet, 2015). As such, content and pedagogical knowledge of the voice is particularly important for educators when supporting adolescent singers. Shulman’s (1986) framework, Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), is a tool to examine the ways in which educators integrate their content and pedagogical knowledge with their knowledge of individual learners to best support student learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the preparation of secondary choral educator candidates in Wisconsin with specific regard to supporting adolescent voices. This study was completed using qualitative methods through a collective case study design to gather personal knowledge and experiences of student teacher candidates serving in two separate educational settings and attending different teacher preparation programs in Wisconsin. Methods of data collection included interviews with student teacher candidates and their cooperating teachers, syllabi from choral methods courses, and a video teaching sample from each student teacher. This study found that student teachers felt confident in their abilities to teach in several topics related to the adolescent voice, however there were also areas that they identified as emerging skills in need of additional support. State licensure boards and teacher preparation programs may use these findings to guide future curriculum and licensure requirements in ways that may better support the identified areas for growth.

Paraprofessionals have a wide range of responsibilities in the educational system to support students' academic, behavioral, and social needs. The law does not specifically define how paraprofessionals will receive training for these tasks, but many districts require teachers to fill this role. While some educators may receive adequate training, literature shows that the majority of preservice and in-service teachers feel unprepared to train, manage, and supervise paraprofessionals. In this exploratory study, grounded qualitative methods were used to analyze data from course materials and semi-structured interviews regarding faculty perspectives of current practices used in teacher preparation programs. Themes which emerged from the data included: (1) Informal or ad hoc training; (2) Recognition of the need to support conceptual awareness; and (3) Infrastructural issues. Participants in this study used their knowledge, background, and experiences to create meaningful and relevant activities with concepts that preservice teachers need to work with paraprofessionals. However, instruction tended to be informal or ad hoc due to a number of infrastructural issues and constraints surrounding current practices. The findings of the study were congruent with previous literature regarding course materials, activities, and types of training. Additionally, this study revealed some issues at the national, state, and local levels that have influenced the extent of information provided to preservice teachers regarding working with paraprofessionals.

Creating cross-cultural understanding amongst students and incorporating music from various cultures around the world has become essential in the field of music education, but still has a long way to go to become more mainstream. The incorporation of world music in teacher preparation programs and music classrooms varies greatly. While many researchers have studied these elements separately, very little research exists on the connection between the type of music teacher preparation, performance life outside the classroom, and world music experiences a teacher creates in the curriculum. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the relationship between: type of music teacher preparation, performance life outside of school, and world music experiences an individual teacher incorporates into their curriculum. This study used the sequential explanatory design model using a survey instrument (n=11) and participant interviews (n=9). Specifically, participants included secondary general music teachers working in Quaker schools in the United States with at least a bachelor's degree in music education. Quaker educators were included due to the population’s virtual exclusion from all current literature as well as their progressive outlook on education and inclusivity. Findings suggest that Quaker educators overwhelmingly have a desire to teach music from various cultures and utilize it in their classrooms mostly from professional development opportunities, despite their overall lack of training during their undergraduate coursework. While generalizable findings were difficult to explain due to a low number of participants in the survey, the qualitative interview data sheds a unique outlook on Quaker school teacher background and experience with world music. Implications for the field of music education and further research opportunities are also discussed. / Music Education