predicting performance by profile

Predicting Performance by Profile

Predicting Performance

by Profile

Dara Cassidy


Why look at GST background?

• Coady (2010)– Strong relationship between the profile characteristics of pre-service

teachers and the course of their development throughout their ITE programme.

– Research on the profiles of student teachers can help inform ‘how teachers are prepared, their subsequent teaching practices and the impact on their students’ learning’ (p288).


Diversity of academic background

• Primary school teacher profile: very homogenous,

• Consecutive (post graduate) route facilitates greater diversity in terms of age, previous studies and work experience.

• Nolan (2000) – The diverse academic backgrounds of the graduate students can

‘enhance the capacity of our schools to cater for an increasingly diversified student population’ (p18).


Pilot study

• 2012 pilot study looked at whether aspects of GST profile have any predictive value in relation to their ultimate competence as teachers.

• It used the score achieved in the teaching practice (TP) component of the ITE programme as a potential predictor of good teaching post qualification.

• The TP component is a very significant part of teacher training programmes and it is generally the case that a student cannot pass an ITE programme without passing the TP component.

• Casey and Childs, (2007) – ‘Performance in student teaching is related to performance in

independent teaching (p11).

• Greaney et al (1999)– Found performance in TP to be the best predictor of later teaching

performance (p31).


Pilot details

• The study sample was taken from a cohort of students engaged in a two-year consecutive post-graduate programme – the Higher Diploma in Arts in Primary Education (HDAPE). The TP scores were obtained from the first of three TP blocks that the graduate student teachers (GSTs) on the programme would undertake.


Pilot hypotheses

• There is a relationship between TP score and:– Age

– Gender

– Leaving Certificate points

– Previous degree results

– Previous degree subject area

– Number of years of work experience

– The nature of work experience undertaken.

• Final sample was comprised of 119 GSTs (34.5% of the total cohort)

Hypothesis 2012 Finding (TP1) 2014 Follow up (Overall TP)

Age No for the group as a whole (p=0.105)Yes for males (Correlation = 0.541) (p=0.017)

No for the group as a whole (p=0.124)Yes for males (Correlation = 0.467)(p=0.044)

Gender No (t= -1.806, df = 117, p=0.074) Yes (t=-2.930, df=115, p=0.004)

Leaving Certificate Examination (LCE) points

No (r=0.090, p=0.331) No (r=0.115, p=0.217)

Previous degree results Yes(Correlation = 0.199)(p=0.030)

Yes(Correlation = 0.296)(p=0.001)

Previous degree subject area• Arts & Humanities• Business• Tech/Eng/IT• Science & Healthcare• Hybrid

Between groups (f=2.567, df=4, p=0.042)Statistically significant difference between Science & Healthcare compared with Business (p=0.019)

Between groups (f=1.661, df=4, p=0.164)No statistically significant differences between any of the groups.

Number of years of work experience No (Correlation = 0.131; p=0.156) No (Correlation = 0.101; p=0.278)

The nature of work experience undertaken• Child focused• Office work• Customer facing• Technical• Miscellaneous• None

No (df=5, F=1.409, p=.226) No (df=5, F=1.132, p=.348)

Pilot results and follow-up


Current study

• 2012 students – 2 cohorts– Population: 538

• Completed all 3 blocks of TP

• Final score is an amalgamation of scores from all three blocks

• Focus on– Gender

– Age

– Previous degree results

– Previous degree subject area


Overall TP performance N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Overall TP 538 40.86 84.43 68.3317 6.73356

Valid N (listwise) 538


Not normally distributed – large concentration around the early to mid-20s age group – therefore median and interquartile range.

Median age Interquartile Range

All 27 6

Female 27 5

Male 29 9

Median age for males and females is quite close – in pilot it was 5 years.

Age


Age and TP score

Correlation

Coefficient

Sig. (2-tailed)

Spearman's

rho

-.19 .661

Females Correlation Coefficient Sig. (2-tailed)

Spearman's rho .023 .644

Males Correlation Coefficient Sig. (2-tailed)

Spearman's rho -.073 .412

Whole group

By gender


Gender# of GSTs by Gender Mean TP score Standard deviation

Male 129 65.6202 7.48085

Female 409 69.1869 6.24993

Independent

Samples Test

t df sig Effect size

-5.380 536 0.000 0.226


First degree grade

0

50

100

150

200

250

1st 2.1 2.2 Pass

Frequency

1st

2.1

2.2

Pass

Grade Frequency %

1st 25 4.6

2.1 213 39.6

2.2 219 40.7

Pass 80 14.9

Missing 1 0.2

Total 538 100


Grade Mean TP score Standard deviation

1st 69.08 5.23594

2.1 69.35 6.51724

2.2 67.82 6.66961

Pass 66.83 7.55569

Correlation Coefficient Sig. (2-tailed)

Spearman's rho 0.127 0.003

65.5

66

66.5

67

67.5

68

68.5

69

69.5

1st 2.1 2.2 Pass

Mean TP score

1st

2.1

2.2

Pass

First degree grade and TP score


Previous degree type

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Arts &Humanities

Science &Healthcare

Technical &Engineering

Business &Law

Hybrid

# Students

Degree type # Students %

Arts & Humanities 38571.6%

Science & Healthcare 30 5.6%Technical & Engineering 23

4.3%Business & Law 93

17.3%Hybrid 5

0.9%Missing 2

0.4%Total 538

100%


One-Way Anova df F Sig.

