Pupil Control and Teacher Efficacy in a Group of Alternative Certification Teachers in New York City

The Teaching Fellows program in New York City was designed to attract individuals interested in an alternative certification process. The present investigation is an exploratory study of Teaching Fellows in a public graduate elementary education program. The department of education placed these alternatively certified teachers in teaching positions in low performing schools throughout the city. The Teaching Fellows completed a survey that focused on many aspects of their experience including previous employment, reasons for joining the program, curriculum, teaching efficacy and retention. This investigation utilized a portion of the survey to examine perceptions of socioeconomic status, the perceived support from school administrators, their pupil control ideology and beliefs about the efficacy of their teaching. Positive findings from the preliminary analysis include the inclination on the part of the Teaching Fellows to treat their students in a humanistic, encouraging way and feelings of competence as expressed in their personal teaching efficacy. (Contains 1 table.)