DOCSLIB.ORG

Teachers' Perceptions of Teach for America Training and Classroom Management in Urban Middle Schools Tenechia Platt Walden University

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Teachers' Perceptions of Teach for America Training and Classroom Management in Urban Middle Schools Tenechia Platt Walden University Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2017 Teachers' Perceptions of Teach for America Training and Classroom Management in Urban Middle Schools Tenechia Platt Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Education Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University COLLEGE OF EDUCATION This is to certify that the doctoral study by Tenechia L. Platt has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Donna Graham, Committee Chairperson, Education Faculty Dr. Jeanette Edlow, Committee Member, Education Faculty Dr. Paul Englesberg, University Reviewer, Education Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2016 Abstract Teachers’ Perceptions of Teach for America Training and Classroom Management in Urban Middle Schools by Tenechia Platt EdS Leadership, Nova Southeastern University, 2009 MEd, Mercer University, 2007 BS, Albany State University, 2001 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University January 2017 Abstract Teach for America (TFA) is an alternative certification program that recruits and trains college graduates and places them in urban public school settings to combat teacher shortage and to decrease achievement disparities between urban and suburban school districts. Teachers prepared by the TFA program have struggled to establish and maintain effective classroom management. The purpose of this case study was to explore TFA teachers’ perceptions of the emphasis placed on classroom management during their TFA training and to identify strategies that were taught to assist TFA teachers working in urban middle schools. The conceptual framework for the study was comprised of Bandura’s self-efficacy and culturally responsive classroom management. The sample consisted of 10 TFA teachers employed in a public school district for 2 years or less. Data were gathered through teacher interviews. Constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the data, and the TFA documents were used to cross-reference the analysis of the interview data . According to study results, TFA teachers perceived the TFA preparation program to lack training and practical classroom management strategies. To address this need for additional training about culturally responsive teaching and cultural awareness, a 3-month professional development training designed. This project provides a plan to assist TFA teachers with understanding the culture of urban students and being able to implement applicable classroom management strategies. The project could enhance cultural awareness for TFA teachers in the TFA teacher training program and improve the area of classroom management. Teachers’ Perceptions of Teach for America Training and Classroom Management in Urban Middle Schools by Tenechia Platt EdS Leadership, Nova Southeastern University, 2009 MEd, Mercer University, 2007 BS, Albany State University, 2001 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University January 2017 Table of Contents Section 1: The Problem ...................................................................................................1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Definition of the Problem ....................................................................................... 6 The Local Problem ......................................................................................................... 8 Rationale ............................................................................................................... 10 Definitions of the Terms ....................................................................................... 11 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................... 13 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 15 Review of the Literature ....................................................................................... 16 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................. 16 Review of the Broader Problem ................................................................ 26 Alternative Certification: Teach for America ........................................... 28 Other Alternative Certification Programs ................................................. 30 Classroom Management............................................................................ 34 Classroom Management Practices ............................................................ 35 Classroom Management in Urban Schools ............................................... 41 Alternative Certification and Classroom Management ............................. 44 Implications........................................................................................................... 47 Summary ............................................................................................................... 48 Section 2: The Methodology .........................................................................................50 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 50 i Qualitative Research Design and Approach ......................................................... 51 Qualitative Research Design ..................................................................... 51 Justification of Design .............................................................................. 51 Case Study Approach ................................................................................ 52 Participant Selection and Protection of Participants’ Rights ................................ 53 Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 56 Trustworthiness ......................................................................................... 58 Role of the Researcher .............................................................................. 58 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 59 Data Analysis Results ........................................................................................... 62 Research Question 1 ................................................................................. 63 Research Question 2 ................................................................................. 76 Research Question 3 ................................................................................. 80 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 89 Section 3: The Project ...................................................................................................91 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 91 Project Goals ......................................................................................................... 