Journal of Research in Technical Careers
Keywords
career and technical education, alternative certification, teacher preparation, teacher professional development, mean weighted discrepancy scores (MWDS)
Disciplines
Higher Education and Teaching | Secondary Education | Secondary Education and Teaching | Vocational Education
Abstract
The Virginia Department of Education allows for various paths to teacher licensure. Teachers may graduate from an approved teacher preparation program or obtain a teaching license through alternative pathways. This study identified the professional development needs of traditionally and alternatively certified CTE teachers in Virginia by administering a statewide survey. The participants were divided into three groups: alternatively certified CTE teachers (Group 1), traditionally certified teachers in a non-CTE area and then received a CTE endorsement (Group 2), and traditionally certified teachers in CTE (Group 3). By comparing how teachers from each of these certification pathways reported their level of preparation for different aspects of teaching to the perceived importance of those aspects, conclusions can be drawn regarding the aspects of teaching that need more attention to help better prepare traditionally and alternatively certified teachers. The results demonstrate that while there are slight differences in how traditional and alternatively certified teachers report the data, there are many similarities in how these different groups of teachers feel about their teacher training. All teachers in all three groups ranked managing stress as the highest need. Other highly ranked items were balancing work and personal life, managing time, and motivating students. The Virginia Department of Education has identified Career and Technical Education (CTE) as a critical needs area for more qualified teachers due to a teacher shortage, as such it is important to understand how teachers feel about their preparation within these different licensure pathways, and resources to help teachers be better prepared can be improved.
Recommended Citation
Ferand, N., Bowen, B., & Milliken, D. B. (2025). Assessing the Professional Development Needs of Traditionally and Alternatively Certified Career and Technical Education Teachers in Virginia. Journal of Research in Technical Careers, 9 (1). https://doi.org/10.9741/2578-2118.1168
Included in
Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Secondary Education Commons, Secondary Education and Teaching Commons, Vocational Education Commons
