THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF THE TAMU NOYCE SCHOLARS PROGRAM ON STEM TEACHERS' CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION AND PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHING
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Staffing high schools with highly qualified mathematics and science teachers continues to be a challenge for school districts across the U.S. One way to address this challenge is to offer financial incentives, in the form of scholarships or grants, for high performing college students to become high school mathematics or science teachers. It is not clear, however, the effects these types of scholarship programs have on the recruitment, retention, and classroom contexts of the students who receive the scholarships. More research in this area is needed. One of the most well-known scholarship programs for prospective mathematics and science teachers is The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce Program). This dissertation contains three studies that examine the effects a Noyce Program had on a group of Robert Noyce Scholarship recipients. More specifically, the studies investigate (a) the perceptions of STEM teaching and decisions participants made regarding STEM teaching, (b) the influence of the Noyce Program on the Scholars decisions to teach in high-need schools, stay in high-need schools, and the effects of the program on the Scholars themselves, and (c) the interactions and behaviors observed in participants classrooms as well as their overall classroom contexts. Sixty-one participants were recruited (29 experimental group, 32 control group) for the three-year longitudinal, quasi-experimental study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via annual surveys, bi-annual classroom observations, and annual telephone interviews. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and statistical methods for comparing means were used to analyze the quantitative data. A modified version of Burnards (1991) general inductive approach was used for qualitative data analysis. Findings indicate some statistically significant differences between groups in a number of areas and researchers found the Noyce Program had positive effects on the Noyce Scholars financial status, overall sense of well-being, and opportunities for professional development. Further findings indicate the scholarship had little influence on their decisions to become a teacher or stay in a high-need school setting.
