International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning, 1(2), 189–204
Student Teachers’ Perceptions of
Success: A Tale of Two Universities
Kirk Anderson
Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
Mark Hirschkorn
University of New Brunswick, Canada
This article is primarily focused on a recent group (tale 2) experiencing a se-
ries of embedded and interactive field based experiences (field learning); the
discussion is benchmarked to a previous study (tale 1) of student teachers
having had a more traditional semester practicum as part of their field-based
experience. It is within this context that the authors’ show support for rarely
noted findings (knowledge) supporting the efficacy of university campus pro-
grams: novice teachers linking their success in field-based teaching to their
university campus program (campus learning). We contend this is important
evidence supporting the link between theory and practice that has the poten-
tial to better inform educational management decisions.
Keywords: teacher education, novice teachers, teacher efficacy, affirmative
inquiry, reform
This paper is an exploration of prospective teachers’ experiences and the
impact of teacher training programs. Their responses reveal how student
teachers use success experiences to build self–efficacy and provide insight
into how student teachers gain confidence in their teaching abilities as part
of their university program.
There is a need for this type of research as there appears to be few
studies of pre-service teachers focused on student teachers’ perceptions
of their successful teaching performance (Jones & Vesilind, 1996; Van Zee
& Roberts 2001). Further, Beeth and Adadan (2006) state, ‘teacher educa-
tion programs need to know which aspects of their programs contribute to
successful teacher practices reported by their students‘ (p. 107). The litera-
ture on any substantive understanding of the relative influence of university
and school-based components of teacher education programs on student
teacher self-defined success and self-efficacy is in short supply.
In an attempt to address this gap, Anderson, Walker, and Ralph (2009)
spoke primarily to the post-practicum experience, reporting on a group of
four cohorts of interns over a three-year period. However, this tale did not
explicitly focus on the impact of the university component (the on-campus
part) of the teacher education program. This study did not include the inter-
pretation of how both the on-campus and field-based experiences related
www.issbs.si/press/ISSN/2232-5697/1_189-204.pdf
190 Kirk Anderson and Mark Hirschkorn
to students’ socially-constructed and cognitive sense of self-efficacy (per-
ceived competence). It is our aim to fill this gap as we compare the results
from the post-practicum research from Anderson et al. (2009) with a simi-
lar success story, by orienting our study at a newer comprehensive teacher
education program, which explicitly links on-campus and field components
of the teacher preparation program. We do this by connecting the success
story perspectives of student teachers drawn from the university and field-
based components of their education programs.
This discussion describes how the first and second case studies are con-
textually different, primarily in two ways: length of program and position/role
of practicum. Tale 1 was situated at a university that offered its students
an after-degree education program of two years capped by a semester long
internship (in addition to other degree program alternatives). Tale 2 offers
an 11-month after-degree program, with an intended reliance on an em-
bedded practicum that runs concurrent to the on-campus components and
is punctuated by extended practica periods at the end of each semester
(Hirschkorn, Sears, & Rich 2009). It is within this fertile ground of educa-
tional program change that we looked to student teacher success experi-
ences as a means to understand how self-efficacy, as a building process,
can be linked to both the field and university components of the teacher
education program.
Self-Efficacy, Teacher Education, and Seeking Positive Frames
After reviewing the research on self-efficacy and teaching, Vartuli (2005)
suggests ‘that teachers with high self-efficacy have a positive influence on
child outcomes, use effective classroom practices, [. . .] help children de-
velop greater self-esteem, motivation to learn, improved self-direction, and
positive attitudes towards schools’ (p. 78). We accept Vartuli’s (2005) view
of self-efficacy as being ‘based on the teachers’ perceptions of their compe-
tence; [. . .] the strength of the teachers’ self-efficacy helps determine how
much effort they will expend [. . .] and how long they will persevere when
confronted with obstacles’ (p. 76). Sheldon, Ryan, and Reis (1996) stress
a need for research that breaks the tradition of negative reporting and deficit
foci as they are ‘concentrated on what makes for “bad days,”’ arguing ‘that
in studying the quality of a particular day, it is valuable to consider factors
that lift our spirit and keep us going [. . .] it is worth asking: what makes
for a good day?’ (p. 1270). Indeed, we also contend that it is worth asking:
‘what aspects of your education program did you celebrate as contributing
to your most successful experience?’ This is a selectively narrow focus, but
within the positive frame suggested by the authors above, it is linked to the
self-efficacy building process.
