Date of Award:

5-1953

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

School of Teacher Education and Leadership

Department name when degree awarded

Education

Committee Chair(s)

E. A. Jacobsen

Committee

E. A. Jacobsen

Committee

George A. Meyer

Committee

George A. Meyer

Committee

Keith R. Oakes

Abstract

In America the men of influence who have provided leadership to our country have always been concerned with the schooling of the nation's children because they have recognized education of the people to be a vital means of preserving and improving our democratic way of life. Our country's educators, in meeting their great responsibility, in turn have long been concerned with the improvement of educational methods and with the quality of teaching that is provided to these children.

A specific problem that has come to be recognized as one of great importance to the school systems and to the communities which they serve is that of the qualifications to be demanded of a teacher for admission to the teaching profession, for these qualifications will help to determine the quality of education that is made available to pupils in the school rooms. As once expressed by Willard E. Givens (32):

The teacher is the heart of the school. Within the teacher lies the greatest weakness or the greatest strength of American education. Those who would improve educational opportunity must look first to the teacher.

There are various means of improving the quality of the teaching personnel in the schools. Two methods which have received attention and considerable emphasis in professional literature and from workers in educational research are: (1) the establishment of criteria for the selection of teacher trainees by teacher training institutions, and (2) the study and evaluation of certain personal characteristics which seem to be inherent in all successful teachers, and of other influencing factors that appear to contribute to success or to failure in teaching.

However, another aspect of the problem that has received negligible attention, especially in this immediate geographical area, is the determination of what constitutes good practices and techniques of teacher selection on the part of school administrators when they appoint new members to their teaching staffs. It is the belief of this writer that any information that might provide some insight into just what factors superintendents may be weighing as they make their annual selection of teachers for appointment, as evidenced by the procedures they follow in making these selections, should be most useful to prospective teachers, academic advisors in the educational institutions, and to placement bureau officials.

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