In Retrospect: Teachers Who Made a Difference from the Perspective of Preservice and Experienced Teachers

Abstract

Introduction The identification of characteristics that differentiate effective from ineffective teachers has received a great deal of attention in the professional literature for many years. With 1992 as the benchmark, Good and McCaslin (1992) report that there had been more studies completed on teacher effectiveness in the last 20 years than in the preceding 70 years. Good (1996) corroborates the professional literature's long-term attention to this topic by noting the more than 10,000 studies focusing on various dimensions of teaching effectiveness. Despite the vast quantity of research devoted to the topic of teacher effectiveness, variables that comprise effectiveness have not been clearly delineated. The ambiguity of findings may be due to the wide range of methodology used in investigating effective teaching. For example, studies have differed in how effective teachers are identified, how the data are collected, whether the focus is specific (e.g., examining only instructional strategies) or open-ended, and what subjects are included The use of different research methodologies alone would account for the varied and often contradictory findings. With respect to how effective teachers are identified, many studies involving teacher interviews or observations, have utilized peer or student nominations (Jackson & Leroy, 1998; Easterly, 1994; Tolor, 1973). Bain, Lintz, and Word (1989), however identified effective teachers by using students' standardized score gains in reading and mathematics. Wubbels, Levy, and Brekelmans (1997) selected student achievement and attitudes. Response protocols as well as the research interest focus may also contribute to the variability in conclusions reached by various research efforts. Data may be collected by providing subjects with a predetermined list of characteristics to be ranked or reacted to in terms of relevance or importance (McCabe, 1995; McIntyre & Battle, 1998; Young, Whitley & Helton, 1998) while others will not provide any such prompts (Check, 1999; Miller, Stall & Webb, 1999; Witcher & Onwuegbuzie, 1999). In addition to the variance in research protocols, other investigations may have a narrower research interest such as gauging teacher effectiveness specific to an instructional strategy (Fabert, Waters, & Bramley, 1987; Wendler, Samuels, & Moore, 1988) or to the teacher/student relationship (Wubbels, Levy, & Brekelmans, 1997). An additional variable that complicates the interpretation of the available research literature is the grade level focal point of the research itself. Some studies focus on the elementary level (Easterly, 1984; Jackson & Leroy, 1998), or the secondary level (McCabe, 1995). Some may limit themselves to a particular school (Tolor, 1973) while other studies do not restrict their efforts to any the grade level, preferring an all inclusive approach (Check, 1999; Young et al., 1998). Using subject groups at different developmental levels with differing life experiences would also, expectedly, affect perception of effective teaching. Check (1999) solicited traits of effective teachers from the perspectives of older adults, aged 52-87. McCabe (1995) utilized high school students; Peart and Campbell (1999) included young African-American adults; and Miller, Stall, and Webb (1999) had a more general audience of colleagues, family, and friends. While the existing literature provides multiple perspectives, it is the perceptions of individuals seeking to become teachers and individuals who were completing their careers as teachers that is of particular interest to this study. Given this focus, there appears to be a paucity of relevant available literature. Recent efforts with pre-service teachers (Witcher & Onwuegbuzie, 1999; Young et al., 1998) have required them to rate characteristics associated with effective teachers. In the Witcher and Onwuegbuzie (1999) investigation, pre-service teachers were to identify and rank characteristics associated with excellent teachers. …