Abstract
This study examined the impact school leaders had on the self-efficacy of African American Male (AAM) teachers who matriculated through an alternative certification program. Purposeful sampling was used in this study with four inclusion criteria. The study occurred at a large urban Title 1 school district in the Southeast. The district was selected based on its implementation of an alternative certification program and relative success in recruiting and maintaining a diverse teaching staff. Tschannen-Moran and Hoy’s 12-item teacher self-efficacy survey was administered to select teachers who scored high on their self-efficacy scale. Eleven AAM teachers from various urban school sites participated in this study. Data were collected through one-on-one and focus group interviews. Findings revealed three themes that captured the ways school leaders impacted teacher self-efficacy. Study results can help provide leaders and policymakers with guidance as they seek to address the teaching shortage and develop a more diverse teaching workforce through alternative certification programs.
Introduction
This study attempts to address two immense challenges facing schools today. The first is the teaching shortage and inability to retain teachers. The second is the lack of African American Male teachers in schools populated by growing numbers of diverse students from differing races, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds (Sciarra, 2023). This study centers on alternative teacher certification which is one way some schools are addressing these two major challenges.
The teaching shortage has long been an issue for many schools. The shortage was often confined to “hard to staff” schools or specific content areas. However, this now seems to be an issue facing most schools. In one survey of nearly 1,200 schools in 2021, two out of three respondents indicated they faced a teaching shortage (Buttner, 2021). A different national survey conducted by Education Week indicated that three-fourths of school leaders indicated they didn’t have enough applicants to fill their open positions (Lieberman, 2022).
While it may be difficult to provide precise numbers on the teacher shortage, it seems apparent this is a genuine problem facing most states and schools. To quantify the numbers across the United States, Nguyen et al. (2022), looked at the issues state by state. Although they recognize their numbers are incomplete, they found at least 36,000 open positions and at least 163,000 positions held by teachers who are underqualified (p. 1). They also indicated they believed these numbers are conservative estimates.
Most schools also lack diversity, of their teaching staff. Less than one in five U.S. public school teachers are minorities, while approximately half of the public-school student population are students of color (King et al., 2016). The percentage of students of color, continues to increase as the number of white students continues to decline (McFarland et al., 2018), so much so that it is projected that this trend will continue at least until the fall of 2026. With U.S. public schools changing so drastically, the teacher population must become as diverse as the clientele served.
In the 2015 to 2016 school year, only 2% of all male teachers in public schools were African American Male (AAM) teachers, lower than any other minority group (Goldring & Soheyla, 2017). This low number of AAM teachers is significant since their presence in a classroom can help students of color, specifically AAM students, succeed academically while reinforcing their cultural capital (Black, 2019), bolstering their educational attainment (Lindsay & Hart, 2017), and cutting dropout rates and raising college aspirations (Causey, 2021). Their non-presence is a mitigating factor in a student’s progress.
Understanding culture and background affects students of color twofold. It allows the teacher to connect with the students educationally and personally and create more culturally responsive instruction that suits students and their backgrounds (Gershenson et al., 2017). While having a teacher who shares the same cultural background as a student has been shown to have a positive effect on the achievement of students, having a teacher who shares the same cultural background, as well as the same gender, creates a more significant effect on the student as it has lasting effects on their educational careers by heightening their sense of self-worth and bolstering their self-efficacy as well as their identity, which can help them strive for higher academic goals (Villegas et al., 2012).
Although the research shows the benefits of having AAM teachers in classrooms, the attrition rates of AAM teachers from the teaching profession remain high. Factors that cause these high rates can be attributed to teachers of color working in hard-to-staff urban schools, which are seen as more challenging with less teacher self-empowerment and higher challenges than rural or suburban schools, along with a lack of guidance and mentorship (Garza et al., 2013; Jacob, 2007; Papay et al., 2017; Razfar, 2011) along with frequently changing leadership and more classroom management issues (Kozol, 1991).