In building our understanding of self-efficacy, while contributing to the
International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning
Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Success: A Tale of Two Universities 191
development of novice teachers, Self Determination Theory (SDT) can
help frame our understanding of the relationship between self-efficacy (per-
ceived confidence), motivation, and successful teaching experiences. Guay,
Ratelle, Senecal, Larose, and Dechenes (2006) explain that ‘SDT is an
approach to human motivation that highlights the importance of three fun-
damental needs, namely autonomy, competence, and relatedness [. . .]’ (p.
237). Ryan and Deci (2000) discuss SDT, drawing attention to intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation in the context of success. They argue that intrinsic
motivation produces action because the agent of the action finds ‘it is inher-
ently interesting or enjoyable’ (p. 55). Conversely, however, many aspects of
teaching for novice teachers will involve extrinsic motivation as both novice
teachers and their students are expected to be engaged in tasks that ‘are
not inherently interesting or enjoyable, [therefore] knowing how to promote
more active and volitional (versus passive and controlling) forms of extrin-
sic motivation becomes an essential strategy for successful teaching’ (p.
55). Further to this, Sheldon et al. (1996) argue that ‘psychological health
depends on ongoing feelings of effectance or competence [. . .] the need
to feel competence is a basic organismic propensity that underlies self-
esteem and self confidence’ (p. 1271). Indeed this element may be an
often missed reality of teacher development programs. The importance of
building self-efficacy for novice teachers should be more clearly articulated
as a key aim of teacher education. Increasing self-efficacy has ramifications
for the long term welfare of teachers as noted by Sheldon et al. (1996) who
refer to Bandura (1977) suggesting, ‘self-efficacy, the feeling that one can
bring about desired outcomes, is an important determinant of psychological
health’ (p. 1271). As part of the efficacy building process, Bandura (1982;
1986) has shown that learners engage in observing and modeling the be-
haviour of others in mutually interactive relationships, which contributes to
the learners’ judgments of their self-efficacy. The elements of these rela-
tionships are: personal (one’s beliefs, values, expectations, physical traits,
and social skills), behavioural (one’s outward actions), and environmental
(one’s physical and social surroundings). All of these elements may in-
fluence and be influenced by one another as the learner engages in the
learning process.
The student teachers’ judgments, and thus their self-efficacy, are also af-
fected by other factors, such as the interns’ previous success experiences,
their existing skills and knowledge levels in performing particular teaching
tasks, and the quality of their key mentors’ teaching and supervisory style
(Ralph 2003). This growth is often credited to the school based experiences
under the mentorship of classroom cooperating teacher(s), while college su-
pervisory personnel are seen less favorably (Anderson et al. 2009; Ralph
1998).
Volume 1, Issue 2, 2012
192 Kirk Anderson and Mark Hirschkorn
Typically, university education programs are offered in concurrent or con-
secutive formats. In either format, there appears to be a difference in
the relative value and positioning of field experiences in relation to the
on-campus part of the overall teacher education program. Often the field
experiences are treated as distinct from the on-campus components, most
commonly positioned at the end of the education program following the
completion of the on-campus components (Crocker & Dibbons 2008). It
is in the field-based experiences where a perceived gap between the on-
campus and field-based components of the program is actually articulated
as cited by a student from Beeth and Adadan (2006): ‘Field experiences
provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to apply knowledge of teach-
ing and learning acquired during university-based coursework’ (p. 103). This
following quote demonstrates the sometimes stinging critique of the rele-
vance of on-campus components: ‘most teacher education programs place
substantial emphasis on linking pedagogical preparation with field experi-
ences, prospective teachers [. . .] are quick to point out the lack of useful-
ness that university-based courses have in relation to field experiences’ (p.
