Glossary

Adjunct Certificate

A specialized alternative certification pathway and level requested by the hiring school or district for the certification of either (a) a locally identified content area expert or (b) an eligible candidate for the Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE).

Administrative Support

A measure of school administrators demonstrating respect, recognition, responsiveness, fairness, and engagement with teachers, as well as providing constructive feedback and ensuring consistent student discipline and rule enforcement.

Advanced Fine Arts Certificate

A specialized alternative certification pathway requested by the hiring school or district and designed for individuals with a degree and professional experience in a fine arts field who wish to pursue a professional teaching certificate. This certification is available only as an initial certification pathway for noncertified educators. Candidates must demonstrate at least 2 years of successful professional experience in their fine arts discipline and obtain a passing score on the required content area assessment(s) approved by the State Board of Education for certification purposes.

Alternative Route Certificate

An educator credential and certification level that may be issued to an eligible candidate participating in a South Carolina-approved alternative route teacher preparation program. This certificate is valid for 1 school year. With continued employment in a South Carolina public school and successful progress toward completion of the specific preparation program, it may be renewed annually for a defined period as allowed by state and federal statutes and regulations. Upon successful completion of all requirements of the program within the certification period, the educator is eligible for advancement to a renewable professional certificate.

Alternative Route Enrollee

An individual hired on a conditional alternative route certificate based on their enrollment in one of South Carolina’s 16 approved alternative route certification programs. By definition, these teachers have also (a) obtained a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university, (b) not participated in student teaching in a traditional education preparation program, and (c) not participated in another state-approved alternative route certification program.

Attrition

When a teacher leaves the classroom teaching profession in South Carolina public schools. This includes retirement, moving to teach out of state, leaving to teach in private or home schools, switching to a nonteaching role, or exiting the profession entirely.

Autonomy

A measure of teachers’ perceptions regarding control over key instructional and classroom decisions, including content, pacing, behavior management, instructional strategies, and assessment tools.

Boomerang Teacher (Boomerang)

An individual who previously worked as a public school teacher in South Carolina, left the state’s teaching workforce, and later returned. Boomerangs may include retirees who returned to the classroom or teachers who took temporary leave.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Certification

A nontraditional certification pathway to classroom teaching designed for individuals with industry work experience in specific career and technical fields, who may not have completed a standard educator preparation program. This certificate provides eligibility to teach grades 9–12 in South Carolina public school districts in career and technical fields such as health sciences, automotive technology, welding, and other vocational areas.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Induction Certificate

A certificate level issued to industry professionals allowed to begin teaching while completing certification requirements through a 2-year process. In the 1st year, teachers must complete two required courses and earn a passing score on a basic skills examination. In the 2nd year, teachers must complete two more required courses, earn a passing score on required certification exams, and receive a successful formative or summative evaluation of their teaching performance.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Pre-Professional Certificate

For those in the career and technical education field, a certificate level issued during a teacher’s 3rd through 5th years as they work toward obtaining a professional certificate. During this time, teachers must earn a passing score on all sections of a basic skills examination, complete 6 hours of professional education coursework, and receive a successful summative evaluation of their teaching performance.

Coworker Support

A measure of teachers’ ability to collaborate with and rely on their colleagues, including perceptions of teamwork, collegial relationships, and openness to professional dialogue.

Critical Needs Certificate

An educator certificate level and pathway for participants in the Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE) who have passed the required Praxis II content area exam(s) and participated in the 10-day pre-service program. The South Carolina Department of Education no longer issues this type of certificate.

Critical Needs Teacher

A teacher working in a subject area or geographic region identified by the South Carolina Department of Education as experiencing persistent shortages of qualified educators. Critical needs subject areas include fields with high vacancy rates, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; special education; world languages; and career and technical education. Critical needs geographic regions are school districts, often in rural or high-poverty urban areas, that face challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers. Educators in these roles may qualify for loan forgiveness, salary incentives, and alternative certification pathways to help address workforce shortages and ensure students have access to highly qualified teachers.

Demands (Job Demands)

The physical, social, psychological, and organizational aspects of a job that require sustained effort and are associated with psychological or physiological costs.

Experienced Teacher

A teacher who participated in the SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey and indicated having more than 3 years of teaching experience.

