2002 Beginning Teacher Study

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2002 Beginning Teacher Study
Comfort Y. Afolabi, M.P.A Winifred Nweke,
Ph.D Endya B. Stewart, Ph.D

• Educator Workforce Research Development
• Georgia Professional Standards Commission
• November 2003

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Purpose

• To investigate how beginning teachers perceive
  their readiness for the classroom, and how their
  school principals perceive the same.
• To investigate how beginning teachers rate their
  teacher preparation programs.

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Objective

• It is hoped that survey results will be used by
  teacher preparation and induction programs to
  help beginning teachers ease into their
  professional roles in the classroom with less
  difficulty.

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Whos Who

• Beginning Teachers are certified personnel who
  are in their first year of employment as
  teachers, not returning teachers or experienced
  out-of-state teachers new to school systems.
• Principals refer to school principals or their
  designees (e.g. assistant principals, or
  supervisors) who work directly with the beginning
  teachers and who completed the principal survey
  for each teacher.

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Methodology

• Questionnaires were completed on the internet by
  beginning teachers and school principals.
• Paper questionnaires were mailed and/or faxed to
  other personnel who had difficulty completing the
  survey online.
• Each survey consisted of 26 items on a four-point
  rating scale and three open-ended questions.

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Response

• A total of 981 principals and 1,357 beginning
  teachers completed the survey.
• Appropriate statistical analyses were performed
  on 986 teachers for whom the beginning teacher
  and corresponding principal survey were
  completed.

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Findings

• The highest percentages of beginning teachers
  were found in Gwinnett (5.2), DeKalb (4.9),
  Fulton (4.7), Forsyth (3.5), and Cobb (3.2)
  county school systems.
• Seventy-three percent (73.0) of beginning
  teachers received their teaching preparation from
  Georgia colleges, while twenty-seven percent
  (27.0) were from colleges outside of Georgia.

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Findings

• The top seven Georgia colleges from which
  respondents received their initial teacher
  preparation are
• University of Georgia - 9.6
• Georgia Southern University - 6.3
• Valdosta State University - 5.8
• Georgia State University - 5.1
• Kennesaw State University - 4.9
• State University of West Georgia - 4.6
• Mercer University - 4.5

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Findings

• Almost two-thirds (62.1) of the respondents were
  prepared through a traditional four-year teacher
  education program.
• Teachers most common certification areas were
  Early Childhood (34.6) Middle Grades (13.7)
  Social Science, Economics, Geography, History,
  Political Science (7.4) Interrelated Special
  Education (6.1) and Mathematics (6.5).

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Findings

• Teachers most common content areas were Early
  Childhood (24.0), Mental Retardation (10.3),
  Reading (8.8), English (8.0), and Social
  Studies Broad field (5.7).
• The top three content areas for which beginning
  teachers felt they needed additional preparation
  were Science Broad Field (10.0), Writing
  (9.7), and Mathematics (9.7).

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Findings

• The highest levels of non-readiness reported by
  teachers were in Science (11.5) and Social
  Science (7.4).
• Principals reported the highest percentages of
  non-readiness among beginning teachers in Middle
  Grades (11.9) and Interrelated Special Education
  (11.9).

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Additional Content Areas Most Requested by
Beginning Teachers For Additional Training
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Findings

• The most needed skill areas beginning teachers
  received in their teacher preparation were
• Managing student behavior -18.1
• Accommodating and dealing with diverse
  instructional needs in the classroom -13.6
• Adequately meeting the instructional needs of
  diverse learners -12.1

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Findings

• Principals stated that teachers were most
  prepared in
• Accommodating and dealing with diverse
  instructional needs in the classroom - 24.1
• Adequately meeting the instructional needs of
  diverse learners -16.9
• Managing student behavior -11.6

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Findings

• Skill areas for which teachers stated they needed
  additional preparation/practice were
• Managing student behavior -16.5
• Strategies for motivating students -11.9
• Accommodating and dealing with diverse
  instructional needs in the classroom -10.6

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Findings

• Principals stated that beginning teachers
  readiness could have been enhanced by additional
  preparation in the following skill areas
• Accommodating and dealing with diverse
  instructional needs in the classroom -10.8
• Managing student behavior -10.3

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Findings

• The majority of beginning teachers (93.2) rated
  themselves ready for the classroom.
• Principals rating of teachers overall readiness
  (91.4) corresponded very closely to teachers
  self rating of the same.

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Principals and Beginning Teachers Rating on
Teachers Overall Readiness
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Readiness of Beginning Teachers -Georgia
Preparation vs. Out-of-State
Beginning teachers level of readiness for the
classroom did not differ on the basis of whether
they were prepared in or outside Georgia.
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Conclusion

• Both beginning teachers and their principals
  agreed that the beginning teachers were ready
  overall for the classroom.

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Conclusion

• Both principals and beginning teachers identified
  the management of student behavior as a skill
  area in which teachers needed additional
  preparation.
• There is a high and positive association between
  beginning teachers and their principals
  perception of teacher readiness.

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Conclusion

• Comments provided by the beginning teachers
  suggest that the majority felt well prepared by
  their colleges, but at the same time classroom
  experience was the best teacher.
• Beginning teachers also emphasized that a good
  school support system facilitated their
  transition into the teaching profession.