Alternative Certification: A Solution or an Alternative Problem?

Bowling, Amanda; Ball, Anna

doi:10.5032/jae.2018.02109

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(21 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…With an increasing demand for prepared teachers and a decreasing supply, schools are left with few options for hiring (Castro et al, 2018). This shortage can lead to hiring alternatively certified teachers to bridge the gap (Bowling & Ball, 2018).…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The agriscience teacher population has a growing number of individuals who are not traditionally certified to teach agriculture and will likely continue to grow until a greater solution to the teacher shortage is found (Bowling & Ball, 2018;National Teach Ag Campaign, 2018;Smith et al, 2018). As such, the results of this study should be shared with state agricultural education staff, university faculty, the Florida Association of Agricultural Educators, and all others who have a vested interest in providing agriscience teacher professional development.…”

Section: Recommendations For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because of the teacher shortage, more and more individuals are entering the classroom with little to no pedagogical skills and knowledge (Bowling & Ball, 2018;Hoerst & Whittington, 2009;Porter, 2011;Roberts & Dyer, 2004;Stair et al, 2018;Touchstone, 2015). Therefore, it is important to consider the developmental needs of such teachers (Bowling & Ball, 2018). One avenue to address this issue is through faculty member and teacher-led professional development opportunities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Identifying Agriscience Teachers’ Instructional Practice Professional Development Needs by Certification Type

Coleman,

Bunch,

Thoron

2020

JAE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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 traditionally and alternatively certified agriscience teachers is a necessary step toward providing support that could lead to less teacher attrition. The purpose of this study was to describe the self-perceived, professional development needs of agriscience teachers in Florida based upon their initial certification type. All three types of certified agriscience teachers reported determining content to be taught in specific courses and assessing student learning in the classroom and laboratory among their highest needs. However, alternatively certified agriscience teachers indicated a greater need in every selected competency of instructional practices. It is recommended agricultural education departments and others who are interested in agriscience teacher professional development consider teacher certification types when implementing professional development workshops. Future research should include the examination of the five additional needs areas determined by the researchers.

show abstract

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Recommendations For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Identifying Agriscience Teachers’ Instructional Practice Professional Development Needs by Certification Type

Coleman,

Bunch,

Thoron

2020

JAE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Within agricultural education, teacher preparation programs have been predominantly focused on traditional certification (Flowers & Martin, 2010). However, alternative certification became prevalent in the 1960s with a shortage of teachers in agricultural education (Bowling & Ball, 2018). In the past two decades, alternative certification research in agricultural education focused on individual states but provides valuable insight into this population of teachers.…”

Section: Introduction and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Investigation of the Routes to Certification and Turnover Intentions of Wisconsin Agriculture Teachers

Claflin,

Lambert,

Stewart

2020

JAE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The purpose of this study was to examine the routes to certification and turnover intentions of agriculture teachers to identify differences between alternatively and traditionally certified teachers. The population consisted of a census of early career agriculture teachers in Wisconsin with fewer than three years of teaching (N = 67) with a response rate of 52% (n = 35). The majority of respondents were traditionally certified (71%) through a bachelor’s degree program, and 29% were alternatively certified through three different routes. Respondents had moderately low turnover intentions to leave the agriculture classroom as a teacher with no statistical difference (U = 130.50, p = .843) between traditionally and alternatively certified teachers. Additionally, there was no correlation between turnover intentions and traditional and alternative certification routes. While this study is not generalizable to other populations, it does provide the first insight into agricultural education research on how teachers are being alternatively certified. The results of this study prompt the need for further research on alternative certification in agricultural education, focusing on the types of programs and preparation, as well as the impact of certification route on turnover.

show abstract

“…Historically, agriculture teachers are certified to teach through traditional teacher education programs in agricultural education (Flowers & Martin, 2010). However, alternative routes to certification in school-based agricultural education have become prevalent since the 1980s (Bowling & Ball, 2018;Flowers & Martin, 2010), with 16.5% of new agriculture teachers in the 2019-2020 school year holding an alternative certification (Foster et al, 2020). The characterizations of "alternative certification" span the continuum from programs that mirror university teacher preparation programs to emergency certification depending on the state licensing policy (Flowers & Martin, 2010;Walsh & Jacobs, 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Best of Both Worlds: Exploring the Experiences of Alternatively Certified Agriculture Teachers

Claflin¹,

Stewart²,

Traini³

2022

JAE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Alternative certification is often seen by policymakers and local school districts as the answer to the teacher shortage problem. Yet, little is known about the experiences of alternatively certified teachers in agricultural education. This case study sought to explore the experiences of alternatively certified agriculture teachers through a composite case study grounded in Dewey’s conception of experience. The participants for this study included four early career alternatively certified teachers in Wisconsin. Our findings illuminate insights regarding the fortuitous nature of alternatively certified teachers entering the classroom, the importance of their prior experiences, their passion for the content, the hurdles of becoming certified, and the significance of support. This is the first study of its kind in agricultural education to examine the first-hand accounts of alternatively certified teachers in an attempt to understand the benefits and challenges and the stepping stones leading to alternative certification. How are alternatively certified teachers becoming certified? What personal and professional experiences are they utilizing in the agricultural education classroom? It is critical that we do not disregard these teachers or their valuable experience, but instead seek to understand their background and certification process to ensure continued school-based agricultural education success.

show abstract

Alternative Certification: A Solution or an Alternative Problem?

Cited by 16 publications

References 14 publications

Identifying Agriscience Teachers’ Instructional Practice Professional Development Needs by Certification Type

Identifying Agriscience Teachers’ Instructional Practice Professional Development Needs by Certification Type

An Investigation of the Routes to Certification and Turnover Intentions of Wisconsin Agriculture Teachers

The Best of Both Worlds: Exploring the Experiences of Alternatively Certified Agriculture Teachers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About