student teaching as initiation into the teaching profession

Student Teaching as Initiation into the Teaching Profession FAY A. HEAD North Carolina State University

In this research project an ethnographic study of participants in student teaching seminars was undertaken. The results of the study are described and then analyzed in terms of attributes of initiation rites from a wide range of anthropological literature. It is concluded that, although student teaching seminars are not currently organized to maximize the processes inherent in initiation rites and rites of passage, application of these concepts has the potential to improve student teacher education. lNlTlATlON, RITES OF PASSAGE, ETH-

CATlON NOGRAPHY, STUDENT TEACHING, PRESERVlCE TEACHER EDU-

The tremendous psychological complexity of teacher preparation, and es- pecially of student teaching as it was communicated by students in the midst of it, almost defies description except in the words of the students themselves. [Fuller, Pilgrim, and Freeland 196771

Several ethnographic studies of student teachers have been conducted in the 20 years (Barnett 1987; DeVoss 1979; Ginsburg 1986; Goodman 1984, 1988; Griffin 1989; Griffin et al. 1983; Hale and Starratt 1989; White 1989) since Fuller’s (1969, 1970) seminal research on preservice teacher education. This research project, conducted during the 1987-88 academic year, began with a wide focus seeking to learn more about the world of the student teacher. Gradually, the focus of the study narrowed to investigate student teaching as an initiation rite (Borish 1988; Hart 1987; Spindler 1970, 1974; Young 1965) and as part of an educational rite of passage (Hale and Starratt 1989; Turner 1967; van Gennep 1960; White 1989).

In terms of theory, I will demonstrate that student teaching can serve as an initiation rite as well as the liminal phase of a rite of passage for educators. Veenman, in addressing the direction that future research should take with beginning teachers, emphasizes the need for

. . . in-depth, comprehensive developmental studies of the beginning teacher. Little is known about the cognitive and affective processes that characterize the transition into teaching. The studies by Fuller, Glassberg, Gehrke, and Tabacknick and Zeichner may be regarded as first promising attempts . [ 19%: 1681

Fay A. Head is a doctoral student at North Carolina State University and a teacher and foreign language department head at North Garner Middle School, Wake County Public School System, Raleigh, North Carolina.

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90 Anthropology t3 Education Quarterly Volume 23, 1992

Studies such as the one described in this article can offer significant contributions to educational research by articulating "grounded theory" (Glaser and Strauss 1967) that has developed from the ethnographic information provided by informants. Use of the anthropological concepts of initiation and liminality in rites of passage has the potential to serve as a powerful theoretical framework for educators working with student teachers. Viewing student teaching through the lenses of initiation and liminality also offers rich possibilities for enhancing the transformational process inherent in the student teaching practicum.

Guyton and McIntyre (1990) and other educational researchers have encouraged the use of a naturalistic research paradigm for both the natural history stage and the stage of theory of an empirical science (Dussault 1970). This article is the result of naturalistic inquiry regarding the following research questions:

1. How can theoretical models regarding initiation (Borish 1988; Hart 1987; Spindler 1970, 1974; Young 1965) and rites of passage (Hale and Starratt 1989; Turner 1967, 1969; van Gennep 1960; White 1989) be applied to student teachers?

2. What implications do these concepts have for education today, particularly in light of legislative mandates requiring restructuring of teacher education programs? What practical suggestions for improving the student teaching process can be made on the basis of this research?

Theoretical Frameworks Initiation rites and rites of passage have been investigated by nu-

merous anthropological researchers (Borish 1988; Hart 1987; Spindler 1970, 1974; Turner 1967, 1969; van Gennep 1960; White 1989; Young 1965). Each theorist contributes valuable insights that can inform the investigation of student teaching. Attributes of initiation rites and rites of passage proposed by the above researchers will be discussed briefly in this section. These ideas will then be examined in light of the findings from this ethnographic study of student teachers.

