Finding Their Place: Exploring the Sense of Belonging Among Alternatively Certified Early-Career Educators

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/cie.vol26iss2.2350

Keywords:

Alternative teacher education, School belonging, Early career educators

Abstract

This study explores the impact of belongingness among alternatively certified educators to identify strategies for better supporting them during their early years. Using a qualitative multicase study design, the researchers employed within-case and cross-case analysis, with each case representing an individual alternatively certified educator. Data were collected from three sources: individual meetings with the director of the alternative certification program, a belongingness survey, and a semi-structured focus group with participants. Data analysis included both within-case and cross-case approaches to identify themes across participants and address the research question. The findings hold implications for educational policy and practice, particularly in light of ongoing challenges in teacher recruitment and retention.

Author Biographies

Chris Wilcoxen, University of Nebraska Omaha

Chris Wilcoxen is the Teacher Education Graduate Chair, Director of the CADRE Project, and assistant professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her research focuses on teacher development, induction, mentoring, coaching, instructional leadership, clinical practice, and field-based preparation. 

Jennifer Langfeldt, University of Nebraska Omaha

Jeni Langfeldt, Ed.D., is the Director of the Teacher Academy Project at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Her research focuses on instructional leadership, new teacher induction, teacher development, collective teacher efficacy, and empowering leadership behaviors.

Amber O'Shea, University of Nebraska Omaha

Dr. Amber O’Shea is an assistant professor of early childhood education and elementary literacy at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Her research areas include early intervention, social-emotional learning, and hope education. With over a decade of teaching experience in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms in Lincoln, Nebraska, she transitioned to academia, serving three years as an assistant professor at North Dakota State University within the teacher preparation program. She also served internationally as the Program Coordinator for the Early Intervention Master’s program at Trinity College Dublin.

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Published

2025-11-20

How to Cite

Wilcoxen, C., Langfeldt, J., & O’Shea, A. (2025). Finding Their Place: Exploring the Sense of Belonging Among Alternatively Certified Early-Career Educators. Current Issues in Education, 26(2). https://doi.org/10.14507/cie.vol26iss2.2350

Issue

Vol. 26 No. 2 (2025): Fall Issue

Section

Spring/Fall Issue

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Chris Wilcoxen, Jennifer Langfeldt, Amber O'Shea

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors retain copyright without restrictions. Unless otherwise indicated, from 2021 all articles are published under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license. For more information visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Articles published prior to 2021 used a CC-BY-NC-SA license.