Early childhood education (ECE) teachers in low socioeconomic communities often lack access to certification training, limiting program quality and student outcomes. This qualitative narrative inquiry explored ECE teachers’ perceptions of certification training through the stories of seven uncertified teachers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Findings reveal barriers including family responsibilities, time constraints, and limited awareness of certification pathways. Participants’ narratives illuminate how interactions with both online and traditional learning methods shape their perceptions of accessibility, relevance, and support within certification and degree programs. These insights highlight the importance of faculty responsiveness, instructional modality, and mentoring practices in influencing teachers’ engagement with higher education. Despite persistent challenges, teachers expressed confidence in their teaching abilities and recognized the potential value of certification. Implications include the need for targeted grants, institutional support, and intentional outreach particularly through flexible, online, and hybrid training and graduate programs made accessible to expand the certified workforce. This study contributes to the literature by centering the voices of uncertified teachers and highlighting strategies to address certification gaps while informing higher education faculty practices across online and traditional contexts.
Mohamed et al. (Wed,) studied this question.