Spindler (1970, 1974) and Borish (1988) view initiation rites in terms of cultural compression and decompression. Periods of cultural compression can occur as the climax of a series of educational experiences that increase in intensity and difficulty or they may involve an abrupt transformation (Spindler 1970, 1974). Initiation rites involving cultural compression are characterized by

Isolation and separation from familiar things and people; Emphasis on dramatic aspects of givingheceiving information;

0 Sacred atmosphere; 0 Use of strangers as instructors;

Rigid rules of conduct for the initiate and for the educational experience as a whole (Spindler 1970:155).

Head Student Teachers 91

Building upon Spindler’s work, Borish (3988:181-182) describes compression phases as having “increased cultural stress, often accom- panied by tightened role definitions, a circumscribing of previously permitted behaviors, and the taking on of new responsibilities and obligations.’’ Periods of cultural compression are contrasted with those of cultural decompression (relative relaxation of stress, time and op- portunity to unwind from previous compression states, and social presence without the special pressures encountered during compression).

Hart’s (1987) work contrasts prepubertal and postpubertal education in primitive societies. Compared to the initiation period, the pre- puberty period is considered to be a loose, lax period. Discipline during the initiation period is conducted by outsiders rather than mem- bers of the primary group, with the initiate being forcibly removed from the home. The outsiders conducting the initiation try to make anything that happens during initiation as different as possible from the pre-initiation period. Initiation schools teach the ”whole value system of the culture, its myths, its religion, its philosophy, its justification of its own entity as a culture” (Hart 1987:373).

Via initiation rites, the society asserts and underlines its right to the child. The training for citizenship that occurs during initiation results in a socially different person. The initiation rite exposes the initiate “to the awe and majesty of the society itself, emphasizing the subordina- tion of the individual to the group at large and hence the mysterious- ness, wonder, and sacredness of the whole individual-society relationship” (Hart 1987:374). Hart (1987:375) suggests that part of a primitive society’s “cultural lag” (in which technological changes are ac- cepted more easily than ideological ones) can be attributed to the society’s relative lack of interest in standardizing subsistence training, while simultaneously insisting upon standardizing training in ideological aspects of the culture.

The liminal period in rites of passage was described by Victor Turner (1967:93-lll), based upon van Gennep’s (1960) work on rites of passage. Both writers were concerned with the way ancient or tribal societies conceptualized transitions that people make as they move from one well-defined state to another in the process of maturing (Turner and Turner 1978:2).

Liminality (derived from the Latin word h e n , “threshold”) is the middle stage of rites of passage in which the initiates are neither in their former state nor in their new state, but are instead on the threshold of a new aspect of their lives. During the liminal stage, the liminar (ritual subject or passenger) moves through a dimension of his life that has few of the characteristics of either his past or his coming state; thus, he is literally ”betwixt and between” all the classification cate- gories with which he is familiar (Turner and Turner 1978:2). Liminal periods in rites of passage include the following characteristics:

92 Anthropology 6 Education Quarterly Volume 23, 1992

Liminal persona are considered to be neither one thing nor another, and yet are both at the same time (Turner 1967:96). Transitional rites of passage are viewed by many cultures as the “growing” of a person during the initiation process. Initiates often are in total submission to an older member of the tribe who teaches them tribal lore. Rich symbolism is inherent in the liminal period and involves ex- plication of the more esoteric and philosophical teachings of the tribe.

0 Associated with the esoteric teachings during liminality are the SUCTU, or system of beliefs and values in a particular culture (Turner 1967: 108). Monsters (tribesmen disguised in ceremonial masks) often appear in the liminal phase of rites of passage to teach initiates to distin- guish between different aspects of reality within their culture.

0 Seclusion of initiates is often practiced. 0 Endurance of hardships, such as ritual scarification or circumci-

0 A sense of community that Turner (1969:94) calls “communitas”

Similar themes regarding initiation and middle phases of rites of passage are found in Young’s (1965) extensive work on initiation ceremonies as well as in the works of Borish, Hart, Spindler, van Gennep, and Turner. In this ethnographic study, student teaching is viewed through the lenses provided by these theoretical frameworks.

