Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Teachers colleges--Accreditation--Iowa; Teachers colleges--Accreditation; Iowa;
Abstract
The purpose of this study: (1) to compare the semester hours required in the major fields of teaching by the 29 Iowa teacher-preparation colleges; (2) to compare semester hours required in the minor field of a student to be approved for teaching in those areas; (3) to compare the grade-point averages necessary to receive a teaching degree; (4) to show the relationship between the minimum standards set by the Iowa State Department of Public Instruction and the standards required by the 29 Iowa teacher-preparation colleges.
The procedure for this study involved: (1) the compilation of a history of teacher certification in the United States with special emphasis given to the purposes, current practices, and trends of teacher certification; (2) a review of the literature on the "approved program" to teacher education and certification, currently recognized by the state of Iowa; (3) the collection of facts and figures about the individual institutional offerings from the latest NCATE and State Department Self-Evaluation Reports and institutional bulletins; (4) the arrangement of said information in tables for comparative study.
Conclusions drawn from the comparative investigation of Iowa's certification standards were: (1) the teacher in training needs to know what requirements to meet; (2) the teacher who is certified has the satisfaction of being identified as personally and professionally qualified for service in the public schools; (3) certification affords some assurance of quality of preparation and provides protection from assignments outside the field of preparation; (4) there is continuing pressure from NGATE, NCA, and the teachers professional organization toward more refined classification of positions; (5) the diversity in the various semester-hour requirements of the curricular patterns of the institutions points to a needed definition of requirements for preparation of teachers; (6) the new NGA requirement of 20-24 semester hours in the general subject areas makes many of the teaching minors deficient; (7) the diversity in certification requirements and practices among the 29 Iowa teacher preparing institutions creates a complex pattern of preparation in the various teaching areas; (8) the diversity in certification requirements and practices also prevails among the 50 states and creates serious problems in agreements of reciprocity between the certificating units; (9) even in the wide diversity of certification patterns that exists, no wholly satisfactory program has emerged; (10) largely because of the complete emphasis of certification of its membership, education presents the anomaly of a profession without control of its members.
In light of the conclusions listed above, the following recommendations emerged: (1) continued autonomy for institutions in developing teacher education programs and setting certification standards; (2) certification should serve basically as a prerequisite to admission to the teaching profession with the key role in this function delegated to the organized profession; (3) the teaching profession should continue to exert effort to gain control over its professional house by influencing teacher education, accreditation, and certification; (4) the state l8gislature should not delegate any part of the actual legal features of certification to the organized teaching profession; (5) the Iowa State Department of Public Instruction should rescind "approval" of institutions that lose their accreditation with our regional accrediting agency, the North Central Association; (6) more institutional programs should be established in the persistent areas of critical teacher shortage such as library science and industrial arts; (7) those Iowa colleges not recognized by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education should set a goal toward NCATE approval in the near future.
Year of Submission
1973
Degree Name
Specialist in Education
Department
Department of Educational Leadership and Postsecondary Education
Department
Department of School Administration and Personnel Services
First Advisor
Robert P. Brimm
Date Original
1973
Object Description
1 PDF file (94 pages)
Copyright
©1973 Al J. Sinek
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Sinek, Al J., "A Comparative Investigation of Certification Standards of Iowa Teacher Preparation Colleges" (1973). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 1618.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/1618
Comments
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