Date Available

4-28-2021

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Year of Publication

2021

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

Education

Department/School/Program

Educational Policy Studies and Eval

First Advisor

Dr. Jeffery Bieber

Abstract

Accreditation is a measure the federal government, states, and other stakeholders utilize to determine the quality of an institution or a program. Educator preparation providers in Kentucky are required to obtain programmatic accreditation to offer educator preparation programs leading to certification or licensure. The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is the national accrediting body with which Kentucky has an agreement for joint programmatic accreditation. The Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) adopted the 2013 CAEP initial standards in 2015 and those standards remain in effect today. Faculty in educator preparation programs are largely responsible for carrying out the activities and collection of data that is required for earning accreditation, but these faculty members’ perceptions of accreditation have not been given much direct attention.

This study was designed to identify Kentucky educator preparation provider (EPP) faculty perceptions of programmatic accreditation through analysis of quantitative and qualitative survey data. This study analyzes faculty perceptions of the effectiveness of accreditation for improving EPP quality; the effectiveness of the accreditation process; the effectiveness of the 2013 CAEP initial standards for improving EPPs; and programmatic accreditation’s impact on faculty academic freedom and program autonomy.

Results of this study suggest the majority of faculty agree programmatic accreditation is valuable for its effectiveness for improving EPP quality, programmatic accreditation processes are effective for improving EPPs to prepare P-12 educators, and the 2013 CAEP initial standards are effective for improving EPPs. A theme analysis was conducted to explore accreditation’s impact on academic freedom and program autonomy. “Prescriptive” emerged as a major theme in regard to academic freedom and program autonomy.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2021.054

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