Scheduled for Pedagogy I Posters, Wednesday, April 10, 2002, 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM, San Diego Convention Center: Exhibit Hall


Teacher Preparation Program Analysis: Coding Student Perceptions as Reported in Journal Entries

Leah Holland Fiorentino, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY

Research on the process of teacher education has been the subject of renewed interest at both national and international levels, and new initiatives have shown promising results. Specifically, at Adelphi University, data has been collected over an eight year period from graduating pre-service teachers. The results of the study were compiled at two separate collection points, once after the first four year treatment and then again after the eighth year of the treatment. The descriptive results display the qualitative and quantitative differences in perceptions of students completing the Adelphi University Physical Education Teacher Education program during the initial phases, as well as, after the program had become institutionalized. Data were collected from reflective journals that students maintained throughout their teacher preparation program at the university. Reflective journals are a requirement for all PE Content-Specific courses, field-based placements during the third year in the program, and throughout student teaching. The data were analyzed through a qualitative analysis program, The Ethnograph (Seidel, Kjolseth & Seymour, 1988) and then reviewed by the Teacher Development Team for content validity. Four large categories emerged through the qualitative analysis process; Contextual Factors (related to school site placements); Identity Development Factors (related to the changing role university students played during their school site placements); Technical Factors (related to teacher strategies, procedures, characteristics, and school class content); and, Thematic Factors (related to new program components and curricular structures at the university), The categories generated through the qualitative analysis were then quantified and compared across each of the four year phases of data collection. At the end the first phase of the study, the number of student journal entries shifted from a majority focus on the Technical Factors and Contextual Factors to an emphasis on Identity Development Factors and Thematic Factors. This trend reflected by the student focus in journal entries remained constant over the entire second phase of the study. Theoretical aspects of program change and practical examples of the program components that reflect changes at Adelphi University have been previously presented (Fiorentino & Barrette, NAPEHE, 1993; and Barrette and Fiorentino, AIESEP, Summer 1993: Fiorentino, Barrette & Kowalski, AIESEP, Summer 1994). This eight year research study describes the shifts in student perceptions within the inductively-generated categories, thought to be associated with exposure to curricular components (Infusion, Integration and Induction) (See Barrette, Fiorentino, and Kowalski, 1993; Fiorentino, Barrette, and Kowalski, 1993).
Keyword(s): college level issues, curriculum development, professional preparation

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