Graduate Pathway

A certificate pathway where teachers hold a bachelor’s degree in a noneducation field and need to complete additional coursework to earn certification. These teachers must complete the required coursework through either a Master of Arts in Teaching program or a post-baccalaureate teacher certification program, complete student teaching as part of their program requirements, and earn passing scores on required certification exams. After graduation, they are eligible for an initial teaching certificate.

Initial Certificate

A certificate level and educator credential valid for 3 school years, issued to individuals who have completed an approved undergraduate or graduate educator preparation program. This certificate is primarily granted to beginning educators or those returning to teaching without recent experience. An out-of-state certified educator who meets all South Carolina certification requirements but has fewer than 27 months of qualifying teaching experience in the last 7 years in their previous state will also be issued this certificate type.

Intent to Stay in the Profession

A measure self-reported by teachers regarding their likelihood of remaining in the teaching profession.

Interim Certificate

An educator certificate level issued to participants in the Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE) who have not passed the required Praxis II content area exam(s) and/or have not participated in the pre-service program. This certificate is renewed annually. The South Carolina Department of Education no longer issues this type of certificate.

International Certificate

A temporary teaching certificate and level designed for educators from countries outside the United States who participate in visiting visa programs (e.g., J-1, J-2). Teachers must have completed at least a bachelor’s degree with a major in the teaching field. The certificate is initially issued for up to 1 year and can be renewed annually for up to 3 years at the request of the employing school district. Renewal is contingent upon the teacher demonstrating content competency, either through a review of official transcript evaluations or by meeting certification examination requirements.

International Teacher

A teacher hired from outside the United States through specific visiting visa programs (e.g., J-1, J-2). Such teachers typically fill positions on a temporary basis, bringing diversity and cultural exchange to classrooms but also contributing to attrition when visa terms expire.

Internship Certificate

An educator certificate level given to individuals who have completed all requirements of an educator preparation program with the exception of student teaching and have earned passing scores on all required certification exams.

Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model

A theoretical framework that explains employee well-being and occupational outcomes, such as job satisfaction and retention, as primarily shaped by the balance between job demands (i.e., physical, psychological, social, and organizational pressures) and job resources (i.e., supports that help individuals manage demands, achieve goals, and grow professionally).

Job Satisfaction

A measure regarding teachers’ feelings of personal and professional fulfillment in their work, as reflected in their enjoyment of teaching, sense of purpose, emotional well-being, self-perceived success, and satisfaction with their career choice.

Lateral Mover

A public school teacher who moved from one South Carolina public school district and/or school to another.

• Interdistrict Lateral Mover: A public school teacher who moved from a school in one district to a school in a different South Carolina district.
• Intradistrict Lateral Mover: A public school teacher who moved between schools within the same South Carolina district. In cases where districts may reassign teachers without their choice, teachers are called nonvoluntary intradistrict lateral movers.

Leaver

A teacher who has left public school teaching in South Carolina. Such teachers may have retired, relocated to teach in another state or country, moved to a private or home school, or left the profession for other reasons.

Limited Professional Certificate

A certification level and advancement option for educators who hold a South Carolina initial certificate and are employed in eligible, nonregulated educational entities, such as accredited private schools, certain public charter schools, and higher education institutions with approved teacher preparation programs. These entities operate outside of the State Board of Education’s regulations for teacher evaluation. To qualify, educators must have at least 3 years of experience in a relevant certification area within the last 7 years, while maintaining a valid initial certificate and undergoing an employer-approved performance evaluation.

Mentor Instructional Support

A measure of novice teachers’ perceptions of mentor assistance in improving classroom instruction, including help with lesson planning, instructional strategies, classroom management, assessment and data use, curriculum alignment, content knowledge, and reflective teaching practices through observation, feedback, and modeling.

Mentor Non-Instructional Support

A measure of support provided to novice teachers by mentors outside of classroom instruction, including help with family engagement, collaboration with school staff, compliance with school policies, administrative responsibilities, and emotional support to promote teacher well-being and professional integration.

Mentor Proximity

The extent to which a novice teacher’s assigned mentor shares key professional characteristics or logistical placement, measured by whether the mentor works in the same school building, same grade level, and/or same content area as the novice teacher.

