Looking for
Commitment
to Teaching: Suggestions
for Teacher Education
Thomas B. Steen
One purpose of teacher education is to help future teachers develop the nec- essary knowledge, abilities, and skill for good teaching. A second purpose is to develop the commitment to use this knowledge, ability, and skill when trainees graduate from the training program and begin their teaching careers. There is evidence to suggest that teacher education programs can success- fully achieve the first purpose, but success in the development of commit- ment to good teaching has not yet been demonstrated. By applying Becker's conception of commitment, a two-step plan for developing commitment in teacher education is proposed. The first step is to identify and assess com- mitment, the second step is to record behavioral indicators of commitment and to use these records to help future teachers develop commitment. In physi- cal education, the improvement of teaching is vital to the future of the field; thus it is critical that teacher education programs help their students develop commitment to good teaching as well as develop effective teaching skills.
It has been said that there are two major outcomes in an effective teacher education program (Locke, Mand, & Siedentop, 1981). One is for students in the program to develop a set of teaching skills that will enable them to provide effective sport and fitness instruction for school children. A second outcome is for these prospective teachers to develop the commitment to use these teaching skills when they undertake the professional responsibilities of their first teaching position. The first outcome arms them with the tools to manage large groups of pupils, engage them in the academic content under study, and bring about sig- nificant gains in student achievement. The second outcome empowers trainees with the desire, motivation, and sense of responsibility to act like the kind of teachers they were trained to be.
It is now clear that the first outcome can be achieved in teacher education programs (Siedentop, 1983). There is a good deal of evidence that college stu-
This paper was presented at the annual conference of the National Association for Physical Education in Higher Education in Houston, January 10, 1987.
About the Author: Thomas B. Steen is with the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202.
dents can, with appropriate supervision, develop a set of teaching skills that are effective for managing classes and promoting student learning. It has been demon- strated that when the principles of skill acquisition-observing the skill, trying it out under controlled practice conditions, receiving feedback, modifying the performance, trying again, and then moving progressively toward more com- plex tasks and more naturalistic conditions-are applied to the task of learning to teach, future teachers can indeed learn teaching skills during their undergraduate training in typical college settings (Siedentop, 198 1).
Unfortunately, teacher education programs have realized less success in achieving the second outcome, namely the development of the commitment to teach well. The expanding literature on teacher socialization supports what prac- ticing teachers have reported for years: Something happens between the univer- sity and the school so that when they undertake the responsibilities of a full-time teaching position, teachers apparently reject or forget the teaching skills that were taught during their formal teacher training. Just exactly why the effects of teacher education appear to "wash out" is not yet clear (see Zeichner & Tabachnick, 1981), but it is clear that teacher education programs often do not develop the kind of commitment intended by program designers.
The failure of teacher education to develop commitment is especially critical in physical education because the quality of teaching is often poor and many school programs are not worth saving (Dodds & Locke, 1984). There are indications that, unless physical education teaching improves substantially, sports and fit- ness instruction could well be eliminated from school curriculums and surren- dered to a variety of community agencies. Unfortunately, most community agencies are significantly less able than schools are to offer equitable learning opportunities for all boys and girls.
The problem for teacher education programs in physical education, then, is to turn out better teachers-people who have the skills and the commitment to develop strong school programs in physical education, who will take their work as physical educators seriously, and who will make physical education a vital, productive part of school curriculums. As argued previously, we know how to help prospective teachers develop teaching skills but we do not yet know, with any reasonable assurance, how to develop the component of commitment.
Before commitment to teaching can be developed, teacher educators need to know how to look for it, how to recognize it, and how to assess whether or not their students have it. Once identified and assessed, it may be possible for teacher education programs to develop commitment, an essential outcome for teacher education programs that intend to make a difference with their gradu- ates. Additionally, the ability to look for commitment is an obvious necessity for conducting research on the nature and development of this vital, yet puzzling, component of teacher education.
