Addressing Teacher Retention within the First Three to Five Years of Employment (original) (raw)

Experiences of Early Career Teachers and Their Influences on Teacher Retention

2016

Nationwide, the attrition rate for beginning teachers is near 50%. As a result, school districts are counting the costs and paying attention to teacher retention in new ways. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of ten early career teachers and four of their mentors to discover how those experiences influenced their decision to remain in the teaching profession. Data was collected through personal interviews with early career teachers and their mentors from one large Oregon school district. Several important findings emerged which have relevance for school leaders, school district leaders, mentoring and induction program coordinators, and the state legislature. The data analysis revealed strong relationships were the main theme and foundation upon which all strategies for teacher retention were based. Participants articulated the influence of the school principal had a significant impact on a teacher’s decision to remain in a specific school and in th...

Questioning the Research on Early Career Teacher Attrition and Retention

2016

In this paper, we consider scholarly work on early career teacher attrition, and retention, from 1999 to 2010. Much of the literature has framed attrition as either a problem associated with individual factors (e.g., burnout), or a problem associated with contextual factors (e.g., support and salary). Some recent conceptualizations consider early career teacher attrition as an identity- making process that involves a complex negotiation between individual and contextual factors. On the basis of our review, we suggest the need to shift the conversation from one focused only on retaining teachers, toward a conversation about sustaining teachers. This shift offers the possibility of new insights about teacher education and about the kinds of spaces needed on school landscapes to sustain and retain beginning teachers. Cet article porte sur les travaux académiques évoquant l'attrition et la rétention des enseignants en début de carrière entre 1999 et 2010. Une part importante de la l...

Improving Teacher Retention through Support and Development

Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2020

Teacher attrition is a considerable burden for students and school leaders. Therefore, it is important for administrators to develop policies which increase retention rates. The purpose of this study is to explore teacher retention policies utilized by highly effective school districts. Through the use of semi-structured interviews with three key central office figures who oversee personnel, we explore each district's strategies for increasing teacher retention. Interestingly, our findings suggest that successful schools did not have explicit teacher retention policies. Rather, they have policies which promote teacher voice, supported teacher induction and development.

Investing in Teacher Support Leads to Teacher Retention: Six Supports Administrators Should Consider for New Teachers

Multicultural Education, 2019

The purpose of this grounded research study was to discover the significant supports that help teachers remain in teaching. The researchers surveyed 60 teachers and interviewed 10 teachers who received significant support in the first years of their teaching experience. The researchers were interested in knowing if the level of assistance and support enhanced the teachers’ perceived instructional performance and their longevity in teaching. Additionally, did the research-based instructional techniques and strategies these teachers were introduced to in the early years of service remain pivotal in their later years of teaching?

Why do they stay? Elementary teachers' perceptions of job satisfaction and retention

The Professional Educator, 2008

The purpose of this study was to identify intrinsic and extrinsic variables that influence teacher job satisfaction and retention. A survey was sent to 300 randomly selected Missouri public elementary schoolteachers in grades K-5 having 5 or more years of teaching experience. The results from 201 respondents suggest that three intrinsic motivators (personal teaching efficacy, working with students, and job satisfaction) were perceived to significantly influence satisfaction and retention, while two extrinsic motivators (low salary and role overload) did not have any effect. Using multiple linear regression and qualitative analysis, the findings show that teachers who experienced satisfaction at their school and/or satisfaction with the profession of teaching were more likely to remain. No relationship was found between satisfaction with the job of teaching, suggesting that retention was determined by teacher satisfaction with the profession and not with work-related duties.

Teachers' Career Decisions: Perspectives on Choosing Teaching Careers, and on Staying or Leaving

Issues in Educational Research, 2015

For early-career teachers in particular, teacher attrition and retention has been the focus of international research. We aimed to provide a more holistic view of teacher attrition and retention in an Australian educational context by including the perspectives of a cross-section of current and former teachers with various lengths of teaching service. We explored the similarities and differences in considerations about past career decision points reported by the teachers in different groups. Australian teachers (N = 133) who were staying in teaching (n = 59), or undecided about staying (n = 34), and former teachers who had changed careers (n = 40) completed free-response questionnaires about their decisions to choose and to stay in (or to leave) teaching careers. Thematic analysis suggested that three overarching themes were salient across all three groups of teachers at different decision points in the career. These overarching themes were personal fulfilment, practical considerations, and lack of alternatives or barriers to change. Strategies to retain teachers should aim to foster collegial relationships, address workload, respond to needs for job security or flexibility, and provide new opportunities within teaching.

Beginning Teachers: In Danger of Attrition

1993

This study examined the relationship between environmental factors of teaching climate for beginning teachers and the desire to remain in teaching. Data from 23,088 Public School Teacher Questionnaires from the Schools and Staffing Survey longitudinal database were analyzed to determine the effect of environmental demographic factors (administrative support, enforcement of rules, staff cooperation, adequacy of resources, student achievement level, after-school work load, gender, age, marital status, and second thoughts about career choice) on the intention to stay in teaching for 3,000 beginning elementary public school teachers. All variables listed except staff cooperation were related to beginning teachers' decisions to remain in teaching. Beginning teachers who were single, female, and older than the norm were especially susceptible to the stresses and isolation of elementary school teaching. The presence of administrative sppport and the adequacy of resources to do one's job far outweighed the negative influence of discipline problems and unending paperwork. The study confirmed that it is crucial for beginning teachers to have a support system to enhance their teaching experience. (Contains 27 references.) (JDD)

Selected North Carolina Beginning and Veteran Teachers' Perceptions of Factors Influencing Retention and Attrition

2013

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine factors that impact teacher retention in public schools in the southeast region of North Carolina. Additionally, the purpose was to identify variables that influence beginning teachers' decisions to leave and veteran teachers' decisions to stay in the teaching profession. The 10 participants were former and current teachers employed in the State of North Carolina between 2008 and 2011. The research revealed that teacher support, working conditions, and student behavior were among the leading factors impacting beginning teachers' decisions to leave the profession prior to tenure. The emerging issues in this study were consistent with other research findings from previous studies. The results from this study suggest that district leaders need to create mentoring programs for beginning teachers.

Teacher career paths, teacher quality, and persistence in the classroom: Are public schools keeping their best?

Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2010

CALDER working papers have not gone through final formal review and should be cited as working papers. They are intended to encourage discussion and suggestions for revision before final publication. The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research and educational organization that examines the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Any errors are attributable to the authors.