TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES .

LIST OF FIGURES .

Chapters

I. INTRODUCTION .

Overview .

Statement of the Problem .

Purpose of the Study .

Conceptual Framework .

Research Questions .

Rationale for the Study .

Significance of the Study .

Definition of Key Terms .

Organization of the Study .

Summary .

2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .

Overview .

Background .

Conceptual Framework .

Summary ..

3. METHODOLOGY ..

Overview .

Research Design .

Participants ..

Instrumentation ..

Data Collection ..

Data Analysis ..

Limitations of the Study

Summary .

Abstract

Today, education in the United States is faced with the triple whammy of a critical shortage of qualified teachers, high rates of attrition for new teachers and inadequate resources to support existing public schools. Therefore, the overarching purpose of this study is to help educational leaders identify and develop best practices to help both alternatively and traditionally certified teachers improve academic outcomes while reducing unplanned turnover rates by new teachers leaving the profession entirely. This purpose is aligned with the authors field of study which involves teachers perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and their ability to improve academic outcomes for their students. The focus of this study is the analysis of both traditionally and alternatively certified teachers efficacy beliefs toward serving students to improve student outcomes is my focus. Additionally, my research interest involves helping educational leaders determine the best recruitment and retention methods for teachers. In part, the research will examine specific recruitment and retention practices to determine effectiveness in reducing attrition rates.

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Overview

At present, there are approximately 3.6 million public and private school teachers in the United States today (About NTSA, 2018) responsible for about 50.7 million school children in elementary and secondary schools (Fast facts, 2018). The economic costs of public school education in the United States are staggering, and the country currently spends an average of around $12,300 per elementary and secondary public school student each year, amounting to about $620 billion in federal and state spending annually (Pflaum, 2016). At present, the vast majority (90%) of these hundreds of billions of dollars is provided by the several states, with the federal government contributing the remaining 10% (Pflaum, 2016). Indeed, the United States spends more than almost any other industrialized country in the world today, trailing only Switzerland and Norway in per student expenditures (Plfaum, 2016). Unfortunately, the return on these enormous investments in taxpayer resources has been mediocre at best and absolutely dismal at worst, an issue that forms the problem of interest to this study which is discussed further below.

Statement of the Problem

Today, the United States is in an education crisis due to the convergence of several trends that have combined to create a perfect storm of challenges. For instance, depending on the source, between 20% and 50% of all new teachers in the United States leave the profession within 5 years and a significant percentage within the first year, due in part to low pay and overcrowded classrooms but also to a lack of preparedness for the entering the profession (Fensterwald, 2015). These pronounced rates of departure are far higher than for other professions, and the negative impact of these trends has been felt in the majority of public elementary and secondary schools across the country, but most especially already low-performing schools that are confronted with a steady parade of new teachers who do not stay at schools long enough to make a substantive difference in their students academic outcomes (Carroll & Fulton, 2009). Indeed, a seminal study by Darling-Hammond, Chung and Frelow (2002) found that teachers who felt unprepared left the profession at fully twice the rates of teachers who felt prepared to enter the classroom.

This lack of preparedness has further exacerbated the numerous difficulties that many…

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES .

LIST OF FIGURES .

Chapters

I. INTRODUCTION .

Overview .

Statement of the Problem .

Purpose of the Study .

Conceptual Framework .

Research Questions .

Rationale for the Study .

Significance of the Study .

Definition of Key Terms .

Organization of the Study .

Summary .

2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .

Overview .

Background .

Conceptual Framework .

Summary ..

3. METHODOLOGY ..

Overview .

Research Design .

Participants ..

Instrumentation ..

Data Collection ..

Data Analysis ..

Limitations of the Study

Summary .

Abstract

Today, education in the United States is faced with the triple whammy of a critical shortage of qualified teachers, high rates of attrition for new teachers and inadequate resources to support existing public schools. Therefore, the overarching purpose of this study is to help educational leaders identify and develop best practices to help both alternatively and traditionally certified teachers improve academic outcomes while reducing unplanned turnover ates by new teachers leaving the profession entirely. This purpose is aligned with the authors field of study which involves teachers perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and their ability to improve academic outcomes for their students. The focus of this study is the analysis of both traditionally and alternatively certified teachers efficacy beliefs toward serving students to improve student outcomes is my focus. Additionally, my research interest involves helping educational leaders determine the best recruitment and retention methods for teachers. In part, the research will examine specific recruitment and retention practices to determine effectiveness in reducing attrition rates.

