Teacher Preparation in Texas
CAREER SELECTION Who is choosing to become a teacher, when, and why? To establish a broad and diverse teaching workforce, we must understand and bolster the teacher pipeline by identifying who is choosing to become a teacher, when they are entering the profession, and why they want to pursue a career in teaching. Years of research have shown that states do not have a strong understanding of where most leaks occur in the teacher pipeline (DeMonte, 2016). Thus, they cannot provide interventions or supports to repair the pipeline and stop the leaks. We do not yet know whether the point at which someone chooses to become a teacher impacts their efficacy or probability of retention. Texas only collects the age at which the candidate applied and became certified, with no data regarding the point at which candidates decided to become teachers; however, the candidate’s age at time of application is not regularly reported to the public. We do know that specific groups of candidates make decisions on when to become teachers at distinct points and sometimes for distinct reasons (Rae & Montenegro, 2020). Teachers entering TPPs typically decide to become a teacher during high school or early college, whereas teachers entering ACPs and PBPs typically make the decision to become teachers after completion of their undergraduate degrees (Rae & Montenegro, 2020). However, these decision points do not hold true for all candidates. Some TPP candidates make the decision to become a teacher later in their career, and some ACP and PBP candidates made the decision to become a teacher during their undergraduate degree. Regardless of the point at which a TC decides to become a teacher, TCs’ reasons for becoming a teacher seem to influence the program type they choose, as seen in Figure 1. Figure 1. Top Three Reasons for Becoming a Teacher by Certification Route For the Because of sense of a teacher purpose and role model fulfillment
Traditional
To work with youth or children
Good match with skills and interests
To improve the education system
Post-Baccalaureate
Because it was a “calling”
Alternative
Alternative career paths For a career didn’t work change out
Alternative (non-IHE) Source: (Rae & Montenegro, 2020)
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