“I Feel Fairly Confident…”: Investigating Literacy Candidates’ Self Confidence through an On-Line Standards-Based Survey

• Main Authors: Sharryn Larsen Walker, Janet Finke, Carol Butterfield, Judy Backlund
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Portland State University 2011-01-01
• Series: Northwest Journal of Teacher Education
• Online Access: http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/25326

This article presents the perceived self-confidence of teacher education candidates who were pursing certification in elementary education or elementary education with an endorsement in reading. Using the state standards toward a reading endorsement as the basis for the statements, each candidate completed an on-line common core survey stating her/his confidence in teaching to the standard. To further support her/his selfrating, these candidates also added comments for each of the six common core standard areas. Results indicated that those pursing an endorsement in reading viewed themselves as more confident than those who were not. Additionally, the data provided strengths and weaknesses about the literacy program at this university. Based on these findings, further analysis of the data is warranted.