Degree Name

EdD (Doctor of Education)

Program

Educational Leadership

Date of Award

12-2010

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Catherine H. Glascock

Committee Members

James H. Lampley, Donald W. Good, Cecil N. Blankenship

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between the length of student-teaching experiences and new teacher efficacy. Each year thousands of prospective new teachers endure the interview processes to be hired, complete induction programs, and begin their careers only to determine that the teaching profession is not what they assumed it would be. Local school districts spend thousands of dollars each year on orientation for these new teachers only to find them resigning within the first 5 years of service. Increasing new teacher efficacy is imperative to reducing new teacher attrition rates. The more student-teaching experiences an individual collects before entering the teaching profession may assist an individual in being prepared to contemplate the decision to enter the workforce.

The purpose of this quantitative study is to determine the effects of the length of student-teaching experiences on new teacher efficacy. Teacher efficacy has been correlated with a variety of factors including student-teaching experiences; however, there is virtually no research comparing the length of the student-teaching experience and those teachers' self-efficacy. This study also seeks to determine if demographic features including gender, age, ethnicity, and years of professional experience affect the correlation.

The participants in this study were teachers with 5 or fewer years of experience and working in Virginia public school systems throughout the state.

Findings of the study did not reveal a significant relationship between the length of student-teaching experiences and new teacher efficacy, although several factors that were not controlled for could have affected the outcomes.

Document Type

Dissertation - unrestricted

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

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