Education Commons^™

Addressing The Teacher Shortage: School-Sponsored Alternative Teacher Certification Programs, Briana Renee Pepke Herr

Culminating Experience Projects

The ongoing teacher shortage in America has created an unprecedented demand for high-quality educators. To address this challenge, the establishment of school-sponsored or company-sponsored alternative certification programs is necessary. These partnership initiatives should involve assigning school or company employees as coaches to candidates, facilitating bi-weekly in-person and online coaching sessions to enhance instructional practices, and offering constructive coursework feedback. The primary objective is to equip aspiring alternatively certified teachers with essential skills, ensuring they are highly qualified while receiving ongoing support. This project highlights the need for school-sponsored alternative certification programs in producing highly qualified teachers capable of meeting the …

“Implacement”: The Importance Of Place And Community In Schooling, Emily Coady

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three chapters exploring my overarching research question: How does sense of place shape a teacher’s orientation to their profession? My first chapter empirically answers the question: Is there a relationship between place attachment and measured aspects of teacher quality? In an attempt to qualify the strength of bond between a teacher and his or her community, I adapted a place attachment instrument developed by Raymond, Brown, and Weber (2010). Each teacher is given a place attachment score informed by their responses on the 21-item survey. Next, I correlated these scores to other aspects of teacher quality …

Is There More Than One Way? Examining Alternative Pathway Teacher Effectiveness Through The Experiences And Perceptions Of Principals In Urban, Low-Socioeconomic Schools In Oklahoma, Julianne Hennessy Denton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher quality continues to be recognized as one of the strongest predictors of student success and school improvement. The quality of an educator is also critical to being able to address the growing achievement and opportunity gap in schools and communities that are marked by concentrated poverty. Therefore, principals are under significant pressure to recruit, train, support, and retain highly qualified teachers, so all students have access to quality education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to generate knowledge of alternative pathway teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom from an administrative point of view, specifically in urban, low socioeconomic, …

Teacher Quality And Teacher Education: A Critical Policy Analysis Of International And Australian Policies., Parlo Singh, Frances Hoyte, Stephen Heimans, Beryl Exley

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article examines how the ‘teacher quality’ agenda, evident in the globalised discourse on education policy, constructs changes to teachers’ work and teacher education. We undertake a critical policy analysis of two reports from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), addressing three issues. First, we discuss the global and national context in which ‘teacher quality’ policies have emerged. We examine implications of policy enactment in Australia and analyse how the OECD documents construct understandings of teacher quality. We link our analysis to a recent government inquiry into the teaching profession in Australia, looking specifically at the impact of …

Case Study Of A Principal-Directed Mentorship Program For Untrained Primary School Teachers, Joycelyn Archibald Pennyfeather

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Issues relating to teacher quality are being discussed internationally. Locally, teachers in St. Kitts and Nevis are hired to teach without any formal training, resulting in poor quality teaching. The problem studied was the poor-quality performance of first-year teachers in a rural primary school of St. Kitts and Nevis. One school principal introduced a mentoring program in an effort to improve teacher quality. The purpose of this study was to explore educators’ perceptions of the implementation of that principal-directed mentoring program and make suggestions for its improvement. Guided by Chinnasamy’s concept of mentoring as andragogy in action, this study examined …

Teacher Perspectives On The Use Of The Australian Professional Standards For Teachers As Part Of Their Evaluation Process, Damien Barry, Donna Pendergast, Katherine Main

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher effectiveness has a powerful impact on student performance and a teacher evaluation process that supports professional growth can be a key lever for improving teaching quality. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perspectives on the use of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, when used as part of their evaluation process, and, to determine what other factors may need to be considered in the design and implementation of such a process. A single case study of a school in Victoria, Australia was conducted, using a pre and post interview approach with six teachers. Responses were analysed …

District Leadership Building Principal Capacity In Improving Teacher Quality: Implementing Effective Professional Development, Karen Mitterling Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

This article focuses on lessons learned from district implementation of Utah Senate Bill 64 passed in 2012, which requires large-scale reform in evaluating teacher quality. This statemandated reformation effort requires all principals to evaluate teacher performance using new state teacher standards adopted in 2011. District implementation efforts used effective professional development that included peer collaboration and practicum experiences as evidenced by successfully certifying all principals in the evaluation of teacher performance. Twenty-seven principals representing nine districts were selected for this qualitative study. Data was collected during a one-on-one interview with each principal to gather insights about district efforts to prepare …

