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38 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators

Theoretical Considerations
When examining the link between clinical teaching and nontraditional student success
in educator preparation, one cannot ignore Bandura’s (1977) social cognitive theory, which
describes adult learning in an environment where “adults learn social roles by observing and
modeling others” (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 35). Educator preparation relies heavily
on candidates observing teachers in the field in order to gain relevant experiences that
will be cognitively processed and replicated for success during the candidates’ educational
career (TAC, 2016). Bandura (1977) also theorized that when an individual observes a
model successfully execute a task, this observation may influence an individual’s beliefs
in his or her own abilities. Such vicarious experiences are effective if an individual does
not have any prior experiences on which to make an accurate assessment of his or her
capabilities (Siwatu, 2011) and if the model is in a similar situation (Bandura, 1997).
In teacher education, preservice teachers formulate ideas about their abilities from
professional literature, field experiences, and classroom observations (Lee, 2002). These
field experiences and classroom observations allow the preservice teacher to experience
vicariously the successes or failures of the classroom teacher they are observing. Persons
who are similar or slightly higher in ability provide the most informative comparative
information for gauging one’s own capabilities (Bandura, 1997).
These experiences cannot be gained in the classroom alone. Instead, candidates must
interact with the environment, which Bandura’s model of learning described as a model
of triadic reciprocal causation, action, cognition, and environmental factors operating
interactively to produce changes (Bandura, 1997; Figure 1).

PERSONAL

DETERMINANTS

BEHAVIORAL ENVIRONMENTAL
DETERMINANTS DETERMINANTS

Figure 1. Schematization of triadic reciprocal causation in the causal model of social cognitive theory
(Bandura, 2009).

Specifically, educator preparation allows adult learners to understand the dynamics of
teaching and learning by interacting with practicing educators and students in a variety of
settings. This situated cognition is vital for candidate success and cannot be replicated in a
college classroom (Merriam & Bierema, 2014).
McClusky’s Theory of Margin has relevance for instructors in teacher education. This
theory “addresses motivation as a measure of how many resources (power) the learner has
to offset the demands (loads) that potentially diminish motivation for learning” (Merriam
& Bierema, 2014, p. 155). This theory explains that adults continue working toward goals
while managing family and work responsibilities as long as they have adequate resources.
Therefore, as nontraditional candidates struggle with juggling field experience requirements,