Proactive Support for Pre-Service Candidates Going Into the K-12 Teaching Profession

Introduction

This author can attest, as recent as the early 1990’s, preservice teachers, especially those working toward an Education Specialist Credential (Special Education), were issued district contracts as teachers of record under an emergency credential. The definition of an emergency credential is:

However, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, as of August, 2003, stopped issuing emergency credentials as CTC claimed, “Teachers serving on emergency permits and credential waivers do not meet the State Board of Education’s (SDE) ‘highly qualified” definition; consequently teachers holding these documents are not NCLB compliant.” (CSBA, 2003, n.p.).

In keeping with the purpose and focus of this chapter, what can be done to strengthen teacher preparation programs for preservice teachers, especially in California, where student population is burgeoning, the objectives of the chapter are:

• 1.

  Relate steps preservice candidates can implement to ensure success of completion of teacher preservice programs leading to a preliminary teaching credential.

• 2.

  Discuss expansion of professional development for university supervisors, especially in the area of mentoring and coaching.

• 3.

  Review training in appropriate evidence writing for university support providers when documenting preservice teacher candidates’ implementation of teacher performance expectations into their own or master teacher’s classrooms.

• 4.

  Describe California’s revised Teacher Performance Assessments (CAL 2.0) to ensure P-12 students are instructed by the most “highly qualified” instructors.

Background

There are several pitfalls facing the preservice candidate going into the teaching profession. One, as noted above is to make sure one enters a state accredited program. Once the candidate has chosen the most efficacious and accredited program for the credential desired, what assurances does he/she have one will be supported in the most knowledgeable and highly effective program in preparation to enter the teaching profession?

With the expungement of preservice teachers ability to secure an emergency credential, preservice teachers were urged by districts, especially those in areas of teacher shortage, specifically inner city schools, to create internships or work with Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) who offered an approved internship program accredited by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

As one can see, credentialing bodies were cognizant of federal legislation, such as No Child Left Behind (2001), which has since been replaced by Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA,(2015), attempting to protect the sanctity of a quality education for all K-12 students.

However, internships varied in quality and often confused preservice candidates, especially when district internships did not align with the same standards offered by IHEs. For example, CTC (2008) mandated a 120 hours of preservice requirement flanked by adherence to the following subject matter competencies:

• •

  classroom management and planning;

• •

  developmentally appropriate teaching practices;

• •

  general and subject or specialty specific pedagogy;

• •

  teaching English learners; and

• •

  communication skills including reading.(PSCC,#08-03, para. 9).