Motivating Content: How Interest and Self-Efficacy Respond to Subject Matter in an Alternative Teacher Education Program

Joyce F Long,Raeal Moore

doi:10.15365/joce.1104042013

Abstract

Understanding how teachers’ motivational levels respond to the course content is particularly relevant in Catholic schools, where instructors are routinely required to teach courses both within and beyond their certification area because of budgetary constraints. Students in the ACE alternative licensure program face this challenge during their 2 years of teacher preparation. Pre and post data from first- and second-year ACE students (n = 107) revealed that although subject matter interest levels remained relatively robust throughout the academic year for primary certification subjects, significant differences emerged in scores for religion and other out-of-certification courses. In addition, sense of self-efficacy in classroom management, student engagement, and instructional strategies also varied by subject matter taught and year in the program.

Highlights

In 1994, an alternative licensure program was initiated to prepare students for service in under-resourced Catholic schools
Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE)’s alternative licensure program is a unique setting for examining teacher motivation due to these four factors: (a) the program requires 2 years of preservice as the lead instructor; (b) in-program teachers are placed in rural, urban, and suburban settings; (c) their students represent a broad range of ethnic and economic diversity; (d) they often instruct classes within their primary certification area as well as courses unrelated to their primary area. These conditions led us to formulate the following two research questions: (a) To what extent do pre-post subject matter interest and self-efficacy subscale scores of first- and second-year students in the ACE program vary across subjects taught? (b) To what extent do prepost subject matter interest and self-efficacy subscale scores of first- and second-year students in the ACE program vary by gender, school demographics, and grade level taught?
Scores for second year were found to be in the same range

Summary

INTRODUCTION

In 1994, an alternative licensure program was initiated to prepare students for service in under-resourced Catholic schools. ACE’s alternative licensure program is a unique setting for examining teacher motivation due to these four factors: (a) the program requires 2 years of preservice as the lead instructor; (b) in-program teachers are placed in rural, urban, and suburban settings; (c) their students represent a broad range of ethnic and economic diversity; (d) they often instruct classes within their primary certification area as well as courses unrelated to their primary area As such, these conditions led us to formulate the following two research questions: (a) To what extent do pre-post subject matter interest and self-efficacy subscale scores of first- and second-year students in the ACE program vary across subjects taught (i.e., primary certification, out-of-certification subject areas, and religion)? These conditions led us to formulate the following two research questions: (a) To what extent do pre-post subject matter interest and self-efficacy subscale scores of first- and second-year students in the ACE program vary across subjects taught (i.e., primary certification, out-of-certification subject areas, and religion)? (b) To what extent do prepost subject matter interest and self-efficacy subscale scores of first- and second-year students in the ACE program vary by gender, school demographics, and grade level taught?

PARTICIPANTS

PROCEDURES AND INSTRUMENTS

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS