"Devaluing the Profession": Perspectives on Emergency Teacher Certification From Veteran Teachers

• In Event: Teacher Perceptions and Innovative Practices

Abstract

This paper takes a mixed methods approach to studying the impact of emergency teacher certification from the perspective of veteran teachers. Through an online survey gathering both qualitative and quantitative data, veteran teachers described the impact of emergency certification on their students and their plans to stay in teaching. This paper acknowledges teachers as the experts on what happens in their classrooms and schools and amplifies their voices on a policy which affects them deeply, but was created and implemented without their input. Ultimately, veteran teachers assert that emergency certification devalues the teaching profession and negatively impacts student learning. Policymakers interested in keeping veteran teachers should consider their perspectives when creating policy solutions to teacher shortages.

Author

• Elizabeth E. Smith, University of Tulsa