Date of Award

Spring 2017

Degree Type

Certificate of Advanced Study

Department

Educational Leadership

Advisor

Dr. Charles Britton

Abstract

Content knowledge is important to the success of any teacher. A lack of content knowledge possessed by a teacher results in challenges for both teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions of social studies department chairpersons throughout the state of Connecticut in regards to the #026 History/Social Studies 7-12 certification. The topics explored in the literature review of this paper comprise the importance of content knowledge, the sufficiency of social studies teacher preparation programs, and the benefits of content-based online professional development. The research questions asked included whether or not the #026 certification encompasses too many content categories for social studies teachers and whether this results in a lack of content knowledge in social studies departments throughout the state. This study also analyzed how such a numerous amount of content categories may potentially lead to scheduling and staffing conflicts faced by department chairpersons. It also explores which content categories social studies teachers come into teaching with the least and the most amounts of content knowledge in and how teachers gain content knowledge required to effectively teach. This study gathered data from social studies department chairpersons throughout the state of Connecticut.

Comments

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the coursework required for the post-masters' Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Educational Leadership.


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