Do Graduate Level Content Degrees Matter? An Analysis Of The Effect Of Content Area Master's Degrees On Student Achievement, Christopher Lee Nail

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

This study addresses teacher education level and the impact it has on student achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine whether there are any differences in student achievement between students taught by teachers with advanced degrees in a specific content area and those students taught by teachers with only a bachelor’s degree or those with a master’s degree outside the subject area. The study examined ninth and tenth grade ACT Aspire student achievement data collected from teachers who hold a master’s degree in a subject-related content area and teachers who do not hold a master’s degree in a …

Teacher Hiring: The Disconnect Between Principals’ Perceptions, Processes And Research Based Best Practice, Laurie A. Kimbrel

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Student success is highly dependent on teacher quality, therefore; it is imperative that principals hire only the most outstanding teachers. This study investigated school hiring processes in order to determine the extent to which research based practices are utilized in districts of various configurations. Data was gathered using a 42 question electronic survey e-mailed to principals in ten states in the southern and western regions of the United States. Preliminary analysis indicates that in all types of districts the principal is the primary decision maker about the structure of the hiring processes including candidate selection. The vast majority of principals …

Mathematics Instruction In Pre-Service Undergraduate Programs In The State Of Maine, Jessica Cefalo Osich

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary pre-service teacher preparation in mathematics offered in undergraduate education programs in the state of Maine. The research questions were: How many mathematics courses are undergraduate programs requiring pre-service teachers to take for their baccalaureate education? Within the courses that are required, how many are mathematical content courses, and how many are mathematical pedagogical courses? How does a knowledgeable informant characterize the quality of elementary pre-service teacher preparation in mathematics at their institutions? And, how do faculty evaluate student-teacher competence in math preparation? The conceptual framework was based on three core ideas: …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (Team), Kelley Harrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the perceptions of Pre K through 8th grade Tennessee teachers about the impact of Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) evaluations on classroom instructional strategies, teacher planning, professional development and teacher effectiveness. Participants in this study were PK-8 public school teachers from 2 districts in Northeast Tennessee who had been evaluated using the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM). Specifically this research was guided by 8 research questions on perceived changes in instructional strategies utilized by teachers, the perceived changes in teacher planning practices and lesson preparation, the perceived changes in professional development …

Edtpa As A Tool To Measure Teacher Readiness: A Case Study On First Year Teachers, Dr. Molly Zhou

Georgia Educational Researcher

Reference MS#1124

The case study intends to study edTPA as a measure for teacher readiness. The case study examined four first year teachers’ edTPA experience, performance, and their perspectives on edTPA as a tool to measure teacher readiness in light of their first year teaching experiences and TKES assessment results. Three research questions were used to guide the study: What were first year teachers’ edTPA experience and performance? What were first year teachers’ TKES assessment results? What were first year teachers’ perspectives on edTPA as a tool to measure teacher readiness? Four first year teachers in north GA participated in …

Are Teacher Pensions "Hazardous" For Schools?, Patten Priestley Mahler

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

I use a detailed panel of data and a unique modeling specification to explore how public schoolteachers respond to the incentives embedded in North Carolina’s retirement system. Like most public-sector retirement plans, North Carolina’s teacher pension implicitly encourages teachers to continue working until they are eligible for their pension benefits, and then leave soon afterward. I find that teachers with higher levels of quality, as measured by a teacher’s value-added to her students’ achievement test scores, are more responsive to the “pull” of teacher pensions. Younger teachers, those with higher salaries, and nonwhite teachers are also more likely to stay …

Assuring The Quality Of Future Victorian Teachers : Acer Response To Det Discussion Paper: Working Together To Shape Teacher Education In Victoria, Lawrence Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

ACER’s response to the August 2016 discussion paper on teacher education titled, 'Working Together To Shape Teacher Education in Victoria' released by James Merlino, the Minister for Education and Training in Victoria. This response addresses focus areas including: Raising the quality and status of teaching: a profession of choice Ensuring high quality pathways into the profession Improving course quality Developing Early Career Teachers

Assuring The Quality Of Future Victorian Teachers : Acer Response To Det Discussion Paper: Working Together To Shape Teacher Education In Victoria, Lawrence Ingvarson

Teaching standards and teacher evaluation

ACER’s response to the August 2016 discussion paper on teacher education titled, 'Working Together To Shape Teacher Education in Victoria' released by James Merlino, the Minister for Education and Training in Victoria. This response addresses focus areas including:

1. Raising the quality and status of teaching: a profession of choice
2. Ensuring high quality pathways into the profession
3. Improving course quality
4. Developing Early Career Teachers

Out-Of-Field Teaching In Australian Secondary Schools, Paul R. Weldon

Dr Paul Weldon

This report considers the extent to which Australian secondary school teachers are teaching subjects other than those in which they have specialised. It provides new data on the extent of out-of-field teaching overall and in a selection of subject areas, based on further analysis of the 2013 Staff in Australia’s Schools (SiAS) survey. In addition, the report uses new questions in the SiAS 2013 survey to assess the proportion of students affected by out-of-field teaching in selected subjects.

Improving Student Outcomes? You Have To Be In It For The Long Haul, Lawrence C. Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

The Invisible Schism: Teachers’ And Administrators’ Differing Perceptions Of Education Reforms, Sarah Melvoin Bridich

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Faculty Scholarship

This study examined teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of education reforms, focusing on a state legislated education bill that altered teacher evaluations. A mixed-method design, including an electronic survey, was used to gather perceptions of Colorado Senate Bill 10-191: Great Teachers and Leaders Act from teachers and administrators in the Rockies School District (RSD), as well as these two groups’ general perceptions of teacher evaluations, education reforms, and change. Results revealed that teachers collectively hold similar views of education reforms, as do administrators; however, how each group perceives these elements of education policy and reform differs significantly. Both teachers and administrators …

Out-Of-Field Teaching In Australian Secondary Schools, Paul R. Weldon

Policy Insights

This report considers the extent to which Australian secondary school teachers are teaching subjects other than those in which they have specialised. It provides new data on the extent of out-of-field teaching overall and in a selection of subject areas, based on further analysis of the 2013 Staff in Australia’s Schools (SiAS) survey. In addition, the report uses new questions in the SiAS 2013 survey to assess the proportion of students affected by out-of-field teaching in selected subjects.

Elevating Teacher Quality: Teacher Tenure Reform Applying Lessons From Other Fields, Kevin M. Martin

Dissertations

The increased pressure of changing how teacher evaluations are conducted and increasing the level of teacher quality are pushing schools to reform. Due to changes in state mandates and federal laws, schools are required to demonstrate teacher effectiveness and student growth in teacher evaluations to assure students are receiving top quality education. Some districts in the state of Missouri have begun to reform their process to address 21st century teaching approaches and strategies. While examining and applying lessons from civil service and institutions of higher learning, aspects of tenure and post-tenure review can be applied to public k-12 school districts …

Measuring Teacher Conscientiousness And Its Impact On Students: Insight From The Measures Of Effective Teaching Longitudinal Database, Albert Cheng, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Although research has been unable to find strong links between observable teacher characteristics and a teacher’s ability to improve student achievement, it has generally not considered the role that teacher non-cognitive skills play in affecting student outcomes. In this article, we validate several novel performance-task measures of teacher conscientiousness based upon the effort that teachers exert completing a survey and use these measures to examine the role that teacher conscientiousness plays in affecting both student test scores and student non-cognitive skills. We conduct our analysis using the Measure of Effective Teaching Longitudinal Database where teachers were randomly assigned to their …

Using A Resiliency Perspective To Inform Bilingual Teachers’ Classroom Inquiry, Brooke Kandel-Cisco, Yolanda Padrón

Brooke Kandel-Cisco

Recent research has established the importance of teacher quality in the academic success or failure of students (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Sanders, Wright, & Horn, 2004) and policy initiatives, such as NCLB, have propelled the issue of teacher quality to the forefront of educational reform in the U.S. While No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has been successful in establishing minimum teacher quality standards for general educators, the act has failed to highlight the importance of quality for teachers of second language learners (Nieto. 2003). Teacher quality is especially impo1tant for second language learners. both because of the pedagogic and Iinguistic complexities inherent …

