Empirical research on consequential edTPA implementation with university programs, teacher candidates, and cooperating teachers is plentiful in general education literature. However, to date no empirical literature exists on edTPA and physical education as a specific program area. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of edTPA on…

Hiring and retaining the highest quality teachers is a top priority for any school district. However, given the current challenges that districts face in today's educational climate and with the recently recovering economy and the looming retirement bubble about to burst, this priority becomes even more imperative. This study focused on gathering…

This phenomenological study explored best practices to increase preservice teacher self-efficacy before the student teaching semester. The research was guided by this central inquiry and three sub-questions. Using a pre- and post-phenomenon survey instrument as well as an initial questionnaire and a final reflection, preservice teachers who were…

Many pre-service teachers (PSTs) face a common dilemma when completing their internships: they seek to display their own strengths and competencies in teaching while also adhering to the guidance of their mentor teachers and avoiding instructional risks. The underlying structure of the internship promotes a hierarchy which positions mentoring…

The primary purpose of this study was to compare K-12 West Tennessee teachers' perceptions of their teacher preparation programs regarding the factors of planning, engaging, and assessing student learning based on whether they attended HBCUs or PWUs. This quantitative study examined 103 certified West Tennessee elementary, middle, and high school…

This study is centered on one English language arts (ELA) preservice teacher's development of her critical pedagogical discourses (CPD) with the contextual discourses of a school placement for preservice teaching and later shift to a full-time teacher before the placement was complete during a pandemic and in the midst of implementing online…

The nationwide teacher shortage has led to a shortage of fully trained teacher to hire leaving schools more open to hiring nontraditional teachers. Within this study, a nontraditional teacher is one who did not complete a formal teacher education process that included student teaching. These teachers are left to rely on their mentoring process for…

It is widely accepted that students' thinking drives teachers' teaching. There are many ways to probe students' thinking with speech or with gestures; however, the literature remains relatively distinct, not focused on both. Prior studies focus on probing students' thinking with speech (talk moves). Although Alibali and colleagues (e.g., Alibali…

Teacher Education Advisory Committees (TEAC) are groups of individuals from higher education, K-12 Schools, and other stakeholders who have a vested interest in improving teacher education and teacher candidate preparation programs. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to ascertain the role and impact of the TEAC on a teacher preparation…

The purpose of the study was to understand how three health and physical education (HPE) teachers describe their personal and professional identities and the impact of teaching a marginalized subject has on identity formation and development. The research questions guiding this study were: (1) How do the teachers describe their personal and…

This sequential explanatory, mixed methods study of an alternative certification teaching program (ACTP) investigated classroom management preparation for six participants completing either a clinical or internship experience. Initially, this study explored state exit survey data on classroom management preparation for participants at an…

It requires a unique set of skills to teach science to young children. Not only do future elementary educators need the requisite content knowledge to address the broad base of science topics that fall under the innocuous acronym known as STEM, they also need to be able to effectively respond to their students innately curious natures. And, while…

Research has shown that, although phonics and phonemic awareness predict reading success, a majority of early learners still lack these skills. Research also showed that a majority of preservice teachers (PSTs) in early childhood education teacher (ECTE) may not have gained adequate pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in phonics and phonemic…

Black students and their linguistic resources are undervalued, disdained, disrespected, and disregarded in language arts classrooms. Not only is Black Language often ignored in English language arts instruction, but language more generally remains largely hidden within elementary ELA. Elementary ELA educators are tasked with teaching a vast array…

This research study examined the experiences of Black and Latino/a pre-service teachers who are enrolled in the BS/MS Teacher Preparation Programs within Florida State University's School of Teacher Education. Students within this study described their experiences in courses, how they navigated their clinical field experiences, and how their CTs…