Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationTeacher preparation programs provide teacher candidates with foundational knowledge, application experiences, and training to graduate highly effective teachers. The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation has a major impact on how faculty in teacher education programs prepare their preservice teacher candidates. For subject matter competency, the CAEP has adopted Specialized Professional Associations (SPAs), which are used to establish discipline specific standards and procedures for program review and accreditation. The SPA for physical education is defined by The Initial Physical Education Teacher Education Standards. The purpose of study one was answer the following research questions: Are PETE faculty using performance-based assessment tools to evaluate preservice teaching competencies? And what tools are being used? Sixty PETE university faculty participated in this study. Building off of the findings from study one, 70% use a performance-based assessment tool to evaluate preservice teacher competence, whereas, 30% of PETE university faculty do not use a performance-based assessment tool to evaluate preservice teacher competence. Seventyfour percent of those who use performance-based assessment tools use a self-developed tool. The field would benefit from a concise and accessible method of evaluating preservice teachers that is based on the standards. Therefore, study 2 developed and establish preliminary validity and reliability of the Pre-Service Teacher Competency Performance Scale (PSTCPS), a tool designed to complement those that already exist in iv the field. The current study included two separate phases. The first phase defined teacher competence, developed the items under each standard, and established face validity. The second phase piloted the Pre-Service Teacher Competency Performance Scale (PSTCPS) in the field to examine construct validity and reliability. After completion of the pilot phase of the PSTCPS in study 2, study 3 was conducted. Study 3 qualitatively captured a constructivist grounded theory method. Semistructured interview data from six cooperating teachers and two student teachers were used to collect rich descriptions pertaining to the virtues and shortcomings of the PSTCPS. Ultimately, this study was undertaken with the goal of using the findings to improve the PSTCPS. Findings from all three studies will be discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications