Problems and concerns of art student teachers.

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate differences in the way experienced art teachers and art student teachers perceive and rank problems; in addition, the way experienced art teachers and other teachers perceive and rank problems; the way art student teachers and other student teachers perceive and rank problems. A questionnaire was used to determine problems of experienced art. teachers and art student teachers. Items in the questionnaire dealt with four areas: preparation and methods, teacher-student interaction, teacher-staff interaction, and the school facility itself. The questionnaire was distributed to a high school staff in a suburban Kansan school district, to secondary art teachers in the district, to student teachers assigned in that district, and to art education students in a Kansas college about to enter student teaching. Two research hypotheses were included and according to the tabled value of chi-square the null hypotheses were rejected at the .05 level of significance. The data collected in this study were based on the number of responses to each item on the questionnaire. The results of the statistical analysis indicqted art student teacher concerns included: teaching methods, coping with individual differences, availability of teaching aids/supplies, class size, communicating effectively with students, and establishing rapport with students. It was recommended that these concerns need to be the emphasis of the cooperating teacher and art student teacher relationship, that college art education courses must expand to include a larger emphasis of their curriculum that exposes and expounds these concerns. It was recommended that the partnership between college educators and cooperating teachers must be strengthened; and that college personnel involved with all phases of teacher education and training, make periodic visitations to public schools. Recommendations for further research were proposed.