This qualitative case study delved into the experiences of the first cohort of teachers who completed the Teacher Accelerator Program's (TAP) summer internship, exploring the professional development training provided to novice teachers by this newly established alternative teacher preparation program. Originating as a response to the local…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to understand why alternatively certified teachers choose to enter and stay in the teaching profession in Florida. The study utilizes the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) Model as the theoretical foundation for the following research questions, "Why do alternatively…

School-Based agricultural education increasingly depends upon alternatively certified (AC) teachers to teach agriculture across the United States. Understanding why these individuals become teachers is an important step to better recruit and retain educators who do not complete traditional preparation programs. The purpose of our study was to…

Due to the nature of alternative preparation paths to classroom teaching and the unique challenges these teachers face, alternative certified teacher quality and retention are questionable. The purpose of this study was to investigate school leaders' knowledge of the challenges of these teachers, the support provided in light of that knowledge,…

A nationwide teacher shortage is evident in the United States. Due to the teacher shortage, those with alternative teaching certifications are being utilized to fulfill the teacher shortfall. Current literature indicates diverse needs between traditionally and alternatively certified agriscience teachers. Further examination of the needs of…

This paper examines the impact of Teach For America (TFA) on following-year student test and non-test outcomes in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This paper measures the extent to which exposure to TFA is followed by improved student outcomes in the future. In particular, this paper measures days missed due to absences or suspensions, course…

Florida is experiencing a shortage of high-quality mathematics teachers. According to the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), there was a critical shortage of K-12 mathematics teachers (among several other subject areas) at the start of the 2022-2023 school year (FLDOE, 2022). In this report, the authors present selected findings from the…

Only 3% of alternatively certified teachers in Florida are retained after receiving certification. When teachers' self-efficacy improves, so does their motivation, mental health, job satisfaction, and student performance. Teacher self-efficacy is unstable and often influenced by situational conditions. A gap in the literature exists regarding how…

New faculty who arrive at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are very likely to be asked to teach at least one online or mixed-mode course. Realizing that effective teaching in these digital formats requires additional skills and knowledge that go beyond the traditional face-to-face classroom, the UCF requires faculty to be certified in…

Alternative teacher certification routes in the United States gained recognition in response to the teacher shortage since the 1980s. However, the unique challenges these teachers face result in concerns of quality and retention. The purposes of this study were to (a) investigate novice alternatively certified teachers' (ACT) perspectives on…

This article examines Teach For America's (TFA) placement strategy in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, in which large numbers of TFA corps members are placed as clusters into a targeted set of disadvantaged schools, to investigate whether the large-scale infusion of TFA corps members into these schools induced broader improvements across the…

New data and analysis from the National Council on Teacher Quality finds significant progress on the science of reading instruction in teacher preparation. For the first time since NCTQ began publishing program ratings in its 2013 Teacher Prep Review, the number of programs in the nation to embrace reading science has crossed the halfway mark,…

The teacher turnover issue impacts education on national, state, and local levels. On a national level, at the beginning of the 21st century 50% of teachers left the profession within the first five years, creating the need for districts to fill vacancies (Gonzalez, Brown, & Slate, 2008; Greiner & Smith, 2006; Heller, 2004; Ingersoll,…

Most children in the U.S. spend time in some form of early childhood education (ECE) program prior to entering kindergarten. In fact, children spend an average of 25 hours per week in nonparental care, including center-based care and informal family, friend and neighbor care. Children develop a foundation for learning during these early years, so…

Districts across the country are facing severe shortages of teachers--especially in certain subjects (math, science, special education, career and technical education, and bilingual education) and in specific schools (urban, rural, high-poverty, high-minority, and low-achieving). The severity of the teacher shortage problem varies significantly by…