Saturday, January 20, 2007
Problems with Alternative Certification
Many find fault with Alternative Certification Programs and unfortunately for some very good reasons. A report by the Susan Moore Johnson and the Next Generation of Teachers Project (2005) pointed out that many ACPs suffered as a result of the incentives, such as low tuition and minimum time committment for participants. This report hilighted what I call the problem of design. Recent scholarship by Dan Humphreys and Diane Wechsler (2005, also in press) demonstrated that regardless of the background of the teacher and training that the ACP provided, the school context outweighs these other factors in determining teacher retention. Hence, I refer to this issue as the problem of context.
I do not deny that many ACPs fail to live up to the promises of recruiting and educating highly qualified teachers. However, I disagree with researchers who attack ACPs outright without acknowledging the problem of context. First, ACPs tend to recruit teachers for mostly urban school districts, which may lack resources for new teachers. Second, ACP candidates must teach prior to completing full requirements for certification. Unlike their traditional counterparts who student teach, the ACP intern must overcome obstacles associated with the lack school resources, lack of parental involvement, langauge issues, and many others more than simply teaching. Critics judge the ACP for its failure to prepare teachers appropriately but neglect to address the problem of context.
Kenneth Zeichner (2006) wrote "The research indicates that it is the characteristics of the programs rather than who sponsors them that matter in terms of influencing a variety of teacher and student outcomes." I think we ought to also look at what makes teacher education work.
Humphrey & Wechsler (2005). Insights into alternative certification: Initial findings from a national study. Teachers College Record. Available from www.tcrecord.org.
Moore, S.J., Birkeland, S.E., Peske, H.G. (2005). A difficult balance: Incentives and quality control in alternative certification programs. www.gse.harvard.edu/~ngt/balance.pdf.
Zeichner, K. (2006). Reflections of a univeristy-based teacher education on the future of college- and university-based teacher education. JTE 57 (3), 326-340.
I do not deny that many ACPs fail to live up to the promises of recruiting and educating highly qualified teachers. However, I disagree with researchers who attack ACPs outright without acknowledging the problem of context. First, ACPs tend to recruit teachers for mostly urban school districts, which may lack resources for new teachers. Second, ACP candidates must teach prior to completing full requirements for certification. Unlike their traditional counterparts who student teach, the ACP intern must overcome obstacles associated with the lack school resources, lack of parental involvement, langauge issues, and many others more than simply teaching. Critics judge the ACP for its failure to prepare teachers appropriately but neglect to address the problem of context.
Kenneth Zeichner (2006) wrote "The research indicates that it is the characteristics of the programs rather than who sponsors them that matter in terms of influencing a variety of teacher and student outcomes." I think we ought to also look at what makes teacher education work.
Humphrey & Wechsler (2005). Insights into alternative certification: Initial findings from a national study. Teachers College Record. Available from www.tcrecord.org.
Moore, S.J., Birkeland, S.E., Peske, H.G. (2005). A difficult balance: Incentives and quality control in alternative certification programs. www.gse.harvard.edu/~ngt/balance.pdf.
Zeichner, K. (2006). Reflections of a univeristy-based teacher education on the future of college- and university-based teacher education. JTE 57 (3), 326-340.
# posted by A.J. Castro @ 7:53 PM 
