The issue of teacher shortages is not a new
phenomenon. At a time when many school districts are
at the crossroads between teacher vacancies and
state certification requirements, programs geared
towards recruiting adults to teaching are growing in
number. After having spent a number of years in the
workforce, an increasing number of college educated
adults are seeking employment as teachers. Prior
teaching successes, through either work or volunteer
activities, coupled with a general sense of malaise
towards their current occupations, and the need for
a greater sense of personal fulfillment encouraged
participants in this study to seek teacher
certification. They believed utopia could be found
in a classroom; that they would be gaining a sense
of purpose through what they believed to be an
altruistic career choice. By focusing on the
experiences of career changers and their reasons for
pursuing teaching as a new career, this book informs
teacher educators, pre-service teachers, and those
contemplating careers in education.
phenomenon. At a time when many school districts are
at the crossroads between teacher vacancies and
state certification requirements, programs geared
towards recruiting adults to teaching are growing in
number. After having spent a number of years in the
workforce, an increasing number of college educated
adults are seeking employment as teachers. Prior
teaching successes, through either work or volunteer
activities, coupled with a general sense of malaise
towards their current occupations, and the need for
a greater sense of personal fulfillment encouraged
participants in this study to seek teacher
certification. They believed utopia could be found
in a classroom; that they would be gaining a sense
of purpose through what they believed to be an
altruistic career choice. By focusing on the
experiences of career changers and their reasons for
pursuing teaching as a new career, this book informs
teacher educators, pre-service teachers, and those
contemplating careers in education.