Date of Graduation

5-2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Advisor/Mentor

Imbeau, Marcia B.

Committee Member

Collins, Kathleen M. T.

Second Committee Member

Endacott, Jason L.

Keywords

Career and Technical Education; Family and Consumer Sciences; Pre-service Teachers; Student Teaching; Teacher Evaluation; Teacher Observations and Interviews

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of new Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) teachers and to describe their perceptions of classroom teaching readiness. The researcher completed a series of three classroom observations and three interviews of five first-year FCS teachers. The Danielson’s Framework for Teaching instrument was used for all observations and two sections of interviews used Interview Questions for Family and Consumer Sciences Educators instrument, which was taken in part, with permission, by Horizon Research, incorporated. All observations and interviews were completed over a time span of two to three weeks and examined essential teaching skills and Family and Consumer Sciences pedagogical content knowledge. In addition, this study examined their content knowledge and perceived quality of their student teaching experience during their teacher preparation semester. This study was completed during the spring of 2020 with five participants who had graduated from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas.

This case study was qualitative in design with the purpose to learn more about a unique phenomenon: first-year FCS teachers’ readiness. While the majority of participants indicated they felt prepared to teach in the examined content areas and felt comfortable with the progression of their essential teaching skills, they recognized that some aspects of their teaching needed improvement, particularly: (a) resolving lesson planning to reflect higher-order thinking, (b) implementation of routines and procedures, (c) engaging students in learning, and (d) applying more accurate ways of reflecting on teaching. Although the majority of participants described their student teaching as positive, they mentioned there were improvements to be made in teacher education curriculum at the post-secondary level.

Although there was much literature regarding teacher effectiveness, there was a lack of literature concerning Family and Consumer Sciences teachers. This study was created to add to existing research, to give voice to those individuals in their first-year of teaching, and to assess content and pedagogical areas of strengths and weaknesses. The results of this study will provide educators, mentors, administrators, and researchers with a better understanding of how new Family and Consumer Sciences teachers were prepared to teach their content areas and where they need to improve in essential teaching skills.

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