Fieldwork This study of student teachers was undertaken using qualitative re-

search methodology from the field of anthropology. The appeal of ethnographic methodology is that in “making the familiar strange” (Erickson 1986:121) it can help us see what we have always seen in a new light and, thus, clarify the picture (Otto 1985:476). Nineteen sec- ondary education science and social studies student teachers, who were enrolled in a large multipurpose university in the southwestern United States, were involved in the study. The student teachers participated in an all-day preservice practicum within a midsize urban school district that was located in the same city as the university in which the student teachers were enrolled. Some of the student teachers also did part of their student teaching in the school districts of sur- rounding communities.

At the time of this study, mandated reforms in teacher education by the state had changed the student teaching requirement from a half- day, all-semester practicum to an all-day, all-semester one in which participants were required to gain experience in all of their teaching fields. To meet this requirement, some of the student teachers taught in the morning with one cooperating teacher and in the afternoon with

sion, often takes place (Turner and Turner 1978:249).

can occur.


a teacher who taught in their other teaching field. Others opted to teach all day for half of the semester (seven weeks) with one cooperating teacher, and then with a different teacher for the last half of the semester. A few worked all day, all semester with the same cooperating teacher. Participants were either in the last semester of their bachelor’s degree plans or within one semester of graduation. A few were non-degree graduate students who had returned to college to obtain their teacher certification.

Participants met one afternoon per week for one and a half hours in a student teaching seminar with their university supervisor. During the seminar, the supervisor would discuss teaching strategies, obtain teaching schedules for the next week, and discuss any of the student teachers’ concerns. I would also conduct an informal discussion with them about issues they were concerned with and events that had occurred during the last week.

The university supervisor visited the student teachers approximately once a week while they were teaching in their schools. No special programs or interventions, such as mentoring or coaching, were used.

Several of these student teachers became “key informants,” while the remainder participated in informal interviews and small-group impromptu discussions as they naturally occurred. Some of the key informants changed during the course of the semester, based upon their level of interest in the study and the time they had available. Key informants were interviewed for approximately one hour each week.

Ethnographic research is based upon a relational theory of cultural meaning that involves more than just finding out what informants know, but also how they have organized that knowledge (Spradley 1979:93). This requires a variety of activities, such as attending weekly student teaching seminars, functioning as a participant observer, and participating in impromptu discussions before and after the student teaching seminars. Following Agar’s (1980) suggestion, I concen- trated, at first, on active listening to informants, expressing interest, waiting before asking questions so that informants would not “clam up,“ being aware of nonverbal as well as verbal communication, and having respect for others’ points of view. Also, I talked to informants in their schools while accompanying the university supervisor on some of his supervision trips and I went into the schools alone to ob- serve student teachers functioning in their “natural” settings.

Data were collected from interviews with the student teachers, tapes and transcripts of the university student teaching seminars, and anecdotal records pertaining to telephone conversations with informants. Notes regarding interactions were taken during the student teaching seminars and during observation trips to the schools. One sample of informants also completed the Teacher Concerns Statement (Fuller and Case 1969).


The scope of the research was narrowed using Spradley’s (1979:135) Developmental Research Sequence (DRS). Informants were asked descriptive questions early in the semester (e.g., How would you de- scribe student teaching to someone from another country who had no concept of what it is like to be a student teacher?). These descriptive questions were asked to encourage informants to ”paint word pic- tures,” to set up ”grand tours” or ”mini-tours,” and to elicit examples (Spradley 1979:60). An important aspect of interactions with the student teachers involved keeping informants talking and asking for the “use” rather than just the meaning of terms (Spradley 1979:155-157). Contrast questions were blended into the interviews to gain more spe- cific information about these domains (e.g., What are the main issues you are dealing with now? Are these issues the same or different from the ones you were working with earlier in the semester?). Other ques- tioning strategies included posing hypothetical situations to informants, asking questions about routines, and discovering questions from informants. These strategies helped clarify the informants’ na- tive use of language.

My field notes were like the “working notes” described by Agar (1980) in that they included ideas for observations in follow-up interviews. The ethnographic record included field notes, artifacts (hand- outs, et cetera), tape recordings made with a microcassette recorder, and other items that documented the cultural scene of student teachers. At the conclusion of the study, the notes and transcribed recordings were put into the computer. The computer program, Ethnograph (Seidel et al. 1985), was used to analyze the data.

