Preparing High-Quality Teachers: Views From the Classroom

Every child has the right to a highly qualified teacher, yet as a nation we are reluctant to empirically investigate how teacher preparation programs are succeeding. Results from the present study suggested that (a) traditionally certified (TC) teachers felt better prepared than non–traditionally certified (NTC) teachers on communicating, planning, and using instructional strategies; (b) NTC teachers’ positive mentoring and prior classroom experiences in conjunction with the overall less positive mentoring experiences of TC teachers may have minimized differences; (c) novice teachers did not feel prepared on items related to multicultural curriculum or assessing student learning; and (d) prior classroom experiences, first year support, and program components were important, but instruction on teaching standards was of particular importance for NTC teachers.