Alternative Certification Programs
Alternative teacher certification programs were created to combat the high number of teachers leaving education (Mikulecky et al., 2004). These alternative programs can provide a quicker, job-embedded pathway to teacher certification. Alternative teacher certification programs not supervised by an Institute of Higher Education (IHE) are the third most common way to certify teachers in the United States (Office of Postsecondary Education (ED), 2016). Although the other two pathways, traditional certification programs and alternative preparation programs based at IHE’s certify more teachers overall, they have seen a decline in enrollment in previous years. In contrast, alternative preparation programs not based at IHE’s have seen a 7% increase in enrollment from the 2011 to 2012 school year to the 2012 to 2013 school year (Office of Postsecondary Education (ED), 2016). Along with adding much-needed teachers to the teacher pool, alternative certification programs contribute to a higher number of teachers of color, especially African American (AA) teachers, who are more likely to teach in urban schools due to need (Shen, 1998; Woods, 2016).
Traditional educator programs have targeted recruitment to help bring more AAMs into the classroom. Unfortunately, 50% of all new teachers certified through traditional educator programs leave the teaching profession within 1 to 5 years following their initial entry into the profession. A higher percentage of AAM new teachers leave teaching within that 1 to 5-year span (Ingersoll et al., 2017).
Alternative certification programs have the potential to address both issues highlighted in this study. First, they are one path to gaining certification relatively quickly to address the teaching shortage. Alternative certification has also been a more accessible means to achieve certification for many teachers of color. In turn, these programs have the potential to provide a large, diverse pool of teacher candidates to schools.
Research Questions
Our study analyzed how one large urban school district in the Southeast created a more diverse faculty through an alternative certification program and leader support of teacher self-efficacy. The alternative certification program and the impact of self-efficacy are discussed further in the literature review. Bandura’s (1978) self-efficacy framework served as this study’s theoretical framework. The review highlights the disproportionately high number of AAM teachers certified in alternative certification programs and the impact self-efficacy can have on teacher retention.
The study focused on ways public K-12 school administrators retained their AAM alternatively certified teachers who gained certification through a district provided alternative teacher preparation program. More specifically, the study captured the ways these programs impacted teachers’ self-efficacy. The study research questions center on issues of leadership and self-efficacy in regard to retaining alternatively certified AAM educators.
What impact do leaders’ actions (or inactions) have on the self-efficacy of their African American male alternatively certified teachers?
What are the most effective leadership practices that help foster self-efficacy in alternatively certified African American male teachers?
Theoretical Framework and Self-Efficacy
This study utilized Bandura’s (1978) framework of teacher self-efficacy, which was validated by Gibson and Dembo (1984) and further studied by Tschannen-Moran et al. (1998). Self-efficacy can be defined as a person’s self-perception of their competence and not a direct measure of their level of competence (Klassen et al., 2011; Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998).
Self-efficacy has been widely researched and is a self-measured evaluative statement based on an individual’s ability to complete a task and their perception of their ability to complete future tasks (Mitchell, 2011). Bandura’s (1978,
The extant research focuses on teacher self-efficacy in many different permutations, such as identifying the importance of support from school administrators on teacher development through mastery and vicarious experiences (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001, 2007) and the experience of urban schools on the development of two African American female pre-service teachers and their changing perceptions of their self-efficacy (Rushton, 2003). Milner and Hoy’s (2003) study looked at the perceptions of a veteran African American Female teacher’s self-efficacy as she taught in a Midwest suburban high school in the face of stereotype threat and persistence. These studies focus on African American female teachers in urban and suburban classrooms but do not focus on AAM teachers working in urban schools. Research regarding school leadership and self-efficacy focuses on indirect and direct links between school leadership and teacher self-efficacy.