104).
The practicum experience, including the self-judgments of these neo-
phyte teachers, is intended to help influence the ongoing beliefs of student
teachers in their instructional and professional capabilities; that is, their
sense of self-efficacy. There seems to be scant evidence or support for the
efficacy building potential of university courses, indeed typically it reflects
Vartuli’s argument that ‘university faculty must select field placements care-
fully as [. . .] student teachers are more influenced by cooperating teachers
than the college supervisors or university courses’ (p. 81). Supporting this,
Anderson et al (2009) found that only 1% of student teachers cited their
university supervisors as related to their primary most important success
as student teachers. However, while often diminished, the role of the on-
campus components in the relative ‘success’ of student teachers during
their field experiences cannot simply be ignored. There seems to be a need
to re-focus our research on newer teacher education programs, which aspire
to go beyond the traditional concurrent and consecutive program and away
from a problem deficit orientation. In this way, we can explore the successful
adaptation of the student teacher’s experience to better understand the ef-
ficacy building aspects of both the field-based and on-campus components
of teacher education programs.
Research Design
The design of this study replicates and complements a study reported in
an article ‘Practicum teachers’ perception of success in relation to self-
efficacy (perceived competence)’ by Anderson et al. (2009) labeled tale 1.
International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning
Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Success: A Tale of Two Universities 193
Tale 1 was largely focused on pre-service teachers’ perceptions of efficacy
building in the practicum. Tale 2 shares a similar methodology, but expands
the research focus to include efficacy building in the context of the entire
teacher education program, meaning both practicum and on-campus com-
ponents.
Using the framework from tale 1 in comparison to tale 2, this research
contributes to a focus away from a teacher education research program with
a deficit orientation, to a focus building on the self-efficacy of pre-service
teachers and the use of successful motivation and efficacy enhancing ex-
periences. Unique to tale 2 is our intention to seek this understanding of
the efficacy building process in the context of a program, which strives to
integrate field and on-campus components. Although formally a consecu-
tive education program, it is a program designed to link the field-based
and university components to enhance the professional development of
prospective teachers. As student teachers build their sense of self-efficacy,
we wondered what they felt had constituted success experiences for them.
We wanted to know how student teachers gain confidence in their teaching
abilities as part of their complete teacher education program while develop-
ing self-efficacy as they enhance their development as teaching profession-
als?
We postulate that these student teachers find success as they search
for exposure to positive events, which support their efficacy building pro-
cess. While we do not claim to have proven this relationship in the quantita-
tive sense, we feel that we have described the relationship qualitatively. In
this sense, we share our findings of the situated and cognitive experiences
of these student teachers in linking self-efficacy with their success experi-
ences. Thus, we see a mixture of factors as student teachers respond to
their environment, personal factors, goals and related choices that influ-
ence their behaviour in a way, which improves effectiveness.
While tale 2 participants were a mixture of student teachers and univer-
sity representatives, the data reported herein is drawn from the success
stories of the student teacher respondents. These novice teachers were at
the end of their education program. This is similar to the cohort in tale 1,
allowing for a better comparison and relative insight. The data from other
respondents, teacher liaisons and cooperating teachers is being used in
other reports and writing. In this paper, these non-student teacher sources
are only used from time to time to add to the perspective being presented.
After experiencing a mixture of field-based and on-campus experiences
over their 11 month after degree program, the student teacher respondents
were in the last few weeks of their programs. The researchers had a contin-
ued relationship with these students, acting as instructors in the program,
as well as working with the majority of the students in another research
Volume 1, Issue 2, 2012
194 Kirk Anderson and Mark Hirschkorn
Table 1 Tale 1 and 2 in Context
Tale 1 Tale 2
Respondents: 193 students (post
practicum) 4 groups over a multiyear period.
Research Focus: How do student teachers
build self-efficacy as part of the practicum
experience?
Research Question: Relating most
successful (story) experience from the
practicum.
Respondents: 30 students drawn from one
group in an inaugural year of new program.