Is Student Teaching an Initiation Rite or Rite of Passage?

Student teachers are in a “betwixt and between” state in their professional growth and development, much like second- and third- generation children of immigrants who do not easily fit into the “old country’’ but are not particularly wanted in their new setting either (Leman 1991; SuArez-Orozco 1991). They are no longer just students, nor are they fully teachers; rather, they are student teachers on the threshold (limedmargin) of their careers as professional educators. Student teachers are separating from their previous roles as students and preparing to embark upon their teaching careers; thus, the student teaching practicum has the potential to initiate them and serve as the liminal phase of an educational rite of passage. Although current American education does not have the more clearly defined rites that smaller, tribal societies have, it can be instructive to us as educators to become aware of the areas in which student teaching bears both sim- ilarities and differences to anthropological rites.

In terms of cultural compression (Borish 1988; Spindler 1970, 1974), most informants found themselves assuming new responsibilities and obligations, either gradually or suddenly, as they began student teach-


ing. Some cooperating teachers gradually allowed their student teachers to grade quizzes, teach parts of lessons with the cooperating teacher’s lesson plans, engage in whole class instruction for just one period and eventually for the whole school day. In the student teaching seminar, student teachers whose cooperating teachers delayed delegating these responsibilities voiced great frustration and disappointment. In- formants reported finding it awkward to be called “Mr.” or “Miss,” and to be on the other side of the desk, as “teacher” rather than as “student.” Some participants reported occasionally yearning to sit in the back of the classroom and be a student rather than stand in the front of the class as the teacher.

Unfortunately, many informants did not consider that student teaching involved their being ”grown” into teachers, but thought, rather, that the experience was just one more requirement to be met. Student teaching is considered by many educators to be the single most important experience in teachers’ preservice education, with the potential to be a powerful learning experience (Iannaccone 1963:73; Stratemeyer and Lindsey 1958:4; Thies-Sprinthall1984:53). Despite its importance, however, supervising student teachers is looked upon as an undesirable task. It is time consuming and has little or no rewards within the university educational system (Lanier and Little 1986:530; Thies-Sprinthall 1980:17; Watts 1987:153; Zimpher 1987:130-133). It is not typical for student teachers, their cooperating teachers, or university supervisors to consider that the student teaching experience will transform student teachers’ inner natures. Some writers, such as Daloz (1987), Gray (1986), and Thies-Sprinthall and Sprinthall (1987), who encourage the use of mentors in education do see a transforma- tive potential in education, but this is not the prevailing view.

In a sense, the cooperating teachers, who served as elder instructors for the student teachers, were outsiders to the university community that student teachers had been a part of for the last few years. Most of the cooperating teachers did not see themselves passing on the “tribal lore” and knowledge of their craft or emphasizing the dramatic aspects of giving and receiving information.

Cooperating teachers were chosen by the school district because they were considered to have demonstrated superior abilities. How- ever, assignment was based primarily upon teaching fields, so the dy- namics of interaction between student teachers and their cooperating teachers were quite varied. Some dyads formed natural mentoring relationships, but many student teachers fell into a ”sink or swim” situation. For some, the cultural compression was abrupt, whereas for others it occurred gradually. Although the ultimate burden of responsibility and authority in the classroom rested upon the cooperating teacher, several informants were given responsibility for most aspects of classes after only one or two weeks. Others, handled more devel- opmentally, gradually assumed responsibilities in the classroom. One


quite capable student teacher became very frustrated when his cooperating teacher still had not given him very much responsibility after eight weeks of student teaching.

Some of the cooperating teachers considered themselves helpful to the training process, whereas others used their student teachers to es- cape the grading, typing, or clerical chores involved in teaching. Some expressed a need to know more about their duties and responsibilities as cooperating teachers, but only a few contacted the university supervisor on their own. Most sought no instruction regarding their role after receiving the college’s handbook on student teaching.

