Mitigating the apprenticeship of observation

ABSTRACT

Educational landscapes shift and change, and beginning teachers are poised to breathe new life into existing educational practices. However, not all nascent teachers are equipped to lead educational change and at times are more likely to implement traditional educational approaches. This study offers insights into the ways in which beginning elementary teachers do or do not replicate the kinds of classroom management systems used during their own childhood elementary education experiences as a result of what Dan Lortie calls the apprenticeship of observation. Results of this study indicate that, when designing their classroom management systems, first-year teachers draw from a range of both traditional and progressive influences including what they recall of their own childhood experiences, what they learned in their teacher preparation program, and what the more experienced teachers at their schools do. Possible conclusions point to the need for teacher preparation programs to remain engaged with graduates in order to help solidify what was learned through the program.

KEYWORDS:

• Apprenticeship of observation
• teacher preparation
• classroom management
• first-year teachers
• progressive pedagogy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. All names are pseudonyms.

2. I have maintained the syntax of the participants but have edited their comments for clarity.

3. Emphasis added to reflect the prosody of the participant.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pennie L. Gray

Pennie L. Gray, PhD, is an assistant professor of educational studies and the coordinator of elementary education at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, USA, where she teaches courses in literacy, children’s literature, and child development and also supervises student teachers during their year-long student teaching practicum. Her research into first-year teachers’ decision-making processes about classroom management is informed and shaped by the opportunity to teach the student teaching seminar course each year. Prior to teaching at Illinois Wesleyan University, Pennie taught middle school language arts for thirteen years.