What is Next-Career Professionals

Next-career professionals are a subcategory of alternative certification candidates that bring unique past professional experiences into the classroom. Though little is known currently about next-career professionals, scholarship does exist on alternative certification programs and the teachers who matriculate through them. This chapter engages the research to illustrate not only the key differences between traditionally and alternatively trained teachers, but also to highlight the important past-professional experiences next-career professionals bring with them to the classroom that help them connect student learning to the real world.