# Alternative Preparation Programs and Paths to Teaching ## expand\_more In an effort to recruit more candidates with strong academic backgrounds to teaching, an array of non-profit organizations, states, and local districts introduced alternatives to traditional university-based preparation programs. Many of these were fast-track programs, modeled on Teach for America, which at that time recruited recent college graduates, provided an intensive summer institute with a modest clinical component, and assigned participants to teach for at least two years in a low-income, hard-to-staff school. We wondered how these new alternative programs would be organized, how participants would experience them, and whether the new teachers would feel well-prepared once they entered the classroom. In 2002 Sarah Birkeland, Heather Peske and I studied 13 such programs located in 4 states. We interviewed program directors, instructors, and diverse samples of participants while their programs were underway. Then after the new teachers had been in the classroom for six months, we interviewed them again. We found that the quality of the program was only one of three factors that explained the new teachers’ sense of preparedness. Equally important were their prior experiences and knowledge as well as the work environment of the school they entered. Their school site could enhance their initial experience by providing ample resources, an orderly environment, an appropriate assignment, an effective principal, and supportive colleagues. However, it also could thwart their growth and early success when supplies were inadequate, the corridors were chaotic, their principal was unfair, and their colleagues were indifferent. The person, the program, and the school site all contributed to these candidates’ sense of preparedness during their first year. Given the size and prominence of Teach for America, we also wanted to know how long TFA corps members stayed in teaching. Morgaen Donaldson surveyed over 2000 TFA teachers—three entire cohorts—and found that, contrary to popular beliefs, nearly 2/3 continued to teach in public schools beyond their two-year commitment, although more than half left their initial low-income school after two years. Also Donaldson found that TFA teachers who were at greater risk of leaving their school or resigning from teaching had been assigned split grades, multiple subjects, or classes outside their field of preparation than when they taught a single grade, single subject, or in-field assignment. New recruits to teaching also included individuals who entered at mid-career from other fields, who some analysts thought might change the composition of the teaching force. Many were licensed through alternative preparation programs. Will Marinell analyzed six waves of the national *Schools and Staffing Survey* from 1988 to 2008 and found that the percentage of mid-career entrants had doubled during that time and comprised nearly one-third of new teachers, but they had not substantially diversified the teaching workforce. ## Alternative Preparation Programs and Paths to Teaching Download 8 citations download- [BibTeX](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=15&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_researchpublications%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=116208&&&format=bibtex) - [EndNote X3 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=15&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_researchpublications%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=116208&&&format=endnote8) - [EndNote 7 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=15&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_researchpublications%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=116208&&&format=endnote7) - [Endnote tagged](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=15&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_researchpublications%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=116208&&&format=tagged) - [Marc](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=15&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_researchpublications%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=116208&&&format=marc) - [PubMedId](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=15&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_researchpublications%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=116208&&&format=pubmed_id) - [RIS](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=15&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_researchpublications%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=116208&&&format=ris) ### 2014 William Marinell and Susan Moore Johnson. 2014. “[Midcareer Entrants to Teaching: Who They Are and How They May, or May Not, Change Teaching](/publications/midcareer-entrants-teaching-why-they-are-and-how-they-may-or-may-not)”. Educational Policy, 28, 6, Pp. 741-79 William Marinell and Susan Moore Johnson. 2014. “[Midcareer Entrants to Teaching: Who They Are and How They May, or May Not, Change Teaching](/publications/midcareer-entrants-teaching-why-they-are-and-how-they-may-or-may-not)”. Educational Policy, 28, 6, Pp. 741-79 - add\_circle do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract This study uses an innovative methodology and six waves of Schools and Staffing Survey data spanning two decades (1988-2008) to assess the potential of midcareer **entrants**—teachers **who** enter the profession from careers outside of education—to diversify **tea**... ### 2011 Morgaen L. Donaldson and Susan Moore Johnson. 