Constructions of excellent teaching: Identity tensions in preservice english teachers
Abstract
This qualitative study explored the conceptualizations of a cohort of preservice English teachers regarding the purposes and attributes of excellent English education. These questions guided the study: 1) How do preservice teachers conceptualize the purpose of English education? 2) What practices do those preservice teachers see as exemplifying excellence in the English teaching? 3) How have the perceptions of these preservice teachers changed throughout the course of their student teaching? Interview data was thematically coded using constant comparison and open coding techniques. Using two participants as examples, the study illustrates how preservice teachers struggled to balance competing forces and live up to standards of excellence imposed upon them by teacher educators, cooperating teachers, and district colleagues, they forged their own constructions of what it means to be an excellent English teacher, and, in the process, established their initial identities as teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Reference
Journal
National Teacher Education Journal
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
yes
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
- Case study
- interpretive
- Qualitiative
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
2
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Document Analysis
- Interviews
- Observations
Data Analysis Tools
- coding (non-specific)
- Constant comparative analysis
- Triangulation
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
Research Questions
How do these novice teachers conceptualize the purpose and importance of secondary English education?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
What practices and behaviors do these novice teachers see as emblematic of excellence in the teaching of English?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
Did the perceptions of these preservice teachers regarding excellence in the teaching of English change throughout the course of their practicum, student teaching, and first year in the classroom? If so, how did they change?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes