The Practicum Dyad: Investigating Collaborations between Resident Teachers and University Supervisors to Support New Educators

ABSTRACT

The practicum experience is critical to the preparation of future teachers, yet the working relationships between resident teachers (RTs) and university supervisors (USs) as they provide co-supervision to preservice teachers (PSTs) has received little focus in the empirical literature. Much can be learned from understanding the working relationships, and efforts of collaboration, between the RT/US dyad in support of PSTs. This qualitative study examined how these supervising partners view their roles and the roles of their counterparts in their working relationships to support PSTs during the practicum in one school of education at a large, land-grant university in the western U.S. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen participants of this teacher preparation program, which included five university supervisors (US) and eight resident teachers (RT) who were all involved in supervising PSTs during their practicum. All interviews were transcribed and analytic coding completed. The experiences of the participants ranged from 1-15 years in their RT or US role, participant vignettes and collective thematic findings are presented. Four major themes emerged after coding that have important implications for teacher preparation programs. The primary dyadic relationships for both RT and US were with the PST rather than with each other. The concept of a triad relationship that explicitly emphasized the importance of the US/RT relationship within that triad did not emerge from either US or RT interviews. Both also mentored from a protective stance toward the PST, expressing the need to emotionally support PSTs during this difficult learning experience. However, despite this protective stance, both also worked with the assumption that PSTs would self-advocate if they needed more support, clarity or resources from the supervisors or the program. Participants from both groups lacked role clarity from the university program and relied on their experiences as classroom teachers to support their PSTs in learning to teach. These findings provide opportunities to engage in programmatic reflection to engage faculty, USs and RTs in defining supervisory roles that are complementary and collaborative, committing resources to preparing supervisors for their roles and creating opportunities for ongoing collaboration during the practicum with the goal of developing strong, collaborative relationships among all the triad (RT/US/PST) partners during the practicum.

Keywords: university supervisor, resident teacher, preservice teacher, collaboration, learning to teach

The leadership experiences of district intern program leaders in California play an important role in addressing the teacher shortage and diversifying the teaching workforce. However, limited information about their experiences exists in the empirical literature. Additionally, due to the recency of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is limited information in the literature about the experiences and actions of district intern program leaders as they enacted California credentialing policies during that time. Yet, much can be learned from the experiences of these leaders. This qualitative study examined the experiences and leadership actions of district intern program leaders during the 2020–2022 COVID pandemic period as they implemented California credentialing policies. This research project consisted of a review of selected credential policy changes, a focus group, and semistructured interviews conducted with five participants who were leaders of consortium-based district intern programs, located in three different regions in California. All interviews were transcribed and analytic coding was completed.The experiences of participants in their leadership roles varied from 2 to 6 years. Participant vignettes and collective thematic findings are presented within this study. Five major themes emerged that have significant implications for district intern programs and teacher credentialing in California. These findings include the following leadership actions: understanding and interpreting credentialing policies; communicating to and with constituents; making changes in program delivery; navigating exam deferrals and calling out inequities; and finally, noticing shifts in intern enrollment, completion, and demographics. Understanding the actions district intern program leaders took in response to interpreting and implementing changes in California credentialing policies during the COVID-19 pandemic creates opportunities to reimagine state and local policy and practice in order to strengthen teacher preparation, decrease the teacher shortage, and further diversify the teaching workforce.

key words: district intern program, COVID-19 pandemic, intern teacher, teacher preparation, teacher shortage, teacher diversity, credentialing, intern leader, licensure exams, policies, exam deferrals, sites of shaping

AbstractThis qualitative study explores the ways teacher leaders define educational social justice for themselves and what that means in their teaching. The purpose is to contribute to the body of literature on teachers’ own perspectives and experiences of how they attempt to teach and lead for social justice within their context and roles. By using written surveys and semistructured interviews, teacher leaders shared their own definitions of teacher leadership and educational social justice. The three themes that emerged about teacher leadership from the survey are leadership as service, leadership by example, and leadership as a process, not a position. Identifying as a social justice advocate was a continuum rather than a binary, with most teachers aspiring towards it and feeling like more work was necessary to embrace the title. Within follow-up interviews, three other themes about educational social justice emerged. One, teachers made conscious curricular choices to reflect social justice objectives. Two, as teachers they had to navigate and negotiate competing political climates, both locally and nationally. And finally, these teachers felt a personal toll and felt a personal impact of social justice-motivated teaching. These participants found that formal collaboration, school policies, and critical national events provided both support and challenges to working towards social justice objectives. Keywords: social justice teaching; social studies education; teacher leadership; secondary teachers.

ABSTRACTCritical Race Counterstories: Testimonios and Pláticas With Latina Teachers in Rural Central California

The California educational system is facing a major problem of diversity and representation in the teacher workforce. Latina/o children make up more than half of the population of students in California’s public school system, yet their teachers do not mirror this population (CDE, 2022). According to the California Department of Education, (CDE, n.d.), this teacher-student demographic mismatch is especially pronounced in rural Central California, specifically Merced County. When discussing the diversification of the teacher workforce, the literature and research has often focused on the disparities, barriers, or lack of opportunities faced by Latinas/os and other people of color. While this is important to understand, it is also important to understand what went right for Latinas/os who entered the workforce as credentialed teachers. To know what went right, a different kind of story, one of success despite so many barriers or limitations, must be told. This type of story is the counter to the norm, or a counterstory (Delgado & Stefanic, 2017).Using Latina/o critical race theory (Solórzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001), community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005), and a Chicana feminist epistemology (Delgado Bernal, 1998) as frameworks for these counterstories, this case study examined the journey of six women who were raised, educated, and now teach in Merced County. The participants provided their individual oral testimonio and engaged in a plática where they focused on what they perceived as barriers to their journey to the classroom, what they felt was enriching to their educational experience, and what they felt local education agencies and institutes of higher education should know to support and retain other Latina teachers. These data should inform both K-12 institutions and institutions of higher education, improving the educational outcomes for all.

With the adoption of the new Common Core Visual and Performing Arts Standards by theCalifornia Department of Education in 2019, there was an emphasis on creating a more inclusive and equitable arts educational experience for students through their arts educators. Unfortunately, with the majority of educators in the Visual and Performing Arts departments within California with an average of more than five years teaching experience, they obtained their knowledge of mandatory California teacher standards before the adoption took place for new common core state standards. Therefore, how are current students enrolled in these courses, specifically Historically Marginalized Students, obtaining an arts education that emphasizes inclusivity and equity? Professional development has not been provided that emphasizes equity and inclusive as well as a shift with the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the educational system. How are students interacting with curriculum, and how arts educators looking to increase student engagement? This three-part qualitative action research study builds on a collaboratively developed lesson plan to engage a diverse art class consisting of historically marginalized students. Within this secondary visual arts classroom setting the implementation of culturally sustaining pedagogical practices consistently occurs. Second, the study explores the effectiveness of this implementation through student self-expression in the form of media influenced, design concept analysis. Third, through the analysis of completed student artifacts and reflections, understand the effect of culturally sustaining pedagogical practices through artistic selfexpression. The concluding recommendations support the implementation of culturally sustaining pedagogical practices to increase authentic student self-expression.