Commitment and Socialization
Recently, research on teacher socialization has pointed to the development of commitment as a critical component of teacher education. Although studies in adult socialization, particularly those that focus on socialization into occupa- tions and organizations, are not new (adult socialization received a good deal of
attention among sociologists in the 1960s), recent applications of socialization theory to research in teaching and teacher education have made important contri- butions to knowledge about how people learn to become members of the teach- ing profession.
Lawson (1983a, 1983b) has synthesized the research on teacher socializa- tion in physical education as "the process by means of which would-be and ex- perienced teachers acquire and maintain the values, sensitivities, skills, and knowl- edge that are deemed ideal for teaching physical education" (1983a, p. 4). He also pointed out that the challenges to genuine change in physical education are enormous in that negative socialization effects start well before the time when formal teacher education begins, and they continue to affect physical educators long after teacher training experiences have been completed. As a result, teacher education programs will have to become more successful in resisting the power- ful negative effects of socialization in a variety of contexts: in school programs when potential recruits are influenced to go into physical education, in college and university teacher education programs where teacher trainees prepare for professional responsibilities, and again in schools where novice teachers are so- cialized into the world of teaching G d where veteran teachers are influenced either to continue their professional Gowth or to grow stale and tired of teaching.
In a discussion of the professional socialization of physical educators during preservice teacher training, Templin (1985) proposed that it is indeed possible for teacher education programs to socialize future teachers toward a commitment to teaching. He suggested that the learning of teaching skills under the supervi- sion of a coherent, coordinated teacher education program can contribute to the development of commitment. Moreover, the research on teacher socialization con- firms what may be the most important lesson for teacher educators: Even though it is essential that teachers-to-be develop effective teaching skills, the real chal- lenge for teacher educators may well be the development of commitment and the struggle for the teacher's soul (Locke, 1977).
What is
Commitment?
At the heart, commitment means a consistent line of activity. Whether con- ceptualized as an inner state or as a dimension of human behavior, the common thread is that commitment takes shape in consistent action. Cognitive theorists tend to view concepts such as commitment and motivation as deriving from an individual's personality, as character traits or aspects of personality that "come from the inside" (Bucher & Stelling, 1977). Theorists operating out of a more behavioral orientation see an individual's commitments played out in actions (Simpson, 1979). In either case, an individual can be said to be committed when he or she has been observed following a particular and consistent course of ac- tion. It is this notion of commitment as a consistent line of activity that will be used in this paper.
Commitment also has a directional component. That is, commitment does not exist in a vacuum but is instead directed toward something or someone. Tem- plin (1985) suggested that the commitment of physical education teachers is direct- ed toward at least three dimensions of their work: (a) commitment to profession- alism, or to performing work well, (b) commitment to teaching as a career, and
(c) commitment to the organization, as evidenced by loyalty and involvement in the work organization.
It is possible to hold multiple commitments simultaneously. For example, multiple organizational commitments have been observed in students in teacher education programs (Graber, 1987; Steen, 1985), namely, commitments to univer- sity life, to the teacher education program, and to schools, especially during field- based training experiences such as student teaching. These commitments some- times conflict, and the result is an incomplete or dysfunctional socialization of the student into teaching (Lawson, 1983a).
This paper is primarily concerned with commitment to professionalism, or commitment to teach well. This direction of commitment is arguably the most important outcome in the preparation of future teachers (Locke et al., 1981). Not only is this kind of commitment vital to improvement in school physical educa- tion programs, but it is also a good indicator of the impact of teacher education; if program graduates consistently teach or try to teach as they were trained, the teacher education program may be judged as having a strong impact. Obviously, if the teacher education program has wrongly identified good teaching, its im- pact would be viewed as negative. However, the problem in teacher education has not been one of negative impact but rather one of low impact (Locke, 1984). In any case, the commitment to teaching well can be used as an indicator of pro- gram effectiveness.
