Selected North Carolina school teachers' perceptions of their teaching fellows experiences in the classroom
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of a selected group of North Carolina Teaching Fellows and to determine whether or not their satisfaction ultimately impacted their decision to remain in or leave the profession. Twelve North Carolina Teaching Fellows who had taught for three to five years in a public school in the Sandhills Region of North Carolina participated in the study. The researcher used a face-to-face tape recorded Interview Protocol to answer the following questions: (a) What are North Carolina Teaching Fellows perceptions of their Teaching Fellow program experience, (b) What are North Carolina Teaching Fellows perceptions of valuable program components, and (c) What are North Carolina Teaching Fellows perceptions on how the Teaching Fellows program influenced their classroom teaching experiences and overall teaching satisfaction during their initial teaching appointment? The results of this study provided evidence of the participants' perception of the overall program effectiveness. Based on the researcher's findings in this study, North Carolina Teaching Fellows in the Sandhills Region indicated the importance of networking, field experiences, student teaching, and financial support as primary influences affecting their teaching satisfaction during the first years of teaching. The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program recognizes the added benefits of varying field experiences and student teaching. The program is designed to offer quality experiences to teaching candidates with an added benefit of financial educational support while going through the program. The North Carolina Teaching Fellows preparation program prepares recruits with specialized recruitment and training experiences that many traditional teacher preparation programs do not offer. There are implications for change in the teacher preparation program highlighted in this study as well as recommendations for further research.
Subject Area
Educational leadership
Recommended Citation
McDavid, Lillian Manning, "Selected North Carolina school teachers' perceptions of their teaching fellows experiences in the classroom" (2013). ETD Collection for Fayetteville State University. AAI3581420.
https://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/dissertations/AAI3581420