Assessing The Pre Service Clinical Practice Experiences Of Practicing Teachers

Recent emphasis on teacher effectiveness and accountability has led the education policy, research, and practitioner communities to take a closer look at the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs, motivated in large part by concerns about program quality. Several national- and state-level studies have found new teachers to be underprepared with respect to needed knowledge and skills, based on reports by school principals, education school faculty and deans, and program graduates themselves (Kiuhara, Graham, & Hawken, 2009; Levine, 2006; Missouri Schools of Education Research Project, 2005). For example, teachers in their first three years of teaching who graduated from 17 universities reported that they lacked knowledge and skills related to content pedagogy, lesson design and preparation, classroom management, and other aspects of teaching (Chesley & Jordan, 2012). Assessments of teacher preparation programs have also identified substantial diversity within and across traditional and alternative programs, including variation in curricula, pedagogical preparation, course requirements, textbook quality, faculty teaching assignments, and student teaching experiences (Greenberg, Pomerance, & Walsh, 2011; Greenberg, Walsh, & McKee, 2014; Ingersoll, Merrill, & May, 2014; Levine, 2006). Members of REL Central's Educator Effectiveness Research Alliance, including state education agency and teacher preparation program administrators and faculty, expressed the need for better information about the implementation and effectiveness of teacher preparation programming to guide policy and practice. Given concerns about the variation in the clinical practice component of teacher preparation programs and evidence suggesting that this is an aspect of program implementation with potential to affect teacher and student outcomes, clinical practice is an area that warrants additional research. To address this need and support informational needs among members of REL Central's Educator Effectiveness Research Alliance, this study was designed to collect descriptive data about this important aspect of teacher preparation. The study addresses the following research questions:(1) What are the characteristics of clinical practice in traditional teacher preparation programs completed by first-year public school teachers in Missouri; and (2) How does clinical practice in traditional teacher preparation programs completed by first year public school teachers in Missouri vary by certificate type? This information is designed to inform conversations among state administrators in REL Central states about emerging state standards for teacher preparation, such as what constitutes minimum implementation of priority components. Findings from this study may also prompt teacher preparation program administrators in Missouri to engage in discussion about how to improve programs, by examining how their programs compare to others in the state. The collaborative process used in this study for survey development, data collection, and dissemination of findings offer a good model for researchers and educators who wish to engage in similar work. [SREE documents are structured abstracts of SREE conference symposium, panel, and paper or poster submissions.].