Abstract
Alternative certification is the most topical innovation in teacher certification systems in the U. S.This program is a rapidly growing phenomenon, and has been implemented in 39 states (as of 1991) in certain typical categories.Former president George Bush has stated, “We should break down the barriers to talented people who want to teach and have demonstrated their competence in other fields.”The president has brought alternative teacher certification to the attention of pol cy-makers and the public by advocating alternative routes.
But this certification program is also a hotly-debated topic in America. Debates center around the meaning of the term, as well as whether or not it is a desirable way to bring talented people into the teaching profession.
Based on these thoughts, this paper considers the following points: First, the original background of the growth of alternative certification programs-especially in terms of teacher shortages, emergency certificates and misassigned teachers.Second, the characteristics of alternative certification programs-through analysis on program patterns among states (New Jersey, Connecticut, Los Angeles in California) is examined.Finally, the effectiveness of alternative certification programs-from the viewpoints of the purposes of policy, undergraduate GPAs, attrition, and assessment of these alternate route teachers is noted.
It was found that the term ‘alternative routes’ that have been seen here mask considerable variation.Policy discussion that focuses on the merits of the alternate route versus college-based teacher preparation oversimplifies the issue.Alternate route programs need to be judged in terms of their different goals and context as well as their impact on students and the profession of teaching.For example, if the goal is to eliminate or upgrade emergency certification, the program might be seen as commendable.If the goal is to attract a more diverse group of able people into teaching, demographic data on recruitment and retention need to be collected.As resuls accumulate about the success and failures of alternate route programs, it will be important to explore the design variations and implementation of particular alternate route programs before extolling or dismissing alternate routes in general. Teacher educators, school people, and policy-makers will have much to learn from viewing alternate route programs as a variety of context-specific experiments rather than as a substitute or competitor of college-based teacher education programs.
