Case study of a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards candidate's experience

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was created to set standards for accomplished teaching, and to certify classroom teachers that were able to demonstrate these standards in the context of their classrooms. The NBPTS certification process, as part of the standards-based educational reform movement of the past two decades, was created to recognize accomplished teachers, in order to increase the professional status of classroom teachers and improve the quality of education in America's schools.; Working from an interpretivist research paradigm, this qualitative case study was designed to describe and interpret the meanings constructed by a single teacher candidate during the process of seeking NBPTS certification. The teacher candidate was interviewed over the course of the year-long certification process, as she constructed her teaching portfolio and completed the requirements necessary for achieving National Board Certification.; Using an Ericksonian method of data analysis, the entire data corpus was read and analyzed, and three primary assertions were constructed. These assertions were: (1) The teacher candidate viewed the NBPTS certification process as one of aligning to the vision of accomplished practice, as set forth in the NBPTS standards documents. (2) The teacher candidate believed that she would be recognized as an accomplished teacher by achieving NBPTS certification. (3) The teacher candidate faced several challenges in representing herself as an accomplished teacher through the vehicles provided in the certification process, including the teaching portfolio and the assessment center requirements.; The NBPTS certification process required the teacher candidate to adopt the NBPTS vision of accomplished practice and represent her alignment to this vision through the assessment vehicles provided.