UC Davis

The leadership experiences of district intern program leaders in California play an important role in addressing the teacher shortage and diversifying the teaching workforce. However, limited information about their experiences exists in the empirical literature. Additionally, due to the recency of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is limited information in the literature about the experiences and actions of district intern program leaders as they enacted California credentialing policies during that time. Yet, much can be learned from the experiences of these leaders. This qualitative study examined the experiences and leadership actions of district intern program leaders during the 2020–2022 COVID pandemic period as they implemented California credentialing policies. This research project consisted of a review of selected credential policy changes, a focus group, and semistructured interviews conducted with five participants who were leaders of consortium-based district intern programs, located in three different regions in California. All interviews were transcribed and analytic coding was completed.The experiences of participants in their leadership roles varied from 2 to 6 years. Participant vignettes and collective thematic findings are presented within this study. Five major themes emerged that have significant implications for district intern programs and teacher credentialing in California. These findings include the following leadership actions: understanding and interpreting credentialing policies; communicating to and with constituents; making changes in program delivery; navigating exam deferrals and calling out inequities; and finally, noticing shifts in intern enrollment, completion, and demographics. Understanding the actions district intern program leaders took in response to interpreting and implementing changes in California credentialing policies during the COVID-19 pandemic creates opportunities to reimagine state and local policy and practice in order to strengthen teacher preparation, decrease the teacher shortage, and further diversify the teaching workforce.

key words: district intern program, COVID-19 pandemic, intern teacher, teacher preparation, teacher shortage, teacher diversity, credentialing, intern leader, licensure exams, policies, exam deferrals, sites of shaping