Date of Award

3-31-2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

School of Education

First Advisor

James Worthington, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Beth LaForce, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Kathleen Gathercoal, Ph.D.

Abstract

Indicators of the proficiency of teacher candidates at applying knowledge of child development to teaching and learning was examined to see if they predict the overall success of the candidates full-time student teaching. The assessment instrument, the Full-Time Student Teaching Summary Report (FSTSR), was found statistically reliable and suitable for further analysis. While it was found that selected measures of student performance, when taken together, significantly predict 92% of the score of overall student teaching performance, it was also found that this may be misleading because of the problem of multicollinearity in the predictor variables. A secondary hypothesis was formed that the underlying structure of the FSTSR measured only one central property. A factor analysis did not support the single factor hypothesis. The thirty-nine items on the FSTSR statistically cluster around three factors, identified as 1) classroom teaching, 2) professional dispositions, and 3) enlist and facilitate student support. Fifty-six percent of the items on the measure cluster around the first factor designated as “classroom teaching”. Most of the items on the assessment instrument are measuring, for the most part, a central property identified as classroom teaching. While the independent variables significantly predict the criterion, there is little confidence that they are measuring developmentally informed practice. Suggestions for modifying the measure to make it more meaningful are discussed.

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