Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett, associate dean for academic programs in the Mary Frances Early College of Education, was recently quoted in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about how teaching training programs have evolved to prep candidates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For UGA teaching candidates in their last semesters of student teaching, physical placements are limited. Online work and alternative placements are available for candidates in the early stages of these programs, Neuharth-Pritchett said.
At the undergrad level, early teacher preparation has decreased, in line with national trends, she said. Neuharth-Pritchett said she credits both the public perception of teachers and the hardships that come with teaching to that decline.
Some UGA students have said their family members who’ve taught warned them not to go into the teaching field, Neuharth-Pritchett said.
“I think it’s become such a challenging—yet again it can be incredibly rewarding—occupation that there are some of those things that are challenging to demystify for people,” she said.