It is assumed here that teacher educators are interested in developing com- mitment in their students, so that when they become full-fledged teachers they will not only know how to teach well but will also have a strong commitment to do so. That objective is best served by an operationalized conceptualization of commitment, which is observable and measurable. The notion of commitment proposed by Becker (1970) lends itself to observability and measurement, thus allowing for the assessment and development of commitment in teacher educa- tion students. A discussion of Becker's (1970) conceptualization of commitment and its application to teacher education programs follows.
Becker's Notion of Commitment
In the 1960s, Howard Becker, the eminent University of Chicago sociolo- gist, conducted several classic studies on occupational socialization (Becker, Geer, Hughes, & Strauss, 1961; Becker, Geer, & Hughes, 1968). One of the results of that work was Becker's conceptualization of commitment: "The committed person has acted in such a way as to involve other interests of his
. . .
He has staked something of value. . .
on being consistent in his present behavior. The consequences of inconsistency will be so expensive that inconsistency. .
.
is no longer a feasible alternative" (Becker, 1970, p. 166).In Becker's definition of commitment, there are several key elements that can aid in recognition and assessment of the commitment of future physical edu- cators. One of these elements is that commitment is manifested in observable be- havior: A teacher committed to good teaching consistently acts in ways that would be recognized as practicing teaching in an effective manner.
A second element is that commitment involves a choice. The committed teacher has opportunities to act uncommitted to teaching-to act, for example,
as though teaching were unimportant or as though improving his or her teaching ability were either impossible or simply not worth the effort. Assuming that the teacher education program is effective in helping future teachers develop a use- ful set of teaching skills, graduates of the program considered to be committed to teaching will consistently choose to use those same teaching skills in their own teaching. Teachers with commitment will use these teaching skills even when their professional situation offers the opportunity for their disuse.
A third element in the concept of commitment, as suggested by Becker (1970), is that something of value is staked on the consistent line of activity. That is, commitment involves other interests that are seen as valuable and that are not directly involved in the current action. Becker uses a gambling metaphor and calls these other interests side bets. His colleague Blanche Geer (1966), in a dis- cussion of occupational commitment, uses the term valuables instead of side bets. In either case, something of importance has been invested, and this investment encourages the actor toward consistent behavior.
An example of the investment element of commitment can be found in Earls' (1981) study of distinctive physical education teachers. One of the dominant characteristics found in these outstanding, persistent teachers was their love of children. It can be said that the commitment of these teachers rests in part on an important valuable, the desire to work with children. A second example of the investment element can be seen in preservice teacher education programs. The strength of a promising undergraduate's commitment may well rest, at least in part, on a substantial prior investment of time and money in college costs. This investment raises the stakes on success in the physical education teacher preparation program, and thereby encourages consistent compliance with the de- mands of the program in order to get through (Steen, 1985).
Indicators of Commitment
With a basic understanding of the nature of commitment, teacher educators can look for commitment in their students during their preparation for teaching. Since commitment to teaching appears to be influenced by undergraduate pro- grams, the emphasis here will be on that kind of commitment. It is also assumed that development of commitment to teaching well has a direct and positive rela- tionship to the development of commitment to teaching as a career. In other words, short-term commitment encourages the development of long-term commitment. Since commitment is a consistent line of activity, it can be observed. By investing the necessary resources, teacher educators can arrange to make a vari- ety of observations of their students to determine the extent of their commitment to good teaching. The most obvious places for observing commitment are the laboratory and field experiences that are used for practice teaching during the program. Students who consistently use the skills and knowledge they have learned in the program can be viewed as committed to teaching. Records of students' teaching performances, including audiotapes, videotapes, and live observations, are made in many teacher education programs; these records can be kept in a teaching portfolio for each student. Teacher educators can then review the develop- ment of commitment on an individual and ongoing basis.