During a student teaching seminar, some informants expressed concern over the degree of fit between themselves and their cooperating teachers. The following passage, transcribed from a tape record- ing of the seminar, illustrates this concern regarding relationships with cooperating teachers and demonstrates a wide variety in the quality of relationships with these educational “elders.”

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She [the cooperating teacher] enjoys talking right in front of my class, and I’m very sensitive and I get all shook up and stuff like, ”Oh, no! I’m doing this wrong!” She [ C s cooperating teacher] waited until I had calmed down after 4th period and had a good period to tell me that I had been massacred. Yeah, as soon as she thought you were happy . . . . . . she had to make me miserable. That is so different from what you are experiencing, P. Oh, yeah. I feel so fortunate. I mean she never says anything like . , . if she does criticize, it’s like, “You did real well, except maybe you need to do this . . .” or ‘‘I would do this . . .“ And she says, “Here are my transparencies, if you would like to take those home to look over before we do lectures tomor- row, feel free to do that and we’ll take your lessons from that. . . .” I wish that had happened in my history class! If I ever need any help or anything, she has usually helped me before I have to ask. That’s so nifty! Yeah and I really appreciate what she has done. And like one of the classes-5th period is a real hard class to get. You know, they are a bunch of sophomore boys who are hard to get their mind on it. She said, “Let me take 5th period for this week. Let me try to get them back in touch with reality and let you go ahead and teach 6th period. . . .”

. . . And there is no intimidation on either of our parts. I know that she is so much smarter than I am. I mean it is un-

Head

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real. I mean, I think in 5 years, she’s gotten 3 years done on her Ph.D. So she’s, you know-I’m here, and she is way up

here. You know. It’s not like she holds it over my head saying, “I’m smarter than you are. You’re not getting it. You‘re not getting anywhere with me.” Well, she has more . . . she has a wealth of experience. She’s smarter than me! (laughter) I mean . . . you know, she doesn’t hold it against me that I don’t know what I’m talking about sometimes. She’s been there. Yeah. . . She remembers what it’s like . . . Yeah, she knows what’s going on. How does she tell you these things? Does she just talk to you? Oh, yeah! She just talks. I mean . . . I get notes written in red and black. The black is good; the red is bad. We go to the football games sometimes. I’ve met her husband. She’s met my wife. I’ve met her little boy. We all sit together and get along really well. How neat! It’s a real good working relationship. I can see that it’s a lot better situation than some of you are in and I am redly glad.

Rich symbolism, with esoteric and philosophical teachers and myths of the tribe being passed on to the initiates, was not observed in this setting. As discussed previously, the idea that one is ”growing” a teacher, like the Bemba “grow” a girl into womanhood, is an aspect of initiation and liminality that is not found in the typical student teaching experience. In general, philosophic and esoteric aspects of education are not a part of most student teaching practica.

However, in one sense, the attitude that some cooperating teachers expressed deprecating the ”unrealistic theory” taught at the university is illustrative of a value system, myth, and justification of its own self as a public school culture totally separate from the university. The phenomena, noted by Iannaccone (1963) and Thies-Sprinthall(1984), that many student teachers become more rigid during their student teaching indicates that the student teachers are receiving a type of training in myths and culture. However, it is not one that informants viewed as positive, but rather one that soured their experience and discouraged them. Some participants even decided not to teach as a result of their experiences during their student teaching practicum.

The sacred nature of initiation and liminality was only partially noted in this study. Communication of the beliefs and values of the culture via exhibitions, actions, and instructions somewhat parallels

98 Anthropology & Education Quarterly Volume 23, 1992

modeling good teaching strategies and giving student teachers suggestions and ideas. One cooperating teacher said that he wanted his student teacher to watch how he started his classes and got the students on task right away, thus averting some discipline problems. However, this type of teaching demonstration resembles the technological changes discussed by Hart (1987) rather than the standardized training in ideological aspects of a culture.

