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This research study examined 394 K-12 teacher interns' incorporation of multicultural content and theory into their teaching practices during a 16-week internship in schools, mostly located within a 30-mile radius of Mississippi State University. The teacher interns had completed all coursework and practicum hours required by their teacher education program. As part of their duties, the mentor teachers evaluated the interns' incorporation of multicultural content and theory, using two indicators from the Teacher Intern Assessment Instrument: "Uses knowledge of students’ backgrounds, interests, experiences, and prior knowledge to make instructions relevant and meaningful" and “Incorporates diversity, including multicultural perspectives into lessons”. To conduct the study, the researcher used descriptive and causal comparative research designs. Results from the paired- sample T-tests indicated a statistically significant difference between initial and final mean scores for both indicators. The Cohen's d effect size indicated the 16-week internship had a large affect on the scores provided by the mentor teachers for the 394 K-12 teacher interns. Findings from the study indicated improvement in the interns' overall incorporation of multicultural content and theory into their teaching practices. As a result of the findings from this study, the researcher recommended that professors and instructors increase the number of assignments, which provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to plan and demonstrate the incorporation of multiculturalism into their teaching practices. The researcher also recommended that facilitators of professional development from the Office of Clinical Field-based Instruction and Licensure increase the amount of time spent on the incorporation of multiculturalism and diversity.

This study investigated the motivation to teach and planned persistence of pre-service teachers during two phases of their student teaching experience by using a mixed methods study design. The quantitative design sought to evaluate if the motivation and planned persistence of pre-service teachers changed during the course of the supervised student teaching experience. The qualitative design endeavored to explore if the context of the student teaching placement impacted the motivation and planned persistence of pre-service teachers over time. The study was conducted at a diverse urban university with students who were completing their teacher-training program at either the graduate or undergraduate level. The results indicated that pre-service teachers were similarly motivated by several complex factors at both the beginning and end of student teaching. Additionally, the study participants revealed that the school context was influential in their motivation to teach and planned persistence in the profession. Additional analyses conducted indicated that prior teaching and learning was more important to participants in the middle and secondary education programs than in the early childhood education program and that certain motivational factors were more significant for female study participants than male. / Educational Psychology

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the effects of the student teaching experience on secondary agricultural education teachers. Eight of the thirteen participants in this study served as a cooperating teacher during the 2012 spring semester for pre-service teachers in agricultural education from a land-grant institution. Three of the participants had served as a cooperating teacher during either the 2010 or 2011 spring semester but had reported a negative student teaching experience with their last student teacher. Two of the participants had served as pilot interviews for the study, but they were added as participants during the analysis of the study. The participants provided interviews, opportunities for professional observations, and teaching documents for analysis. Four major themes emerged in the study 1) The professional identities of secondary agricultural education teachers are affected by their membership in the pre-service teacher community. 2) Secondary agricultural education teachers volunteer as cooperating teachers to help others and themselves professionally. 3) Secondary agricultural education teachers empower themselves and other members of their communities through their leadership due to their strong sense of political efficacy. 4) The professional practices of agriculture teachers are influenced by their service as a cooperating teacher. / Ph. D.

Following the release of the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, (NCTM, 1989) substantial federal funding in the 1990s supported the development of curriculum materials intended to help teachers enact new visions of mathematics teaching and learning. Although a great deal of research about the "Standards-based" curriculum materials has focused on student achievement, an equally important body of research has investigated teachers' experiences with these materials. While this research about teacher-curriculum interactions continues to mature and offer insights into teachers' curriculum use, we face a critical shortage of information about preservice teachers' use of mathematics curriculum materials. To address this gap, I conducted two separate but related qualitative studies focused on preservice teachers' interactions with mathematics curriculum materials. The first study examined a teacher education activity in which 23 preservice elementary teachers analyzed sections of different mathematics curriculum materials and textbooks. The second study focused on three student teachers' uses of mathematics curriculum materials and textbooks during their student-teaching internships. The overall purpose of these studies was to examine the views and experiences that appear to influence preservice teachers' initial interpretations of Standards-based curriculum materials and to document preservice teachers' experiences using Standards-based and other instructional resources during student teaching. I also aimed to explore how mathematics curriculum materials might be more carefully positioned to play a more critical role in preservice teacher learning throughout typical teacher education opportunities and also in teachers' future use and learning with Standards-based curriculum materials and other instructional resources. Results of this manuscript dissertation indicated that preservice teachers found themselves immersed in professional development with mathematics curriculum materials, textbooks, and state curriculum guides during coursework and fieldwork experiences. They had the opportunity to develop an understanding of the variety of mathematics instructional resources available to them that were different from what they were used to, and also had opportunities to consider the unexpectedly complex nature of many of the materials. The preservice teachers found themselves negotiating balance between university coursework and fieldwork expectations as they evaluated, adapted and supplemented materials during coursework and fieldwork. The results from these chapters not only illustrate teacher learning with and about curriculum materials, but also point out opportunities within teacher education for preservice teachers to question well-established beliefs and practices regarding mathematics teaching and mathematics instructional resources as they encountered disequilibrium in multiple contexts. Overall results also highlight possible missed opportunities for learning and the importance of human resources within teacher education as it relates to preservice teachers' encounters with mathematics curriculum materials and instructional resources. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to build a task list for the clinical experience program, both early field and student teaching, for the agricultural teacher education programs in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The objectives were: (1) compile a list of clinical experiences, both early field and student teaching, that currently are provided in the clinical experiences for students of agricultural education in three-selected teacher education programs, and (2) use an expert panel to determine what should be included in early field experiences and student teaching experiences for students enrolled in the agricultural teacher education program. A modified Delphi technique was used to collect data via three questionnaires. Data were analyzed using mean scores and standard deviations of tasks rated on a five point Likert-type scale. Those tasks that the panelists rated with a standard deviation of less than or equal to one were considered to have met consensus. The population for this study consisted of agriculture teachers, secondary school administrators, agricultural education field staff, and agricultural education teacher educators from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Thirty-four Delphi panel members were purposively selected from the population. Thirty-one panel members responded to Round I, 33 panel members responded to Round II, and 29 responded to Round III yielding an overall response rate of 92%. This researcher asked the Delphi panel members to rate each task on a five-point Likert type scale, 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = not sure, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree. The study used mean scores and standard deviations to analyze the results. Consensus was met if the standard deviation of a task was equal to or less than one. Rounds I, II, and III resulted in 102 tasks for early field and student teaching experiences that met consensus. Based on the findings, the researcher developed a task list for early field experiences and student teaching experiences to be considered for use by the agricultural education programs in the three cooperating states. The task list developed is a very comprehensive list that relates to every aspect of clinical experiences. / Ph. D.