Between Groups 4 1.698 .149

One-Way Anova reveal no statistically significant correlations between the various degree categories and the overall TP score achieved.

Previous degree type and TP score

# Mean Std. Deviation

Arts & Humanities 385 68.4308 6.4003

Science & Healthcare 30 70.6476 5.17039

Technical & Engineering 23 68.9068 7.75382

Business & Law 93 67.1505 7.86816

Hybrid 5 69.2571 9.89506

Total 536 68.3609 6.72854


Hypothesis Pilot: Overall TP Current Study: Overall TP

Age No for the group as a whole (Correlation = 0.143, p=0.124)Yes for males (Correlation = 0.467)(p=0.044)

No for the group as a whole (Correlation = -0.19, p=0.661)No for males or females

Gender Yes (t=-2.930, df=115, p=0.004) Yes (t=-5.380, df=536, p=0.000)

Previous degree results Yes(Correlation = 0.296, p=0.001)

Yes(Correlation = 0.127, p=0.003)

Previous degree subject area• Arts & Humanities• Business• Tech/Eng/IT• Science & Healthcare• Hybrid

No statistically significant differences between any of the groups. (f=1.661, df=4, p=0.164)

No statistically significant differences between any of the groups. (f=1.698, df=4, p=0.149)

Comparisons with pilot


Discussion: Age

• Heinz (2008)– ‘One of the benefits of consecutive teacher education programmes is

that they allow later entry of students who might decide on a teaching career at a more mature age’ (p229). Belief that the maturity and experience that come with age can be an advantage to aspiring teachers.

• Eifler & Potthoff (1998)– More mature students have had a chance to acquire skills that are of

great value in the classroom, e.g. flexibility, ability to cope with change.

• Coolohan (2003, p344)– ‘Mature students are seen by many teacher educators as an

enrichment to the student teacher body’ (p344).


Discussion: Gender

• Concern about feminisation of teaching and linkage to underperformance of boys in the educational system (Drudy, 2006) .

• Relationship between TP result and gender mirrors findings by Coady, while Drudy (2006) has found that ‘males were much less likely than females to graduate with honours from initial teacher education’.

• Avenues to explore:

– Difference in teaching ability for males or females?

– Factors relating to the way TP is scored

– Difference in first degree grades on entry?

Pass 2.2 2.1 1st TOTAL

Male 28 49 45 6 128

% 22% 38% 35% 5% 100%

Female 52 170 168 19 409

% 13% 42% 41% 5% 100%


Discussion: Degree grade

• Mixed findings in the literature with regard to relationship between academic performance and teaching ability.

• Greaney et al (1999) found significant relationships between performance in TP and attainment in the Education Studies component of a B.Ed course and with the level of degree obtained by the B.Ed students on graduation.


Discussion: Degree category

• Coady– Students with a background in ‘practical subjects’ may be at a

disadvantage in an ITE course as they would ‘have had less exposure to a strong, traditional literary-based education’. This may ‘limit their ability to engage with the teacher education programme as compared with their peers’ (2010, p285).

– This was not borne out in relation to the current study. In fact, the highest mean scores in TP were achieved by those whose primary degrees were categorised as ‘Science and Healthcare’.


Further avenues

• Gender component

• Relationship between TP score and subsequent rating as a teacher.


Reference List• Casey, C.E. & Childs, R.A. 2007, "Teacher education program admission criteria and

what beginning teachers need to know to be successful teachers", Canadian Journal of

Educational Administration and Policy, vol. 67, pp. 1-24.Coady, L. 2010, Becoming a

Teacher: Students’ Experiences and Perceptions of their Initial Teacher Education,

Unpublished PhD

• Coolahan, J. 2003, "Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers: Country

background report for Ireland", Dublin: Department of Education and Science.

• Drudy, S. 2006, "Gender differences in entrance patterns and awards in initial teacher

education", Irish Educational Studies, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 259-273.

• Eifler, K. & Potthoff, D.E. 1998, "Nontraditional Teacher Education Students: A

Synthesis of the Literature.", Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 187-195.

• Greaney, V., Burke, A. & McCann, J. 1999, "Predictors of Performance in Primary-

School Teaching", The Irish Journal of Education/Iris Eireannach an Oideachais, pp.

22-37

• Heinz, M. 2008, "The composition of applicants and entrants to teacher education

programmes in Ireland: trends and patterns", Irish Educational Studies, vol. 27, no. 3,

pp. 223-240.

• Nolan, J. & Killeavy, M., 2000, "The Higher Diploma in Education: An NUI perspective",

Towards 2010, pp. 7-29.

predicting performance by profile

Education

business p

student teaching

teaching practice tp

graduate student teachers

ite programme

tp blocks

tp scores

profiles of student