Developing a Professional Learning Framework for Alternatively Certified Teachers: A Delphi Study of Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions

Teacher shortages and expanding alternative certification pathways have intensified the need for coherent support for teachers entering classrooms through nontraditional routes. This three-round Delphi study identified professional-learning priorities for newly alternatively certified teachers. Thirty-six K-12 teachers, administrators, and teacher educators in rural and semi-rural Montana completed all three rounds. Round 1 generated 120 open-ended responses, which were refined into 108 Round 2 statements; 97 statements advanced to Round 3. The study defined consensus as a mean of at least 4.00 and a standard deviation of no more than 0.75. The supplied final item lists contained 89 rated statements: 29 knowledge, 26 skills, and 34 dispositions. Item-level verification against the supplied Round 3 summary statistics showed that 53 of the 89 statements met both criteria: 7 knowledge, 19 skills, and 27 dispositions. All 89 items are reported for transparency, together with means, standard deviations, criterion status, and provisional domain assignments. The framework organizes the rated priorities into four theory-informed professional-learning domains. Findings should be interpreted as structured expert judgment and a framework-development resource, not evidence of teacher effectiveness or a validated measurement model.