Research Focus: How do student teachers
build self-efficacy as part of the overall
teacher education experience?
Research Question: Relating most
successful (story) experience from the
program.
program designed to solicit the experiences of the students while in the pro-
gram. The respondents’ participation in this study was sought by canvassing
volunteers to attend focus group and large group sessions. No demographic
data were collected from these teacher candidates from which to identify
any particular participant who provided the success story narratives. Overall
sixty respondents participated, thirty of these being student teachers. Each
of the respondents was asked to write about their most successful experi-
ences related to their education program. Specifically, they were asked to
think back over their experiences of the previous several months and ‘recall
an activity, situation, circumstance, or event that depicts a real success
narrative for you. Relate this success by telling a story that energizes and
encourages you when you recall it.’
The categories and themes used in tale 2 are the same as those used
in tale 1. This framework enables some comparison of an existing data
frame within the current round of research, while seeking distinctions be-
tween the two distinct contexts (i. e. given as tale 1 and tale 2). In tale
2 we reviewed and classified these ideas (or incidents of experience) and
compared them across categories and contexts to discover similarities and
differences. The ideas derived from the data were counted for frequency of
unique responses. However, in order to enable better comparison between
tale 1 and tale 2, the primary approach to reporting the data was as the
percentage of responses portraying respondents’ ideas.
With a modified question in tale 2, did we expect to get results that are
more reflective of the on-campus program than was the case in tale 1? The
answer is yes, and that is our point, to take a framework that emerged
from a study focused on the practicum and apply it to data collected with a
program wide emphasis. In doing this we can see the distinctions between
the practicum focused question in relation to the wider university program
view and thereby gain a sense of the relative impact of the on-campus
and field-based components of the program. This process links the field
experience and on-campus program in a way that other research has not.
As a final note, it became apparent that some comments did not fit
the data frame for tale 1. These new areas were tale 2 success stories
International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning
Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Success: A Tale of Two Universities 195
of students’ which seem to be unique experiences attributable to a more
interactive and consecutive degree program and context.
The Findings
We have supervised interns in practica, as well as taught university courses
with the aim of preparing these students for teaching. For many years, we
have witnessed anecdotal examples of efficacy building attributed to suc-
cess experiences. We felt that students in previous cohorts and programs
seemed disengaged when they returned to university coursework after com-
pleting their practica. This was noted in tale 1 as many of the post practicum
student teachers felt they were students again after having been teachers
(Anderson et al. 2009). In tale 2, it seems the respondents were actually
more engaged. They offered the view that their on-campus capping experi-
ence allowed them to see the link between the university and field-based
components of their program, to share experiences with other prospective
teachers who had many of the same concerns and experiences, and to
choose courses and synthesize professional projects which complemented
what they perceived they needed at that stage in their teacher progres-
sion. While we respect and appreciate the insights from the impressions
above, we also need to challenge such perceptions and insights by seeking
more empirically based clarification and understanding. What we found was
particularly helpful for understanding the potential of ‘success’ to promote
growth in the self-efficacy of prospective teachers in teacher education pro-
grams.
The findings in both tales are based on the personal success reflec-
tions of student teachers. However, unlike the participants in tale 1, who
primarily focused on the field-based practicum component, in tale 2 more
student teacher respondents reflected on the on-campus elements of their
university program.
What Pre-service Teachers Saw as Success in Building Self-Efficacy
The table used to report the findings was originally developed in Anderson,
et al. (2009) to present the data categorically. However, Table 2 has been
modified to include the present findings of this study, enabling the compar-
ison between these findings and the specific contexts (and thus programs)
from which they originate. Each of the categories is explained using exam-
ples drawn from the data in the paragraphs following Tables 2 & 3.