Unfortunately, looking for commitment is not a simple task. Some students strategically comply (Lacey, 1977) with the demands of the training program in
order to get through it and graduate. These students do what is required of them but retain private reservations about internalizing or "buying into" the model of good teaching espoused in the program. In order for teacher educators to test whether their students are genuinely committed to their program's definition of effective teaching, it is important that they look for commitment in additional areas of student activity.
Informal settings, such as locker rooms and lunch rooms where students in the program tend to congregate, offer other opportunities to look for cornmit- ment. Unlike supervised formal teaching experiences, informal situations are rela- tively free from program demands and thus they give students much greater opportunity to exhibit behavior that runs counter to the goals of the teacher edu- cation program. Students who act committed to good teaching in informal situa- tions, who do such things as talk seriously about teaching and discuss training experiences positively, are less likely to be "putting up a front" (Goffman, 1959) and are more likely to be internalizing the program's goals. Teacher educators looking for commitment in informal situations can record student actions by us- ing the data collection techniques of qualitative researchers (e.g., field notes, in- formal interviews, and nonparticipant observation).
Particular attention should be given to how trainees respond to the demands of clinical experiences in which students come into contact with real pupils and work in naturalistic teaching settings. Most programs observe and record the qual- ity of student preparation, willingness to accept constructive criticism, and the ability to improve their teaching in training experiences. Not only do these quali- ties indicate important skills and attitudes for learners but they also reflect com- mitment. Taken together with the utilization of teaching skills taught in the program, as well as student discussions in informal settings, observations of trainee activity in these varied situations can provide a more accurate and reliable pic- ture of the genuine as opposed to insincere commitment of students in the program. Another opportunity for the assessment of commitment is available in post- teaching debriefings and analyses of teaching performance. These training expe- riences allow teacher educators to see trainees' conceptions of good teaching and then to check for compatibility with the goals of the teacher education program. Records of these analyses can be made with written reports and audiotapes of conferences. Like all permanent records, these can be made part of each trainee's teaching portfolio.
It is also possible to make records of student commitment during the first few years of the trainee's work as a teacher. One of the most consistent com- plaints about American teacher education deals with the lack of follow-up on pro- gram graduates during their initial years of professional service. In spite of the fact that this is a crucial time for new teachers-a time too often dominated by efforts to simply survive and too often devoid of efforts to grow as a teacher- this period is also a time when many young teachers apparently reject what they learned during formal training and adopt different patterns and commitments toward teaching. The efforts of teacher educators appear to wash out when new teachers are faced with the socialization effects of the school and new colleagues (Lawson, 1983b; Zeichner & Tabachnick, 1981).
The first years in teaching are also a time when there is an important shift in the values of the beginning teacher in terms of commitment. Evidence suggests that the chief valuables in the undergraduate teacher preparation pro-
gram are the college degree and the teaching certificate, which are the rewards for successfully getting through the training program (Becker, Geer, & Hughes, 1968; Steen, 1985). Obviously, both the degree and the teaching license have been obtained by the time this phase of induction to the profession begins. Once under contract and into the first year of teaching, new teachers are mainly con- cerned with fitting in and getting along in the context of schools and the work of teaching, a survival of quite a different sort than survival as a college student. It is precisely because of this shift in values that the initial years of teaching offer an important opportunity for monitoring commitment. If trainees continue to use the teaching skills they learned in the training program during the first year of teaching, when the demands of the training program have been removed, teacher educators can be reasonably certain they have succeeded in developing commit- ment to good teaching in their former students.
The investment element of commitment suggests another technique for looking for commitment. Becker (1970) states that "the trick in understanding commitment is to grasp the full range of things that have sufficient value to be included in the calculation" (p. 301) of the cost of past and current actions. As- sessments of what teacher education students deem valuable can be made by us- ing screening tests similar to those suggested by Templin (1985). Essays, interviews, and the like would be very useful at program entry and at various points during the training program. Screening tests for commitment might focus on the reasons for entering physical education, conceptions of good teaching, orien- tation toward change or maintenance of the status quo in school physical educa- tion, and career goals and hopes as ways to uncover the valuables of future physical educators.
