Supporting teacher learning during the professional development experience: The case of national board certification

Amidst increasing globalized pressures to raise student achievement, nations are heavily investing in various forms of teacher professional development. In the United States, teachers are increasingly electing to pursue National Board Certification, yet few studies have analyzed the experience within the greater complex system of teaching and learning. Viewed from this approach, findings from this study suggest that numerous dynamic forces—relationships, partnerships, structures, and policies—interact in various patterns that can potentially support effective teacher professional development. Implications suggest a need for broader conceptualization, greater cohesion, and more strategic integration of teacher learning in education policy.

Curricular Contradictions: Negotiating Between Pursuing National Board Certification and an Urban District’s Direct Instruction Mandate

In this article, Travis J. Bristol and Joy Esboldt examine the supports and constraints teachers at one midsized urban school serving predominately Latinx students encountered during school-based professional development aligned with becoming a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT). Research has established that Black and Latinx students have less access to NBCTs when compared to White students, yet few studies offer insight into the organizational conditions that influence urban school teachers’ capacity to earn certification. Drawing on two years of ethnographic observations, interviews, and artifact analysis, this study finds that district and school-based factors constrained teachers’ capacity to earn National Board Certification, reporting that participants believed there was a misalignment between the district’s vision for instructional improvement, which focused on Direct Instruction, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Examining Teachers' Instructional Practices as They Progress Through the National Board Certification Process

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards provides national certification to teachers who apply for and meet the Board's standards of performance for “accomplished” educators. The authors conducted a longitudinal analysis of classroom observations of high school teachers in science and mathematics in Kentucky and Chicago, comparing a sample of National Board Certification (NBC) applicants and similar teachers not pursuing this certification. Observations were conducted at baseline and in two subsequent semesters. The Leadership by Design classroom observation instrument was used to assess instruction, and teachers were rated on nine different dimensions of instruction and overall instructional quality. The findings indicate that the ratings of the instructional practices of NBC applicants exceeded those of non-applicants at baseline on six of the nine teaching quality subscales, as well as the overall rating of instructional quality. However, there was little evidence of growth in instructional quality over time for either applicants or non-applicants.

National Board Certification in North Carolina

The purpose of this study is to report National Board Certified Teachers' (NBCTs) motivators for pursuing National Board Certification. The guiding research question for this study, “Why do teachers pursue National Board Certification?” was explored. A total of 496 NBCTs currently teaching in North Carolina public schools completed the survey questionnaire in which they responded to demographic questions, Likert item questions, and open-ended questions. Thematic analysis revealed several reoccurring themes that NBCTs revealed having influence on their pursuit of certification. These included impact on financial incentives, improved teaching, professionalism, challenge and encouragement from others.