Teacher Quality And Well-Being: A Q-Squared Analysis, Lisa Keovongsa, Macleans A. Geo-Jaja

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Literature review argues that teachers are the most important element in determining the quality of a national education system (Gopinathan 2006). While quality education is often defined in the narrower sense of measurable outcomes, teachers still play an equally significant role in achieving widespread quality through developing critical thinking skills and instilling the value of education. In the context of Cambodia, education appears at a deficit in consideration of the country’s high drop out rates and low percentages of passing graduation. With this in mind, I decided to examine Cambodian teacher quality and their perspectives on well-being as well as …

Why And How Teachers Transform Their Instruction, Barbara J. Light

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In his 2011 book The highly qualified teacher: What is teacher quality and how do we measure it? Strong argues that as a profession, education has struggled to measure teacher quality and therefore cannot provide a proven system to consistently develop high-quality teachers. In order to move toward an operational definition of teacher quality, Kennedy, in her 2008 journal article entitled “Contributions of qualitative research to research on teacher qualifications” suggests that the causal mechanisms of the development of teachers who are identified as high-quality teachers must be researched, documented, and then used in teacher preparation and development. Instructional ability …

Time For Teaching To Establish Its Own Professional Certification Authority, Lawrence C. Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

The British Prime Minister David Cameron recently announced that his government would be supporting a proposal from the teaching profession to establish its own, teacher-led College of Teaching, fully independent of government. The announcement followed the release of a ‘Blueprint’ for an independent professional body developed by a broad cross-section of the education community, with professional certification as its core, unique function. The Blueprint provided the government with clear evidence of leadership at the level of the profession. This article argues that the teaching profession in Australia should work toward establishing its own blueprint for an Australian College of Teaching …

Comparisons Of Student Perceptions Of Teacher's Performance In The Classroom: Using Parametric Anchoring Vignette Methods For Improving Comparability, Hana Vonkova, Gema Zamarro, Vera Deberg, Collin Hitt

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Self-reports are an indispensable source of information in education research but might be affected by reference group bias if the frame of reference (i.e. implicit standards), used to answer the questions, differs across students. The anchoring vignettes method was introduced, in other areas of social science, precisely to correct for this source of bias. However, studies that make use of this approach in education are rare and more research is needed to study its potential. This paper uses data from PISA 2012 to investigate the use of the parametric model of the anchoring vignettes method to correct for differential implicit …

The Preschool Puzzle: Exploring Variations In Early Childhood Education Teacher Quality Across States, Alice Rockswold

Political Science Honors Projects

There is a growing consensus in the early childhood education community that it is necessary to raise the qualifications of preschool teachers. Yet, little is known about why rigorous degree and training standards have advanced further in some states than others. In this analysis, I explore various political and demographic factors that might account for the uneven support for such standards, with special attention to the role of Head Start as a driver of quality, given its presence and variation in strength across states. Using longitudinal data from the National Institute of Early Childhood Education, I find weak evidence that …

Boosting Michigan's Economy Through Educational Improvements, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

Teacher-Based Scaffolding As A Teacher Professional Development Program In Indonesia, Bujang Rahman, Abdurrahman Abdurrahman, Budi Kadaryanto, Nurlaksana Eko Rusminto

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Improvement of teachers’ content knowledge has long been regarded as a priority in Indonesian school systems, and has been the goal for many teacher professional development programs. In this paper we report the evaluation of a professional development program to improve content knowledge for 147 Indonesian teachers. The teachers were divided into three experimental groups, and each group was treated to one of the three professional development models frequently used in developing countries. The results showed that all three models led to improvement in the teachers’ content knowledge; however, the teacher-based scaffolding model proved to be the most effective. In …

Teacher Allocation Policies And The Unbalanced Distribution Of Novice And Senior Teachers Across Regions In Turkey, Murat Ozoglu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Policies toward fostering a more balanced distribution of teacher quality have garnered considerable attention from researchers and policymakers around the world. This attention has been motivated largely by the widely acknowledged educational goal of providing quality education for all children. Equipped with similar policy concerns, this study examines the initial assignment of novice teachers and voluntary transfer of senior teachers to determine whether there is any kind of sorting pattern in the allocation of novice and experienced teachers to schools across regions, particularly across provinces, in Turkey. Using the entire initial teacher assignment and voluntary teacher transfer data in between …