preservice special education teachers' perceptions of what influences their appropriation of ...

269 Pages·2015·1.14 MB·English

PRESERVICE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF WHAT
INFLUENCES THEIR APPROPRIATION OF UNIVERSITY COURSEWORK,
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS DURING THE CLINICAL TEACHING INTERNSHIP
EXPERIENCE
by

Christine B. McElwee
A Dissertation
Submitted to the
Graduate Faculty
of
George Mason University
in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Education

Committee:

Chair

Program Director
Dean, College of Education and Human
Development
Date: Fall Semester 2015
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Preservice Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions of What Influences Their
Appropriation of University Coursework Knowledge and Skills during the Clinical
Teaching Internship Experience
A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University
by
Christine B. McElwee
Master of Science
George Mason University, 1989
Bachelor of Science
Bloomsburg University, 1980

Director: Kelley Regan, Professor
College of Education and Human Development
Fall Semester 2015
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS
ATTRIBUTION-NODERIVS 3.0 UNPORTED LICENSE.

iii
Dedication
First, this dissertation is dedicated to my grandmother, Madeline W. Roth, who was a
special education teacher, retiring in 1976. She was a constant mentor and kindred spirit
during my career as a Teacher of Students with Disabilities. I miss her every day.
Second, this dissertation is also dedicated to Carl Back, the person who got me started in
the academia arena for special education. During my junior and senior year of high
school, Carl was my advisor for an independent study that I completed in special
education. He developed the coursework and assignments that challenged me to delve
deeply into the field of special education. Thank you, Carl, from the bottom of my heart.
I owe my passion and commitment to working with students with disabilities to my
grandmother and Carl.
iv
Acknowledgements
First, I would like to thank all of the time and energy that Kelley Regan, my
dissertation chairperson, has put into working with me throughout this process. She was
more than patient and validating of all my questions. I am so thankful that she was in my
corner. I would also like to thank the other dissertation committee members, Peggy Weiss
and Pam Baker, for giving me support and pushing me to continue to the end of this
arduous process.
Second, I would like to thank all my family and friends for encouraging me to
“keep going”, even when I was running out of steam. My family (Jonathan, Mark, Emma,
Natalie, Stephanie, Kennedy, Mackenzie, and Madelyn) was forever saying “you can do
it”. My friends continually asked how things were going.
Last, I want to thank my loving husband, Alex, of 36 years. Without his constant
love, support, and encouragement, I don’t know how I would have ever finished this
mountain of a task.

