Special education and bilingual teachers are in high demand. Many teachers in these specialization areas enter the profession via alternative certification programs, expedited routes to teacher certification. There is little research focusing on the specific support needs of novice special education and bilingual teachers from these widely varying preparation programs. Therefore, this study looks at the perceptions of novice teachers in special and bilingual education with alternative/nontraditional preservice preparation. The study used an online survey approach with Likert-type scaled items and open-ended questions.
BainesL. A. (2010, Spring). The disintegration of teacher preparation. Educational Horizons, 88, 152-163.
3.
BillingsleyB. S. (2004). Promoting teacher quality and retention in special education. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37, 370-376.
4.
BillingsleyB.CarlsonE.KleinS. (2004). The working conditions and induction support of early career special educators. Exceptional Children, 70, 333-347.
5.
BrookshireR.KlotzJ. (2002, November). Selected teachers’ perceptions of special education laws. Paper presented at Mid-South Educational Research Association, Chattanooga, TN.
6.
The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement. (2007a, May). Attracting and developing high-quality teachers [Newsletter]. Washington, DC: Learning Point Associates. Retrieved from http://www.centerforcsri.org
7.
The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement. (2007b, June). Improving teacher retention with supportive workplace conditions [Newsletter]. Washington, DC: Learning Point Associates. Retrieved from http://www.centerforcsri.org
8.
ChamberlainS. (2005). Recognizing and responding to cultural differences in culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Intervention in School and Clinic, 40, 195-211.
9.
DiPaolaM. F.Tschannen-MoranM.Walther-ThomasC. (2004, September). School principals and special education: Creating the context for academic success. The critical role of school leaders. Focus on Exceptional Children, 37(1), 1-10.
10.
FeistritzerC. E. (2009). Teaching while learning: Alternative routes fill the gap. Edge the Latest Information for the Education Practitioner, 5(2), 3-15.
11.
FeistritzerC. E.HaarC. K. (2008). Alternate routes to teaching. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
12.
GehrkeR. S.McCoyK. (2007). Sustaining and retaining beginning special educators: It takes a village. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 490-500.
13.
HumphreyD. C.WechslerM. E. (2007). Insights into alternative certification: Initial findings from a national study. Teachers College Record, 109, 483-530.
14.
HumphreyD. C.WechslerM. E.HoughH. J. (2008). Characteristics of effective alternative teacher certification programs. Teachers College Record, 110, 1-63. Retrieved from http://www.tcrecord.org/content.asp?contentid=12613
15.
JohnsonS. M.KardosS. M. (2003). Keeping new teachers in mind. In SchererM. (Ed.), Keeping good teachers (pp. 25-32). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
16.
KleinS. (2004). The turnaround principal. Principal Magazine, 84(1), 58-60.
17.
LapayeseY. (2007). Understanding and undermining the racio-economic agenda of no child left behind: Using critical race methodology to investigate the labor of bilingual teachers. Race, Ethnicity & Education, 10, 309-321.
18.
LittrellP. C.BillingsleyB. S. (1994). The effects of principal support on special and general educators’ stress, job satisfaction, school commitment, health, and intent to stay in teaching. Remedial & Special Education, 15, 297-310.
19.
MenkenK.AntunezB. (2001). An overview of the preparation and certification of teachers working with limited English proficient (LEP) students. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education & ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED455231)
RosenbergM. S.BoyerK. L.SindelarP. T.MisraS. K. (2007). Alternative route programs for certification in special education: Program infrastructure, instructional delivery, and participant characteristics. Council for Exceptional Children, 73, 224-241.
22.
RowleyJ. (2006). Becoming a high performance mentor: A guide to reflection and action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
SpinellaF. A. (2003). The principal’s role in new teacher retention (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA.
25.
SteadmanS. C.SimmonsJ. S. (2007). Teachers not certified by universities burden our best teachers. Education Digest, 72, 19-24.
26.
StrunkK. O.RobinsonJ. P. (2006). Oh, won’t you stay: A multilevel analysis of the difficulties in retaining qualified teachers. Peabody Journal of Education, 81, 65-94.
27.
SuellJ. L.PiotrowskiC. (2006). Efficacy of alternative teacher certification programs: A study of the Florida model. Education, 127, 310-315.
28.
SuellJ. L.PiotrowskiC. (2007). Alternative teacher education programs: A review of the literature and outcome studies. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 34, 54-58.
29.
TamirE. (2008). Theorizing the politics of educational reform: The case of New Jersey’s alternative route to teacher certification. American Journal of Education, 115(1), 65-95.
30.
TissingtonL. D.GrowA. (2007). Alternative certified teachers and children at risk. Preventing School Failure, 51, 23-27.
31.
VeltriB. T. (2008, July). Teaching or service? The site-based realities of Teach for America teachers in poor, urban schools. Education and Urban Society, 40, 511-543. Retrieved from http://eus.sagepub.com
32.
WaldschmidtE. D. (2002). Bilingual interns’ barriers to becoming teachers: At what cost do we diversity the teaching force?Bilingual Research Journal, 26, 537-560.
33.
WolcottH. F. (2009). Writing up qualitative research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
34.
YoonJ. S.GilchristJ. (2003). Elementary teachers’ perceptions of “administrative support” in working with disruptive and aggressive students. Education, 123, 564-569.