The ideas below are organized according to five key themes with nine
related sub-categories. Also included are the success stories of students’
experiences, which did not fit the previous five categories, hence may be
unique experiences attributable to tale 2’s study and context. Advancing
our understanding of the link between our two research foci (the practicum
for tale 1 and the entire program for tale 2), Table 3 is adapted to reveal the
Volume 1, Issue 2, 2012
196 Kirk Anderson and Mark Hirschkorn
Table 2 Success Factors Categories and Response Rates
Categories Sub-categories (1) (2)
Personal relationships 37 50
With mentors 19 23
With students 18 27
First time teaching 22 7
Special event 18 10
Meeting challenges 13 3
Adversity 5 0
Control 3 0
Innovation 3 3
Intervening 2 0
Earning wings and other things 10 17
Earning wings 6 10
Team work 2 7
Faith/spirituality 1 0
New areas Tale 2 specific n/a 13
Column headings are as follows: (1) percentage of responses: tale 1, (2) percentage of
responses: tale 2.
distinction made by tale 2 respondents as to the success in their program
experience.
Personal Relationships
As was the case in tale 1, in tale 2 the most frequently mentioned dimen-
sion of success during the program was personal relationships (50%). This
category seemed to favor personal relationships with students (27%) over
personal relationships with mentors (23%) as the sources of most signifi-
cant success for student teachers.
Personal relationships with students: Twenty-seven percent of the re-
sponses suggested that success factors were attributable to relationships
between the respondent student teachers in the school setting. While this
often was a routine matter of developing techniques to better manage the
learning experiences of children, some situations were more challenging,
yet respondents were able to meet these challenges and produce success
narratives. Also distinct in 5 of the 8 success stories are references to the
on-campus courses and personnel in relation to this school based student
relationship. Two comments in this vein are notable: First, a student teacher
discusses the year long engagement of the program and his getting to know
the ‘kids’ throughout a range of activities, attributing this to ‘Having been
able to be in the school throughout the year was wonderful. I feel I got to
know the kids better than had I only been there for one 15 week chunk.’ In
International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning
Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Success: A Tale of Two Universities 197
Table 3 Success Factors & Response: Tale 2 Distinctions
Categories Sub-categories (1) (2) (3)
Personal relationships 50 27 23
With mentors 23 10 13
With students 27 17 10
First time teaching 7 0 7
Special event 10 3 7
Meeting challenges Control, adversity, & intervening 3 0 3
Earning wings and other things 17 3.5 13.5
Earning wings 10 0 10
Team work 7 3.5 3.5
Faith/spirituality 0 0 0
New areas Tale 2 specific 13 13 0
Column headings are as follows: (1) percentage of responses from tale 2, (2) on campus,
(3) field-based. Note: tale 1 = 1%.
the second case, the student teacher attributes his successful intervention
in the classroom to a university literacy course and his instructor insights.
The sense that the student teachers were looking for relationships between
the student teacher and the school students as the student teacher nego-
tiated a place in the school is apparent. Also apparent, in the opinions of
the student teacher respondents, is a mixture of forces, which support the
university and field-based elements as interconnected.
Personal relationship with mentor-exemplar: Twenty-three percent of the
responses gave evidence that mentoring-exemplar relationships with other
educators were significantly related to the successful aspect of their school-
based experiences. Somewhat encouraging in tale 2, is the greater support
for the role of the university based mentors than in tale 1. They are better
represented in these student teachers success stories. In tale 1, only 1%
of student teachers referred to university based personnel, while in tale 2,
iteration of this study 3 of the 7 reflecting 10% of the total sample linked
their success story to relationships with university personnel.
The ‘mentor-exemplars’ as identified by respondents were a mixture of
key people. These were not always the formal mentors assigned, but in-
cluded university representatives in the school and other educators whom
they also saw as role models for their teaching. Given the emphasis that
the literature places on mentor relationships and the literature citing the
strong identification between field-based personnel and student teachers
(Brown, Collins, & Duguid 1989; McCown et al. 1999), this ‘hint’ at more
success attributed to university based personnel is noteworthy. In one such
instance a student teacher extolled that ‘He [university source] encouraged
us to attempt a project. We learned that taking risks is not negative.’ Stress-
Volume 1, Issue 2, 2012
198 Kirk Anderson and Mark Hirschkorn
ing the importance of the school based relationship and mentoring, another
reflected that ‘after a hard day at school, I doubted my skill and choice to
become a teacher. I turned to [. . .] for advice and she was supportive and
understanding and shared similar moments where she experienced similar
feelings. That moment I felt I connected to her and to the schools (a sense
of belonging). I am so happy she was there for me.’
