Who goes into early-entry programs?

The demographics of teachers - who they are and who people think they should be - rests at the center of many of the debates about early-entry certification. In response to concerns that teachers’ qualifications have been diminishing, some educators argue that early-entry certification programs can recruit more academically successful people into the profession. Others, concerned about the lack of diversity in the teaching population, have argued that early-entry certification programs might attract teachers with more varied ethnic and racial backgrounds. Still others, who point to the need for teachers with greater content-area knowledge, have also argued that these programs can attract into teaching mid-career professionals who have expertise in high-need subject areas, such as science and mathematics.