Keywords

Internship, Nontraditional Internship, Self-Efficacy, Novice Teachers, Teacher Training

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand if a nontraditional internship in a K-12 setting prepared preservice teachers for their first year of teaching. At the time of this study, there was limited research that existed in utilizing a nontraditional approach to internship to decrease the barriers associated with becoming a teacher. It was critical to analyze the perceived preparedness of novice teachers who participated in research-based practice while maintaining their perceived self-efficacy in a nontraditional internship in their first year of teaching.

Current novice teachers who participated in a nontraditional internship and the principals who supervised them were invited to participate in the study. Four novice teachers and two principals participated in separate focus groups. The focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Grounded Theory (Saldaña, 2020). Data were analyzed for reoccurring statements and analyzed based on parameters defined by the researcher and six categories emerged, including Preparedness, Ownership, Resiliency, Integrated Withitness, Trusted Mentor, and Transition. The researcher continued to analyze the six categories for focus, and synthesized data which evolved into two themes, Adaptive Pedagogical Readiness and Interpersonal Influence on Self-Efficacy. The two themes were condensed into an assertion, or main finding, of the study, that the nontraditional internship experience resulted in facilitating and accelerating the preparedness of the participants for their first-year teaching as perceived after the first-nine weeks of instruction. Higher education institutions should collaborate with local school districts to consider implementation of a nontraditional internship that prepares novice teachers for their first-year of teaching.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Dr. William Gordan II

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education

Degree Program

Educational Leadership

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0028875

URL

https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1393&context=etd2023

Language

English

Rights

In copyright

Release Date

2-15-2028

Length of Campus-only Access

3 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Campus-only Access)

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Accessibility Status

Meets minimum standards for ETDs/HUTs

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Restricted to the UCF community until 2-15-2028; it will then be open access.

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