Alternative licensure has become an important topic in the preparation of teachers. Explain the arguments supporting and criticizing alternative licensure

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Proponents of alternative licensure argue that alternative licensure teacher candidates are generally more capable that their traditional counterparts, and they're often older and have had more life experiences. They're more focused on learning to teach, and they're more academically talented than are traditional undergraduates. They also argue that, because these programs are shorter, they can attract minorities and talented and experienced people to the profession in areas of critical need, such as math and science. Critics of alternative licensure counter that graduates of alternative licensure programs receive limited training in pedagogy, the intensive mentoring that is supposed to compensate for the lack of formal coursework rarely exists, alternative licensure graduates are disproportionately assigned to the most demanding teaching situations, such as inner-city schools, and they drop out of teaching at three times the rate of beginning teachers from traditional programs.