Studies conducted in the United States, Iran, Serbia, and Turkey found that school leaders that create positive experiences within the school building, such as positive environments and readily available materials, indirectly affected teacher’s self-efficacy (Calik et al., 2012; Mehdinezhad & Mansouri, 2016; Ninković & Knežević Florić, 2018; Nir & Kranot, 2006). In her research in Chicago public schools, Finnigan (2010, 2012) found direct links between school administrators and teachers in an urban school district, such as the school leader’s communication skills, delivery of constructive criticism, non-threatening leadership style, and trust that the school leader built with their teachers.
The available research explains why AAM teachers leave education, but what is lacking in this research is why some alternatively certified AAM teachers stay in schools past the critical 1-to-5-year span when so many leave. Understanding what can be done to keep AAM teachers, specifically those alternatively certified AAM teachers, in the classroom in and past the critical 1-to-5-year range can drastically impact the teacher shortage.
Methodology
The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of AAM teachers, and it was driven by the two aforementioned research questions. A qualitative case study was selected as the appropriate research design to answer these research questions best. To identify the appropriate participants for the study, purposive sampling was employed. That allowed careful selection of participants who could likely better address the research questions. Data were collected through one-on-one and focus group interviews with participants. Finally, open coding was used for the data analysis process. Each of these steps is described in detail in the remainder of this section.
Research Design
This study sought to capture details about a single individual and a specific group, and case study research best aligns with that purpose (Starman, 2013). A single-instrument case study design was used for this study. Yin (2018) indicated five reasons a single case study might be an appropriate approach. One of those approaches, the critical approach, focused on an extreme case. In our study, that extreme case is AAM educators who enrolled and completed an alternative certification program. Using a single-instrument case study, we could explicitly identify and investigate a unique case. Not only had study participants taken a unique approach to certification, but they were also a unique group in education—AAM educators who entered and remained in the teaching profession.
Sample
Purposeful sampling was used in this study to select participants whose lived experiences aligned with the purpose of this research. Creswell and Creswell (2018) posited that purposeful sampling allows researchers to study a particular group with similar knowledge of a phenomenon and other common characteristics (e.g., gender, race, etc.). The study participants, 11 AAM educators with alternate certifications, and the selected school district are aligned with that description.
Site Selection
The initial step in selecting our sample was to select the site to conduct the study. We identified a large Title 1 urban school district in the southeastern United States that had implemented an Alternative Certification Program to address their teacher shortage issue. The district had also been relatively successful at hiring a diverse workforce (see Table 3). The district in this study had 64 schools. Demographic, student, and teacher data from the district is provided in Tables 1 to 3.
Student Demographic Information of School District.
Note. Total district student enrollment 2018 to 2019 school year = 53,671.
Student Race/Ethnicity.
Note. Total district student enrollment 2018 to 2019 school year = 53,671.
Teacher Race/Ethnicity.
Note. Total district certified teachers 2018 to 2019 school year = 3,063.
The alternative certification program in the study district is a 2-year field-based program that leads to initial teacher certification. Teacher candidates are supported by a school-based teacher mentor certified in teacher coaching, a dedicated administrative team member, and a district support specialist who provides observations and targeted support. This team contributes to the teacher candidate’s growth and rates their development using Charlotte Danielson’s Enhancing Professional Practices: A Framework for Teaching and, at the time of the study, INTASC standards. To complete the program, each teacher candidate must complete individualized instruction from trained mentors and content specialists, 50 practicum hours with veteran teachers, a minimum of 400 hr of instruction, a portfolio assessment, and a capstone project.
Participant Selection
The first step in participant selection was to identify the pool of potential participants. After reviewing data from 2014 to 2016, there were 118 AAM educators who had participated in the alternate certification (GaTAPP) program in the district. However, we elected to set additional criteria to help bind our case. Baxter and Jack (2015) indicated that binding a case will “ensure that your study remains reasonable in scope” (p. 547). We established four criteria for our purposeful sample to narrow our scope and better align participants and research questions. These criteria were that participants had:
to have completed an alternative certification program and be in their third to the fifth year of teaching;
to be from one urban school district in the Southeast and have been in the same school since completing their certification program;
to have scored in the upper percentile in the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale.
