ERIC Number: EJ1235389
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1539-9664
EISSN: N/A
How Teach for America Affects Beliefs about Education: Connecting Classroom Experience to Opinions on Education Reform
Conn, Katharine M.; Lovison, Virginia S.; Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung
Education Next, v20 n1 p59-60, 62-66 Win 2020
Does the experience of teaching in low-income schools through Teach for America (TFA) affect individuals' views on education policy and reform? And if so, how? For this article, the authors surveyed TFA applicants for the 2007-15 cohorts to find out. The survey targeted the set of applicants who had advanced to the competitive program's final round of admissions, whom they separated into two groups based on their final scores during the selection process: individuals who scored just above the cutoff point used to admit candidates and participated in the program, and those who just missed the cutoff, were not admitted, and did not participate in TFA. TFA participants are more likely to believe larger societal inequities perpetuate income-based differences in educational outcomes and favor investments in elevating the prestige of the teaching profession, early childhood education, and school-based wraparound services to address them. However, they are no more likely than non-participants to believe that certain politically charged policy levers--including school-choice policies, Common Core standards, teacher merit pay, and teachers unions--can effectively reduce inequity. On the whole, they believe it is possible to provide all children with access to a high-quality education, and that part of the solution is within the grasp of effective teachers.
Descriptors: Beginning Teachers, Alternative Teacher Certification, Teacher Attitudes, Disadvantaged Schools, Educational Policy, Educational Change, Social Stratification, Socioeconomic Status, Low Income, School Choice, Common Core State Standards, Merit Pay, Unions, Access to Education, Outcomes of Education, Attribution Theory, Socioeconomic Influences
Hoover Institution. Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6010. Tel: 800-935-2882; Fax: 650-723-8626; e-mail: educationnext@hoover.stanford.edu; Web site: http://educationnext.org/journal/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A