| This mixed methods study examined the perspectives of first year teachers regarding their teacher certification programs. Teachers from traditional, field-based, and alternative certification programs were surveyed using the Program Reflections Survey from the University of Memphis and interviewed to ascertain how first year teachers perceived their recently completed teacher certification programs. The major focus of this study was to obtain data from first year teachers about the quality of their teacher preparation in the areas of content knowledge, instruction, assessment, technology, diversity, classroom management, learning environments, and communication. It is intended that information gleaned from this study will be beneficial to both teacher preparation programs and school districts. Much research has focused on the attitudes of prospective teachers about experiences they encountered during their certification programs. Rarely however, has research focused on the quality of particular components of teacher preparation programs. To help certification programs better serve teacher candidates, research that describes how graduates view specific elements of their preparation to teach is needed. Information gathered from this study will also be useful to leaders of school districts in that based on the perceived strengths and weaknesses of teacher preparation programs, staff development can be designed to meet the needs of future beginning teachers. |