Mobility

Any movement of teachers between classroom teaching positions within South Carolina public schools, including interdistrict and intradistrict transfers.

Montessori Certification

A specialized certification pathway available for various educational levels, including early childhood (3K–5K), elementary I (grades 1–3), elementary II (grades 4–6), and middle level (grades 5–8). Individuals without prior teaching certification can pursue Montessori certification by completing a state-approved Montessori educator preparation program. This pathway leads to an initial teaching certificate in Montessori education. Certified educators can add a Montessori endorsement to their existing teaching certificate by completing an approved Montessori training program and fulfilling any additional state requirements.

New Hire

A teacher who did not work in the state’s public education system in any position code (i.e., teaching or nonteaching) during the previous academic year.

Nonrenewal

A district’s decision not to renew a teacher’s contract for various reasons (e.g., performance, budgetary constraints). Although leading to a form of attrition, the decision may be viewed as beneficial in cases where it aligns with performance improvement goals or decreased student enrollment.

Nonteaching Role

Any position in a public school that does not involve direct classroom teaching responsibilities (e.g., administrator, instructional coach, guidance counselor). Moving to one of these roles typically removes an individual from the teacher category (see teacher definition) unless they later return to a teaching position.

Novice Teacher

A teacher who did not work in the state’s public education system in any position code (i.e., teaching or nonteaching) during the previous academic year (i.e., a new hire) who was employed on an initial certificate in the most recent school year.

For the SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey, those identified as novice teachers indicated having 3 or fewer years of teaching experience.

Organizational Demands

A measure of broader school or district-level conditions that may interfere with teaching, such as limited instructional resources, policy mandates, accountability pressures, inadequate facilities, or school-wide interruptions.

Other Educator Reentering

An educator who returned to South Carolina public schools in the most recent school year after not being employed in any role in public education during the previous school year. Due to limited data from past years, it is sometimes unclear whether certain individuals had prior teaching experience in South Carolina or held other positions, distinguishing them from boomerang teachers.

Parent Support

A measure of teachers’ perceptions of the respect, communication, and support they receive from parents regarding classroom practices and the curriculum.

Position Code

A numerical designation assigned by the state or district to categorize an educator’s role within the school system (e.g., classroom teacher, instructional coach, administrator). For all SC TEACHER research, teachers are those with position codes 3–9, which include PK–12 classroom teachers, special education teachers (i.e., self-contained, resource, itinerant), and retired teachers returning to teach.

Pre-Initial Certificate

A category of teaching certificate that includes provisional initial certificates and internship certificates.

Professional Certificate

A teaching certificate level and standard educator credential valid for a period of 5 school years, which may be renewed by meeting continued professional learning requirements established by the State Board of Education. An educator who has advanced to a professional certificate must earn 120 renewal credits during that 5-year period to renew the certificate.

Professional Development Support

A measure of teachers’ perceptions regarding the availability and relevance of professional learning opportunities that support instructional improvement, content knowledge, differentiation, and technology integration.

Provisional Initial Certificate

An educator certificate level given to teachers who have completed all requirements of an approved, traditional educator preparation program but have not earned a passing score on one or more required certification exams.

Reciprocity

A process that streamlines hiring for districts and enables qualified teachers to move more easily across state lines. SCDE, through the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) Interstate Agreement, recognizes valid, standard teaching credentials from other states, provided they meet specific criteria. If the out-of-state credential reflects completion of an approved educator preparation program (traditional or alternative route) and is a standard (not temporary, emergency, or provisional) certificate, South Carolina will issue a comparable certificate, if one exists.

Reciprocity Professional

A teacher hired in a South Carolina public school having entered the state via reciprocity and received a professional teaching certificate. These individuals hold valid, standard educator credentials from other jurisdictions recognized through South Carolina’s participation in the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement, provided the credentials meet specified requirements.

Recruitment

The process of bringing new teachers into the public school workforce. From the state perspective, this may include hiring recent graduates of traditional or alternative preparation programs, teachers from other states or countries, or teachers returning to the classroom. From a district perspective, recruitment also encompasses bringing in teachers from other South Carolina districts.

Regular Certificate

An educator certificate level issued to teachers who earned a grade of B, C, or D on the National Teacher Examination, or to teachers who did not take or pass a specialty area exam. The South Carolina Department of Education stopped issuing this type of certificate in 1971.