The first two criteria were established to identify teachers who had completed certification and also were retained in one building. Literature has indicated the challenges with retaining teachers, particularly AAM educators (Ingersoll et al., 2019). These criteria ensured participants were at least able to get over that initial time that many teachers leave the profession. King et al. (2016) reported that a high number of AAM educators leave the profession during the 3 to 5-year time span. Participants were also chosen from one urban district because of our familiarity and access to the district, along with the district’s track record of successfully maintaining a diverse workforce. The participants were not supervised by research team members and had no formal working relationship.
The final criterion was extremely important, and it helped address the self-efficacy component of the research questions. To identify participants who had a high perception of educational self-efficacy, we used a teacher self-efficacy scale created by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001). We administered this tool to 18 potential participants and then selected the individuals with the 14 highest scores on the self-efficacy scale. Eleven of those participants shown in Table 4 agreed to participate in the one-on-one and the focus group interviews. The focus group incorporated all study participants into two smaller groups of five and six people.
Demographic Information of Teacher Participants.
Data Collection
Yin (2018) indicated multiple sources of evidence are one way to strengthen the validity of a study. Both one-on-one and focus group interviews were used in this study. The one-on-one interviews were conducted with all 11 participants and lasted from 25 min up to 1 hr. They were conducted in August and September of 2019 at a location selected by participants and transcribed through an online transcription service, Temi, for initial transcription. Transcripts were then reviewed for accuracy and updated when needed.
The questions for the study were developed with Bandura’s (1978) theory of self-efficacy and the sources of self-efficacy. The four sources are: (a) performance experience, (b) vicarious experiences, (c) verbal persuasion, and (d) emotional/psychological arousal. We did this so we could isolate the impact of leadership as opposed to the many other factors that can impact self-efficacy. The questions were aligned with Bandura’s framework and also centered on the study’s research question. For the interviews, questions 1, 2, and 5 focused on the teacher’s performance experience in the classroom. Questions 3 and 4 focused on vicarious experiences. Questions 6 and 7 related to emotional and physiological arousal, questions 8 through 10 related to verbal persuasion. Question eleven allowed the participant to share any other information that they felt helped their self-efficacy.
Two focus group interviews were also conducted at the end of September of 2019. Focus groups can be helpful because they generate different units of analysis and benefit from the interactions of the participants (Cyr, 2016). One of the focus groups included five participants, and the other included six. Focus group questions were also aligned with issues of self-efficacy and school administrator support. The focus group centered on concerns reflected from the Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001) self-efficacy scale: instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement. The focus group questions were designed to align with the theoretical sources of self-efficacy. Questions 1, 2, 4, and 8 focused on performance experiences. Questions 3, 6, and 11 focused on vicarious experiences; Question 6 also supported verbal persuasion along with question 5. Questions 9 and 10 focused on emotional and physiological arousal. Questions 7, 11, and 12 were created for focus group participants to share stories about how administrators have affected their overall experiences, as well as to provide ideas for encouraging self-efficacy in other AAM teachers.
Data Analysis
Data analysis began through familiarization with the data through a review of all transcripts (Nowell et al., 2017). The transcripts were then coded through open coding, which Blair (2015) described as the process of applying codes that emerge from the transcripts. Three rounds of coding took place, and the coding software NVivo was used to help with the organization of the coding process.
During the first round of coding, codes or “nodes” were identified, and each of those had sub-nodes as well. There were 29 codes generated during that round. During round two, nodes were reorganized, collapsed, and eliminated if they didn’t align with the theoretical framework or help answer the research questions. During the final round of coding, codes were collapsed and merged into the three themes from the study.
Study Limitations
This study was conducted at one large urban school district in the Southeast. The nuances of the alternative certification program, policies, and leadership at this district or any district limit the transferability of the study. Additionally, it is not possible to take into account all of the factors that may impact an individual’s self-efficacy. However, we do believe this study captured the perceptions of study participants and what they viewed as leadership behaviors that impacted their self-efficacy.
