Autonomy in Determining Spheres of Work

professional practice boards A

state or national commission that permits educators to set professional standards and minimal requirements of competency. science, and mathematics—where, in 2012–2013, 4.3 percent of classes at the high school level were taught by an out-of-field teacher. The problem is more pronounced in high-poverty high schools, where 5.4 percent of core classes were taught by an outof-field teacher.12

The further development of professional preparation is clouded by the trend toward alternative certification, discussed in Chapter 1, Motivation, Preparation, and Conditions for the Entering Teacher. This process—by which teachers are recruited from the ranks of experienced college graduates seeking second careers—is intended to be an expedited route to eliminate teacher shortages in certain subject areas such as mathematics, science, and special education or to upgrade the quality of new teachers. In most such programs, participants are placed directly in classrooms without prior field experiences or internships. In a 2013 report, it was noted that 11 percent of all prospective teachers were enrolled in alternative programs.13 Alternative certification is often praised as practical and innovative by critics of traditional programs. Most teacher-preparation organizations, on the other hand, see alternative certification as a threat to the profession. New research suggests that new teachers who have little training in pedagogical skills have attrition rates that are higher than traditionally certified teachers.14

Whatever teachers might think about differing requirements for certification, they traditionally have had little to say in these matters. However, teacher organizations are lobbying state legislatures, departments of education, professional practice boards, and independent organizations to implement rigorous licensure standards for entry into the teaching profession. The more input teachers have—that is, the more control they exercise over their own licensing procedures—the more teaching will be recognized as a full profession.

2-1c Autonomy in Determining Spheres of Work

In a profession, every member of the group, but no outsider, is assumed to be qualified to make professional judgments on the nature of the work involved. In fact, control by laypeople is considered the natural enemy of a profession; it limits a professional’s power and opens the door to outside interference. Professionals usually establish rules and customs that give them exclusive jurisdiction over their area of competence and their relationships with clients; professional autonomy is characterized by a high degree of self-determination.

12Daniel C. Humphrey and Marjorie E. Wechsler, “Insights into Alternative Certification: Initial Findings from a National Study,” Teachers College Record (March 2007), pp. 483–530; Sarah Almy and Christina Theokas, Not Prepared for Class: High-Poverty Schools Continue to Have Fewer In-Field Teachers (Washington, DC: The Education Trust, November 2010); and A Summary of Highly Qualified Teacher Data for School Year 2012–2013 (August 2014) at www2.ed.gov/programs /teacherqual/resources.html (April 21, 2015). 13Melanie Shaw, “The Impact of Alternative Teacher Certification Programs on Teacher Shortages,” International Journal of Learning (July 2008), pp. 89–97; Jennifer Locraft Cuddapah and Anika Spratley Burtin, “What All Novices Need,” Educational Leadership (May 2012), pp. 66–69; and Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, Annual Report to the Public, the States, Policymakers, and the Education Profession, (Washington, DC: Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, 2013). 14Linda Darling-Hammond, “Teacher Education and the American Future,” Journal of Teacher Education (January 2010), pp. 35–47; Richard Ingersoll, Lisa Merrill, and Henry May, “What Are the Effects of Teacher Education and Preparation on Beginning Math and Science Teacher Attrition,” a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of AERA, April 8–11, 2011; Stephen Sawchuk, “Higher Education Groups Oppose Teacher-Training Bill,” Education Week (July 26, 2011) at

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2011/07/higher_ed_groups_line_up

_again.html; and Richard Ingersoll, Lisa Merrill, and Henry May. What are the effects of teacher education and preparation on beginning teacher attrition? Research Report (#RR-82). (Philadelphia: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania, 2014).