Support for Alternative Route (AR)

250 Pages·2016·0.68 MB·English

by  Ashanti Holley

Rowan University
Rowan Digital Works
Theses and Dissertations
6-3-2013
Support for Alternative Route (AR) teachers in the
New Jersey Public School System
Ashanti Holley
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Holley, Ashanti, "Support for Alternative Route (AR) teachers in the New Jersey Public School System" (2013).Theses and
Dissertations. 168.
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SUPPORT FOR ALTERNATIVE ROUTE (AR) TEACHERS
IN THE NEW JERSEY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM

by

Ashanti N. Holley

A Dissertation

Submitted to the

Department of Educational Leadership

College of Education

In partial fulfillment of the requirement

For the degree of

Doctor of Education

At

Rowan University

March 25, 2013

Dissertation Chair: Gloria Hill, Ed. D.
© 2013 Ashanti N. Holley
DEDICATION

Family is the most important thing in the world.
-Princess Diana

This dissertation is dedicated to my family; my father, mother and brother.
I love you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Philippians 4:13
This dissertation was only possible through my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents, Edison and Sarah
Holley, who were my first teachers in life. My brother, Darvis Holley, provided an ear to
listen to my frustrations throughout this process. My family’s love, encouragement and
support have helped me tremendously through this journey.
I would like to thank and acknowledge my dissertation committee as they were
instrumental to the completion of my doctoral dissertation: Dr. Gloria Hill, my
dissertation committee chair, for her consummate expectations of excellence, wisdom,
perspective, and invaluable guidance throughout this process; Dr. Patrick Westcott and
Dr. Corrine Meredith, my dissertation committee members, for their continuous support.
My committee constantly challenged me to think critically and guided my efforts.
I give a heartfelt thanks to the participants of the study who shared their stories. I
appreciate your candor and brutal honesty. It was your stories and perspectives that made
this dissertation possible.
I would like to thank Willingboro Public Schools, Wilmington University and
Winston-Salem State University for cultivating my academic foundation so that I could
purse my doctoral degree. I would like to thank all the teachers that I’ve had throughout
my life. I have taken a little piece from each of you.

iv
Abstract

Ashanti N. Holley
SUPPORT FOR ALTERNATE ROUTE (AR) TEACHERS
IN THE NEW JERSEY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
2013
Gloria Hill, Ed. D.
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership

In this study, the researcher explored the perceptions that New Jersey content
specialized, alternate route (AR) teachers had about the support provided to them by
those in their educational support system (administrators, mentors, peers, students,
parents, and others) in their first five years of service. Thirteen (N=13) female individuals
participated in a qualitative research design study. The researcher interviewed this
selected group of participants to answer two inter-related research questions: 1) To what
extent do the alternative route, content specialized, female teachers perceive support from
their educational support environment; and 2) To what extent do the alternative route,
content specialized, female teachers perceive support from their educational support
environment, as having an affect on their decision to remain in or to leave the teaching
profession? The interview findings were then related to the professional education
literature on support for new teachers (orientation, critical support training, induction,
mentorship), comparisons with traditional certification route teacher education, the
history of the alternate route certification law and its aftermath since 1984, and the
continuing controversies about what some feel are serious shortcomings of AR teachers
and their training that have dampened the acceptance and support of AR teachers by their
support systems in some school systems. Finally suggestions were made for practice and
for additional research to confirm the findings of this research.
v
Table of Contents

Page
Abstract………………………..…………………………………………………….. v
Table of Contents………….…………………………..……………………………. vi
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………. xvii
List of Tables..……….……………………………………………………………. xviii
Chapter
1. Introduction..…….……………...………………………………………………… 1
The American Education System is Facing Serious Challenges…………... 1
New Jersey’s Experimental Program to Recruit Career Changers into the
Teaching Profession………………………………………………………... 5
A Program Accompanied by Continuing Controversy and Concerns……... 9
The New Jersey Alternate Route Reaching Reality 30 Years Later………. 12
How this Dissertation is Organized.………………………………………… 14
Research Methodology.…………………….……………………………….. 14
The research problem...……………….……………………………... 14
Purpose of the study..………………...……………………………… 15
Research design.....………………………………………………….. 16
Data collection as an exploratory inquiry about perceived support.… 16
Participant selection...………………………………………………... 19
Context of the study...……….……………………………………….. 19
Data analysis...………………………………………………………. 19
Research questions..…….…………………………………………… 20
v i
Table of Contents (continued)
Chapter Page
Significance of the Study…………………………………………………… 20
Definition of Terms………………………………………………………… 20
Limitations of the Study…….……………………………………………… 22
Chapter Summary………..………………………………………………….. 23
2. Literature Review.……………….……………………………………………….. 25
Meaning and Types of Support……………………………………………... 29
Personal and emotional support..………...………………………….. 30
Task or problem-focused support..………………………………….. 31
Critical reflections on teaching practice...……………..…………… 31
Provision of Support…...………….………………………………………... 32
Perception of Support…...…………..……………………………………… 34
Context of Support………………………………………………………….. 36
Collegial peer support..………..……………………………………. 36
Student support in challenged urban contexts…...………………….. 36
Principal and administrative support......………...………………….. 39
Context of an unsettled educational system….......………………….. 44
The Cooperman report...…………………………………….. 47
Research methods in the literature about alternate route
teaching...……………………………………………………. 50

vi i
Table of Contents (continued)

Chapter Page
Other controversies and issues..…………………………………….. 52
A Nation at Risk.……………………………………………. 52
Darling-Hammond………………………………………….. 55
Teacher certification.……………………………………….. 59
Process of credentialing...………………………….………. 65
Other factors contributing to teacher effectiveness in
Alternate route teachers……………………………………... 69
Attrition for inner-city alternate route teachers....…………. 71
Alternate Route Certification Program……………....................................... 72
Context of the Institute of Educational Services (IES) (2009) Evaluation
Findings…………..………………………………………………………… 73
Chapter Summary………………………………………………………….. 75
3. METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………….... 78
Introduction……….……………………………………………………….. 78
Research Problem…...……………………………………………………… 78
Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………….. 78
Qualitative Research design.………………………………………………… 79
Data Collection Site………………………………………………………… 81
Sampling and Selection of Study Participants.……………………………… 82
Recruiting of the sample pool..…..…………………………………. 84
Screening the sample pool..….……………………………………… 85
vi ii
Table of Contents (continued)

Chapter Page
Selecting the final sample...…………………………………………. 86
Background Characteristics of the Participants…...……………….... 86
Pilot test interviews prior to the official interviews…..…………….. 87
Investigative Process...……………………………………………………… 88
Interview process….……….………………………………………… 88
Semi-structured interviews...………………………………………… 88
One-on-one, face-to-face interviews.....…………………………….... 89
Observation Set..……………………………………………………………... 89
Recorded interviews..………………………………………………... 89
Field notes and self-memos....………………………………………. 89
Method of observation data analysis....……………………………... 90
Methodological Considerations.…………………………………………….. 92
Trustworthiness..…………………………………………………….. 92
Internal credibility...…………………………………………………. 93
Internal reliability...…………………………………………………. 93
Chapter Summary.…………………………………………………………... 94
4. Results…....……………………………………………………………………….. 95
Chapter Overview...…………………………………………………………. 95
Restatement of Research Questions, Methodology, and Data Analysis
Process.……………………………………………………………………… 95
Research questions…………………………………………………… 95
ix