Are the Needs of First-Year Teachers Different Based on Preparation Program?

Date

2022-04-11

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the teacher self-efficacy of traditionally and alternatively-certified teachers and to determine if there is a perceived difference in levels of self-efficacy after the first-year of teaching in those teachers who completed a traditional certification program or an alternative certification program. The researcher also examined the perceptions of needs and levels of self-efficacy of first-year teachers who completed an alternative program compared to those of first-year teachers who completed a traditional program for certification. The qualitative data was analyzed to examine what alternatively-certified teachers’ perceptions of needs are and what traditionally prepared teachers’ perceptions of needs are. This mixed methods study used a survey in order to capture the first-year teachers’ level of self-efficacy who went through different types of certification and interviews to examine the perceived needs of first-year teachers. Through the lens of Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy’s Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) and Bandura’s social learning theory, this study examined the first-year teachers’ beliefs as it relates to their self-efficacy. The participants included fifty-one elementary and secondary first-year teachers in a school district in Texas. The results of the study suggest there is no significant differences between the traditional certification and alternative certification teachers’ beliefs on self-efficacy in any of the domains – student engagement, instructional strategies, or classroom management.

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Keywords

first-year teachers, alternative certification, traditional certification, self-efficacy

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