Landscape of Computer Science Teacher Qualification Pathway
Jiyoung Kim, Joshua Childs, Anne Todd Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Kendra Montejos Edwards, Carol L. Fletcher, Katie A. Hendrickson · 2021
Despite the growing demand for computer science (CS) education for K-12 students, one of the most significant barriers to schools offering CS courses is the lack of certified teachers [1]. According to a report by Code.org [2], only a few states have initial CS certification teacher pathways resulting in differences among the types of qualification pathways. The lack of consistent and clear information is confusing for teachers, school districts, and advocacy groups. One of the challenges of creating a clear understanding of computer science teacher certification in the United States is that certificates can have many meanings, and definitions differ from state to state [3]. This study gathers nationwide data of all the pathways to teach computer science to create definitions for the multitude of CS credential pathways and demonstrates the spectrum of credential pathways.