Resources (Job Resources)

The physical, social, psychological, and organizational aspects of a job that support employees in reaching their work goals, promoting their growth, and, in some cases, reducing their job demands.

Retention

When a teacher remains in the South Carolina public school teaching profession from one year to the next. Retention can be analyzed at multiple levels:

• State-Level Retention: When a teacher continues to teach in a South Carolina public school, regardless of district or school changes.
• District-Level Retention: When a teacher continues to teach in the same district, even if they switch schools within that district.
• School-Level Retention: When a teacher continues to teach in the same school.

Retired Certificate

An educator certificate level and credential awarded to an individual who retired from a South Carolina public school and is hired for the purpose of substituting only.

Role-Changer

A public school educator who changes positions within South Carolina public schools from one year to the next. This includes moving from teaching to a nonteaching role (e.g., administrator, instructional coach) or moving from a nonteaching role into teaching.

SC Teacher Exit Survey

An annual survey administered by SC TEACHER used to collect information from teachers who leave their South Carolina public school teaching positions. The survey aims to reveal reasons for attrition and to inform potential policy or programmatic responses to reduce turnover.

SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey (SCTWCS)

A biennial survey administered by SC TEACHER to gather data on South Carolina public school teachers’ perceptions of resources (e.g., administrative support), demands (e.g., student behavior), and other factors influencing teacher satisfaction and retention.

Shared Governance

A measure of teachers’ perceptions regarding their involvement in school-level decision-making processes, such as policies, planning, discipline, instructional materials, and assessment practices.

Special Subject Certificate

An educator certificate level issued to individuals who have expertise in a subject taught in public schools. It is renewed at the request of the district. The South Carolina Department of Education no longer issues this type of certificate.

Student Behavior

A measure of issues teachers must address in the classroom regarding student disruptions, conflict, and discipline management, which interfere with teaching and can require behavior-related communication with students or families.

Student Engagement

A measure of teacher encounters with unmotivated or disengaged students, including students with poor attitudes, low effort, learning loss, and disruptions due to personal technology use.

Student Learning Objectives (SLOs)

A tool for actionable reflection used in teacher evaluation systems as a measure of student growth. SLOs are monitored over the duration of time the students are with the teacher for instruction, which may be a full academic year, a semester, or a quarter (depending on the context in which the teacher leads instruction).

Teacher

Any public school educator in South Carolina assigned a position code of 3–9. This includes PK–12 classroom teachers, special education teachers (i.e., self-contained, resource, itinerant), and retired teachers returning to teach.

Teacher Pipeline

A conceptual model depicting how teachers enter, move within, and exit the public school workforce. It includes new teachers (e.g., recent graduates, out-of-state hires), returning educators (e.g., retirees, boomerangs), and those leaving or moving between schools and districts.

Teacher Working Conditions

Teachers’ perceptions of organizational, relational, and instructional aspects of the environment in which they work, measured through 10 dimensions: six job resources (autonomy, administrative support, professional development support, coworker support, parent support, and shared governance) and four job demands (workload, student engagement, student behavior, and organizational demands).

Teaching Certificate Level

A level which indicates where teachers are in the certification process. Levels include pre-initial, initial, conditional alternative route, and other annual or temporary certificate levels that lead to a professional certificate once all requirements for full certification have been met. Some certificate levels, like international certificate, cannot lead to a professional certificate.

Teaching Certificate Pathway

Teaching certificate information which describes the route a teacher takes to become certified. Pathways include undergraduate, graduate, alternative certification, career and technical education, critical needs, and reciprocity.

Undergraduate Pathway

A certificate pathway where teachers earn a bachelor’s degree in education from an approved educator preparation program at a South Carolina college or university, complete student teaching as part of their degree requirements, and earn passing scores on required certification exams. After graduation, they are eligible for an initial teaching certificate.

Warrant Certificate

An educator certificate level issued to teachers who have not passed the required teaching exams or the required professional education courses. The South Carolina Department of Education stopped issuing this type of certificate in 1976.

Workload

A measure of teacher experiences regarding time-related pressures that interfere with instructional responsibilities and professional duties, including covering for absent staff, managing large classes, and fulfilling non-instructional obligations during or after the school day.