91 Rationale ............................................................................................................... 92 Review of the Literature ....................................................................................... 93 Introduction ............................................................................................... 93 TFA Preparation Training ......................................................................... 93 Cultural Awareness in Teacher Training Programs .................................. 95 ii Professional Development ...................................................................... 100 Project Description.............................................................................................. 102 Resources and Existing Support ............................................................. 103 Barriers and Solutions ............................................................................. 104 Implementation and Timetable ............................................................... 105 Roles and Responsibilities of Student and Others .................................. 106 Project Evaluation ............................................................................................... 106 Project Implications ............................................................................................ 108 Local Community ................................................................................... 108 Far Reaching ........................................................................................... 109 Section 4: Reflections and Conclusions ......................................................................110 Introduction ........................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Teach for America Report Contents Program Description1 Overview P
    What Works Clearinghouse™ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WWC Intervention Report A summary of findings from a systematic review of the evidence Teacher Training, Evaluation, and Compensation August 2016 Teach For America Report Contents Program Description1 Overview p. 1 Program Information p. 3 Teach For America (TFA) is a highly selective route to teacher certifica- tion that aims to place non-traditionally trained teachers in high-need Research Summary p. 4 public schools. Many TFA teachers hold bachelors’ degrees from Effectiveness Summary p. 6 2 selective colleges and universities, in fields outside of education. References p. 10 TFA teachers commit to teach for at least 2 years. TFA teachers Research Details for Each Study p. 16 receive 5–7 weeks of in-person training over the summer before they Outcome Measures for begin teaching, then continue to receive professional development Each Domain p. 28 and one-on-one coaching from TFA while teaching, in addition to Findings Included in the Rating support provided by their schools and districts.3 As full-time employ- for Each Outcome Domain p. 30 ees of the public schools where they work, TFA teachers receive the Supplemental Findings for same salary and benefits as other first- or second-year teachers in Each Outcome Domain p. 35 their school or district. Endnotes p. 41 4, 5 Research Rating Criteria p. 45 The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) identified seven studies of Glossary of Terms p. 46 teachers trained through TFA that both fall within the scope of the Teacher Training, Evaluation, and Compensation topic area and meet This intervention report presents WWC group design standards.6 Three studies meet WWC group design findings from a systematic review standards without reservations, and four studies meet WWC group of TFA conducted using the WWC Procedures and Standards design standards with reservations.
    [Show full text]
  • Teach for America Impact Estimates on Nontested Student Outcomes
    NATIONAL CENTER for ANALYSIS of LONGITUDINAL DATA in EDUCATION RESEARCH TRACKING EVERY STUDENT’S LEARNING EVERY YEAR A program of research by the American Institutes for Research with Duke University, Northwestern University, Stanford University, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Texas at Dallas, and University of Washington Teach For America Impact Estimates on Nontested Student Outcomes Ben Backes Michael Hansen WORKING PAPER 146 • OCTOBER 2015 Teach For America Impact Estimates on Nontested Student Outcomes Ben Backes American Institutes for Research Michael Hansen American Institutes for Research Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. 2 Abstract ................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 4 Teachers’ Contributions to Student Nontest Outcomes ................................... 6 TFA Background in M-DCPS ............................................................................ 7 Data ....................................................................................................................... 8 Empirical Strategy ............................................................................................... 9 Results ................................................................................................................. 16 Conclusion
    [Show full text]
  • MEMORANDUM January 18, 2018
    MEMORANDUM January 18, 2018 TO: Gloria Cavazos Chief Human Resources Officer FROM: Carla Stevens Assistant Superintendent, Research and Accountability SUBJECT: TEACH FOR AMERICA PROGRAM EVALUATION, 2017 Since 1991, Houston Independent School District (HISD) and Teach for America (TFA) have maintained a twenty-five year partnership. The primary goal of that partnership is to assist the district with filling high priority vacant teaching positions in low-income schools. The purpose of this evaluation is to summarize the frequency and effectiveness of TFA corps members in HISD from 2012–2013 to 2016–2017. Key findings include: • Since 2012–2013, 36 percent (N=97) of the 267 low-income schools in HISD hired at least one TFA corps member for at least one year. TFA corps members have made up ten percent or less of the total number of new teachers hired at the beginning of each school year. • Shifting the cost of the annual fee for a TFA teacher from the district to the hiring campus appears to have had a limited impact on hiring trends. The number of TFA corps members hired in HISD has declined since 2012–2013, with the greatest decrease in TFA teacher hires occurring between 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, one year before the budget changes. • Analysis of the 2015–2016 new teacher cohort showed similar proportions of retained TFA and non-TFA teachers with Effective and Highly Effective Instructional Practice ratings in their first year of teaching. Though TFA teachers were proportionally rated as more effective than non-TFA teachers in their second and third year of teaching, TFA teachers had higher turnover rates compared to non-TFA teachers in their third year of teaching and years thereafter.
