Abstract
The authors draw on data from weekly e‐mail responses to a questionnaire completed by beginning teachers placed in one‐year, paid, internships. Interns were assigned mentors who responded every several weeks, also via e‐mail, to a questionnaire about the interns and their development. Data from 23 interns were analyzed. Seven themes were identified that capture various dimensions of intern development. To portray the nature, direction and complexity of intern development, each of the dimensions is conceptualized in terms of opposable orientations to the defining aspect of each theme. The authors use the dimensions and their related orientations to organize the data for discussion. Conclusions related to each dimension are situated within the wider research literature on teacher development, and some similarities and differences are noted between this group of interns and what is widely reported about beginning teacher development.
Notes
Corresponding author. Brigham Young University, Centre for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling (CITES), 149 MCKB, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA. Email: [email protected]
The average ACT scores for students admitted to Brigham Young University places them in the 89 percentile nationally.