Mid-career Changers: An Investigation of Non-traditional Entrants Into Teaching

This study considers candidates entering the classroom after extensive experience in fields outside of education---career changers. Increasingly, attracting career changers is considered a prudent policy option to meet a series of classroom demands, including quality, equity, exigency, and fit. While there is wide speculation about the value career changers will bring to the classroom, little is known about their actual characteristics. This study examines three programs dedicated to preparing career changers for teaching, examining the design of the programs, the candidates they prepared, and the context that shaped the programs and candidates. The findings of this study suggest not only is there great diversity in program design, but that career changers themselves enter teaching with different sets of knowledge, skills, and experience, making classification of them as a uniform group impractical. Additionally, the local context has a strong influence on both a program's appearance and the candidates who choose to enroll. The policy aims of quality, equity, exigency, and fit appear to be, in part, in conflict with each other. If simultaneously meeting multiple policy goals proves untenable, it is incumbent upon policy makers to prioritize their aims by understanding how the local historical, economic, and demographic context structures local schools and teacher labor markets.