[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-599893-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-599893-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","unknowingly-made-for-the-middle-teacher-candidates-study","(Un)Knowingly Made for the Middle - Teacher Candidates Study","","This study used a mixed methods approach to determine why teacher candidates choose to teach in middle schools. Pre-service teachers from The College of New Jersey’s Secondary Education department participated, including those completing an initial middle school field experience and those in the first two middle school specialization cohorts. Data from surveys, interviews, and semi-structured interviews showed four motivation themes: impact, perceptions of middle school, content, and job prospects. Findings inform recruitment and retention strategies in middle level teacher preparation programs.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/unknowingly-made-for-the-middle-teacher-candidates-study/599893/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/unknowingly-made-for-the-middle-teacher-candidates-study/599893.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"PakDamar76","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-20","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"How was the study conducted to explore teacher candidates’ decisions?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"The study used a mixed methods design. It included pre- and post-surveys around a first field experience, interviews for a subset of participants, and semi-structured interviews for another participant group.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"Which four themes emerged as teacher candidates’ motivations?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"The data revealed four major themes: impact, perceptions of middle school, content, and job prospects.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"Why is this knowledge important for middle level teacher preparation programs?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The findings help explain how middle level programs can recruit and retain strong candidates by addressing the reasons pre-service teachers decide to teach in middle schools.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},599893,1792119927,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},962090893057,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Running head: (UN)KNOWINGLY MADE FOR THE MIDDLE 1  \n(Un)Knowingly Made for the Middle: Why Teacher Candidates Decide to Teach in Middle Schools  \nCaitlin M. Mannion  \nand  \nJonathan Ryan Davis  \nThe College of New Jersey  \n(UN)KNOWINGLY MADE FOR THE MIDDLE 2  \nAbstract  \nThis study used a mixed methods approach to examine why teacher candidates choose to teach ina middle school. The study analyzed two populations of pre-service teachers in The College of New Jersey’s (TCNJ) Secondary Education department: (a) students completing their first field experience in a middle school and (b) students who were part of TCNJ’s first two middle school specialization cohorts. The first group of participants completed pre and post surveys surrounding their field experience and a sub-set of participants engaged in interviews. The second group of participants engaged in semi-structured interviews. The data revealed four major themes to underpin teacher candidates’motivations to teach in either a middle or high school: (a) impact; (b) perceptions of middle school; (c) content; and (d) job prospects. This knowledge is necessary for understanding how middle level teacher preparation programs recruit and retain strong candidates to teach in middle schools.  \n(UN)KNOWINGLY MADE FOR THE MIDDLE 3  \n(Un)Knowingly Made for the Middle: Why Teacher Candidates Decide to Teach in Middle  \nSchools  \nTeaching middle school is a unique experience. Students in their pre-teens are in the midst of developmental changes that require developmentally appropriate and responsive organizational school structures, curricula, programs, and practices to support their growth (Dickinson, 2001; Lounsbury, 2009; McEwin & Greene, 2011; National Middle School Association, 2010). To meet these needs, school districts began moving toward a junior highschool model (usually grades 7 to 9) in the early 20th century; then, over the past half-century, the movement shifted to a middle school model (usually grades 6-8), which has grown from nearly 5,000 public middle schools to over 15,000 (McEwin & Greene, 2011; Snyder, de Brey,& Dillow, 2016) .  \nWith the growth of middle schools has come an increase in research focused on the characteristics that contribute to effective middle level education (McEwin & Greene, 2011; National Middle Schools Association, 2010) . For instance, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is conducting a federal longitudinal study – The Middle Grades Longitudinal Study of 2017-18 (MGLS:2017)– that will follow 20,000 students from 900 U.S. schools and provide invaluable data on predictors of middle grade student success (NCES, 2017) . However, with this increased focus on the characteristics of highly effective middle schools (McEwin & Greene, 2011; NCES 2017), the introduction of standards specific to middle level education (Association for Middle Level Education, 2012), and designations like “Schools to Watch” to celebrate model middle schools (National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grade Reform, 2018), there has not been a similar attention paid to why pre-service teachers choose to teach in middle grades (Mee, Rogers Haverback, & Passe, 2012) . This critical knowledge regarding why teacher  \n(UN)KNOWINGLY MADE FOR THE MIDDLE 4  \ncandidates (TCs) decide to teach in middle schools will significantly impact how middle level teacher preparation programs recruit and retain strong candidates to teach in middle schools (Radcliffe & Mandeville, 2007) .  \nThere are currently more than 1,300 undergraduate middle level teacher preparation programs in the United States across all 50 states and the District of Columbia (Howell et al., 2016). Many of these programs have gained legitimacy with the creation of the 2012 Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) Middle Level Teacher Preparation Standards, which were approved by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) (Association for Middle Level Education, 2015) to help programs alig","cbCaiaqG0UskdhU4","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaqG0UskdhU4","pdf",5040469,21,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Background on middle school education\n## Need to understand teacher candidate decisions\n# Program Context and Purpose\n# Literature Review\n## Uniqueness of Teaching Middle School","[{\"question\":\"How was the study conducted to explore teacher candidates’ decisions?\",\"answer\":\"The study used a mixed methods design. It included pre- and post-surveys around a first field experience, interviews for a subset of participants, and semi-structured interviews for another participant group.\"},{\"question\":\"Which four themes emerged as teacher candidates’ motivations?\",\"answer\":\"The data revealed four major themes: impact, perceptions of middle school, content, and job prospects.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is this knowledge important for middle level teacher preparation programs?\",\"answer\":\"The findings help explain how middle level programs can recruit and retain strong candidates by addressing the reasons pre-service teachers decide to teach in middle schools.\"}]","(Un)Knowingly Made for the Middle - Teacher Candidates Study | PDF",1792089639,53]