The present study examined teacher characteristics that may impact teacher efficacy or distinguish between teachers with high and low efficacy in the area of writing. A random sample of 997 third and fourth grade teachers from the United States were sent a 118 item online survey, A National Survey of Teachers Preparation and Practices in Teaching Writing of Teachers in Grades 3 and 4, about their preparation for teaching, orientation towards teaching writing, attitudes towards writing and teaching writing, their efficacy and classroom writing practices. One hundred fifty seven teachers responded to the survey, 115 of who completed every question (response rate of 16% and 12% respectively) resulting in 129 missing items (1% of data). Missing data was imputed, where possible, resulting in a sample that ranged from 115 to 157 for the analyses. No statistical differences were found between responders and nonresponders. Results revealed three out of every four teachers received minimal to no preparation to teach writing in college. Teachers reported increased feelings of preparedness when post college experiences were considered. Overall, teachers expressed positive attitudes towards writing and teaching writing, but did not engage in writing outside of school purposes. Results indicate teacher efficacy and teacher writing efficacy are separable constructs. Teachers attitudes towards teaching writing were predictive of teacher writing efficacy, teachers reported use of classroom practices for teaching writing, and the amount of time students spent writing. Significant differences were found between low- and high-efficacy teachers. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-06092013-102827 |
| Date | 03 July 2013 |
| Creators | Brindle, Mary Elisabeth |
| Contributors | Laurie E Cutting, Karen R. Harris, Donald L. Compton, Steve Graham, Deborah W. Rowe, Joseph H. Wehby |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-06092013-102827/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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