Craig, Cheryl J.2015-01-042015-01-04December 22012-12http://hdl.handle.net/10657/853Education has been under scrutiny and new mandates have been introduced over the last several decades (Cremin, 1990; Tyack & Cuban, 1995). Yet the education system in the United States continues to be unsatisfactory when compared to global educational systems (A Nation at Risk, 1983; No Child Left Behind, 2002). The public believes that quality teachers are not being produced and that the teacher attrition rate is too high (Darling-Hammond, 2003; Ingersoll, 2004; Levine, 2006). Schools with the highest number of low socio-economic students and high numbers of English as a Second Language pupils continue to have poor results on standardized tests, which results in those schools losing funds, teachers and supplies. To combat the apparent shortage of teachers, high needs schools have resorted to hiring entry-level teachers with no education in the field of education (Herbert & Ramsey, 2004). These teachers have no credentialing, emergency credentialing or alternative teaching certificates. While reflecting on how education has changed, I am reminded of the changes within the nursing profession: level of professionalism and education changes. This dissertation study focuses on the similarities between the teaching profession and the nursing profession: changes in education, public perception, dumbing down and dropout statistics/characteristic. It will four individuals from two different states; two stemming from education programs housed within universities and two who chose alternative certification program routes. A look at the four individuals’ family background may illuminate ideas; who chooses alternate certificate programs and why is their attrition higher than university educated teachers. References Cremin, L. (1990). Popular education and its discontents. New York: Harper & Row. Darling-Hammond, L. (2003). Keeping good teachers: Why it matters, what leaders can do. Educational Leadership, 60 (8), 6-13. Herbert, K., & Ramsey, M. (2004, September). Teacher turnover and shortages of qualified teachers in Texas public school districts 2001-2004: Report to the Senate Education Committee. Austin, TX: State Board for Educator Certification. Ingersoll, R. (2004). Four myths about America’s teacher quality problem. In M. Smylie & D. Miretzky (Eds.). Developing the teacher workforce: The 103rd yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education (pp. 1-33). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Levine, A. (2006). Educating school teachers. New York, NY: The Education Schools Project. National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform (A Report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education). Washington, D. C.: United States Department of Education, National Commission on Excellence in Education. Tyack, D., & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.application/pdfengThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).Certified teachersAlternative certificationAttrition ratesPoor performanceLow socio-economic schoolsUncredentialed teachersPoor performanceLow socio-economic schoolsUncredentialed teachersKey Phrase OneKeyCurriculum and instruction2015-01-04Thesisborn digital