The work of the faculty supporting the success of this connection be-
tween the school, university, and student teacher can be shown. In speak-
ing of her work in creating a success story, a faculty source commented, ‘I
enjoyed watching teachers and interns building their relationship. One par-
ticular intern struggled to build a relationship [. . .] after being moved from
several teachers she found a compassionate and patient teacher. There I
saw her creativity and intelligence emerge. I felt it was a lesson for teachers
to realize that interns also need time to grow and flourish like our students.’
Each of these instances is indicative of how building student teacher self-
efficacy requires the combined efforts of mentors from the school and uni-
versity as student teachers look to role models and guides during their field
and university-based program components.
First Time Teaching Experience
The category of first time teaching experience indicates a success story
associated with the first time the student teacher took primary responsi-
bility for a class lesson or related event. As such, tale 2 student teachers
encountered a variety of activities related to first time teaching, which was
seen as: teaching the first class, taking responsibility for part of a class,
or situations that involved respondents in a way that made them realize
that they were responsible for an outcome related to their actions. In tale
2, however, only 2 responses (7%) suggested their most successful expe-
rience was centered on a first time teaching experience. This is much less
than the 22% noted in tale 1. Of the two that did offer ‘first time’ comments,
one respondent celebrated the realization of the connection between their
teaching and students learning: ‘I was teaching and assigned work to my
students and they did it. They got right to work and wanted to do what
I had asked them. They were engaged, interested and happy to be learn-
ing. It was exhilarating to realize that I was capable of inspiring students
to want to learn. I had done something right and I wanted to make sure I
repeated it.’ The other respondent relates seeking constructive and posi-
tive feedback from students during an evaluation of her teaching: ‘I felt like
I learned something from my students, about my teaching style, and that
they respected me for giving them a chance to express their ideas.’
Tale 1 reflects a post practicum group of student teacher respondents
in a traditional block semester program. Tale 2 is a more comprehensive
International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning
Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Success: A Tale of Two Universities 199
program in which the practicum components are interwoven throughout the
11-month program. It seems a reasonable assumption, and perhaps an im-
portant finding, that the link to first time teaching was muted somewhat for
the tale 2 student teachers. A more exciting possibility is that perhaps this
was due to the tale 2 program easing the first time anxiety while transition-
ing student teaching more effectively.
Special Events
Special events are an ever present feature in schools. And likewise, respon-
dents were drawn into such events, which they cited as their most significant
success. In tale 1, 18% of the respondents discussed sports tournaments,
drama, schools concerts, and sometimes community events. In tale 2, only
10% of the student teachers’ comments reflected this. Tale 2 student teach-
ers were in the school periodically over a period of 11 months, while tale 1
student teachers were engaged in a semester block, which may have pro-
vided more opportunity to get involved with special events. Of note in the
tale 2 context, of the three references to special events, one was actually
in reference to an art show put on by her university art class. The other two
are school based and focus on a drama club and physical education activity
which is reflective of the case in tale 1.
In the school based setting, the student teacher celebrates being ‘al-
lowed to work with the drama club all year. I really cherish the time I spent
with those kids and the professional relationship I built throughout the year.’
Such events provided ‘avenues of opportunity’ for interns to practice their
skills in forums that involve students and sometimes the larger community
and, in least one instance, act as a part of the university education. For
both, tale 1 and 2 such events provided an opportunity for interns to be-
come involved in typical extended school related activities. In tale 2 there
was one instance in which this occurred in on-campus setting.
Meeting Challenges
Many experiences involve challenges. People with high degrees of self-
efficacy are more likely to persist in meeting these challenges by perceiv-
ing them as obstacles to overcome instead of barriers to further progress.