Findings
Upon reviewing the codes, three themes emerged from the data. The first theme, emotional support, showed the need for school administrators to be aware of their AAM teachers’ emotional needs and provide emotional support when needed. The second theme focused on building and maintaining trust by providing leadership opportunities within the school site. The final theme showed the importance of consistent, constructive feedback.
Emotional Support
The participants discussed how their school administrators showed emotional support via verbal and non-verbal praise, which contributed to an increase in their instructional self-efficacy in their job performance. Verbal persuasion can be defined as the “verbal interactions that a teacher receives about his or her performance and prospects for success from important others in the teaching context, such as administrators, colleagues, parents, and members of the community at large” (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2007, p. 945). The definition aligns closely with the comments participants made regarding their emotional support from administrators.
Participants in the study described their emotional support in two categories. They first experienced support as they were hired. They then described how that support continued inside and outside the classroom after their hire. These forms of “verbal persuasion” all helped build self-efficacy in the study participants.
When participants were hired initially, many felt appreciative of their administrator for taking a risk on them. One participant described his experience after he had passed a teacher certification examination.
. . . when I passed the test and I called Dr. M (school principal) to let him know I passed that test He screamed louder than I did about me passing and got me an interview the next day. I got hired at the school. . .Dr. M sort of saved my life. . . yeah, he was, he’s responsible for me being in the county and doing what I’m doing.
Another teacher described the support that was offered even as he was being hired. He shared that his administrator told him, “We go hard. . .we’re going to make sure you get everything that you need.”
Candidates also described the support they received inside and outside of their classroom once they were hired. Mr. Tower was having some conflict with veteran teachers when his principal reminded him, “we’re not trying to change you. We just want you to be a better you.” This support was reassuring to Mr. Tower as a new teacher. Mr. Rhodes described the wide-ranging level of support he has received. “She’s actually acted like my mother figure. . ..”
Participants all repeatedly highlighted the positive praise they received inside and outside of the class. One participant indicated, “. . .she (his administrator) always speaks highly about me.” Mr. Walker indicated, “. . .sometimes I feel like more praise than what I should receive.” Mr. Cowan may have best captured this level of support with his quote.
she’s always been more positive in a sense. . . if I do something wrong, I know she’ll point it out. . . um, she can deliver something that’s negative, but it’s put in a very different way where it’s just easy to follow through on. So that helped me.
It is abundantly clear that participants felt supported by their administrators.
Trust
Trust was another essential component of the findings in the study. Participants shared that school administrators created a bond of trust upon the initial hiring in the school since the participants were all new teachers in a non-traditional preparation program. The participants saw their hiring as the administrators establishing a primary basis of trust, which was further built upon when offered leadership opportunities after they had begun their teaching positions.
It is astounding that such a high number of these relatively new alternatively certified teachers were being moved into formal and informal leadership positions rather quickly. These leadership positions included roles such as lead teacher, department chair, committee member and chair, content ambassador, and head coach as well as other positions. As the school leaders placed additional responsibility on the study participants, the participants felt added trust with their administrators.
One of the focus group participants captured this shift into leadership roles.
. . .last year I was on the data team. This year I’ll go on the circle of support team and the school leadership community team. So, I’ve been on every possible committee since I’ve been at my school that you could possibly be on. . .
Another focus group participant was promoted to the special education department chair and the head baseball coach. He commented that “when people see that you have qualities about you and you are effective at what you do, they will come to you and ask (to serve in leadership roles).” Mr. Rhodes’ administration demonstrated a great deal of trust and support when they put him in charge of creating a magnet school within the building that he will lead.
Sometimes, trust was placed in participants in an indirect approach. Mr. Fowler described how a teacher was asking the principal a science question, and she directed the question back to Mr. Fowler because he was the “science lead.” This informal experience cemented the trust between Mr. Fowler and his principal.
It was evident that this trust bestowed upon participants also impacted their self-efficacy. They didn’t see their placement in these leadership positions as simply an act of kindness. They viewed the placements as a result of the skills they had demonstrated.
