ERIC Number: ED616729
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Sep
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Rethinking Teacher Certification to Employ K-12 Adjunct Teachers. Sketching a New Conservative Education Agenda
Ingraham, Keri D.
American Enterprise Institute
America's public schools are in a crisis. Despite investing more money in K-12 education than most other countries (nearly $15,000 per student annually), educational performance levels are stagnant. One source of the problem is a rigid and deficient process for selecting and employing teachers. Teacher certification laws, intended to ensure good teachers lead classrooms, instead frequently keep highly qualified individuals out of the profession. And the COVID-19 pandemic will likely further exacerbate the preexisting teacher shortage. The crisis demands a new approach to hiring teachers: It's time for K-12 public education to modify teacher certification laws to follow the example of colleges and universities in leveraging the advantages of adjunct teachers. This report describes what an adjunct teacher is, lists some benefits of adjunct teachers, and discusses what must change in order to implement an adjunct teacher model for K-12 public education. The report also explains why conservatives should champion for adjunct teachers and provides some possible limitations for adjunct teaching.
Descriptors: Kindergarten, Elementary Secondary Education, Alternative Teacher Certification, Adjunct Faculty, Public Schools, Academic Achievement, Teacher Selection, Teacher Certification, Educational Legislation, Educational Change, Models, Political Attitudes, Specialists, Educational Benefits, Pedagogical Content Knowledge
American Enterprise Institute. 1150 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-862-5800; Fax: 202-862-7177; Web site: http://www.aei.org
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A