ERIC Number: EJ1043906
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-4871
EISSN: N/A
Observation and Teacher Quality: Critical Analysis of Observational Instruments in Preservice Teacher Performance Assessment
Caughlan, Samantha; Jiang, Heng
Journal of Teacher Education, v65 n5 p375-388 Nov-Dec 2014
Teacher preparation programs commonly use observational instruments to assess the progress and the exit performances of teacher candidates. However, while these instruments have been described and several have been studied for effectiveness, the field lacks a close examination of how they position participants: teacher candidates, K-12 pupils, and teacher educators. This article closely examines three classroom observation instruments used in preservice programs. We use critical discourse analysis (CDA) and systemic-functional linguistics to examine how the grammar of these instruments assigns agency and positions participants as teachers and learners, and define their larger discourses of professionalism and accountability. We argue that instruments differ in the extent to which they grant participants agency, thus influencing the assumed pedagogical relations among the teacher educator, teacher candidate, and K-12 pupils. Instruments are not neutral, but reflect the values of the programs that use them, inflected by often contradictory discourses of teacher and student learning.
Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Preservice Teacher Education, Teacher Education Programs, Observation, Measures (Individuals), Teacher Educators, Elementary School Students, Secondary School Students, Discourse Analysis, Linguistics, Grammar, Student Empowerment, Teacher Empowerment, Professional Identity, Accountability, Teacher Effectiveness, Teacher Evaluation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California; Michigan; Virginia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A