Embark on a "Journey": A Case Study of Recruiting and Retaining Honors Students in Teacher Education Majors
Disciplines
Elementary Education
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Teaching is one of the most important jobs in society. A job that is not only about educating the next generation, but inspiring children to choose fields of interest. This means it is important to keep teachers engaged in their education and encourage them to take advantage of the resources they have access to. So why don’t education majors always take advantage of their resources? We are going to investigate what motivates teacher education major students to apply for the Journey Honors College, and what prompts them to stay in the program. Nationally, teacher education programs in institutions of higher education are facing a decline in enrollment (Will, 2022). Does this declining trend apply to teacher education majors who are also in Honors programs in institutions of higher education? The experiences of these students at KSU will be studied using a case study approach. Our research will explore the reasoning behind why more freshman in teacher education majors do not apply for the Honors program at KSU (a survey was developed and sent to all freshmen education interest majors who were eligible for but did not apply for the Honors program), and we collected interview data from those freshmen who are a part of the Honors program on what recruitment strategies, continued support, resources, and other tools have kept them involved and helped them progress in the Honors program. Data is currently being analyzed and the findings will be shared.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
BCOE - Elementary & Early Childhood Education
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Stacy Delacruz
Embark on a "Journey": A Case Study of Recruiting and Retaining Honors Students in Teacher Education Majors
Teaching is one of the most important jobs in society. A job that is not only about educating the next generation, but inspiring children to choose fields of interest. This means it is important to keep teachers engaged in their education and encourage them to take advantage of the resources they have access to. So why don’t education majors always take advantage of their resources? We are going to investigate what motivates teacher education major students to apply for the Journey Honors College, and what prompts them to stay in the program. Nationally, teacher education programs in institutions of higher education are facing a decline in enrollment (Will, 2022). Does this declining trend apply to teacher education majors who are also in Honors programs in institutions of higher education? The experiences of these students at KSU will be studied using a case study approach. Our research will explore the reasoning behind why more freshman in teacher education majors do not apply for the Honors program at KSU (a survey was developed and sent to all freshmen education interest majors who were eligible for but did not apply for the Honors program), and we collected interview data from those freshmen who are a part of the Honors program on what recruitment strategies, continued support, resources, and other tools have kept them involved and helped them progress in the Honors program. Data is currently being analyzed and the findings will be shared.