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Abstract
Background:
The purpose of this study was to determine pre-service and in-service science and mathematics teachers’ perceptions of the characteristics of a professional teaching environment. The study further investigated the relationships of field placement contexts and grade levels on pre-service teachers’ perceptions of importance and availability of certain aspects of a professional teaching environment.
Materials and methods:
The teacher perceptions were assessed using the Professional Environment for Teaching Survey (PETS). The responses reflecting the teacher perceptions of importance were subjected to a principal component analysis and two components were identified. These were Resources for Teaching and Recognition of Teacher Contributions. Data obtained from pre-service teachers who (were) enrolled in a graduate teacher education licensure program at a large Midwestern university and from in-service teachers who were mentors for the pre-service teachers.
Results:
Correlation and forward stepwise multiple regression analyses of the data suggested that the perceptions of importance and/or availability of those pre-service or in-service teachers with more experience were related to the academic degree they held and the content that they were teaching or expecting to teach.
Conclusions:
Results for the in-service and pre-service teachers’ perceptions were discussed in terms of characteristics of a professional teaching environment.
License
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Article Type: Research Article
EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 11, Issue 3, 2015, 559-575
https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1348a
Publication date: 26 Apr 2015
Article Views: 1783
Article Downloads: 1239
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