Is There More Than One Way? Examining Alternative Pathway Teacher Effectiveness Through the Experiences and Perceptions of Principals in Urban, Low-Socioeconomic Schools in Oklahoma

Teacher quality continues to be recognized as one of the strongest predictors of student success and school improvement. The quality of an educator is also critical to being able to address the growing achievement and opportunity gap in schools and communities that are marked by concentrated poverty. Therefore, principals are under significant pressure to recruit, train, support, and retain highly qualified teachers, so all students have access to quality education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to generate knowledge of alternative pathway teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom from an administrative point of view, specifically in urban, low socioeconomic, high-risk schools. Data were collected from participants using a prequestionnaire and semistructured interviews. The sample population for this study consisted of 11 principals in elementary, middle, and high schools in one large urban school district in the state of Oklahoma. In order to have participated in the study, the participant must have been (a) a principal for a minimum of 2 years and (b) have worked with or currently work with alternatively certified (AC) teachers. The themes that emerged in the data were: (a) personality and innate ability, (b) mindset and coachability, (c) previous experience, (d) all teachers have similar needs, (e) teamwork and mentorship, and (f) classroom management and instructional planning. The findings revealed that AC teachers were effective in the areas of content knowledge, human relation skills, and professionalism, and were less effective in the areas of classroom management and instructional planning, at least initially. In addition, classroom management and instructional planning were also the two areas AC teachers needed more support. AC teacher strengths are also discussed