1. Janna SIEGEL ROBERTSON, Ph. D.
Do Alternatively Prepared Special Education Teachers Stay on the Job?
(How Should We Evaluate Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs?)
Janna SIEGEL ROBERTSON, Ph. D.

2. Janna Siegel Robertson, Ph. D. Jacques Singleton, Ed. D.
Comparison of Traditional Versus Alternative Preparation of Special Education Teachers
Janna Siegel Robertson, Ph. D.
Jacques Singleton, Ed. D.

3. Overview
The shortage of special education teachers has prompted the creation of alternative certification programs.
The effectiveness of the University of Memphis’ (U of M’s) 14 year alternative Special Education Institute program in preparing teachers to teach and remain in the field was examined.
The program was compared to the U of M’s traditional certification program.

4. Method
During Spring 2009 data was collected through information obtained from the U of M’s College of Education’s data base and information from four local school districts about the current employment of special education teachers.
The number of program graduates from the traditional and alternative programs were compared for longevity.
The results give support that alternative programs do lead to additional employment and teachers were retained for several years.

5. Numbers of U of M Special Education Teachers Employed by Four Local Public School Districts (N=373)
_______________________________________________________
Total Employed
n n (%)
__________________________________________
Alternative Program (50.27)
Traditional Program (33.15)
_________________________________________________________

6. Numbers of U of M Special Education Teachers Employed by Four Local Public School Districts by Year (N=373)
___________________________________________________________________________________
Years Alternative Traditional
since total employed total employed
Graduation (n=183) (n=92) (n=190) (n=63)
________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

7. Alternative and Traditional Program Graduates Length of Employment
_________________________________________
M SD Sig.
Alternative Program *
Traditional Program
________________________________________________
* p ≤ .05

8. Gender (N = 373) __________________________________________________
Domain Total Employed
n n (%)
Alternatively Certified (N=183)
Males (72.79)
Females (37.67)
Traditionally Certified (N=190)
Males (46.15)
Females (32. 20)

9. Ethnicity (N = 373) _________________________________________________
Total Employed
Domain n n (%)
__________________________________________________
Alternative (n=183)
African American (59.72)
White (44.04)
Native (100)
Asian (0)
Traditional (n=190)
African American (50.00)
White (28.47)
Hispanic (0)

10. Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs Research
State Reports

11. Research on California Alternative Programs
Fact sheet
california_teacher_corps_fact_sheet.pdf
Data
Pathway pdf

12. California Education Specialist District Intern Program
Moderate/Severe Disabilities and Early Childhood Disabilities
Mild Disabilities
pdf
Do the programs help meet the shortages of Special Education Specialists in California’s classrooms?
Are there any differences among those who enter classrooms through this route compared to more traditional student teaching routes?
Do the teacher preparation programs meet the needs of partnering districts?
Have these programs been able to develop instructional and support systems that meet the needs of their clients/candidates?
Do the programs who participated in this pilot program have the capacity to prepare and support high quality teachers for students with special needs?

13. What is coming. . . and is already here . . .
Race to the Top
Value Added
Teacher Preparation Programs will be evaluated by the Value Added of their programs to the student’s progress.
California’s Report Card for Teacher Preparation Programs
2009_AnnualRpt.pdf
Tennessee's Report Card for Teacher Preparation Programs ard%202010/Report%20Summary.pdf

14. SO WHAT?
Teacher preparation programs should used evidenced based practices and evaluate their own instructional practices
Alternative teacher preparation programs are not necessarily better or worse
Alternative teacher preparation programs should improve teacher preparation, not just be as good as traditional teacher preparation
The measure of an effective teacher preparation program is how well the students perform who were taught by the program’s graduates

15. Janna Siegel Robertson Ph. D.