Abstract
This study examines the Noyce Program, which provides scholarships for STEM majors in return for teaching in high need schools. The perceptions of 555 scholarship recipients were investigated using hierarchical cluster analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and Rasch analysis to determine how the scholarship influenced their commitments to teaching in high need schools. The analyses indicated that recipients perceived the scholarship in two ways: it influenced their commitment to complete their certification program and to teach in high need schools. Implications for teacher education programs include that recruitment strategies should identify candidates who are committed to teaching in high need schools and programs should provide experiences to encourage this commitment not just to become certified.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 451-470 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Journal of Science Teacher Education |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2010 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This project was funded by National Science Foundation Grant#REC0514884.
Funding Information:
Loan forgiveness and scholarship programs to attract individuals to science and mathematics teaching are becoming common as the need for qualified teachers increases. In fact, Jerald and Boser (1999) reported that 27 states have some loan forgiveness or scholarship program(s) for prospective teachers. A variety of state programs provide funding for individuals to become certified in return for teaching in the state awarding the funds, such as the Massachusetts Math and Science Teachers Scholarship Program, while others focus on attracting teachers to high need schools such as New York University’s Urban Teachers of Math and Science Scholarship Program. The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce Program) (2005) is another program that attempts to recruit qualified science and mathematics teachers to high need schools through financial incentives. These incentives help offset teacher education costs and require commitments to teach in high need settings.
Keywords
- Commitment to teach
- Commitment to teach in high need schools
- High need education
- Quantitative methods
- Scholarships