"Our Schools Turned Into Literal Police States": Novice Teachers Navigating Testing During a Cheating Scandal

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: The Complexity and Multiple Spaces of Social Justice in Action

Abstract

Abstract
Nested within a five-year inquiry investigating experiences of TFA corps members (CMs) learning to teach, this presentation focuses on data captured during the 2009-10 academic year when a major testing cheating scandal was coming to light in a large, urban district. Using grounded theory, researchers analyzed 5,897 daily reflections written during a year-long, field-based, initial certification course. Rigorous, comprehensive, and collaborative data analysis utilizing a multi-rater/multi-stage/multi-year process, including Atlas.ti, researchers’ memos, audit trails, and emic perspectives of participant-researchers, assured trustworthiness. Analysis revealed intersections of themes which provided nuanced understandings of these teachers’ experiences during a deleterious and impactful induction period. Implications for policymakers, TFA, administrators, and teacher educators are discussed.

Authors

• Teresa R. Fisher-Ari, Georgia State University

• Kara M. Kavanagh, James Madison University

• Kolt Maya Bloxson, Georgia State University

• Barbara Meyers, Georgia State University

• Carly Liza Blustein, Georgia State University

• Monica M. Alicea, Cobb County School District

• Anne Martin, Georgia State University