There has been limited research completed to identify supports or supporting behaviors that assisted candidates while they were completing the national board certification process. Identifying support factors that assisted national board certified teachers to the successful completion of the process was the primary focus of this study.
A qualitative research method was used to interview national board certified teachers, their teaching colleagues, and their administrators. Questions were posed from the interview guides developed for each of the three targeted groups. Information derived from the interviews focused on the perceived supports that lead to the successful attainment of the national board certification. Each interview was audio taped and transcribed verbatim and then systematically coded and analyzed. The thick and rich descriptions provided an opportunity for professionals to identify with the study's participants and therefore established the applicability of the study. The specific findings were organized and clustered around the research questions. Subtopics that emerged from the data analysis process were also addressed as they related to the five researched topics. The information that accumulated prompted the formation of specific recommendations.
This study should be of interest to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) as they continue to revisit their set of rigorous standards and the certification process. It should also be of interest to prospective teachers seeking the certification along with their administrators as supporters. The study could also be of interest to school system administrators who seek to promote staff development experiences for their teachers or to those individuals who desire to assist teachers in becoming highly qualified. Prompted by the No Child Left Behind legislation, our nation began to focus on the effects of teacher quality and students' achievement. The national board certification provided by the NBPTS is one means of meeting the criteria set forth to be deemed highly qualified.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-2092 |
| Date | 01 December 2004 |
| Creators | Bales, Richard W. |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright by the authors. |
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