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Overview

At present, there are approximately 3.6 million public and private school teachers in the United States today (About NTSA, 2018) responsible for about 50.7 million school children in elementary and secondary schools (Fast facts, 2018). The economic costs of public school education in the United States are staggering, and the country currently spends an average of around $12,300 per elementary and secondary public school student each year, amounting to about $620 billion…

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES .

LIST OF FIGURES .

Chapters

I. INTRODUCTION .

Overview .

Statement of the Problem .

Purpose of the Study .

Conceptual Framework .

Research Questions .

Rationale for the Study .

Significance of the Study .

Definition of Key Terms .

Organization of the Study .

Summary .

2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .

Overview .

Background .

Conceptual Framework .

Summary ..

3. METHODOLOGY ..

Overview .

Research Design .

Participants ..

Instrumentation ..

Data Collection ..

Data Analysis ..

Limitations of the Study

Summary .

Abstract

Today, education in the United States is faced with the triple whammy of a critical shortage of qualified teachers, high rates of attrition for new teachers and inadequate resources to support existing public schools. Therefore, the overarching purpose of this study is to help educational leaders identify and develop best practices to help both alternatively and traditionally certified teachers improve academic outcomes while reducing unplanned turnover rates by new teachers leaving the profession entirely. This purpose is aligned with the authors field of study which involves teachers perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and their ability to improve academic outcomes for their students. The focus of this study is the analysis of both traditionally and alternatively certified teachers efficacy beliefs toward serving students to improve student outcomes is my focus. Additionally, my research interest involves helping educational leaders determine the best recruitment and retention methods for teachers. In part, the research will examine specific recruitment and retention practices to determine effectiveness in reducing attrition rates.

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Overview

At present, there are approximately 3.6 million public and private school teachers in the United States today (About NTSA, 2018) responsible for about 50.7 million school children in elementary and secondary schools (Fast facts, 2018). The economic costs of public school education in the United States are staggering, and the country currently spends an average of around $12,300 per elementary and secondary public school student each year, amounting to about $620 billion in federal and state spending annually (Pflaum, 2016). At present, the vast majority (90%) of these hundreds of billions of dollars is provided by the several states, with the federal government contributing the remaining 10% (Pflaum, 2016). Indeed, the Un.......ly Switzerland and Norway in per student expenditures (Plfaum, 2016). Unfortunately, the return on these enormous investments in taxpayer resources has been mediocre at best and absolutely dismal at worst, an issue that forms the problem of interest to this study which is discussed further below.

Statement of the Problem

Today, the United States is in an education crisis due to the convergence of several trends that have combined to create a perfect storm of challenges. For instance, depending on the source, between 20% and 50% of all new teachers in the United States leave the profession within 5 years and a significant percentage within the first year, due in part to low pay and overcrowded classrooms but also to a lack of preparedness for the entering the profession (Fensterwald, 2015). These pronounced rates of departure are far higher than for other professions, and the negative impact of these trends has been felt in the majority of public elementary and secondary schools across the country, but most especially already low-performing schools that are confronted with a steady parade of new teachers who do not stay at schools long enough to make a substantive difference in their students academic outcomes (Carroll & Fulton, 2009). Indeed, a seminal study by Darling-Hammond, Chung and Frelow (2002) found that teachers who felt unprepared left the profession at fully twice the rates of teachers who felt prepared to enter the classroom.

This lack of preparedness has further exacerbated the numerous difficulties that many new teachers experience when entering their classrooms for the first time, and far too many find themselves ill equipped to provide the high quality education students need and deserve in order to compete in the 21st century workplace. Furthermore, despite the monies being spent on education in America today, many new as well as seasoned teachers report they lack the institutional support and material resources they need to teach effectively. Moreover, teacher-student ratios in public elementary and secondary schools have increased from the 15.4 ratio in 2007 to a 16.1 ratio in Fall 2017 while the corresponding teacher-student ratios in private elementary and secondary school declined from the 2007 ratio of 13.0 to a 12.2 ratio by Fall 2017 (Fast facts, 2018).

