Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine if the students of teachers who are career
switchers perceive a difference in classroom quality when compared to students taught by
teachers who are from a traditional pathway. Additionally, this study investigated
whether career switchers report that they plan instruction differently than traditional
pathway teachers. A mixed methods design was used to compare students’ perceptions of
teacher quality as defined by the Student Perception of Classroom Quality (SPOCQ)
(Gentry and Owen, 2004) in the classes of four pairs of high school teachers in a small
and diverse suburban school district who were matched on content. Four of the teachers
gained entry into the classroom through a traditional academy-based pathway, and four
came through a career-switcher program. Their students were surveyed using the SPOCQ
while teachers completed the Teacher Experience Survey (TES) and were interviewed
using the Teacher Interview Guide (TIG). Major findings of this study indicated that
students of traditional pathway teachers perceived higher levels of appeal (p = .003),
challenge (p < .001), choice (p =.015) and meaningfulness (p < .001) as measured by the
SPOCQ. Additionally, traditional pathway teachers reported they were less reliant on the
textbook and were more likely to rate their master’s program as relevant professional
development. The results of the study suggest that future studies of teacher pathways
need to explore the effects of the pathway on their graduates’ classroom quality in order
to ensure that the teachers who are being placed in the classroom are perceived by their
students as creating effective classroom environments.
