Legitimizing the Dilettante: Teach For America and the Allure of Ed Cred

Clement, Davis

doi:10.5070/b8bre7232956

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Trujillo et al, 2017), and TFA is quite proud of alumni accomplishments. Indeed, this is part of its theory of change: give "the best and brightest" citizens some teaching experience so they can effect change at the highest levels of education policy (Clement, 2018;Maier, 2012), and subvert long-standing structures and institutions (Baxendale, 2020). Thus, when state-level policies mandate that synchronous-service teachers "become" something they are already "being"-and CMs interpret this obligation as "doing time"-it is not unreasonable to expect them to later work toward the deregulation of the teaching profession and the decommissioning of teacher education programs (as one example, for a discussion of TFA alumnus Michelle Rhee's policy agenda, see Bulkley & Gottlieb, 2017).…”

Section: Synchronous-service Teachers In Teacher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Synchronous-Service Teachers: Traditional Teacher Education at a Crossroads

Thomas

Lefebvre

2020

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

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Background/Context Teachers enrolled in alternative training and licensure programs may have experiences that lie outside what is considered typical for both preservice teachers and in-service teachers. This article explores the experiences of a growing cadre of “synchronous-service teachers”—including, but not limited to, Teach For America (TFA) corps members— who are teaching full time while also completing coursework in teacher preparation programs. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of the Study This study considers how synchronous-service teachers perceived the education and training they received while enrolled in traditional teacher education coursework, as well as how they interpreted their broader interactions with the teaching profession and teacher education writ large. Research Setting and Participants This research was conducted in the Midwestern United States in a major metropolitan area with a TFA regional presence. Thirty-six corps members who completed coursework at a traditional teacher education institution opted to participate in this study. They were primarily White and female, and most entered TFA immediately following completion of their undergraduate degrees. The majority had little previous exposure to the education discipline. Research Design The thirty-six corps members were interviewed about their experiences while participating in TFA, teaching at their schools, and, especially pertinent to this article, learning at a partner university where TFA corps members in the region completed teacher education coursework. Findings/Results The findings suggest that corps members held primarily negative views about the teacher education coursework they experienced. They complained that the teacher education programming failed to provide immediately applicable insights and lacked rigor and relevance. Yet they also maintained paradoxical expectations about what teacher education, particularly for synchronous-service teachers, should or should not entail. Conclusions/Recommendations The article concludes by suggesting the potential utility of synchronous-service teachers as a conceptual category, noting that these teachers should be considered distinct from others. As such, providing synchronous-service teachers with teacher education programming designed for either preservice or in-service teachers may lead to missed opportunities in terms of professional learning and exacerbate negative sentiments about teacher education. The experiences and opinions of synchronous-service teachers can have considerable significance, particularly when these teachers go on to affect education leadership and policy. In sum, teacher education institutions are at a critical crossroads concerning how and whether to proceed with similar partnerships, especially as alternative recruitment and training programs continue to grow in the United States and beyond.

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Section: Synchronous-service Teachers In Teacher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Synchronous-Service Teachers: Traditional Teacher Education at a Crossroads

Thomas

Lefebvre

2020

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, TFA often recruits using a bait-and-switch tactic that exploits the good intentions of potential CMs (Millen, 2015), and has spent many hours and dollars seeking to marginalize critics or CMs who speak out on such topics (see Joseph, 2014;Levine & McCambridge, 2015). Others have long documented the inherent benefits that CMs experience through their affiliation with TFA -regardless of any educational impact (positive, negative, or neutral) their presence may have in classrooms (Clement, 2018;Labaree, 2010;Veltri, 2008).…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Teach For America influence on non-TFA teachers in TFA-hiring schools

Anderson

Thomas

Brewer

2022

EPAA

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Teach For America (TFA) has left an indelible mark on education in the United States and worldwide through its expansion via Teach For All. A considerable body of research examines the impact and experiences of teachers who enter the profession via TFA and related organizations, including the ways in which they embody controversial policies and new forms of teacher expertise and professionalism. Scant research, however, has examined the experiences of non-TFA teachers who work alongside them. This instrumental case study draws on interviews with nine non-TFA teachers working in traditional public schools to explore their experiences of interacting with TFA teachers at their schools. The findings focus on the perceived inexperience of TFA teachers as well as the labor expended by non-TFA teachers in support of these novice teachers. The paper also examines experiences of TFA teacher attrition and its impact on other teachers, students, and staff at the schools. The paper concludes by discussing the significance of this study and related research across individual, institutional, and broader structural levels.

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Expanding the research terrain: Teach For America and the problem with one-dimensional research

Anderson

2020

Teaching and Teacher Education

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Legitimizing the Dilettante: Teach For America and the Allure of Ed Cred

Abstract: Teach For America (TFA) corps members in reflecting on their experiences, have described their motivations to join the program as idealistic, ambitious, and "profound drives to effect educational change" (Crawford-Garrett, 2012, p. 27)

Cited by 4 publications

References 30 publications

Teaching Synchronous-Service Teachers: Traditional Teacher Education at a Crossroads

Teaching Synchronous-Service Teachers: Traditional Teacher Education at a Crossroads

Teach For America influence on non-TFA teachers in TFA-hiring schools

Expanding the research terrain: Teach For America and the problem with one-dimensional research

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