The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of alternative certification instruction in a public education environment. In addition, the study compared traditional certification instruction to alternative certification instruction on the basis of educational quality. Due to increasing teacher shortages across the country, the search for an alternative route of certification has generated ideological debates revolving around the supply and demand of potential teachers, educational quality, and the potential of alternative means of teacher procurement. There are myriad arguments in support of and against alternative certification programs. This study evaluated the perceived effectiveness of alternatively certified teachers in a public education environment by comparing principal's perceptions of traditional certification instruction to alternative certification instruction existent with their region, on the basis of educational quality. Survey research was used to determine perceptions which Hampton Roads principals who have, or who have had, responsibility for supervision of alternatively and traditionally certified personnel. It focused on 40 statements comparing traditionally certified teachers and alternatively certified teachers. It included such factors as pedagogical content knowledge, classroom management and instruction, behavior management, attitude, life experience, professionalism, professional development and evaluation. A series of 40 independent t-tests and a factor analysis were accomplished utilizing the data derived from these surveys. Results of this study indicated that the perceptions among Hampton Roads principals differ significantly regarding the effectiveness of alternatively certified teachers from those of previous research. Demographic data found these perceptions exist with principals of all school levels and are not related to the principal's years of experience, formal education or student enrollment. Ninety five percent of the 40 comparative statements favor those teachers achieving certification through traditional certification programs. Areas that reflected particularly substantial differences were content knowledge, instructional planning, and classroom discipline. Recommendations for practice include but are not limited to standardized supervision of alternative certification programs, quality screening of applicants, quality mentor programs, standardized and subsidized student teaching, competency testing, formalized state and district assessment and quality recruitment. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this research study is to determine and describe in-service SBAE teachers? perceived Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and challenges with non-content related classroom material. In general, PCK is the point where knowledge of teaching meets agricultural content knowledge. With the rising number of alternatively certified agricultural educators across the country, it is important to examine PCK in both traditionally and alternatively certified teachers as well as the differences between the two. Since successful classroom management is crucial to teacher retention, it is necessary to look at the differences in difficulty of implementation of various strategies. Agricultural education is diverse and involves numerous topics within the broad industry. This study also describes the sources of content knowledge among the two licensure types. It is recommended that future studies research the PCK of teachers based on years of experience and licensure route.

The purpose of this mixed method study was to examine teacher self efficacy and culturally responsive self efficacy of in-service Hispanic teachers teaching in high priority schools which serve large percentages of students of color with respect to the teachers' route to certification (alternative or traditional). This study also personal narratives to explore highly effective both alternatively and traditionally certified inservice teachers. The three guiding research questions for this mixed method study were: 1. What are teacher efficacy beliefs of alternatively certified teachers and traditionally certified Hispanic teachers who work in high priority schools serving Hispanic students? 2. What are culturally responsive beliefs of alternative certified teachers and traditionally certified Hispanic teachers who work in high priority schools serving Hispanic students? 3. What are the voices of highly effective alternative certified teachers and traditionally certified Hispanic teachers who work in high priority schools serving Hispanic students?Participants in the quantitative portion of the study were 90 middle and high school in-service teachers teaching in high priority schools in the Texas/Mexico borderlands of South Texas. The participants (N=4) in the qualitative portion of the study were purposively drawn from the quantitative participants. Findings of the study were derived from the use of two questionnaires (Teacher Self Efficacy Scale & Culturally Responsive Teacher Self Efficacy Scale) and an in-depth semi-structured interview with four participant in-service teachers. The major findings in this study were: 1. There are no significant differences in teacher self efficacy between alternatively certified teachers and traditionally certified teachers. 2. There are no significant differences in culturally responsive teacher self efficacy between alternatively certified teachers and traditionally certified teachers. 3. Sample population of Hispanic teachers scored themselves as having high teacher self efficacy and culturally responsive self efficacy. 4. The themes from teachers participating in the narrative portion of the study were: (a) high levels of teacher expectations, (b) effective school/parent relationships, (c) effective use of previous work experience, (d) utilization of the funds of knowledge of the students, (e) effective teacher/student connection, and (f) consistent use of self reflection.