Teacher residencies have been an ongoing discussion in the educator preparation world for nearly a decade. This paper describes a promising practice in program design at a university that offers alternative pathways to licensure to meet the demands of school districts, especially in economically disadvantaged communities in one region of the…

Purpose: Written from the prospective of a school of education dean, the article describes how deans worked with researchers and university system staff to develop multiple measures of teacher preparation program (TPP) quality. Design/Approach/Methods: As a key participant in the development of a multi-methods approach to evaluating (TPP) quality,…

In this program description, we examined the impact of East Carolina University's educator preparation program on beginning special educators' preparedness and confidence to meet professional standards and fulfill their job responsibilities using Q methodology. For this work, undergraduate interns who were enrolled in a rural-focused teacher…

Educators in PK-12 schools were surveyed to seek their perceptions of colleagues who they considered informal teacher leaders, defined as leaders who were not appointed to a leadership role by a school or district administrator. The survey asked administrators, educational specialists, and teachers working in PK-12 schools across four states to…

Spurred by the 1986 IDEA reauthorization, the movement toward collaborative, or blended, preservice early childhood personnel preparation now spans an impressive 30-year history. In this paper, we trace the evolution of blended preparation by applying a conceptual framework that situates the development of blended program identity within a…

Surveys of teacher preparation program (TPP) completers have become one widely used measure for program accountability and improvement, yet there is little evidence as to whether perceptions of preparation experiences predict the workforce outcomes of teachers. In the present study, we use statewide completer survey data from North Carolina to…

Special education teachers must have the skills to design and deliver intensive interventions for students with severe and persistent learning and behavioral needs. To ensure effective instruction for these students, preservice preparation programs must provide their teacher candidates with opportunities to learn, apply, and practice intensive…

An exploratory project on the use of digital notebooks and collaboration is currently underway in four courses over the span of five semesters at two North Carolina universities. The team currently teaches at two different universities. Professor A is at a private institution and Professor B is instructs at a state university. The team has…

This mixed methods study examined initially licensed teachers' culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy (CRTSE) using the CRTSE survey and conducting interviews with initially licensed teachers scoring above the mean on one or more CRTSE constructs. It extended upon previous work conducted by Siwatu (2011) that explored the CRTSE experiences…

This mixed-methods study, as part of program quality enhancement, investigated motivating factors of teachers choosing enrollment in an online master's degree in education in a state where legislative funding does not provide advanced degree pay. Students were surveyed at the conclusion of their program using a quantitative evaluation of…

The need to address teacher pipeline challenges has never been more urgent--and doing so will require bold, systemic changes to how teachers are recruited, prepared, compensated, supported, and respected. Teacher Preparation Partnerships are one promising strategy to help address the state's significant teacher pipeline challenges through…

This study explored the year-long development of 159 (N = 159) novice K-2 teachers' self-efficacy for literacy instruction, within a literacy-specific induction initiative with sixteen high-need, predominantly rural school districts. Findings reveal novice teachers' self-efficacy for literacy instruction grew significantly throughout the year.…

Teacher candidate performance assessments represent a promising source of data for evidence-based program improvement. However, teacher preparation programs (TPPs) interested in reform face a crucial question: how to identify actionable evidence in performance-assessment data. To address this concern, we propose a two-pronged empirical framework…

This article addresses current issues and trends related to teacher candidate recruitment in physical education teacher education programs. It highlights the efforts of program leaders in three different higher education institutions to recruit and retain well-qualified physical education majors. The key lessons learned from these cases serve as a…

Graduate programs in adapted physical education (APE) prepare individuals to work with students with disabilities in the physical education setting. However, these APE graduate programs vary widely throughout the country, and there has never been a systematic effort to identify and analyze these programs. Therefore, the purpose of this…