THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A PRESERVICE INTERVIEW AND STUDENT TEACHING PERFORMANCE

Purpose of the Study. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between a preservice interview and student teaching performance. A secondary task was to determine the correlations among three information sources pertaining to the evaluation of student teachers. The major dependent variable in the study was a composite rating of student teaching performance by supervisors and cooperating teachers using the Elementary Student Teacher Appraisal (STA). The major independent variable in the study was a structured interview process, the SRI Teacher Preservice Perceiver Interview (TPPI). The two other minor sources of information which were also tested as independent variables were an advisor\u27s rating on the Advisor\u27s Evaluation of Elementary Student Teaching Applicant (AE) and the Grade Point Average (GPA). Procedures. Thirty-one senior students as Concordia College in Seward, Nebraska, were selected as subjects for the study. They were given the TPPI within two months prior to the student teaching phase of their teacher preparation program. Advisor evaluations (AE) and GPA\u27s were gathered during their student teaching quarter, and final student teaching performance appraisals (STA) were secured at the close of the semester. Statistical tools included use of Pearson correlation and step-wise regression analysis. Research questions were tested at the .05 level of significance. Major Findings. (1) The TPPI predictive instrument did correlate with STA ratings at a statistically significant level. (2) The correlations of the TPPI and the two other independent variables (AE and GPA) were statistically significant. (3) The two minor independent variables (AE and GPA) did not significantly correlate with STA ratings. (4) Addition of AE and GPA scores did not significantly improve the strength of the TPPI in predicting STA ratings. Major Recommendations. (1) College of education officials should consider the use of a low-stress, structured interview process such as the SRI Teacher Preservice Perceiver Interview as an appropriate screening device to add to their admissions repertoire and/or as an information source for providing feedback to teacher trainees. (2) SRI interview developers should make every effort to further refine the TPPI process. (3) Seward Concordia College should continue with plans to conduct a longitudinal study of the TPPI as it relates to recruitment, admission, training, placement, and success in teaching. (4) Any use of the TPPI or similar structured interview process should include extensive performance based training for interviewers and analysts. (5) The TPPI should be tested in other settings, with larger and more diverse samples, and against other measures of student teaching performance. (6) College of education officials should consider testing an interview process such as the TPPI as a way of identifying potential recruits into training for the teaching profession