Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Dissertation

Abstract

In the 2023-2024 school year, the Iowa Department of Education listed 21 teaching shortage areas. One way that more teachers can enter Iowa’s classrooms is through alternative licensure pathways. But these alternative programs need students who are willing to pursue the teaching profession, even knowing all of the challenges that today’s teachers face. The purpose of this study was to investigate why people choose to become teachers at a later point in their lives/careers, and to explore the mindsets of alternatively licensed teachers. The theoretical framework for this study includes Bakhtin’s theory on ideological becoming, interanimated discourses (Bakhtin, 1981; Gee, 2014), and Vygotsky’s (1962) sociocultural theory. The literature reviewed for this study included the topics of teacher recruitment, supporting new teachers, teaching identity, and what Lortie describes as the apprenticeship of observation. This study focused on three main research questions: (1) Why did alternatively licensed teachers decide to become a teacher later in their lives? (2) What about their life experiences led them to this path? and (3) How has their conception of being a teacher compared to the actual experience of teaching? These questions were explored using a qualitative research design and a case study methodology. The data was analyzed using emergent coding to determine overall themes. The five themes that emerged were: contextual factors, alternative pathway, teaching as a profession, interactions with educational system, and thoughts about students. This study will add to the lack of literature that is available about alternative teacher licensure programs in general, and specifically in the state of Iowa.

Year of Submission

2025

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

First Advisor

Lori Norton-Meier

Date Original

5-2025

Object Description

1 PDF (ix, 139 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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