A discussion in the seminar highlights the diverse experiences of student teachers regarding aspects of sacred objects such as grade books. J:

C: J: C: Fay: H: C: N: H:

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I thought it was so funny that he wouldn’t even let me put them [grades from her test] in the grade book. I was the one who went and made the grade book in the first place. I’m the one who put the names and the dates and the . . . You got to make a grade book? I made two grade books. I haven’t touched it yet. H has a look on his face like, “What’s a grade book?” I have access to it in one class . . . (laughter) I can’t touch the sucker. It‘s off-limits. I can’t touch it. I carry mine around with me. One of them [Hs cooperating teachers] doesn’t have a grade book yet. You’re kidding! He doesn’t use it. He just uses the temporary roll sheets and we keep all the grades and all the absences on the temporary roll sheets (laughter). One of these days, the grade book will probably be put together but not yet. And you’ll probably be . . . And it will take five days to put all that information in the grade book. You must be kidding! I take mine home with me every night. It’s just, I mean, I take it home; that’s it.

In tribal cultures, “great importance is attached to keeping secret the nature of the sacra” (Turner 1967:103). For some student teachers, grade books took on the mysterious aspect of sacra.

For student teachers experiencing natural mentoring relationships, the craft knowledge of teaching was informally transmitted. However, for tribal peoples, there is an additional depth to this teaching because initiates are challenged to think abstractly about their culture and are provided ultimate reference points that help transform their inner nature in preparation for their new statuses. This deeper meaning of the sacred aspect of initiation and liminality was not found in the student teaching practica.

The monsters (tribesmen disguised in ceremonial masks) that tribal peoples encounter in liminal phases of rites of passage are used to star-


tle the neophytes and set up cognitive dissonance (Festinger 1957), which causes initiates to think about aspects of their world that they had previously taken for granted. No conscious effort was made to challenge the student teachers in this way. Some participants were disillusioned by the experiences they faced in their practicum (i.e., student apathy, being used as a "go-for," excessive clerical and grading tasks), but there was no concerted attempt made to set up dissonant situations that would cause informants to rethink some of their assumptions and presuppositions.

The student teachers in this study taught in their hometown or near the university they were attending. Removal to a separate location does not occur in an on-campus model of student teaching. An off- campus model would involve the student teacher doing his or her practicum at a location removed from home or the university town, but that did not occur here.

Some of the student teachers in this study encountered hardships during their practicum, although the difficulties they encountered were not the same type as those characteristic of rites of passage for tribal societies (i.e., circumcision, ritual scarification). Several were working 20 to 40 hours per week in addition to the teaching practicum. One student had a newborn baby and a two year old to care for while she was student teaching. Several were newlyweds. Some labored un- der an extra load of typing, grading, and other clerical tasks that their cooperating teachers assigned them. Those who worked with two cooperating teachers at one time found their practicum more difficult than those with only one. A negative situation was encountered by one when she changed cooperating teachers and schools at mid-semester to teach in her second teaching field. When the student teachers shared aspects of their difficulties within the seminar, there was a tendency for the group to bond in support of one another, even though no conscious effort was made to capitalize on the potential for bonding offered by the experience.

The incidents mentioned above indicate that there is potential for a sense of community, or "communitas," of which Turner (1969:94) speaks, but this communitas was not fully evident among the student teachers involved in this study. They were drawn together by their common experiences in student teaching, with the extremely positive or negative experiences of one affecting the others. However, no real effort was made to enhance the potential for a sense of community, which would reflect presence of the ninth characteristic of liminality.

In many ways student teaching as experienced by informants in this study did serve as an initiation rite or middle phase of an educational rite of passage, as evidenced by the discussion above. However, much of the data from this study indicates that traditional student teaching practica do not capitalize on the transformational process inherent

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within this “betwixt and between’’ period of student teaching. Coop- erating teachers did not generally see themselves as mentoring elders who were assisting neophytes in developing their professional relationships as whole persons rather than as actors in a role. Few esoteric or philosophic ideas were communicated to student teachers, and there was little in the way of sacra. Participants did not experience significant cognitive shock or “worldview reorganization.” Little communitas was created among informants. Although student teachers were functioning full-time in a public school setting, they were not really separated from their usual surroundings. Apparently, although student teaching has many of the surface characteristics of initiation rites or the liminal phase of a rite of passage, it does not tap the deeper aspects of these rites. However, one might ask, What practical and theoretical implications does viewing student teaching in terms of the anthropological concept of liminality have for educators?

