In response to a statewide effort to identify successful teaching programs for the purposes of making funding decisions at the state level, a short email survey was distributed to principals in western North Carolina schools to gather perception data regarding the effectiveness of the NC TEACH Program, a program designed to prepare lateral-entry teachers for the classroom. 

Email addresses were collected from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website, and an independent evaluation sent the survey to each principal along with the name(s) of teachers at his or her respective school who participated in the WCU NC TEACH Program from 2000-2005. Responses were returned to the evaluator who collected and analyzed the data. 

A total of 79 emails were sent, ten of which were returned as undeliverable due to invalid email address. Of the 69 emails that were delivered, fourteen principals responded for a 20.3% response rate. Instead of following up with principals immediately, the decision was made to conduct a more elaborate Web-based survey during the summer when the principals have more time to dedicate to responses.

Survey Results

The email survey consisted of six Likert-type questions that addressed the effectiveness of NC Teach in preparing lateral-entry teachers. The survey ended with an open-ended question to allow principals the opportunity to share any other comments he or she might have about the program. The section below presents the questions that were included in the survey along with the aggregated findings for each question.

As a result of the WCU NC TEACH program, the beginning teachers are prepared to:

1.  effectively manage the classroom.
Strongly Agree / Agree – 85.7%
Strongly Disagree / Disagree – 14.3%

2.  address the needs of diverse learners.
Strongly Agree / Agree – 85.7%
Strongly Disagree / Disagree – 14.3%

3.  deliver curriculum content through a variety of instructional approaches.
Strongly Agree / Agree – 78.6%
Strongly Disagree / Disagree – 14.3%
N/A – 7.1%

4.  How prepared are WCU NC TEACHers for teaching content as compared to traditionally prepared beginning teachers?
Very prepared / Fairly prepared – 57.1
About the same as traditionally prepared – 28.6%
Slightly prepared / Not prepared at all – 14.3%

5. When hiring (in absence of a fully licensed teacher), how valuable is a NC TEACHer as opposed to lateral entry teachers who have not been through the program?
 Very Valuable / Somewhat Valuable – 92.9%
 Little Value / No Value – 0%
 N/A – 7.1%

6. In general, I am satisfied with the quality of the WCU NC TEACH education program.
 Strongly Agree / Agree – 85.7%
 Strongly Disagree / Disagree – 14.3%

The open-ended question in the survey yielded mixed results. While about half of the principals reported very positive feelings about the program, others reported problems with their teachers that had been in the program. It should also be noted that the problems cited could not be directly attributed to the NC TEACH Program. The problems reported for beginning teachers dealt with stress management, developing lessons based on individuals’ needs, and adapting to a school environment. The only suggestion made was to increase the amount of time those in NC TEACH spend in the classroom practicing teaching. Sample quotes can be seen below:

• “The three teachers you reference here are all very good. They have been great additions to our faculty."
• “I have hired NC TEACH graduates at the last two schools I have led and have never been disappointed in their preparation. The absence of 1s above is a reflection of the difficulty of preparing any person for their first classroom experience, and does not represent a reduction of standards compared to traditionally prepared teachers. Given the near-crisis state of staffing over the next several years, NC TEACH is a major resource that should be strengthened.”
• “My NC TEACH person has a great deal of difficulty adapting and understanding how to address children's needs. He did not know how to plan lessons, understand developmentally how children learn, how to gear curriculum for individual needs,etc. He is doing a good job now, but this truly is due to the support that our school and Haywood Co. has given him but hiring a support person to meet with him twice a week. This is not to blame your program but it could be the amount of classes he has taken prior to coming to my school. He was ready to quit right before Christmas but we have given him a great deal of support to get him this far and it is paying off.”

Discussion

Overall, the results from this email survey suggest favorable views of the NC TEACH Program, but caution should be taken when interpreting these results due to the small sample size. The size of this sample prevents the ability to make inference about the population, which is a limitation of the study. As stated above, plans are in place to conduct a more elaborate survey of principals to explore their views of the NC TEACH Program’s effectiveness in more detail.