Student Voices: Child Perspectives on the Impact of Working With Teacher Candidates via Clinically Based Teacher Preparation Programs

ABSTRACT

This study seeks to understand the perspectives of children who work with teacher candidates in classrooms that partner with clinically based teacher preparation programs. Researchers interviewed 32 third- and fourth-grade students who work with teacher candidates. The study presents the little-heard voices of children, who spend considerable time with teacher candidates during clinical field experiences and whose perspectives contribute meaningfully to what is known about implementation of clinically based teacher preparation. The findings reveal that children perceive that teacher candidates have a positive impact on student learning outcomes and school culture by providing needed emotional and behavior support, contributing to lowered student-teacher ratios, and increasing perceptions of a safe school environment. The findings fill a void in the research literature and inform implementation of effective clinically based teacher preparation programming.

Correction Statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Southeast Ohio Teacher Development Collaborative.

Notes on contributors

Sara L. Hartman

Sara L. Hartman is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator in the Early Childhood and Elementary Education program in the Department of Teacher Education in The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education at Ohio University. She earned a Ph.D. in Educational Studies with a specialization in Curriculum, Learning, and Teaching from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Her research relates to creating strong school-community-university partnerships through clinically-based teacher preparation and informal learning spaces, particularly in rural settings. She serves as a faculty coordinator for an early childhood professional development school (PDS) partnership. Before working with teacher candidates, she was a classroom teacher.

Charles L. Lowery

Charles L. Lowery is an Associate Professor of Educational Studies in The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education at Ohio University, where he is an instructor of organizational leadership, school-community relations, and the politics of education. He was a bilingual teacher and elementary school principal and holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. His primary research interests include critical and moral literacies in educational leadership and cultural responsiveness in educational settings.

Christopher Kennedy

Christopher Kennedy is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Teacher Education in The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education at Ohio University. He teaches courses in literacy education and currently serves as the Literacy Program Coordinator. Much of his work is steeped in the clinical model of teacher education. He serves as a faculty coordinator of the graduate teaching fellow program and a faculty coordinator for an early childhood professional development school (PDS) partnership.

Michael E. Hess

Michael E. Hess is an Associate Professor of Educational Studies in The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education at Ohio University. He also directs The Patton College of Education Undergraduate Honors Programs. He holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies in Education from Ohio University. He teaches courses in critical studies in educational foundations, qualitative research methodologies, and rural schools. His research interests include social justice in education, rural education, Appalachia, democratic education, and educational leadership.

Madison Paige Coy

Madison Paige Coy is a doctoral student in the Curriculum and Instruction program in the Department of Teacher Education in The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education at Ohio University. Her research interests are rooted in the impact of trauma on students’ learning in schools, specifically in early school experiences. Additionally, she is interested in the ways that teacher education programs prepare teacher candidates to respond to trauma and its implications in classrooms.

Marcy Keifer Kennedy

Marcy Keifer Kennedy is the Director of the Ohio Center for Clinical Practice in Education in The Patton College of Education at Ohio University. Kennedy oversees the operations of The Patton College’s Clinical Model of Educator Preparation, which includes 12 active PDS partnerships, each with a unique structure and organization. The central purpose of the Center is to foster and support clinical practice and outreach activities that connect the college with regional schools and to partner together to positively impact P–12 student learning and teacher preparation. Kennedy is a former classroom teacher and teacher education faculty member. She was also president of the National Association for Professional Development Schools and member of the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission (CPC).

Ann Kaufman

Ann Kaufman is an instructor at Marietta College, concentrating in special education, middle childhood education, and secondary English/Language Arts. She taught middle school special education in West Virginia and is currently in the process of completing her Ed.D. in Special Education Personnel Preparation and Educational Psychology at West Virginia University. Ms. Kaufman’s research interests include vocabulary strategies for students with disabilities and postsecondary options for individuals with developmental disabilities.