The Education Commission of the States in 2007 reported that 16 states had a policy for alternative licensure for school leaders and 23 states had a path for alternative licensure but not a policy (Education Commission of the States, 2007). Therefore there were 39 states that offered a policy or path for obtaining licensure for school leaders through an alternative route. This information suggested a nation-wide development and warranted investigation. First year principals, as are first year teachers, are in need of a mentor. The current principals are the individuals who would be asked to mentor newly hired principals. This quantitative study was conducted to gain insight into the willingness of elementary principals to mentor alternatively licensed principals. The Virginia Association of Elementary Principals (VAESP) agreed to email the web mail questionnaire to their public school principal members as of March 1, 2010. The questionnaire was sent to 515 elementary principals in Virginia. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was the statistical procedure used to determine the relationship between the predictor variables and the willingness of elementary principals to mentor alternatively licensed principals. The data indicated that Virginia Elementary School Principals are somewhat willing to mentor their peers. However, they do not feel that alternative licensure is a good route for principal licensure. / Ph. D.

This qualitative study examined, described and analyzed mentoring experiences and perceptions of five first-year alternate route teachers and their five mentors within an urban southeastern school division. The researcher employed a constructivist theoretical model to analyze interview data and frame the adult learning and mentoring experiences to answer the research questions. This investigation explored the benefits, challenges and implications concerning first-year alternate route teachers and their roles in the mentoring relationships.

Over the past few decades thousands of special education teachers have been teaching students with disabilities on emergency or temporary certificates (Barnes, Crow, & Schaefer, 2007). The majority of these teachers entered the field of education with little to no preparation. Most of these under qualified teachers were hired in rural areas. Prior to the establishment of the cohort between the Tennessee Department of Education and East Tennessee State University-Sevier County Schools in 2000, there had been little to no planning in addressing the challenge of teacher shortage, specifically teacher attrition, in East Tennessee for special education teachers (East Tennessee State University, 2009; State of Tennessee, Office of Research and Education Accountability, 2006). The challenge of teacher shortage is secondary to teacher attrition for many school systems. Reasons teachers leave the profession are family or personal reasons, school staffing issues including layoffs, school closings, reorganizations, and retirement (Shakrani, 2008). The cost of high teacher attrition is felt in many ways. Examples include loss of outlays from states and local school districts, the challenge school districts face searching for replacements; and most of all, the cost to the student (Carroll, 2007). This qualitative study investigated the experiences of 12 paraprofessionals who completed the first East Tennessee State University-Sevier County Special Education Cohort to earn special education teaching certification. The 2000 ETSU-Sevier County Cohort started with 16 3 members. Currently 13 are teaching in special education, one cohort member is deceased, and two cohort members moved so that the other members do not know of their status. Cohort members received a 100% grant subsidy to participate in the program of study. The goal of the grant was “to improve the quality of instruction to students with disabilities from birth to 21 by increasing the number of appropriately endorsed special education teachers in Tennessee” (ETSU Special Education Institute, 2010, p. 2). The most dominant findings were the experience and background of paraprofessionals as they made their way to becoming certified teachers. These experiences were helpful in a variety of ways. Examples include completing course work, developing instructional strategies, behavior management, coteaching, and providing training for their paraprofessionals. Another finding and a major theme was group bonding among the cohorts. This bonding provided a support group in meeting the course work demands. Having access to local administrators who were their instructors and mentors was a consistent theme. Members of the cohort were supported by a 100% grant that provided the financial support necessary to make their journey possible; the necessity of that support was a common theme. The increased stress level, additional paper work, and responsibilities of being a certified teacher were other emerging themes. Time management was a prevalent theme throughout their experience. Finally, the support and admiration from their colleges, professors, and family members were major themes in their completing the cohort and becoming certified teachers.

In many parts of the country principal candidates are being licensed through alternative pathways. Some view this movement as a plausible solution to the shortage of principals and inadequacy of principal preparation programs (Hess, 2003; Southern Regional Education Board, 2006; Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 2003). Others are insulted and threatened by the prospect of a person from a non-traditional background leading a school (Fenwick & Pierce, 2001). The debate as to whether or not these candidates possess the prerequisite skills and knowledge to effectively lead a school continues. But, will superintendents, as gatekeepers to school districts, afford these individuals the opportunity to prove their worth as principals? In this study, superintendents’ attitudes toward alternative licensure of school principals; past behaviors related to hiring alternatively licensed school personnel; attitudes toward specific alternatively licensed personnel; perceptions of the conditions in their school districts; anticipated concerns about hiring alternatively licensed principals; and the presence or absence of a clearly articulated induction program for new principals are used as predictors of superintendents' willingness to recommend hiring alternatively licensed principals to their school boards. The composite model of attitude-behavior consistency and data from a qualitative study of 18 superintendents were the bases for the development of a theory. To test the theory, an on-line questionnaire, using Likert and Thurstone scaled items, was administered to 1200 randomly selected superintendents who were members of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) in 2005. Multiple regression analysis was used for the analysis of the quantitative data. Five of the 19 predictor variables were significant predictors of superintendents’ willingness to recommend hiring alternatively licensed principals. The strongest relationship existed between superintendents’ willingness to recommend hiring alternatively licensed principals and their perceptions of the instructional leadership ability of alternatively licensed principals. Other significant predictors were superintendents’ past experiences hiring alternatively licensed principals, perceptions of the community acceptance of alternatively licensed principals, general attitude toward alternative licensure, and willingness to hire under the given definition. Superintendents displayed a low neutral (more unfavorable) score on the Thurstone scale, which means they view the employment of alternatively licensed principals slightly unfavorably. / Ph. D.