2011. “[Teach For America Teachers: How Long Do They Teach? Why Do They Leave?](/publications/teach-america-teachers-how-long-do-they-teach-why-do-they-leave)”. Phi Delta Kappan, 93, 2, Pp. 47-51 Morgaen L. Donaldson and Susan Moore Johnson. 2011. “[Teach For America Teachers: How Long Do They Teach? Why Do They Leave?](/publications/teach-america-teachers-how-long-do-they-teach-why-do-they-leave)”. Phi Delta Kappan, 93, 2, Pp. 47-51 ### 2010 Morgaen L. Donaldson and Susan Moore Johnson. 2010. “[The Price of Misassignment: The Role of Teaching Assignments in Teach For America Teachers’ Exit from Low-Income Schools and the Teaching Profession](/publications/price-misassignment-role-teaching-assignments-teach-america-teachers)”. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 32, 2, Pp. 299-323 Morgaen L. Donaldson and Susan Moore Johnson. 2010. “[The Price of Misassignment: The Role of Teaching Assignments in Teach For America Teachers’ Exit from Low-Income Schools and the Teaching Profession](/publications/price-misassignment-role-teaching-assignments-teach-america-teachers)”. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 32, 2, Pp. 299-323 - add\_circle do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](http://epa.sagepub.com/content/32/2/299.abstract) Teach For America (TFA) recruits high-achieving college graduates to teach for 2 years in the nation's low-income schools. This study is the first to examine these teachers' retention nationwide, asking whether, when, and why they voluntarily transfer... - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](http://epa.sagepub.com/content/32/2/299.abstract) ### 2009 Susan Moore Johnson and Sarah E. Birkeland. 2009. “[Is Fast-Track Preparation Enough? It Depends](/publications/fast-track-preparation-enough-it-depends)”. In Taking Stock: An Examination of Alternative Certification, edited by Pamela Grossman and Susanna Loeb, Pp. 101-28. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press Susan Moore Johnson and Sarah E. Birkeland. 2009. “[Is Fast-Track Preparation Enough? It Depends](/publications/fast-track-preparation-enough-it-depends)”. In Taking Stock: An Examination of Alternative Certification, edited by Pamela Grossman and Susanna Loeb, Pp. 101-28. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press ### 2005 Susan Moore Johnson, Sarah E. Birkeland, and Heather G. Peske. 2005. “[Life in the Fast Track: How States Seek to Balance Incentives and Quality in Alternative Teacher Certification Programs](/publications/life-fast-track-how-states-seek-balance-incentives-and-auality)”. Educational Policy, 19, 1, Pp. 63-89 Susan Moore Johnson, Sarah E. Birkeland, and Heather G. Peske. 2005. “[Life in the Fast Track: How States Seek to Balance Incentives and Quality in Alternative Teacher Certification Programs](/publications/life-fast-track-how-states-seek-balance-incentives-and-auality)”. Educational Policy, 19, 1, Pp. 63-89 - add\_circle do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](http://epx.sagepub.com/content/19/1/63.abstract) Part of a special issue on the politics of teacher and administrator preparation and development. A study examined several **fast**-**track** alternative teacher certification programs in 11 sites in Connecticut, Louisiana, and Massachusetts. Findings revealed... - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](http://epx.sagepub.com/content/19/1/63.abstract) Susan Moore Johnson, Sarah E. Birkeland, Heather G. Peske, and Mindy Sick Munger. 2005. [A Difficult Balance: Incentives and Quality Control in Alternative Certification Programs](https://projectngt.gse.harvard.edu/files/gse-projectngt/files/2005_difficult_balance_alt_cert_programs.pdf). Cambridge, MA Susan Moore Johnson, Sarah E. Birkeland, Heather G. Peske, and Mindy Sick Munger. 2005. [A Difficult Balance: Incentives and Quality Control in Alternative Certification Programs](https://projectngt.gse.harvard.edu/files/gse-projectngt/files/2005_difficult_balance_alt_cert_programs.pdf). Cambridge, MA ### 2003 Heather G. Peske. 2003. “[’Faculty Are the Backbone’: Quality Control in Connecticut’s Alternative Route to Certification](/publications/faculty-are-backbone-quality-control-connecticuts-alternative-route)”. In Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. San Diego, CA Heather G. Peske. 2003. “[’Faculty Are the Backbone’: Quality Control in Connecticut’s Alternative Route to Certification](/publications/faculty-are-backbone-quality-control-connecticuts-alternative-route)”. In Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. San Diego, CA - [ picture\_as\_pdfpeskeaera2003ctarc.pdf](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/gse-projectngt/files/peskeaera2003ctarc.pdf) - [ picture\_as\_pdfpeskeaera2003ctarc.pdf](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/gse-projectngt/files/peskeaera2003ctarc.pdf) Sarah E. Birkeland. 2003. “[Meeting Competing Demands: The Shifting Approach to Ensuring Teacher Quality In One Alternative Certification Program Site](/publications/meeting-competing-demands-shifting-approach-ensuring-teacher-quality-it)”. In Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. San Diego, CA Sarah E. Birkeland. 2003. “[Meeting Competing Demands: The Shifting Approach to Ensuring Teacher Quality In One Alternative Certification Program Site](/publications/meeting-competing-demands-shifting-approach-ensuring-teacher-quality-it)”. In Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. San Diego, CA - [ picture\_as\_pdfmeetingcompetingdemands.p...](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/gse-projectngt/files/meetingcompetingdemands.pdf) - [ picture\_as\_pdfmeetingcompetingdemands.p...](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/gse-projectngt/files/meetingcompetingdemands.pdf)