    [Show full text]
  • Today, All Children: Can Teach for America Bridge the Achievement Gap?
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Honors Theses (PPE) Philosophy, Politics and Economics 2008 Today, All Children: Can Teach for America Bridge the Achievement Gap? Sonia (Pascal) Steinway University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/ppe_honors Part of the Education Policy Commons, Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Social Policy Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons, and the Urban Education Commons Steinway, Sonia (Pascal), "Today, All Children: Can Teach for America Bridge the Achievement Gap?" (2008). Honors Theses (PPE). Paper 18. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/ppe_honors/18 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Today, All Children: Can Teach for America Bridge the Achievement Gap? Abstract Since Teach for America's founding in 1989, it has weathered a number of criticisms: could young, well- intentioned corps members unknowingly harm children by virtue of a lack of experience in teaching and unfamiliarity with poverty-stricken, primarily Black and Latino communities? Would a two year time commitment destabilize the already unpredictable lives of poor children? Can a program recruit good teachers, even if it does not require rigorous training or experience with children? And will more educational advocates solve the seemingly intractable problems of low-income schools, if those that already exist have
    [Show full text]
  • Tfa in the Ms Delta 1 Draft
    RUNNING HEAD: TFA IN THE MS DELTA 1 DRAFT: DO NOT CITE WITHOUT AUTHOR PERMISSION Teach for America Placement and Teacher Vacancies: Evidence from the Mississippi Delta F. Chris Curran, PhD Assistant Professor of Public Policy [email protected] UMBC School of Public Policy 1000 Hilltop Circle Room 411 Public Policy Building Baltimore, MD 21250 RUNNING HEAD: TFA IN THE MS DELTA 2 Introduction Teach for America (TFA) is one of the most prominent and controversial teacher preparation programs in the country. Established over two and a half decades ago, TFA now places over 6,000 teachers annually in regions spanning the entire nation (Teach for America, 2013). TFA utilizes an alternative approach to teacher training and certification in which corps members, most of whom are recent college graduates, take part in a five week summer institute before becoming full-time teachers of record in classrooms. Though TFA teachers represent a small portion of the nation’s teaching force, the organization and its teachers receive considerable media coverage, have prompted the formation of other alternative routes to teaching (such as the New Teacher Project), and have become a major voice in education policy. While TFA was initially viewed as a source of teachers for hard to staff schools, their rapid expansion over the last couple of decades has resulted in the presence of TFA teachers in districts and schools that do not face the same level of staffing challenges. As a consequence, many traditionally trained teachers and the schools of education that train them have come to view TFA as a threat to their jobs.
    [Show full text]
  • Teach for America's Preferential Treatment: School District Contracts
    SPECIAL ISSUE Teach For America: Research on Politics, Leadership, Race, and Education Reform education policy analysis archives A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal Arizona State University Volume 24 Number 15 February 8th, 2016 ISSN 1068-2341 Teach For America’s Preferential Treatment: School District Contracts, Hiring Decisions, and Employment Practices T. Jameson Brewer University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign & Kerry Kretchmar Carroll University & Beth Sondel North Carolina State University & Sarah Ishmael University of Wisconsin-Madison & Meghan McGlinn Manfra North Carolina State University United States Journal website: http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ Manuscript received: 14/4/2015 Facebook: /EPAAA Revisions received: 28/1/2016 Twitter: @epaa_aape Accepted: 3/2/2016 Education Policy Analysis Archives, Vol. 24 No.15 2 Citation: Brewer, T. J., Kretchmar, K., Sondel, B., Ishmael, S., & Manfra, M. M. (2016). Teach For America’s preferential treatment: School district contracts, hiring decisions, and employment practices. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24(15). http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.1923 This article is part of EPAA/AAPE’s Special Issue on Teach For America: Research on Politics, Leadership, Race, and Education Reform, guest edited by Tina Trujillo and Janelle Scott. Abstract: Teach For America (TFA) began in 1990 as an organization purportedly interested in working towards ameliorating a national teacher shortage by sending its corps members into urban and rural schools. In the decades that followed, especially during and immediately following a nationwide onslaught of teacher layoffs instigated by the 2008 Great Recession, teaching shortages no longer exist in many of the districts TFA continues to place corps members.