Implications and Conclusion The concepts of initiation rites and liminality in rites of passage have

the potential to serve as dynamic theoretical paradigms for teacher educators working with student teachers. Combining these anthropological concepts with a developmental approach toward the student teaching practicum can result in rich interdisciplinary cross-fertiliza- tion. According to Pratte (1971), educational theory should incorporate relevant findings from other disciplines, such as sociology, psy- chology, or history. Educational theory can serve as an instrument through which educators systematically view, order, and examine ideas and events. Thus, theory that is grounded in the experience of research participants is not only a product of research, but it also serves as a background, guide, and directive for thoughtful educational practice (Osmon and Craver 1986:293; Pratte 1971).

Instead of predicting exact effects, an educational theory can serve as a guide to practice and provide direction for possible actions in educational practice (Pratte 1971). Sprinthall (1979:lO) has written that “if, as John Dewey would say, we know what development is then we know what the educational objectives ought to be.” Application of these concepts of initiation and liminality to student teaching practica is quite significant because these ideas can assist educators in refining their educational objectives for student teachers. These anthropological ideas shed light upon the developmental processes and characteristics of individuals in marginal ”betwixt and between” periods of their lives and suggest ways of enhancing this transformational process. What are some practical implications of applying the concepts of initiation and liminality to the student teaching practicum?

Perspective can be gained from viewing student teaching as part of an initiation rite or educational rite of passage. It is important that development during the liminal period be tied to the more stable states that precede and follow it. Educational objectives during student


teaching need to be tied to the preparation one has had as a student, and application of what is learned during student teaching, to the situations that will be encountered once a person becomes a beginning teacher with his or her own classroom.

If student teaching were thought of in terms of ”growing a teacher,” and thus as a potentially transforming experience, one would see far more emphasis placed upon helping students discover their own personal educational philosophy and existential meaning for their teaching and their lives (Cruickshank 1984:5&51, 59; Silberman 1970:472- 473,489-490). Developmental approaches to teacher education, such as those discussed by Daloz (1987), Fuller (1970), Glassberg and Sprin- thall(1980), Hunt (1987), Oja and Sprinthall (1978), Sprinthall (1984), would be taken more seriously than they are currently.

The sacred system of beliefs and values parallels the wisdom and craft knowledge that experienced teachers can pass on to neophytes. Some cooperating teachers try to model good teaching practices for their student teachers. However, viewing student teaching in terms of initiation and liminality could make explicit this sort of communication and add a dimension of depth and richness to student teaching that many informants complained was missing in their practicum. Instead of the preservice practicum being just another hurdle to cross on the way to a teaching certificate, student teaching could be a time when neophytes are encouraged to engage in metacognitive reflection upon their own teaching (Costa 1987; Costa and Garmston 1985; Cruick- shank 1984; Daloz 1987; Reiman 1988; Zeichner 1987).

The older member of the tribe who teaches neophytes in tribal rites of passage appears to act as a mentor to initiates. Cooperating teachers who function as mentors to their student teachers can enhance the developmental process through which the student teachers move. In- stead of just acting in a teacher’s role, proteges can grow to see themselves as becoming teachers. In traditional practica, however, cooperating teachers are not given much guidance in assisting another person in their professional development. Mentors who provide a balance of support, challenge, and vision for their proteges (Daloz 1987:215235) can enhance development of student teachers and maximize the potential of the practicum as a truly meaningful experience (Thies-Sprinthall 1980, 1984). Thus, the cooperating teacher’s leadership for his or her student teacher becomes more “transformational” in nature, as opposed to a “transactional” obligation (Burns 1984; Wakin 1984).

The seclusion of neophytes in a location away from the village is similar to an off-campus model of student teaching. The dissonance that results when one is removed from his or her familiar surroundings and social support systems can make a neophyte more open to examination of beliefs and assumptions, and more open to the influ- ence of a mentor teacher (M. L. Trang, personal communication 1987).


