Session Information
Contribution
In recent years governments and the teaching profession have grown increasingly concerned about both the supply and quality of beginning teachers. This worldwide concern is documented in the recent OECD (2005) report. International research reports that beginning teachers are motivated and confident in their ability to engage in "real" teaching (Loughran et al., 2001) yet the reality of the first year quickly shatters this illusion of adequate preparation (Russell & McPerson, 2001). Recent research (Cochrane-Smith, 2003; Darling-Hammond & Young, 2002; Hattie, 2002; Lingard, 2002; Nuthall, 2002) clearly point to the significant impact of teachers on the quality of student learning. Further, there is evidence that initial teacher education (ITE) is strongly correlated to quality of teaching (Cochrane-Smith, 2001; Darling-Hammond, 2000a, 2000b; Rice, 2003). However, in spite of increasing numbers of students entering secondary teaching, secondary schools struggle to attract and retain quality teaching staff. The inability of the profession to attract and retain quality teachers could have serious implication for the education of the future generations. This project examines the relationship between beginning secondary teachers' experiences of ITE and Induction and their motivation to stay in the profession.This longitudinal study has two phases. Phase One investigates how the student teachers perceived level of preparedness are related to their intentions to stay in the profession. Phase Two is concerned with the relation between Induction practices during the first years of teaching and the beginning teachers decisions to stay in the profession. Phase One of the study is currently conducted with the collaboration of 11 universities in the province of Québec, Canada. Results of phase one will be presented at the conference.Phase One only, involving a national questionnaire, will be reported. The "Préparation des étudiants du baccalauréat à l'enseignement secondaire (PEBES)" questionnaire was developed from the international literature (Bond, Smith, Baker & Hattie, 2000; Chambers & Roper, 2000; Darling-Hammond, Chung, & Frelow 2002; Ingersoll & Smith, 2004; Schulte, L., Edick, N., Edwards, S., & Mackiel, 2004) and standards currently active within the Québec education system and internationally (e.g. Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec (2001), New Zealand Teachers Council Standards (2005), National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education Standards (2002), The New York City Teacher Survey (Imbimbo & Silvernail 1999). Scales were developed in the following areas: attitudes towards teaching, learning and the role of teachers; motivation to choose a specific ITE program; levels of commitment to a career in teaching; self efficacy related to teaching; and, perceptions of how well ITE programs prepared them for teaching. Specific questions recorded demographic data such as gender, age, years of university study, etc. The preliminary version of the questionnaire was validated by a panel of experts and piloted with 40 student teachers. The final version of the questionnaire will be administered to all graduating student teachers (n=837) from the 11 secondary ITE programs across the province of Québec from February to April 2007. Data will be analyse using SPSS software. Respondents are invited on the final page of the questionnaire to indicate their willingness to participate in ongoing series of interviews during their first two years of teaching. These interviews correspond to Phase Two of the longitudinal study that will begin in the fall of 2007. This research promises to advance our understanding of the ways in which different programs of ITE and Induction contribute to the formation of beginning secondary teachers. In particular, it will reveal the ways in which different experiences of ITE and Induction influence secondary teachers' perceptions of preparedness and levels of satisfaction with their career choice. As a comprehensive national study, the Phase One questionnaire data will provide rigorous baseline data from the total population of Québec secondary teacher graduates from 2007. The questionnaire results will provide critical evidence-based data on ITE for secondary teachers in Québec. Such evidence will enhance understanding of what is currently happening in ITE and provide a credible evidence base for building future policy and practice.Bond, L., Smith, T., Baker, W., & Hattie, J. (2000). The Certification System of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards: A Construct and Consequential Validity Study. Greensboro, NC: Center for Educational Research and Evaluation. Chambers, G. & Roper, T. (2000) Why students withdraw from initial teacher training? Journal of Education for Teaching, 26 (1) 25-43. Cochran-Smith, M. (2003). Teaching quality matters. Journal of Teacher Education., 54(2), 95-99. Cochran-Smith, M. (2001). Reforming teacher education: Competing agendas. Journal of Teacher Education., 52, 263-265. Darling-Hammond, L., Chung, R., & Frelow, F. (2002) Variation in teacher preparation: How well do different pathways prepare teachers to teach? Journal of Teacher Education, 53 (4) 286-302. Darling-Hammond, L., & Youngs, P. (2002). Defining "highly qualified teachers": What does "scientifically-based research" actually tell us? Educational Researcher, 31, 9, 13-25 Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). How teacher education matters. Journal of Teacher Education., 51(3), 166. Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teaching quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence. Educational Policy Analysis Archives, 8(1). Hattie, J. 2002 What are the attributes of excellent teachers?, in Teachers Make a Difference: What is the Research Evidence. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research. pp. 3-26. Imbimbo, J., & Silvernail, D. (1999). Prepared to teach? Key findings of the New York City Teacher Survey. NewYork: New Visions for Public Schools Johnson Moore S., Berg Harrison, J. & Donaldson M. L. (2005) Who Stays in Teaching and Why: A review of the Literature on Teacher Retention. The Project on the Next Generation of Teachers, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Lingard, B. (2002). Teachers making a Difference: Productive pedagogies and productive schools. Paper presented at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research Annual Conference, Overseas Terminal, Wellington. Loughran, J., Brown, J., & Doeke, B. (2001). Continuities and discontinuities: the transition from pre-service to first-year teaching. Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 7(1), 7-25. Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec (2001). La formation à l'enseignement : les orientations, les compétences professionnelles. Québec : Gouvernement du Québec. National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. (2002). Professional standards for the accreditation of schools, colleges, and departments of education. Washington, DC: Author. New Zealand Teachers Council (2005) Standards for Qualifications that lead to Teacher Registration: Guidelines for the Approval of Teacher Education Programmes. Retrieved from http://www.teacherscouncil.govt.nz/education/guidelines.stm Nuthall, G. 2002 Knowing what we know and need to know about effective teaching, in Teachers Make a Difference: What is the Research Evidence. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research. pp. 41-63. OECD, (2005). Education at a Glance, OECD Indicators - 2005 Edition. OECD Publishing. Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. Rice, J. K. (2003). Teacher Quality: Understanding the Effectiveness of Teacher Attributes. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute. Russell, T., & McPherson, S. (2001). Indicators of success in teacher education: A review and analysis of recent research. Paper presented at the Pan-Canadian Education Research Agenda (PCERA) Symposium on Teacher Education/Educator Training, Quebec.Schulte, L., Edick, N., Edwards, S., & Mackiel, D. (2004) The development and validation of the Teacher Dispositions Index (TDI) Essays in Education, 12 Retrieved from www.usca.edu/essays/vol122004/schulte.pdf
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