Student teachers are challenged with many issues in both the field and
on-campus experience. In tale 1, Anderson et al. (2009) saw meeting chal-
lenges as being loosely connected to a student teacher’s role as: facing
adversity (5%), exerting control (3%), innovation (3%), and in some case in-
tervening (2%). As these were relative low frequency instances in tale 1, it
was not surprising that the participants in tale 2 also had few references
in this category. Indeed, some were nonexistent. But for one sub-category,
innovation was raised by a lone tale 2 respondent. Arguably there was in-
Volume 1, Issue 2, 2012
200 Kirk Anderson and Mark Hirschkorn
novation but it is difficult to attribute significance to a single success event
for tale 2 respondents. Nonetheless, one citing that was given reveals an
important story as the student teacher explains:
I had the opportunity to work with at risk students. There students
had a mixture of behavioural, academic, and learning challenges. The
students bought into the idea of making boomerangs and each cre-
ated their own uniquely designed and painted boomerangs. During the
construction of the boomerangs, the students opened up to me about
their lives and I felt as though I really connected with this group of spe-
cial individuals. We have to throw a boomerang pretty hard in order for
it to come back to you and we found a parallel between throwing your
boomerangs and your actions in your life. If we throw out positives to
others they often come back to us, the same is true for the negatives
(sometimes multiplied).
With the same special group of students, I was able to have interviews
with each one of them for 1 hour. During this time we wrote 3 goals for
each one of them to achieve including actions plans and rewards they
would receive if they accomplished these goals. During our individual
interviews, all of the students opened up to me on a whole new level
and showed me part of their world. When the students found out that
I really cared about them, we were able to accomplish a lot together.
These students had a lot of needs; most of them needed just the
basics, like someone to listen to them, someone to encourage them,
someone to tell them that they can be successful. This was a special
experience for me because I felt as though I made a difference in
these kids’ lives, I truly believed in them.
Earning Wings and Other Things
In tale 1 earning wings and other things was a collection of dimensions that
relate to the recognition of interns by others (6%), a sense of being part of
a team as a member of the staff (3%), and the interns’ spirituality (1%). In
tale 2, we see the same patterns emerge for this group of student teachers,
with the exception of spirituality. Tale 2 student teacher respondents gave
success stories, which were attributed to the recognition of them by others
(10%) and gaining a sense of being a member of the team (7%).
Earning wings: This category is similar to the first time teaching expe-
rience with the exception that there was a unique emphasis given by the
respondent in expressing a sense of affiliation; of ‘feeling like real teach-
ers’ and was defined by Anderson et al. (2009) as ‘times when they felt the
success of being recognized as what they called “a real teacher” by others’
(p. 164). In tale 2, 10% of student teachers commented on ‘Earning Wings.’
This sense of earning wings was described by one student teacher as, ‘a
International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning
Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Success: A Tale of Two Universities 201
turning point when I realized that I would teach and get through to students.’
Also a member of a focus group session for student teachers from tale 2
explained this as when, ‘I actually felt it when I was teaching. [. . .] I would
get up in front of the class and just start going.’
Team work: The experience of starting something as new as a career
is characterized with issues of self-identity as well as self-efficacy. As first
student teachers are outsiders and may not see themselves as part of
any group, let alone the school or university ‘team.’ With some trepidation,
prospective teachers make their first steps into a new context, and at some
point will make a socially embedded and cognitive decision to construct
relationships in a new social setting. In understanding the team aspect of
success stories, 7% of our tale comments from student teachers suggested
this was their most successful experience in the program. One cites being
part of the university, as being ‘surrounded by people who challenged me,
encouraged me, and supported me. I was honoured to do the same for
them.’ The other student teacher respondent spoke of the practicum saying
‘by the end of the practicum: when I was opening gifts, eating cookies, and
taking photos with my students who truly did not want me to leave, I knew I
had made the right choice in becoming a teacher.’
