A Case Study Seeking Indicators of Coherence in a PETE Program

A Case Study Seeking Indicators of Coherence in a PETE Program The purpose of this study was to examine the coherence of one facet of a single PETE program. Of particular interest was the role of one unique content course within the curriculum. Teacher educators have been challenged to respond to a variety of forces and to design more effective programs of teacher preparation. There are at least two challenges for teacher educators to respond to these challenges to their effectiveness. One challenge is that there is little empirical research focused on teacher educators themselves (Grundy & Hatton, 1995; John, 1996; Korthagen, 2001; Maguire, 1994). A second challenge is that many teacher educators have allowed periodic accreditation reviews to serve as proxy measures of program effectiveness (Metzler & Tjeerdsma (2000). The present study is responsive to both of these challenges. A case study of a single facet of one program can potentially provide PETE faculty with a model of introspection, such models being rare in the literature. Understanding how the faculty in one program perceive and can articulate the goals of one aspect of the program provides insight into the actual rather than theoretical existence of program coherence. Furthermore, the intentions, delivery, and received messages surrounding one significant course provide even deeper insights into the notion of coherence. Six faculty members and students from the course were recruited for this study. Through interviews, observations, and artifact analysis, the shared visions of how educational gymnastics fits into the overall goals of the PETE program were explored. Results indicated faculty members had a shared understanding of the components of a total program, and where this course fits into the PETE program. There was less consensuses on the specific components of the course or how it fits into the overall teacher preparation program. There was even less consensus when comparing visions of students to the vision of faculty. These findings are not an end but a beginning. With the information generated in this type of study, faculty members can explore where their agreements and disagreements exist and decide what steps must be taken to reinforce or change program attributes