    [Show full text]
  • An Effective Emergency Teaching 21P.; Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Associ
    C)OCUMENT RESUME 1 ED 405 331 SP 037 214 AUTHOR Tatel, Edith S. TITLE Teach for America: An Effective Emergency Teaching Corps. PUB DATE 97 NOTE 21p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (49th, Phoenix, AZ, February 26-March 1, 1997). PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) Speeches/Conference Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Alternative Teacher Certification; *Beginning Teachers; College Graduates; Elementary Secondary Education; Rural Schools; *Teacher Effectiveness; *Teacher Persistence; *Teacher Recruitment; Teacher Supply and Demand; Urban Schools IDENTIFIERS *Teach for America ABSTRACT Teach for America (TFA) is a national teacher corps of outstanding individuals who commit themselves to teach for 2 years in urban and rural areas that are experiencing persistent teacher shortages. TFA selects corps members through an intensive application process, operates inservice institutes to prepare them to enter the classroom, clusters them in placement sites, and establishes local offices in these areas to arrange for ongoing support and professional development. Ongoing professional development takes the form of support groups, workshops, and university or district programs that result in certification. Since 1990, TFA has placed 500 teachers annually in under-resourced classrooms. Despite some criticism of the quality of teaching by TFA teachers, surveys of students, parents, principals, and superintendents show ratings that are overwhelmingly positive. TFA retention rate is better in urban than in rural areas; in all areas TFA teacher retention is higher than that of other teachers in the same systems. TFA members' classes often show improvement on standardized tests far above that of other classes in the same school, and many TFA teachers are actively involved in providing extensive extra-curricular activities for their students.
    [Show full text]
  • Your HBCU Trains Leaders. Teach for America Needs Them
    Your HBCU Trains Leaders. TFA Teach For America Needs Them. Teach For America’s mission is to eliminate the educational inequity that divides our country along racial and socioeconomic lines. Teach For America recruits high achieving leaders to join our network of leaders (a corps) who all commit to teaching for two years in our nation’s highest need communities. Part of a broader movement, each corps member plays a critical role in creating social change and closing the achievement gap. We seek individuals with the experience, achievement, and leadership skills to join our corps and make an immediate impact in the lives of students in low-income communities. Teach For America recognizes that the students and alumni of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are uniquely positioned to have an additional, positive impact in the classroom and the community in which they may serve. Based on our experiences, we see that when teachers themselves are from under-represented racial backgrounds, they have the potential to have a profound additional impact. Like all corps members, they relentlessly push to make sure their students achieve academically, and they have the unique ability to represent for their students the potential for success in education and in life. Each year, Teach For America hears the desire and urgency of college students to be leaders and to give back to the community. By joining Teach For America, you will join a network of more than 7,300 corps members and nearly 17,000 alumni, outstanding leaders who change the lives of over 450,000 students around the country each year.
    [Show full text]
  • Teach for America: a Review of the Evidence
    Teach For America: A Review of the Evidence Julian Vasquez Heilig University of Texas at Austin Su Jin Jez, Ph.D. California State University, Sacramento June 2010 The Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice PO Box 1263 East Lansing, MI 48826 Phone: (517) 203-2940 Email: [email protected] Web Site: http://www.greatlakescenter.org Kevin Welner: Editor Patricia H. Hinchey: Academic Editor Erik Gunn: Managing Editor One of a series of policy briefs produced by the Education and the Public Interest Center (EPIC) at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Education Policy Research Unit (EPRU) at Arizona State University) with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. All EPIC/EPRU policy briefs are peer reviewed by members of the Editorial Review Board. For information on the board and its members, visit: http://epicpolicy.org/editorial-board. Teach For America: A Review of the Evidence Julian Vasquez Heilig, University of Texas at Austin Su Jin Jez, California State University, Sacramento Executive Summary Teach For America (TFA) aims to address teacher shortages by sending graduates from elite colleges, most of whom do not have a background in education, to teach in low-income rural and urban schools for a two-year commitment. The im- pact of these graduates is hotly debated by those who, on the one hand, see this as a way to improve the supply of teachers by enticing some of America’s top stu- dents into teaching and those who, on the other hand, see the program as a harm- ful dalliance into the lives of low-income students who most need highly trained and highly skilled teachers.
