Date of Graduation

5-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Advisor/Mentor

Heather D. Young

Committee Member

Angela Elsass

Second Committee Member

Christian Z. Goering

Keywords

Literacy Clinic, Pre-Service Teacher Education, Teacher Self-Efficacy

Abstract

This study describes how participation in a university literacy clinic impacts self-efficacy in pre-service teacher candidates. This study was conducted one and a half years into the global COVID-19 pandemic, creating the need for the clinic’s program, Literacy Camp, to be completed through fully virtual means. Thus, ways in which the pre-service teachers’ experience was impacted by the method of instructional delivery was also detailed. Despite the body of growing research related to virtual learning and efficacy outcomes, there was a gap in the literature related to pre-service teachers’ participation in a fully virtual university literacy clinic and its impacts on their self-efficacy. This study was designed with a need to fill this hole in mind.

The unique and personal experiences of 23 elementary pre-service teacher candidates completing a yearlong internship and participating in a university literacy clinic were explored in this qualitative case study, framed through a social constructivist lens (Creswell, 2013; Vygotsky, 1978) so that the voice of the individual was elevated and carefully considered. A convenience sampling scheme was utilized to collect and analyze data compiled from three main data sources provided by pre-service teacher candidate participants: an efficacy pre-survey, an efficacy post-survey, and ten daily debrief forms.

Four original themes emerged from the data: Building a Learning Culture, Tutor as the Learner, Student First Approach to Intervention, and The Virtual Environment. Findings from this study indicate that participation in the virtual literacy clinic allowed pre-service teachers to successfully plan and implement a full, individualized intervention related to literacy learning for one elementary or middle school student. Participants were able to reflect on their experience to grow as a learner and recognize the impacts they made on their Literacy Camp students. Despite the challenges faced through a fully virtual learning setting, pre-service teachers were able to overcome obstacles and complete their practicum experience, gaining self-efficacy throughout the process.

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