Furthermore, new and experience teachers alike across the country report that they are being forced to resort to the Internet for reading materials because they do not have textbooks, and many spend their own money on basic classroom materials such as art supplies, paper and pencils and so forth. It is reasonable to suggest that most teachers do not enter the profession to get rich because teaching salaries are well documented as trailing many other professions that require a college degree, so spending their own limited funds in this fashion is simply bitter icing on the unpreparedness cake.

These disturbing trends are taking place during a period in the United States history when there is already an unprecedented shortage of qualified teachers. In fact, during the period from 2009 through 2014, there was a precipitous decline of 35% (610,000 versus 451,000) in new teacher enrollments in the country, and almost 8% of current teachers leave the profession before retirement (Strauss, 2017). Moreover, the United States is currently lagging behind many other countries in the vitally important areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, ranking a dismal 38th out of 71 countries in these subject areas (Desilver, 2017). This combination of teachers leaving the profession within 5 years during a period when there is already a severe teacher shortage and declining test scores means that far too many students are being denied the high quality education that are purportedly guaranteed, an issue that forms the purpose of this study as described below.

Purpose of the Study

The overarching purpose of this study is to help educational leaders learn and determine the best practices to help alternatively and traditionally certified teacher improve student outcomes and to help with retention efforts. When initially reading the research, many of the articles contained basic content that reflected my interest. This study contains research supporting my interest in induction programs and teacher retention. Additionally, it contains details that helped determine the relationship between teacher certification, teaching skills, and content knowledge. These components are deeply intertwined in my research interest. Although no longer fully in place, the rationale behind the research initially involved the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, which required schools to hire "highly qualified" teachers. Since then there has been the establishment of many alternative certification programs. Whether or not these programs effectively produced teachers, and help with retention was part of what was considered in this study.

Many alternatively certified teachers work in the highest needs schools with inadequate and inconsistent support, which raised issues of basic fairness and concerns about alternative certification program designs. The data indicated that because of the difficulty of the first years of teaching under these conditions with so few coordinated supports, job satisfaction decreased with time on the job, and retention of teachers remained a problem. These trends and issues further reinforce the need for additional research concerning strategies to help new teachers enter the classroom with a strong sense of self-efficacy based on actual preparedness, and this conceptual framework is discussed below together with a graphic illustration of the factors that contribute to self-efficacy in new teachers.

Conceptual Framework

Findings of studies on teachers' perspectives, perceptions, or beliefs have provided valuable insights on assessing teaching practices linking teachers' perceptions (or beliefs) to positive instructional practices including classroom management as well as student school outcomes (Jones, 2006). In this context, teaching efficacy, defined as "teachers' beliefs about their own effectiveness" (Yilmaz, 2011, p. 92), has been a critical construct in teacher education programs as they attempt to improve the quality of teacher candidates' skills, knowledge, and dispositions. Consequently, teacher efficacy is also an important construct for the purpose of this study and the conceptual framework that will be used to guide it.

A teacher's sense of efficacy in teaching, or his or her confidence about being able to influence students' learning, is one of the most well-documented aspects of effective teaching (Henson, Kogan, & Vacha-Haase, 2001). The concept of teacher efficacy is based on Bandura's (1977; 1986) theory that efficacy beliefs have a profound effect on human agency in various ways. For example, many people tend to avoid tasks and do not put forth effort where they do not feel confident in achieving successful outcomes. Efficacious beliefs therefore affect how teachers interact with students as well as the corresponding amount of effort they are willing to devote to the effort in meeting academic objectives and optimal outcomes. In this regard, Darling-Hammond et al. (2002) reported significant correspondence between feelings of preparedness and sense of efficacy, a finding consistent with other research on teacher efficacy. When teachers feel they are well prepared, they tend to have high self-efficacy in teaching as conceptualized in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Conceptual framework

Research Questions

The overarching research question that will guide this study is as follows: What are teachers perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and their ability to improve student outcomes? In support of this main research question, there are a number of subquestions that must also be answered as follows:

1. What are the perceptions and attitudinal differences between traditionally and alternatively certified teachers?

2. What is the relationship between teachers who are traditionally and alternatively certified, and the teachers perception of their knowledge of content?

3. What is the relationship between teachers who are traditionally and alternatively certified, and the teachers percepti