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Secondary considerations: Secondary teacher educators' views of and responses to implementation of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993
Abstract
This dissertation includes (a) Chapter 1, background and purpose—the importance and significance of the study; (b) Chapter 2, a review of the literature; (c) Chapter 3, methodology (research design, data collection and modes of analysis); (d) Chapter 4, presentation of the data; and (e) Chapter 5, conclusions and recommendations. Appendices include participant information, forms, tables and a bibliography. Teacher educators in public colleges and universities perform important work in an environment largely legislated by forces external to education. In the current environment of educational reform, the work of the education professoriate is influenced by the expectations and attributes of legislative mandates for standardization in curricular content and delivery, higher admission standards for prospective teachers, competency testing for certification candidates, and ongoing professional development for all certified teachers. Concurrently, changes in Massachusetts regulations for the certification of educational personnel affect teacher education programs from design to outcome-based assessment. What aspects of the Education Reform Act most strongly influence the public secondary teacher educator? What are the responses of the secondary teacher education community to this attempt at systemic reform? How does implementation of the Education Reform Act affect the work of secondary teacher educators? How has the legislation affected secondary teacher education programs in the Commonwealth? Structured interviews with secondary teacher educators focused on participants' views of and responses to the Education Reform Act of 1993 provide data from the cohort of professionals most immediately engaged in the implementation of the tenets of the Massachusetts legislation. Current Massachusetts legislation updates and interim implementation reports provide a context for participant responses. Analysis and discussion of participant responses in light of the current literature on reform and change in teacher education form the basis for the analytical sections of the qualitative study. This study elicited participants' views of the Commonwealth's legislative initiatives affecting teacher preparation, certification, and the work of the secondary teacher educator in the context of educational reform. Themes of communication, collaboration, accountability and status and relationships which emerged from interview data are discussed within the context of implementing the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993.
Subject Area
Teacher education|Higher education|Public administration
Recommended Citation
Quandt, Susan Doran, "Secondary considerations: Secondary teacher educators' views of and responses to implementation of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993" (1999). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9932340.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9932340