Consistent and Constructive Feedback
Finally, the participants pointed out that consistent and constructive feedback was vital as they matriculated through the non-traditional preparation program but was essential after gaining certification. This feedback allowed them to implement changes and grow their instructional self-efficacy.
Participants in this study received a great deal of feedback as alternatively certified teachers. In this district, four times throughout the year, the teacher meets with an alternative certification faculty member, school-based mentor, and administrator to discuss the candidate’s work and identify areas of growth. The participants in the study found this feedback to be extremely helpful and viewed it as a positive experience.
Mr. Turned indicated, “I don’t know what other people’s experiences are, but they’ve always given me positive feedback.” Mr. Cowan felt support from his administrator simply because she brought other teachers up to observe his classroom. Mr. Peterson, a band teacher, linked observations and feedback directly to his success as a teacher. “I had administrators all around, heavily involved in my success. They constantly gave me tips. They . . . tell me what I’m doing wrong, as well as . . . what I’m doing right.”
It is worth noting that during the focus groups, the elementary and middle school teachers indicated they received more feedback than the high school teachers. Mr. Ellison highlighted this point. He indicated that he would have liked more specific feedback and instead “It’s very generic and I understand they have a lot of people that have to, you know, do evaluations on and its very time consuming and they might not necessarily have the time to be that thorough.”
All of the participants described the value, and most were very pleased with the amount of feedback they received along with the positive way in which it was delivered. Even those who received less feedback still saw the value in feedback. Mr. Walker may have summed up the thoughts of most participants with his quote.
The biggest thing with administration I feel like is positive feedback and I have received quite a bit of positive feedback from administration and . . ., anytime you, . . .receive feedback from administration, it does kind of, you know, boost your morale.
Discussion
The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate practices that school administrators utilize that help to support the teacher self-efficacy of AAM alternatively certified teachers. The themes that emerged from the study can help school administrators more effectively support their AAM alternatively certified teachers. The data from the study revealed three themes connected to effective actions and practices of school administrators that help to maintain the self-efficacy in AAM alternatively certified teachers: emotional support, building and maintaining trust through leadership opportunities, and consistent, constructive feedback. These three themes address both research questions.
Throughout the participant interviews and the two focus group meetings, participants frequently shared that direct, verbal support from their school administrators positively affected their emotional state and, in turn, their teacher self-efficacy. This support impacted their self-efficacy and aligns with what Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2007) call verbal persuasion. This verbal support helped to alleviate stress and emotions associated with novice, alternatively certified teachers. In some cases, participants shared that the verbal support provided was familial in nature. A triangulation of the study data revealed these actions.
The theme of emotional support coincides with the extant literature regarding an increase in teacher self-efficacy by addressing the emotional needs of teachers (Beatty, 2000; Carver, 2003; Hargreaves, 1998; Lambersky, 2016; Marzano et al., 2005). Lambersky (2016) discusses the need for school administrators to be genuine and empathetic to understand teachers’ emotions, hopes, disappointments, and fears. School administrators who project positivity and care can positively impact teachers in the face of stressors (Lambersky, 2016). In an interview, Mr. Park, a middle school science teacher, shared how the administration encouraged him to take a half day away from work because of a particularly unruly student in his class.
The empathy shown by his administrators in their willingness to allow Mr. Park to leave the school building to reflect on the incident shows the emotional support provided so Mr. Park could continue in his role.
The second theme that emerged from the data was establishing trust through the provision of leadership opportunities. Previous studies have shown the effects of trust between school administrators and teachers. To create mutual respect and strong personal relationships, trust must be present (Finnigan, 2010; Finnigan et al., 2013; Liu & Hallinger, 2018; Mehdinezhad & Mansouri, 2016). Finnigan’s (2010) definition of trust, “the interplay among respect, competence, personal regard, and integrity- reduces uncertainty and vulnerability in contexts involving external pressures and demands,” is used in this discussion due to her definition aligning with the data from this study.