Interviews would seem to be especially productive in assessing physical education students' alternative options. Noting that a strong commitment is evi- denced by consistent activity in the face of alternatives, it is important that teacher educators interested in developing commitment to good teaching carefully assess the competing activities that may influence the commitment of future physical educators. Knowing how these students respond to common alternatives (e.g., part-time jobs, social activities, and coaching) would be most helpful in understand- ing both the successful and unsuccessful development of commitment to teaching. In summary, Becker's (1970) conceptualization of commitment can be used to recognize and assess the commitment to teaching of future physical educators. A variety of records of commitment-related student activity should be made and reviewed regularly if teacher educators intend to develop commitment to good teaching as an outcome of professional preparation programs for teaching in physi- cal education.
Developing Commitment
The ability to recognize and evaluate the commitment of future physical educators is essential if teacher education programs are serious about developing commitment to good teaching. But in the end, it is the actual development of commitment that is the goal of the program.
Templin (1985) has made several suggestions about how teacher education programs could develop commitment. One suggestion is to attract and screen stu-
dents who have the abilities and orientations that would allow them to be successful in meeting the goals and demands of the program. He also proposed that teacher educators need to ensure student success in various training experiences, partic- ularly field experiences, by providing them with the necessary training to ac- complish the goals of the experience and by designing experiences to exceed student expectations for success.
A study of physical education teacher socialization during the early part of a teacher preparation program also offers clues about some additional ways to develop commitment (Steen, 1985). It was found from student interviews that the program's newly instituted selective admissions process raised the stakes for the students with respect to their entry into formal teacher education, particular- ly for those students who were unsure that their applications would be accepted. Even though the program actually accepted virtually all the serious applications, students nonetheless perceived a real chance for rejection. Several students "deselected" themselves when they saw their chances for admission were slim. It appears that a selective admissions process raises the ante for many students and, in so doing, may enhance their commitment to the program's view of good teaching.
It was also found that when the demands of the training experiences were increased, most students responded in ways the teacher educators wanted them to. To be sure, there were students who avoided or modified the demands of some of the training experiences, but by and large, most students did what they were supposed to do. These results suggest that increased demands, if students respond to them positively and successfully, increase students' investment in the program and in future actions that are compatible with the goals of the program.
The students in the study also gave strong, favorable reports about early field experiences. They said early field experiences, in which they had opportu- nities to try out teaching roles, helped them confirm their commitment to teach- ing as a career. This is similar to findings in other studies on early field experiences (Dodds, 1985; Haberman, 1983). It would appear that providing the chance for students to test alternative options early, when career changes can still be made before much time and money are invested, increases the chance of strengthening commitment to a teaching career. In this way, properly supervised early field experiences appear to help prevent the countefproductive scenario in which fu- ture teachers are set up for a commitment conflict by developing a commitment to teaching but not to good teaching. Without early field experiences, students must invest considerable time and money by proceeding through all or most of the program before they have an opportunity to test teaching as a career. In this scenario, some future teachers undoubtedly realize too late that they should have chosen another career. Their investment of time and money confirms their com- mitment to enter teaching, but the problems encountered in later field experi- ences compromise their commitment to good teaching.
Conclusion
Becker's (1970) investment model of commitment as a consistent line of activity is useful in understanding the nature of commitment to teaching. If teacher educators can learn to recognize and evaluate commitment in the future teachers
with whom they work, perhaps they can succeed in helping them develop strong commitments to good teaching. Many physical education teachers hold strong commitments to activities that compete with a commitment to teaching well, so it is critical that teacher educators look at their students carefully for commit- ment to good teaching. It is also vital to the future of school physical education that teacher educators design training programs that are successful in preparing physical educators who are both skilled at teaching and committed to teaching well.
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