Building Competencies
Pre-Service Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions of and Attitudes towards Social Studies
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rina R. Bousalis
Social studies, the study of people, places, and events, is generally viewed as less important than STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) by the U.S. school systems. Although social studies is a subject that holds an abundance of important disciplines and is interconnected with other subjects, social studies, particularly in elementary grades, is most often overlooked by teachers in their daily lesson planning due to factors such as high-stakes testing, time constraints, and education policies. However, social studies is a part of the elementary curriculum, as well as a subject that pre-service elementary teachers will be, or should be, teaching in their future classrooms. To assist university/college social studies instructors in best serving pre-service teacher students who will be taking social studies content and methods courses, it is important to investigate pre-service elementary teachers’ perceptions and attitudes about the subject of social studies, recognize their positive and negative social studies experiences, and examine what content knowledge they bring with them to social studies education courses. Based on the study’s findings, this presentation will provide first-hand accounts of pre-service elementary teachers’ experiences in social studies, and shed light on which strategies, modes of instruction, activities, teacher action/behaviors, and social studies topics have been successful for students and which have not. The study’s findings will also discuss ways to strengthen the structure of social studies courses and syllabi, inspire pre-service teachers to enjoy teaching social studies, and encourage pre-service teachers to teach social studies in their future classrooms often and meaningfully.
Exploring Teacher/Student Relationship Quality Agreement and Student Engagement
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ammon Wilcken
The purpose of this study was to explore student and teacher perceptions of relationship quality and academic engagement in school. Relationships are central to the school learning environment and previous research suggests that relationship quality can impact student learning and engagement both positively and negatively. However, there is a lack of research showing whether students and teachers agree on how to best support and build a healthy relationship in a school setting. This can lead to a disconnect between how teachers and students feel about their efforts to build positive relationships. Research clearly suggests that relationships are important for engagement and other positive outcomes, but questions remain including, does it matter who is reporting on the quality of the relationship? What do teachers and students see as most important in relationships and do those views match? In the current study, we explored this issue by gathering student and teacher ratings of relationship quality and student engagement. We asked teachers and students to rate the importance of seven behaviors that research suggests can help build supportive relationships: n=38 teachers, n= 584 students ranging from 3rd-7th grade. Results indicate some areas of agreement between teachers and students, i.e. helping students succeed was a key to relationship quality and that acting as a friend is less important to both parties. However, there were also areas where the match was not consistent. Specifically, praising students was considered as a high priority for teachers but was much lower for students.
Teacher Candidates’ Diversity Competency and Its Implications for Teacher Preparation Programs
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Elmer Marrero, Victor E Bonilla Rodriguez, Annette Lopez De Mendez, Luis A. Torres-Villela, Claudia X Alvarez, Edwin Vega
One of the challenges in education is the inclusion of issues related to diversity and multiculturalism. Teacher preparation programs need to find new models that include the understanding of different contexts, experiences, and perspectives about what it means to teach from and for diversity. A first study focused on the development and administration of a questionnaire during academic years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. The results highlighted areas of opportunity within the curriculum and areas that needed further inquiry. The present research studied teacher candidates’ perceived competencies to address diversity in the classroom, the sources of information they use to give meaning to the concept of diversity, and how they would intentionally address diversity in the classroom. The study used a sequential explanatory mixed method research design. Quantitative data was collected through the self-administered questionnaire, followed by a qualitative phase that includes in-depth interviews to explain and elaborate quantitative findings. Implications and recommendations on the areas to be addressed in teacher preparation programs will be presented to ensure strengthen that all dimensions of diversity are included.
