Measuring Teacher Effectiveness When Comparing Alternatively and Traditionally Licensed High School Technology Education Teachers in North Carolina

• Published in: Journal of technology education Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 82 - 100
• Main Author: Bowen, Bradley
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Journal of Technology Education 2013
• Subjects: Alternative Teacher Certification; Comparative Analysis; High Schools; Mixed Methods Research; No Child Left Behind Act 2001; North Carolina; Observation; Quasiexperimental Design; Secondary School Teachers; Statistical Analysis; Teacher Behavior; Teacher Certification; Teacher Education; Teacher Effectiveness; Technology Education; Time on Task; Transfer of Training; Work Environment; North Carolina
• ISSN: 1045-1064; 1045-1064
• DOI: 10.21061/jte.v25i1.a.6

According to No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the definition of a highly qualified teacher includes three components: obtaining a bachelor's degree; having full licensure as defined by the state; and demonstrating competency, as defined by the state, in each subject taught (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). However, NCLB does not specifically include career and technical education, of which technology education is a part. Due to the difficulty of filling all teaching positions with highly qualified teachers, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction instituted an alternative licensure program established to allow individuals without an education degree from a university-based teacher preparation program to transfer their skills from the workplace into the classroom. This has caused some concern about the effectiveness of the alternatively licensed teachers. Some educators feel that an alternatively licensed teacher does not have the necessary understanding of pedagogical theories and practices they would obtain when completing a traditional education program. A quasi-experiment was designed to determine if there was a significant difference in teacher effectiveness when comparing alternatively licensed and traditionally licensed high school technology education teachers. The methodology was designed to use both a quantitative and qualitative approach to utilize triangulation. A series of research questions were presented and by comparing test results, the students' time on task, and qualitative data, a conclusion can be drawn as to whether or not there are any differences in alternatively licensed technology education teachers and traditionally licensed technology education teachers. By using the methodology in this study, the researcher was able to provide evidence that there may not be any statistically significant differences between alternatively licensed and traditionally licensed technology education teachers in North Carolina.