The Impact of Teacher Preparation: A Study of Alternative Certification and Traditionally Prepared Teachers in their First Year of Teaching

This article explores first year experiences of two groups of public school teachers. Group one consisted of fully certified teachers trained in field based university teacher education programs prior to the first year of teaching. Group two consisted of university graduates who had not gone through an undergraduate teacher education program and were working toward alternative teacher certification during their first year of teaching. Both groups participated in an induction program with coursework and field supervision. The findings of this study indicate that perceived needs of these two groups of novice teachers were substantially different upon entry into the induction program. Findings from this study contribute to the rising concerns about the impact alternative teacher certification has on student learning.