An International Study of Programs That Prepare Teachers of Young Adolescents

Authors

Cheryl R. Ellerbrock, University of South FloridaFollow
Katherine M. Main Dr, Griffith UniversityFollow
David C. Virtue, Western Carolina UniversityFollow

Abstract

This article highlights an upcoming multi-phase, international comparative research study on higher education institution-based programs that prepare teachers of young adolescents. The purpose of this investigation is multifaceted. The investigators aim to (a) document the programmatic and pedagogical features of higher education institution-based programs that prepare teachers of young adolescents in diverse national, regional, cultural, and institutional contexts; (b) identify and describe relationships between higher education institution-based programs that prepare teachers of young adolescents and the socio-cultural, historical, and institutional contexts in which they are embedded; (c) identify and describe patterns of philosophy, programming, and practice evident across higher education institution-based programs that prepare teachers of young adolescents; (d) assess the extent to which higher education institution-based programs that prepare teachers of young adolescents operating in diverse contexts are aligned with the AMLE’s Middle Level Teacher Preparation Standards, and (e) investigate relationships among higher education institution-based programs’ design elements, contexts, implementation processes, and outcomes that prepare teachers of young adolescents.

Author Bio

Dr. Cheryl Ellerbrock is an Associate Professor of Middle Grades and General Secondary Education at the University of South Florida. At USF, she teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in middle level and general secondary education and serves as program coordinator of an undergraduate residency-based middle school teacher preparation program. Dr. Ellerbrock has authored over 30 publications that center on ways to promote responsive school experiences for young adolescent learners. In 2014 she co-edited a book published by Teachers College Press entitled, “Talking Diversity with Teachers and Teacher Educators: Exercises and Critical Conversations Across the Curriculum.” In 2016 she won the Paul S. George Award in Recognition of Leadership and Service for the Advancement of Middle School Level Education in the State of Florida and in 2011 she was the recipient of USF’s Outstanding Undergraduate Teacher of the Year award. Dr. Ellerbrock currently serves as Chair of AERA's Middle Level Education Research SIG.

Dr Katherine Main is a Senior Lecturer and Program Leader in the School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses on middle schooling/junior secondary. Her research interests include middle school/junior secondary reform and the need for targeted professional development; teacher efficacy including the collective efficacy of teacher teams. She is a strong advocate for young adolescents and her current research is focused on student wellbeing.

Dr. David C. Virtue is the Taft B. Botner Distinguished Professor of Middle Grades Education at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. Before joining the faculty at WCU in 2020, Dr. Virtue held appointments as head of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Auburn University (2016 – 2020) and as a faculty member and department chair at the University of South Carolina (2003 – 2016). His scholarship focuses on middle grades teacher education and credentialing on curriculum design and implementation. Dr. Virtue was a Fulbright scholar in Norway and a visiting scholar in Denmark, and during his career he has authored more than 50 professional publications and secured more than $1.5 million in grants and contracts. Dr. Virtue has served as a journal editor for the Association for Middle Level Education, and he recently edited The International Handbook of Middle Level Education Theory, Research, and Policy (Routledge, 2019).

DOI

10.20429/cimle.2020.250102

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Ellerbrock, Cheryl R.; Main, Katherine M. Dr; and Virtue, David C. (2020) "An International Study of Programs That Prepare Teachers of Young Adolescents," Current Issues in Middle Level Education: Vol. 25: Iss. 1, Article 2.
DOI: 10.20429/cimle.2020.250102
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cimle/vol25/iss1/2