Date of Conferral

2018

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Kathleen M. Claggett

Abstract

Attrition rate is high for beginning teachers in an urban school district in the Northeast United States. Without a proper support system in place, new teachers struggled transitioning from their preparation programs into the classroom. This study focused on recent graduates from a teacher preparation program at a large local university. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of preparedness of recent graduates from the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) accredited preparation program. The TEAC standards provided the conceptual framework which informed the interview guides. The research questions focused on the perceived readiness of new teachers, the skills or aptitudes identified as strengths or weaknesses due to perceived gaps in preparation, and how teachers adapted what they learned in the graduate program. Using a case study design, the insights of eight recent graduates, with fewer than two years of experience, and 2 supervising professors from the university who had supervised student teachers were captured. Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants. Emergent themes were identified through an open coding process, and the findings were developed and checked for trustworthiness through member checking and triangulation. The findings revealed five perceived new teacher weaknesses: parent involvement, math instruction, classroom technology, time management, and teacher stress management. The culminating project for this research used these results to inform the content of a professional development workshop for new teachers. This study has implications for positive social change by providing a structure for improving the preparedness of new teachers.

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