ERIC Number: EJ1160820
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Differential Item Functioning on a Measure of Perceptions of Preparation for Teachers, Teacher Candidates, and Program Personnel
Donovan, Courtney; Green, Kathy E.; Seidel, Kent
Leadership and Research in Education, v4 n1 p27-54 2017
Core competencies essential for effective teaching were identified via a literature review and a review of standards for teacher education, and vetted by state groups with interests in teacher education. Survey items based on these competencies asked teacher candidates, graduates, and teacher education program faculty how well the program prepared teachers. The 41 items common to surveys of the three groups were submitted to Rasch analysis to determine dimensionality, scale use, targeting, reliability, and, of particular interest, invariance. Results suggested two dimensions were captured by the 41 items, entitled "knowledge, skills and behavior in promoting student achievement," and "resource use, academic language, and numeracy," with reliability of person separation of 0.94 and 0.73, respectively. Use of the 0-4 response scale was appropriate for both dimensions. Items were relatively easy to agree with for both scales, with person means of 1.24 and 0.57. Differential item functioning was found for respondent group and also for extent of program involvement but not for sex or for route to certification. The paper provides a discussion of implications of results for program evaluation.
Descriptors: Teacher Effectiveness, Item Response Theory, Item Analysis, Test Items, Teacher Attitudes, Readiness, Preservice Teachers, Teacher Surveys, Teacher Education Programs, Program Effectiveness, Test Reliability, Knowledge Base for Teaching, Program Evaluation, Teacher Competencies, Goodness of Fit, Rating Scales, Scaling, Test Bias, Scores, Faculty Development
Ohio Council of Professors of Educational Administration. e-mail: ocpeajournal@gmail.com; Web site: http://education-human-services.wright.edu/ocpea/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A