    [Show full text]
  • Teach for America – Texas Program Overview & Evolution, As Required by Texas Legislature, 84Th Regular Session HB1, Article III, Rider 50
    Teach For America – Texas Program Overview & Evolution, as required by Texas Legislature, 84th Regular Session HB1, Article III, Rider 50 Contact: Robert Carreon, [email protected] Teach For America – Texas, Report to the Texas Education Agency Page 1 of 48 Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary page 3 Vision, Mission & Our Theory of Change Clarification of Information included in Legislative Budget Board, Strategic Fiscal Review, 84th Legislative Session Timeline of Activities Summary of Activities Conclusions 2. Teacher & Education Professional Retention page 11 Articulation of Program Model Teach For America & Comparative Data 3. Efforts to Improve Retention: Past & Present page 17 Past Efforts to Improve Retention & Challenges Current Efforts to Improve Retention Region-Specific Activities Lessons Learned 4. Teach For America’s Finances page 33 Overview of Financial Model Program Expenses Non-Program Expenses 5. Conclusion page 38 Lessons Applicable to Other Teacher Preparation Organizations 6. Appendices page 40 A: America Institutes for Research External Evaluation: Retention (2016) B: Center for Research, Evaluation and Advancement of Teacher Education Report to Teach For America (2016) C: List of School Employers of Teach For America Alumni (2015-2016) D: Sources of Funds (2015-2016) & Expenditures (2015-2016) E: Charity Navigator Record & Research about Teach For America Teach For America – Texas, Report to the Texas Education Agency Page 2 of 48 1. Executive Summary Vision, Mission & Our Theory of Change Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding college graduates and professionals to make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity.
    [Show full text]
  • Findings from the 2019 Teach for America National Principal Survey
    Findings from the 2019 Teach For America National Principal Survey Authors John Wells Matthew Finster September 2019 Prepared for: Prepared by: Teach For America Westat 25 Broadway, 12th Floor An Employee-Owned Research Corporation® New York, NY 10004 1600 Research Boulevard Rockville, Maryland 20850-3129 (301) 251-1500 Contents Chapter Page Executive Summary ......................................................................................... vii 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Background ...................................................................................................... 1 Outline of This Report ..................................................................................... 3 2 Study Approach and Methods .......................................................................... 5 Instrument Development .................................................................................. 5 Institutional Review Board and School District Research Approval ............... 7 Survey Administration ..................................................................................... 7 Response Rates ................................................................................................ 8 3 Characteristics of Principals and Schools ........................................................ 9 Principal Characteristics .................................................................................. 9 Demographics ....................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • North Carolina Teacher Corps Final Report
    Consortium for Educational Research and Evaluation– North Carolina North Carolina Teacher Corps Final Report Impact, Qualitative Assessment, and Policy Recommendations Authors: Robert Maser, Avril Smart, Trip Stallings, and LaTricia Townsend The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, North Carolina State University Contributors: Malinda Faber and Daniel Stanhope The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, North Carolina State University Kevin Bastian Education Policy Initiative at Carolina, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill October 2014 General Disclaimer: The scope of work for the Consortium for Educational Research and Evaluation–North Carolina’s (CERE–NC’s) evaluation of the North Carolina Teacher Corps (NCTC) included a provision for evaluating the Race to the Top-funded expansion of Teach for America-Eastern North Carolina (TFA-ENC) as well. As a result, some reports generated for this evaluation (including the present report) have included information about TFA-ENC. In addition to expansion data, a limited amount of other TFA-ENC data has been incorporated into the reports as part of CERE–NC’s efforts to provide information relevant to the formative development of NCTC and to CERE–NC’s approach to its evaluation. By including these additional components, CERE–NC has not intended to establish (a) a formal connection between any findings related to TFA-ENC and expected outcomes for NCTC, (b) guidelines for the direction of the development of NCTC, or (c) changes in the overall structure of the evaluation. All evaluation work has been guided by the Scope of Work for the NCTC and TFA-ENC evaluations as approved by NCDPI in June 2011.
    [Show full text]