Student teachers have fewer distractions, such as families, work, and sororities or fraternities, when they go to a new location to participate in a student teaching practicum. The resulting sense of communitas, endurance of hardships, and equality among initiates can enhance natural bonding. Training in a location removed from the usual university or home setting could increase the possibilities of student teaching becoming a truly transformational experience.

Student teaching seminars can be used to help develop and enhance a sense of communitas among participants. These seminars can provide a forum for student teachers to freely share their feelings, ideas, and experiences with peers who are also involved in student teaching. Skillful use of these seminars can provide a "safe" environment for a mutual outspokenness in which participants are not merely acting out institutional roles. The bonding that occurs in these seminars can help provide perspective and support as well as an environment that can enhance the transformational process inherent in naturally occurring liminal periods.

Although monsters may not seem to have a place in the world of student teachers, they provide dissonance for initiates in tribal societies by jolting them into reassessing aspects of their world that they have taken for granted. Cooperating teachers and university supervisors also have potential opportunities to assist student teachers in re- flecting upon who they are, what their assumptions and presuppositions are, and what ideas, beliefs, and values they will "own." It is important to remember that for growth to occur, challenge and support must be balanced so that the resulting disequilibrium (Sprinthall 1979; Thies-Sprinthall and Sprinthall 1987) produces growth and not retreat or stasis (Daloz 1987214).

Based on the experiences of participants in this study and general information from the literature on student teaching, this ethnographic research examined student teaching in light of the anthropological concepts of initiation and liminality. Informants were enrolled in practica that are probably representative of programs in which there are no efforts to set up mentoring or coaching. Although it seems logical that student teaching can serve as an initiation rite or the liminal period for a rite of passage for educators, the overall experience of participants in this study did not fully capitalize on the processes inherent within initiation rites or the liminal phase of rites of passage. Results of this research indicate that student teaching, as it is traditionally organized, does not fully serve a transformational function in the lives of participants. However, student teaching has the potential to be a natural initiation or liminal period as one moves from being a student of teaching to becoming a teacher.

Much has been written that is critical of student teaching as it currently is administered (Andrews 1964; Guyton and McIntyre 1990; Veenman 1987; Watts 1987165). In addition, many states have man-


dated major restructuring of their teacher education programs (Timar and Kirp 1988, 1989). Reorganization of student teaching practica to incorporate the aspects of initiation rites and liminal periods discussed above can improve the quality of these experiences as they prepare participants to make the transition from being students of teaching to becoming teachers. However, it is important to note that these rites involve more than just a set of social characteristics or conditions. A transformational process occurs ”in which previous orderings of thought and behavior are subject to revision and criticism, when hith- erto unprecedented modes of ordering relations between ideas and people become possible and desirable” (Turner and Turner 1978:2). Wise use of both the form and the substance of initiation rites and liminality in rites of passage can assist in fulfilling Dewey’s admonition to our profession.

A primary responsibility of educators is that they not only be aware of the general principle of the shaping of actual experience by environing conditions but that they also recognize in the concrete what surroundings are conducive to having experiences that lead to growth. Above all, they should know how to utilize the surroundings, physical and social, that exist so as to extract from them all that they have to contribute to building up experiences that are worth while. [1938:35]

Notes

Acknowledgments. The author would like to express appreciation to Henry T. Trueba and others who assisted in refining this article and shepherding it through the change in editors of Anthropology and Education Quarterly. Special thanks are given to Philip A. Dennis for his help in teaching the author anthropology and ethnography, editing the manuscript, and offering invaluable support and encouragement. Deep appreciation is also expressed to Frank Bloomer for sharing his student teachers; to the student teachers who participated in this study; to Neal Newfield for his instruction in ethnography; and to James A. Goss, Thomas Langford, and Myron Trang for their assistance and suggestions. The research reported in this article was funded in part by a Sum- mer Research Assistantship from the Graduate School of Texas Tech Univer- sity, whose financial assistance and encouragement were greatly appreciated.

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