Case Study in Teacher Education

Henson, Kenneth T.

doi:10.1080/00131728809335489

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Child study as a vehicle for teachers' professional growth is not a new idea (Eliot & Gardner, 1985;Havighurst, 1972;Peck & Prescott, 1958;Prescott, 1945Prescott, , 1957. It is an idea, however, that has resurfaced in teacher training as a result of increased interest in studying particular issues in teaching and learning through the use of the case study method (Geiger & Shugarman, 1988;Greenwood & Parkay, 1989;Harrington, 1990Harrington, -1991Henson, 1988;Kowalski, Weaver, & Henson, 1990;Merriam, 1988;Silverman, Welty, & Lyon, 1992;Sudzina & Kilbane, 1992).…”

Section: Mary R Sudzina Is An Assistant Professor and James E Gaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Child Study: A Process for Teachers' Personal and Professional Growth

Sudzina

1993

The Journal of Humanistic Education and Development

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Experienced elementary teachers reported increased professional expertise and personal satisfaction after participating in a school-year long child study seminar focusing on a child from each of their classrooms. Case records illustrate the positive effects of this nonintrusive process on professional educators and the children studied.Counselors, principals, and teachers have been under increasing pressure to focus on overall curriculum, standardized achievement testing, and generic teaching behaviors by the latest wave of educational reform (Reilly, 1990). There have also been financial pressures that have led to a decrease in the number of professional educators, including counselors, who have interpersonal contacts with pupils. In one midwestem state, for instance, the number of elementary counselors has decreased from 613 to 334 during the interim from the 1982-1983 to the 1990-1991 school years (Ohio Department of Education, 1984, 1992. These influences contribute to situations in which less attention is given to the concerns of individual pupils and more to the group outcomes of instruction and achievement (Glickman, 1987;Pajak & Glickman, 1989). These situations can result in teachers feeling isolated and frustrated by the demands placed upon them and perceiving their professional expertise and input to be undervalued and unsupported (Montgomery, 1992). A form of child study can offer special opportunities for teachers to be reaffirmed in their schools, both personally and professionally, during these difficult times.The child study process outlined in this article presents a model for collaboration among teachers, counselors, and other school professionals that focuses attention on individual children, their needs, and their perceptions of the world of school. Distinctions are made between child study and case study methodology in order to contrast a pupil-centered from a teacher-centered process of professional inquiry.

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Section: Mary R Sudzina Is An Assistant Professor and James E Gaymentioning

confidence: 99%