Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Dissertation (UNI Access Only)

Keywords

Student teaching--Middle West; Mentoring in education--Middle West; Teachers--Training of--Middle West;

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the elementary classroom teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and the barriers of mentoring pre-service teachers (PST) in a clinical based field experience. The importance of placing quality teachers in every classroom has led to reforms of teacher education programs. With the implementation of professional teaching standards and No Child Left Behind (NCLB), schools were given the charge to hire only “highly qualified teachers” (Darling-Hammond, 2005). Future teachers deserve a quality education in which they will become that “highly qualified teacher.” An essential component of a teacher education program should be the clinical field experiences in which PSTs participate. These experiences provide opportunities for the PST to experiment in the role of the teacher as they bridge theory and practice, develop as a reflective practitioner and begin to form a sense of belonging to a complex and rewarding profession. McGlinn (2003) stated that field experience is one of the most common “real world” learning experiences implemented in schools of education across the United States. There seems to be no disagreement in the teacher education literature that clinical field experiences are important. There are two components that are critical to the success of the field experience: the site where the experience occurs and the support that the pre-service teacher receives from the mentor teacher during the field experience (Graham, 2006).

Year of Submission

2015

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

First Advisor

Jill Uhlenberg, Chair

Date Original

2015

Object Description

1 PDF file (x, 115 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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