Recruitment, Preparation, Placement, and Retention of Alternate Route and College-Prepared Teachers: An Early Study of a New Jersey Initiative

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Karen Zumwalt ◽  
Gary Natriello ◽  
Judy Randi ◽  
Alison Rutter ◽  
Richard Sawyer
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Urban Schools ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Alternate Route ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
Quality Profile

This article reviews survey findings about the recruitment, preparation, placement and retention of 315 elementary, secondary English, and math teachers prepared to enter New Jersey public schools in fall 1987, either having just completed New Jersey college-based education programs (CB) or entering through the New Jersey alternate route (AR) program. Teachers were surveyed through their sixth year of teaching. The AR program increased the number of teachers for urban and rural schools and diversified the teaching pool. AR teachers held more traditional views than those prepared in CB programs, but neither program recruited teachers with a consistently higher quality profile. Programmatic aspects (i.e., fusing of AR recruitment, preparation, and placement phases) correlated with some differing attitudes of teachers toward teaching and their programs, and qualitatively different experiences in preparing to teach. During the first two years, AR teachers were more likely to teach in urban schools, but differences diminished over the next four years. Three-year retention rates were highest for elementary and CB math teachers and lowest for AR math teachers. Six-year retention rates were highest for CB math teachers and lowest for AR math and English teachers. AR retention rates were higher for males, while CB retention rates were higher for minorities. Attitudes related to retention indicate program, subject matter, and elementary/secondary differences.

Learnings from a Longitudinal Study of New Jersey Alternate Route and College-Prepared Elementary, Secondary English, and Secondary Math Teachers

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-54
Author(s):  
Karen Zumwalt ◽  
Gary Natriello ◽  
Judy Randi ◽  
Alison Rutter ◽  
Richard Sawyer
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
Alternate Route ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Policy Agendas ◽  
Early Cohort ◽  
Retention Of Teachers

Findings from a longitudinal survey, interview, and observational study of an early cohort of New Jersey elementary, secondary English, and secondary math teachers participating in a first-generation state alternate route initiative to address issues of supply, quality, and diversity in the teaching pool are discussed. The article explores emerging themes common to the literature on alternate routes and unique contributions of this study in relation to the recruitment, preparation, placement, and retention of teachers prepared in college-based and alternate route programs. The article ends with implications of what has been learned and still needs to be learned about different approaches in the face of the continued need for highly qualified teachers and in light of the contrasting policy agendas surrounding teacher education. Rather than the “horse-race” mentality that dominated earlier debate of alternate route vs. college-based teacher education programs, a more constructive frame considers the short term and long term trade-offs (e.g., recruitment vs. preparation, recruitment vs. retention) that arose from New Jersey's early implementation of an alternate route program.

Final Choices: Surveying Career Options

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Judy Randi
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Career Aspirations ◽  
Alternate Route ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
Retention And Attrition ◽  
Career Options ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Reasons For Staying

This article follows the 25 exemplar elementary, secondary English, and math teachers prepared in New Jersey's alternate route program (AR) or college-based programs (CB) through their 11th year. The article examines retention and attrition patterns, including moving from school to school or to education-related positions outside of K–12 classroom settings. The article presents data on teachers’ reasons for staying or leaving, including their career aspirations. The article concludes with a discussion of the findings and the implications for teacher education.

First 11 Years: 25 Exemplar Alternate Route and College-Prepared K–12 Teachers

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Zumwalt ◽  
Judy Randi ◽  
Alison Rutter ◽  
Richard Sawyer
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
School District ◽  
Teachers Of Color ◽  
Alternate Route ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Undergraduate Major ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
School Based ◽  
K 12

This longitudinal study follows 25 exemplar elementary, secondary English, and math teachers prepared in New Jersey's alternate route program (AR) or college-based programs (CB) for 11 years. Half of the AR and CB teachers entered teaching in their early/mid 20s; the others were older beginners. The 12 AR teachers included four males and three teachers of color; all 13 CB teachers were White females. Initial and subsequent teaching placements were critical in what teachers learned and how long they stayed in a particular job and in teaching. Four AR teachers’ placements did not match their stated interest or undergraduate major. Quantity and quality of supervision varied for AR teachers. Five AR teachers, but no CB teachers, began teaching in low-wealth districts. Ten CB and two AR teachers taught in the same school district for the first six years. Six-year retention was 25% for AR teachers and 85% for CB teachers. Eleven-year retention was 42% for AR and 62% for CB. No AR math teacher lasted more than four years. Age at entry, match between setting and teacher, and classroom focus were related to retention. Considering those with school-based administrative jobs, jobs supporting K–12, and those on child leave breaks, CB retention was 100%, and AR retention was 67%, including all entering teachers of color.

Teacher Choices: Teacher Development

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Alison Rutter
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Development ◽  
Reform Movements ◽  
Alternate Route ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Choices ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Initial Choice

This article explores the individual and institutional professional choices related to the teacher development of the 19 exemplar elementary, secondary English, and math teachers who were still teaching 10-plus years after they entered teaching, either through New Jersey's alternate route (AR) program or college-based (CB) programs in the state. By examining the history of teacher development reform movements affecting the careers of these teachers and the ways in which these exemplar teachers chose to build their careers, two case studies are drawn to demonstrate the impact of the institution as well as the individuals’ professional motivation. The cases highlight the different professional paths and choices these teachers selected. In conclusion, the article recognizes that, rather than their initial choice of pathway, teachers’ development into mature veterans was affected most by their ongoing individual choices of professionalism, which include the effects of the institutions in which they chose to work.

Initial Choices: Promising to Teach

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Randi ◽  
Karen Zumwalt
Keyword(s):  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
The State ◽  
Alternate Route ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Teaching Career ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
Motivational Influences ◽  
Teacher Workforce ◽  
New Recruits

This article explores the motivations of the 25 exemplar elementary, secondary English, and secondary math teachers at the time they chose to enter teaching either through New Jersey's alternate route (AR) program or college-based (CB) programs in the state. The article presents data that reveal these teachers’ underlying reasons for embarking on a teaching career and the circumstances that led them to a particular pathway. Their reasons for choosing teaching as a career are characterized on a continuum from passion (altruism) to pragmatism (practical considerations). The article then compares demographic characteristics and motivational influences of each group. Although these new recruits chose different pathways, the reasons they provided for teaching seem to characterize a changing teacher workforce rather than reveal striking differences between pathways.

Why Working Apart Doesn’t Work at All: Special Education and English Learner Teacher Collaborations

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39
Author(s):  
Sara E. N. Kangas
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
English Learner ◽  
Individualized Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Individualized Education ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
Synergistic Relationships ◽  
Learning English

With many students learning English also identified with disabilities in public schools, collaborations across special education and English learner (EL) education are critical to promoting these students’ academic and linguistic development. Yet, many special education and EL teachers work independently of one another, focusing on their own specialized roles. In the process, students with disabilities who are learning English receive fragmented, inadequate special education and EL services. This article provides specific strategies—cocreating individualized education programs and instituting consultations—special education and EL teachers can implement to break out of their isolated roles and to build synergistic relationships that benefit the learning of students with disabilities who are learning English.

The Missing Link's Missing Link

1997 ◽  
Vol 179 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Moral Development ◽  
Character Education ◽  
Educational Reform ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Mind

If educational reform is to succeed, the twin goals of intellectual and moral development must be championed in every classroom in America. This paper calls not only for the restoration of character education in the public schools but also for the preparation of character educators—teachers ready to forge enduring habits of the heart and of the mind. It details the attributes of successful character educators and offers suggestions about ways in which teacher education programs can prepare teachers for their work as character educators.

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