v
Table of Contents
Page
List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix
Abstract ............................................................................................................................... x
Chapter One ........................................................................................................................ 1
National Special Education Teacher Preparation Landscape ......................................... 1
Virginia Special Education Teacher Preparation Programs ........................................... 6
Special Education Preparation Program Research ......................................................... 7
Influencing Factors during Supervised Clinical Internship Experiences in Teacher
Preparation ................................................................................................................... 10
Rationale and Significance of the Study ...................................................................... 16
Definition of Terms ...................................................................................................... 18
Chapter Two...................................................................................................................... 20
Literature Search Procedures ....................................................................................... 21
Seven Studies Discussion ............................................................................................. 27
Early Childhood Special Education Specialization ................................................... 27
Mental Retardation Specialization ............................................................................. 32
Learning Behavior Specialist Specialization ............................................................. 33
Special Education Specialization ............................................................................... 35
Themes from the Seven Studies ................................................................................... 39
Collaboration/Relationships ...................................................................................... 40
Opportunities to Use Special Education Protocols .................................................... 42
University Coursework .............................................................................................. 43
Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................ 45
Research Need .............................................................................................................. 48
General Special Education Community .................................................................... 48
Specific University Community ................................................................................ 50
Chapter Three.................................................................................................................... 54
vi
Design .......................................................................................................................... 54
Setting and Site ............................................................................................................ 56
University .................................................................................................................. 56
EDSE 790 .................................................................................................................. 59
Interviews and Observation Settings ......................................................................... 61
Participants and Internship Settings ............................................................................. 62
Participant 1 ............................................................................................................... 67
Participant 2 ............................................................................................................... 68
Participant 3 ............................................................................................................... 69
Participant 4 ............................................................................................................... 71
Participant 5 ............................................................................................................... 72
Participant 6 ............................................................................................................... 74
Data Sources................................................................................................................. 75
Interviews .................................................................................................................. 76
Observations .............................................................................................................. 77
Document Reviews .................................................................................................... 78
Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 79
Procedures .................................................................................................................... 83
Trustworthiness and Credibility ................................................................................... 85
Chapter Four ..................................................................................................................... 91
Participant Findings ..................................................................................................... 95
Participant 1 ............................................................................................................... 95
Participant 2 ............................................................................................................. 113
Participant 3 ............................................................................................................. 125
Participant 4 ............................................................................................................. 142
Participant 5 ............................................................................................................. 151
Participant 6 ............................................................................................................. 166
Final Summary ........................................................................................................... 179
Contextual Influences .............................................................................................. 180
Relationship Influences ........................................................................................... 181
Decision Making Influences .................................................................................... 183
Chapter Five .................................................................................................................... 186
vii
Discussion of Findings ............................................................................................... 188
How does the context of the clinical internship experiences influence the special
education preservice interns’ appropriation of university coursework? .................. 188
How do the relationships during the clinical internship experiences influence the
special education preservice interns’ appropriation of university coursework? ...... 195
How do these self-reported perceptions of context and relationships influence the
instructional decisions that the special education preservice interns make during their
clinical internship experiences? ............................................................................... 200
Overall Summary ..................................................................................................... 205
Limitations ................................................................................................................. 206
Educational Implications and Future Research .......................................................... 207
Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 211
Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 212
Appendix A ..................................................................................................................... 214
Appendix B ..................................................................................................................... 226
Appendix C ..................................................................................................................... 228
Appendix D ..................................................................................................................... 230
References ....................................................................................................................... 253

viii
List of Tables
Table Page
Table 1 CAEP Accreditations Standards (Council for the Accreditation of Educator
Preparation, 2013a) .......................................................................................................... 13
Table 2 Standard 2: Clinical Partnerships and Practice (Council for the Accreditation
of Educator Preparation, 2013b) ...................................................................................... 14
Table 3 Seven Studies Exploring Teacher Intern Perspectives ....................................... 23
Table 4 Special Education plus Licensure Certificate General Curriculum Program
Courses. ............................................................................................................................ 56
Table 5 Responsibilities of the University Internship Participants ................................ 60
Table 6 Participant Demographics .................................................................................. 64
Table 7 Participant Internship Placements ..................................................................... 66
Table 8 Participant Data Sources.................................................................................... 75
Table 9 Methods .............................................................................................................. 81

ix
Abstract
PRESERVICE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF WHAT
INFLUENCES THEIR APPROPRIATION OF UNIVERSITY COURSEWORK
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS DURING THE CLINICAL TEACHING INTERNSHIP
EXPERIENCE
Christine B. McElwee, Ph.D.
George Mason University, 2015
Dissertation Director: Dr. Kelley Regan

The clinical internship experience for preservice interns has been described as one of the
most important components of teacher preparation programs. The National Council for
Accreditation of Teacher Education’s (NCATE) Blue Ribbon Panel Report on Clinical
Preparation and Partnerships for Improved Student Learning suggests that teacher
candidates need to blend practitioner knowledge with academic knowledge and learn
their craft by doing. The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent contextual
(i.e.., school and classroom setting) and relationship (i.e., cooperating teacher, university
supervisor, students) influences of clinical experiences have upon the appropriation of
coursework and/or development of decision making strategies by preservice interns at
one university. While there is a dearth of research regarding the clinical experience in
teacher preparation programs, there are even fewer studies investigating special education
x