This article highlights the capacity of both neoliberal discourse and Teach for America (TFA) in shaping how emergent TFA teachers frame teaching with regard to occupational esteem, occupational status, and occupational prestige. Relevant literature explores the evolution of teaching and teacher preparation in light of neoliberalism, and the…

As teacher preparation programs across the country evolve in response to criticism, declining enrollment, and increasing competition, research is needed to guide and inform their evolution. In response, faculty at one teacher preparation program embarked upon a two-year journey to transform a program to make it more conceptually coherent as well…

Drawing upon discursive psychology as a theoretical and methodological framework, the author analyzes a set of five postobservation debrief conversations between novice teachers and their mentors. The author presents analysis and findings by highlighting how the interpretative repertoires of the rubric and protocol documents may be used to shape…

A comparison of population and employment projections shows the gap between teacher supply and demand growing through 2025. Alternative certification programs (ACPs) were created to increase teacher production, but research on who selects ACPs versus traditional preparation programs (TPPs) shows mixed results as does research on new teacher…

This article highlights two key problems of practice the author faced as the instructor of an elementary literacy methods class for Teach for America corps members in a large, northeastern city during an era characterized by strict state and district control: the deficit perspectives the corps members held of their students and the lack of…

Special education teacher attrition rates continue to challenge the profession. A cognitive-behavioral problem-solving approach was used to examine three alternative certification program special education teachers' professional development through a series of 41 interviews conducted over a 2-year period. Beginning when they were novice special…

This study compared the effectiveness of three teacher education programs in terms of their impact on teacher competencies. The programs include a traditional 4-year teacher certification program, an alternative certification-based master of arts in teaching program, and an alternative certification program without the master degree option. The…

The recruitment and retention of public school teachers has been an area of concern for many years. Teacher recruitment has been addressed through the development of alternative pathways to teacher certification. Teacher retention has been addressed primarily through induction programs that provide mentoring and other support resources to…

The pressure to provide qualified teachers for all students has resulted in reform efforts, including the upgrading of credential and course requirements, as well as the proliferation of so-called alternative routes to teacher certification, which seek to create differentiated pathways into the classroom. In the present study, we compared teacher…

This research examines perceptions of special education teachers toward mathematics as related to self as student and teacher throughout a semester-long mathematics methods course. Eighteen alternate-entrant special education teachers provided data in the form of mathematics autobiographical essays and classroom drawings. Autobiographical essays…

Predispositions toward teaching are comprised of more than merely a person's age, gender, content specialization, and ethnicity. This study went beyond examining the basic demographic information of alternative-route teacher candidates to include individuals' views of schooling, childhood, teaching, and curriculum. The purposes of this study were…

Since 2000, North Carolina has offered an alternative route to licensure for adults who desire to move into teaching from other careers. NC TEACH is a statewide alternative teacher preparation program aimed at recruiting, supporting, and retaining highly skilled mid-career professionals who seek to enter the teaching profession through the lateral…

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze transition into elementary classrooms of students in a master of arts in teaching (MAT) program. Data sources included feedback, written observations and internship evaluations of students, informal conversations with mentoring teachers, and formal interviews with two mentors. One mentor worked…

The purpose of this study is to examine the strengths that biliterate paraprofessionals bring to the teaching workforce. Paraprofessionals, such as teachers' aides, are commonly used in classes for English-language learners. Because of the pending teacher shortage for English-language learners, a variety of teacher preparation programs have been…

Hard-to-staff urban school districts increasingly rely on teachers who are certified through alternative routes to staff their classrooms. Given the accelerated design of alternative certification as well as the unique nature of schools in urban contexts, the process by which these individuals become effective teachers is essential to understand.…