Alternative Certification Survey 2017
Terry Hibpshman
Martin School
1
Sample
7500 emails sent
1625 responses
This is a 21% response rate
Typical for an email survey
2
Ten Most Common Previous Occupations
Student
Paraprofessional
Human/social services`
Substitute Teacher
Kentucky certified teacher
Business (non-managerial)
Financial occupations
Business (managerial)
Sales
Scientist/engineer
9.3%
8.5 %
7.9%
5.6%
5.3%
5.2%
4.8%
4.6%
3.7%
3.6%
3
Motivation
In-system mobility
Education avocation
Altruism
`
Limited job prospects/displaced workers
Certification upgrade
Love/want to work with children
Personal convenience
Coaching
Love of content
Disability interest
Unclassifiable
Family tradition/influence
Social service mobility
TFA/Teach Kentucky
District staffing strategy
God
27.0%
13.8%
9.9%
8.8%
7.5%
7.2%
5.6%
3.6%
2.8%
2.5%
2.5%
2.3%
2.2%
1.9%
1.2%
1.1%
4
Challenges
None
Balancing work/school/personal life
Awkwardness/inefficiency of administrative
procedures
Cost
Institutional requirements
Finding a job
Passing Praxis or other assessment
Misleading information
School/district administrative problems
Observation hours/unavailability of mentors
Lack of previous experience in the classroom
Availability of required classes
Second-class status
35.0%
15.0%
8.9%
8.7%
6.4%
4.8%
4.6%
4.0%
2.5%
2.8%
2.3%
1.8%
1.8%
5
Would You Recommend?
Emphatically Yes
Yes
Qualified Yes
Neutral
Qualified No
No
Emphatic No
11.1%
62%
15.4%
4.4%
2.5%
3.8%
0.8%
88.5 % Positive
6
In Summary
1. More than anything else, alternative
certification programs serve as an upward
mobility route for persons already involved in
education.
2. Persons who meet the original intent of these
programs represent a significant, but small,
proportion of participants.
3. The cost of participation is a significant
problem for many participants.
4. The majority of participants are positive about
their experience in alternative certification
programs.
7
An Offer
8
Questions/Comments
9
One More Thing
10
Survey Questions
What was your occupation prior to becoming a Kentucky teacher through an alternative
certification route ?
What college degree program did you complete prior to pursuing teacher certification in
Kentucky ? At what institution?
What motivated you to become a Kentucky teacher?
How did you first learn that an alternative route to teacher certification existed in
Kentucky?
What/who was your primary source of information regarding the alternative route
certification process?
What obstacles, if any, did you encounter while pursuing alternative route teacher
certification?
How could EPSB motivate others like you to become a teacher?
What do you think would most likely inspire professionals outside the field of academics to
become educators in regions with teacher shortages?
Would you recommend alternative certification for others? Why or Why not ?
11