New Areas as Tale 2 Specific
We have tried to compare and contrast tale 1 with tale 2. As outlined ear-
lier, there are differences in the context for tale 1 and tale 2; therefore, one
should expect unique findings attributable to these differences. Although
this is a qualitative piece with an exploration and comparison of the two
case studies with the themes derived by Anderson et al., (2009) definitive
claims cannot be made, we can infer and make some reasonable sugges-
tions as to the related findings. In this distinctive section we share the 13%
of student teacher responses that did not fit the existing themes which
emerged in Anderson et al. (2009). These responses sought other suc-
cesses in a way not attributed in tale 1. The ideas expressed ranged from
identifying with the university as a cohort to valuing their participation in
the university courses at the end of their program. As one student teacher
noted, ‘my mind was opened to critical theory and the possibilities within
such a discipline. [. . .] I felt like a competent, intelligent adult.’ Another cele-
brated being able to influence the program as ‘utilizing the power of student
directed learning [. . .] designing a seminar course in educational thought.
[. . .] [a] learning experience from proposal to completion.’ While finally one
respondent suggests, ‘I have had more ‘aha’ moments in the intersession
than in the rest of the year put together. It’s here that I’ve felt for the first
time that I can do this, and I might be good at this. Maybe it’s the caliber of
the courses, the fact that we got to choose, or the culmination of something
that was already building.’
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202 Kirk Anderson and Mark Hirschkorn
Conclusion
One of the contextual differences between the education program in tale
2 and the program in tale 1 is how the practica in tale 2 are embedded
within its 11-month collaborative framework of field and on-campus com-
ponents. For example, faculty representatives from the field had a hand
in determining the on-campus topics and also contributed to the assess-
ment of student teachers’ professional projects, portfolios, and their end
or program interviews. Tale 1 reflects a semester practicum, which is more
distinct from the on-campus component of the university program normally
followed by another semester of on-campus course work. These contextual
differences influenced the conveyed success stories. Indeed, we have en-
deavored to identify these contextual factors for the role they may have
played in building the self-efficacy of the student teachers.
Ryan and Deci (2000) delineate self-efficacy within Self Determination
Theory as ‘perceived competence.’ They argue that ‘people must not only
experience perceived competence (or self-efficacy), they must also expe-
rience their behavior to be self-determined if intrinsic motivation [to act]
is to be maintained or enhanced’ (p. 58). Our discussion of the findings
in relation to both tales 1 and 2, and in relation to self-efficacy suggests
that success events reveal a variety of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation,
which can increase levels self-efficacy as actual competence. Furthermore,
in tale 2, there is more support for the university context as being able to
contribute this growth.
Elements of the education program described through tale 1 and tale 2,
contribute to our understanding of how student teachers build self-efficacy,
but the tale 2 data again is suggestive that the university component can
play a significant role in the process. This was a concern in the finding of
the tale 1 study as the university personnel were cited by only 1% of student
teacher respondents with their most notable success story. Significantly, in
the tale 2 context, nearly half the success stories were attributed to the on
campus element of the university program. While the literature has scant
evidence supporting student teachers as linking their university experience
to their success in the field-based teacher or program success, the find-
ings herein are suggestive of how an after degree education program with
interwoven practica components can make this connection.
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Kirk Anderson is an associate professor with the Faculty of Education at
Memorial University of Newfoundland. His primary research interests are di-
rected at leadership succession, teacher leadership, and teacher education.
Dr. Anderson is a graduate of the University of Toronto, where he focused on
teacher leadership roles in schools. As a practitioner he was a school princi-
pal for many years and before that taught mathematics. He is also currently
Volume 1, Issue 2, 2012
204 Kirk Anderson and Mark Hirschkorn
Dean for the Faculty of Education at Memorial University and a member of the
international board of the International School Effectiveness Congress.
Mark Hirschkorn is an associate professor with the Faculty of Education at
the University of New Brunswick. His primary research interests are directed
at the Scholarship of Teaching and Application. Dr. Hirschkorn is a graduate
of the University of Alberta, where he focused on the student teacher rela-
tionships of beginning teachers and how they change with experience. As a
practitioner he taught high school science for many years in the province of
Alberta as well as at an International school in Muscat, Oman. He is also
currently President of the Canadian Association of Teacher Education.
This paper is published under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning