The Preparation and Education of First-Year Teachers: A Case Study

Authors

Jennifer A. Tygret, University of Colorado, Colorado SpringsFollow

Abstract

The purpose of this case study was to provide a policy analysis of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) standard that requires teacher preparation programs to follow their recent graduates during their first years of teaching to demonstrate their positive impact on student growth, satisfaction with their preparation, and effective teaching practices. Using the Colorado Teacher Quality Standards as a conceptual framework, this qualitative study used interviews and observations at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to discover five first-year teachers’ perceptions of their preparation, needs, level of confidence in all areas of teaching, and the ways in which they could have been better or more prepared for the classroom. Their annual teacher evaluations provided insight to their evidence of effective teaching and impact on student growth. Overall, the first-year teachers felt prepared for their first year of teaching and demonstrated effective teaching strategies, but they needed more training on meeting the needs of students with diverse abilities, as well as how to successfully implement curriculum. Their greatest success during the year was experiencing student growth.

Keywords

CAEP, First-Year Teachers, Teacher Perceptions, Teacher Preparation Programs

Author Bio(s)

Jennifer A. Tygret received her PhD in Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She has taught and supervised student teachers in the UCCS Department of Teaching and Learning and Inclusive Early Childhood Education program. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher for a National Science Foundation grant. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: jatygret@gmail.com.

Publication Date

3-22-2018

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3306

Recommended APA Citation

Tygret, J. A. (2018). The Preparation and Education of First-Year Teachers: A Case Study. The Qualitative Report, 23(3), 710-729. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3306