Encouragement from school administrators for AAM alternatively certified teachers to take on leadership roles transmits trust and personal regard. This transmission also positively affects the teacher’s belief in their self-efficacy. Mr. Tower, a middle school math teacher, shared how he felt encouraged about stepping into a leadership position offered by his school administration. Assurance from his administration caused Mr. Tower to take on a leadership role. This proffering of leadership not only transmitted regard for Mr. Tower’s abilities but also reduced his hesitancy in stepping into a new role, helping support his self-efficacy.
The final theme found in the data was the value of consistent, constructive feedback from school administrators. The connection between this theme and the extant literature is shown through the research on the establishment of consistent lines of communication, along with constructive feedback from school leadership, positively affects teacher’s self-efficacy (Calik et al., 2012; Carver, 2003; Goldhaber, 2007; Kass, 2013; Nir & Kranot, 2006; Sehgal et al., 2017). This existing research revealed that positive, constructive, regular feedback and open two-way communication contributed to teachers’ high levels of self-efficacy. Study participants communicated information that supports the findings within the extant literature. Extensive research has indicated that constant, constructive feedback delivered formally and informally has a positive impact on teachers’ self-efficacy and allows them to make progress in their teaching performance (Akkuzu, 2014; Eather et al., 2019; Memduhoğlu et al., 2017).
Study participants routinely shared that consistent feedback from school administrators was a factor in constructing their self-efficacy. Mr. Cowan, an elementary teacher, discussed the positive impact of genuine feedback from the assistant principal compared to the feedback he receives from his principal. The assistant principal’s ability to give constructive criticism but positive and truthful feedback to Mr. Cowan helped shape his classroom practices which buoyed his self-efficacy. The constructive criticism helped to share the information that could have been delivered negatively by another school administrator.
Conclusion
Schools today are facing major staffing challenges. The first issue is simply that they can’t find enough qualified teachers. The second and equally important issue is the lack of diversity in most teaching staff. The district in this study was able to maintain a relatively diverse teaching staff and address the teacher shortage issue by implementing an alternative certification program. However, the core of this study focused on the ways the school administrators helped support these teachers’ self-efficacy.
These findings have major implications for policymakers and leaders as schools face major staffing challenges. Education policymakers should create legislation to provide support for teachers’ emotional needs to help them better deal with stress, while educational leadership programs should offer more coursework in leading diverse populations. The literature is clear about the teaching shortage facing most schools (Sutcher et al., 2019). Another challenge is that the diversity in our schools is rarely reflected in the faculty of our schools (Goldring & Soheyla, 2017). These challenges are exasperated by the fact that teacher turnover rates are extremely high (Garcia & Weiss, 2019). One way for schools to address these issues is to engage with alternative certification programs that recruit and train a large percentage of diverse educators.
Our study clearly highlighted the ways leaders can support AAM teachers who went through alternative certification programs. These leadership actions frequently started before teachers even started their employment. Beginning with teacher recruitment, leaders repeatedly demonstrated their emotional support of teachers. This theme continued after hiring and as the teachers were moved into leadership positions. Leaders need to be cognizant of their emotional support’s impact on teachers.
The second theme aligned closely with the first and centered on trust between the leader and teacher. This trust that leaders placed in teachers helped build the self-efficacy of the teachers. It provided them with opportunities to grow as teachers. It also led to the final theme related to feedback. Because leaders had created trust with their teachers, it helped make the feedback process more valuable for teachers. Most leaders in the study provided consistent and constructive feedback to their teachers.
The teachers in our study were able to clearly articulate the ways in which their leaders positively impacted their own self-efficacy. Although this study was focused on AAM alternative certification teachers, it is likely these findings ring true for most educators. As schools attempt to remedy the teacher shortage and create a more diverse teaching staff, they must be strategic with their actions. Our findings identified three concrete areas for leaders to focus on as they address such important challenges facing most schools.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
