The Preparation of Secondary Teachers at Fort Hays Kansas State College, 1942-01/01/1965

The specific problem of this field study was to trace the development of the preparation of secondary teachers at Fort Hays Kansas State College beginning with the fall semester of 1941-42 and ending with the fall semester of 1964-65. This period of twenty-four years spans the life of the secondary block on the campus. The study was one in depth with primary emphasis placed on the professional coursework requirements in connection with the “Block” pattern. The main sources of information for the study were: (1) the official records of the offices of the College Registrar, Chairman of the Division of Education and Psychology, and the Alumni Director; (2) the bulletins and catalogs of Fort Hays Kansas State College from 1938 to 1965; and (3) a questionnaire sent to a selected sample of former secondary student teachers covering the period 1942-1965. The study was organized chronologically to show the changing patterns of the professional education courses which appeared in the required sequence in 1942 on down to the present time. As courses were added or dropped or other modifications in the pattern were reflected in the official statements of the College, these are shown in the analytic part of the report. The number of former students who completed their directed teaching at the secondary level during this period are shown and compared with the total college enrollments for the same period by one, six, and twelve year groupings. The report from 122 questionnaires received from former students who had completed their secondary “Block” since 1942 was one of the major parts of the field study. Originally, every fifth student teacher on the official class roster from alternating semesters from 1942 through 1964-65 was sent a questionnaire. A total of 122 were returned for a return rate of 48 percent. Chapter V contains a complete report on the follow-up study. Summary findings of the field study reveal: (1) That the pattern for the preparation of secondary teachers at Fort Hays Kansas State College from 1942 to 1965 has not been static but has remained a changing, evolving pattern; (2) That the secondary student teacher enrollment has increased in direct proportion to the general college enrollment with few exceptions; (3) That the number of cooperating schools for student teaching has increased from one to sixteen with the most of the growth since 1953; and (4) That the secondary pattern for 1965 reflects marked changes in important areas of the general education pattern which supports the “Block”