New teachers as vital members of the teaching workforce

The demand for new teachers has been rising steadily since the 1990s and is expected to continue for the foreseeable future due to increases in teacher retirement and student enrollment, lower student-teacher ratios, and rising of teacher dropout rates. New teachers enter the profession with varying degrees of preparation, ranging from extensive coursework and classroom experience to no preparation at all. They often need special care and support to reach their full potential as educators, but this support is in short supply in many schools, which may explain why large numbers of new teachers leave the profession after just a few years of teaching.

The standards movement has put teacher quality at the center of education reform. Broadly designed, teaching quality consists of three elements: teaching knowledge, teaching qualifications, and teaching practice. In turn, these elements are affected by individual school factors and working conditions, such as class size, professional support, and school leadership. They are also affected by systemic variables such as state and local policies on teacher preparation, certification, and salaries.

Teachers operate in complex and multidimensional environments, so the direct impact of teaching on student outcomes can be difficult to isolate. However, by linking student performance to individual teachers, researchers have been able to confirm that some teachers have a lasting positive impact on student performance, while others have a negligible or negative impact on student performance. with similar profiles. A simple definition of teaching quality has emerged from this research, namely the ability to increase student learning during a school year, regardless of a student’s initial academic standing. But this definition, which points to academic growth as an indicator of effectiveness, does not explain why and how some teachers are more effective than others. The research that has been done on teacher credentials, while informative, does not address the actual quality of classroom instruction, a dynamic that is much more difficult to measure due, in part, to a lack of consensus on what kind of instruction is more effective. Definitions of effective teaching practice, therefore, must also take into account variations in curriculum and instruction, along with the relationship between curriculum and instruction and the variables that affect that relationship.

Based on five principles that describe the qualities and attributes of effective teachers, the standards have been widely adopted by the education community as a measure of teaching excellence:
– The best teachers base their instruction on knowledge of child development.
– They are committed to students and their learning.
– They know the subjects they are teaching and how to teach those subjects to diverse students.
– They are able to effectively organize the classroom environment to engage students in the learning process and sustain their learning so that instructional goals are met.
– Competent teachers are active members of learning communities; they systematically examine and improve their practice and learn from their experiences, and are aware of policies and resources that can benefit their students.

Nonetheless, teachers’ perceptions and attitudes are quite important, as a teacher’s sense of efficacy plays an important role in the decision to remain in the profession. Some teachers, typically those who enter the profession through an alternative path, do not receive any kind of classroom exposure prior to their first teaching assignment. They felt that this lack of preparation put them and their students at a distinct disadvantage. One commented that it was “unfair to students to subject them to teachers who had not had apprenticeships or internships before teaching a class.” Another reason teachers feel unprepared is a mismatch between the instructional pedagogy they were exposed to in their educational programs and that practiced in the schools to which they are assigned. One teacher commented that the variety of educational strategies she learned in her educational program would have helped her reach her students. However, because the district office had different instructional mandates, she had to use strategies that went against what she had learned during her pre-service education. The “unlicensed” teachers also did not feel prepared. A high school teacher assigned to teach a math class looked up old college texts to try to update her math skills, as she had received no math preparation during pre-service training. Several teachers assigned to special education classes said they had no background or prior educational experience in special education.

Teachers who described themselves as the least prepared were those with no educational background, other than a bachelor’s degree, and no educational training or support. Older teachers who entered the profession as a career changer felt that they could draw on their previous work experiences to assist them in their current teaching roles; most admitted, however, that nothing sufficiently prepared them for the unique challenges of being a new teacher. The ability level of the students also influenced the teachers’ sense of preparedness. Teachers felt more prepared to teach students who were advanced or on grade level than students who were learning English, below grade level in literacy or math, or had other special needs. Some teachers, despite their inexperience, were asked to teach a wide range of grades, as well as special education classes. These teachers felt they needed a lot of support.

Quality teaching includes not only mastery of the subject matter and how to teach it, but also a belief in the learning potential of all children, an enduring ethic of care, and creativity to inspire children who might otherwise be lost.

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