Audra Parker

Transitioning to the classroom: reflections of second‐career teachers during the induction year

In recent years teacher educators have witnessed an increase in the number of alternative pathways to university‐based teacher education for prospective teachers. One option is for second‐career teachers to enter post‐baccalaureate programs in education; however, the experiences of second‐career teachers are largely unexplored in the international literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate the teaching beliefs that post‐baccalaureate students brought into a graduate level teacher certification program, and the extent to which those beliefs persevered or changed during their first year of teaching. Written philosophy statements and semi‐structured interviews from the three participants were analyzed to identify emerging themes. Outcomes, presented in the form of vignettes, suggested that second‐career teachers experienced many of the same contextual pressures as baccalaureate teachers and struggled adapting to the teaching profession and implementing their stated teaching beliefs. Implications include continued research on second‐career teachers as they represent a distinct population entering the teaching profession.

Calming Rough Waters: Teacher Strategies for Smoothing the Transition to Middle School

I n the United States, 88% of young adolescents experience a critical developmental milestone: the transition from elementary to middle school (National Middle School Association [NMSA] & National Association of Elementary School Principals [NAESP], 2002). While all grade transitions can be challenging, the move from elementary to middle school is particularly difficult. Young adolescents encounter more of everything in middle school: more space to navigate, more people with whom to interact, and more choices to make in terms of classes, friendships, and activities. Couple this with the rapid physical, cognitive, and emotional changes associated with early adolescence (Rice & Dolgin, 2005), and the middle school transition becomes a complex life experience requiring careful navigation. Advocates for young adolescents suggest that having a developmentally appropriate school climate is key to meeting the needs of middle school students and facilitating a positive transition experience (Jackson & Davis, 2000; NMSA, 2003). Developmentally appropriate middle schools are characterized by a relevant and rigorous curriculum, learning related to the lives of students, and acknowledgment of students’ individual learning needs (Hester, Gable, & Manning, 2003; Jackson & Davis, 2000; Manning, 2000; NMSA, 2003). However, in the present educational context, influenced by an unprecedented emphasis on high-stakes testing, schools instead offer heavy doses of drill and practice, fact memorization, test preparation, and teacher-centered instruction designed to “cover” content for standardized tests (Solley, 2007). The resulting contrasts between the needs of young adolescents and their middle school environments may lead to not only poor school transitions (Eccles et al., 1993), but also a host of negative long-term outcomes, such as drug abuse, delinquency, and dropping out of school (Anfara & Schmid, 2007; Davis, Davis, Smith, & Capa, 2003; Galbo, 1989; Murdock, 1999; Murdock & Miller, 2003). Given the educational landscape, it is both timely and appropriate for educators to revisit the topic of middle school transition and reconsider their role in the transition experiences of young adolescents. When informed by the research literature, middle school teachers are positioned to play a positive role in young adolescents’ transition experiences. In building a Advocates for young

Critically reflective practitioners: exploring our intentions as teacher educators

The pervasive presence of teacher reflection in the research literature is indicative of its prominence in education. As teacher educators, engaging in reflective practices is an essential professional development tool, yet we often share our successes rather than shed light on our errors and blunders. In this paper, we describe the challenges we experienced across one year of working with a cohort of pre-service teachers. Through our engagement in the three stages of critical reflection via the use of concentric narratives, we were able to reposition ourselves from placing blame on the students to ownership of our roles in creating a negative cohort experience. We close by discussing implications of this work for the development of teacher educators as critically reflective practitioners.