THIS STUDY COMPARES SELECTED PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS AND TEACHING PERFORMANCES OF PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS (WITH SPECIFIED EDUCATION COURSES) AND PROVISIONAL TEACHERS (WITHOUT THE EDUCATION SEQUENCE) IN GEORGIA. THE STUDY CONSISTS OF TWO PARTS--(1) A LONGITUDINAL STUDY WHICH FOLLOWED A 1964-65 GEORGIA BEGINNING-TEACHER POPULATION FOR THREE YEARS, AND (2) AN INTENSIVE STUDY WHICH COMPARED CHARACTERISTICS AND PERFORMANCES OF SAMPLES OF BEGINNING TEACHERS. PART II TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS DO NOT DIFFER FROM PROVISIONAL TEACHERS IN SELECTED CRITERIA. A CONCEPTUAL MODEL WAS PROPOSED THAT PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS DIFFERED FROM PROVISIONAL TEACHERS (1) VERY MUCH ON "CHOICE OF VOCATION" FACTORS, (2) SOMEWHAT LESS ON "TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM" PERCEPTIONS, (3) VERY LITTLE ON REACTIONS TO FIRST-YEAR TEACHING EXPERIENCES, AND (4) VERY MUCH ON "FUTURE PLANS" OPINIONS. THE MODEL WAS CONFIRMED IN BOTH LONGITUDINAL AND INTENSIVE STUDIES. IN PART II, THE MAIN VARIABLES WERE FOUND TO BE TEACHER SEX, CERTIFICATE STATUS, TEACHING FIELD, AND PLACE OF TRAINING. PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS WERE RATED BY TRAINED OBSERVERS AS MORE SYSTEMATIC-RESPONSIBLE, MORE SKILLED IN THE USE OF TEACHING MEDIA, MORE COMPETENT IN NONSPECIFIC TEACHING BEHAVIOR, AND GENERALLY MORE COMPETENT. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICES AND RESEARCH ARE ALSO DISCUSSED. (HW)