Beginning Teachers: In Danger of Attrition (original) (raw)
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Teachers' perceptions of long-term career success are largely related to the levels of support they receive early on in their careers. This study on teacher retention and the factors that influence teacher choice to remain in the field after the first five years of employment, examined three schools of varying demographics and socioeconomic status in a large public school district in Central Florida. Participants interviewed were in the first three to five years of their teaching career. Information derived from each interview was used to determine trends and factors that influence teacher retention and attrition. The main finding was that when teachers feel supported through professional development, time for collaboration with colleagues, and autonomy, they are more likely to remain in the teaching profession.
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The purpose of this study was to identify differences in perceptions between three stakeholder groups – principals, K-12 teachers, and parents – regarding the effect of workplace conditions on teacher attrition. All three groups agreed that workplace conditions are important, but they disagreed about (a) which workplace conditions are most problematic for teachers, (b) the magnitude of these problems, and (c) the degree to which these problems may contribute to teacher leaving. The greatest disagreements occurred in perceptions of (a) teacher being involvement in decision-making, (b) protection of teacher preparation time, (c) administration’s management of student discipline, (d) adequacy of resource availability, (e) the degree to which a trusting and supportive school environment existed within the school, and (f) whether teachers’ expectations were reasonable. Overall, principals believed that work conditions are relatively good for teachers, while many teachers disagreed with t...
Background: Teacher quality plays a key role in student learning outcomes. Yet, data suggest that elite college graduates who enter teaching are less likely to stay in schools serving low-income and minority students compared to other teachers. Thus, many educators and policy makers agree that in order to equalize the playing field, recruitment, preparation, and retention of high quality teachers should become a high priority. Objective/Focus: This paper focuses on how beginning teachers’ passion, commitments, and knowledge to teach in urban public, Catholic, and Jewish schools interact with specific school conditions to shape their career choices. The study’s longitudinal dimension underscores the gradual shift that teachers make away from their preparation programs, highlighting how their professional growth becomes intimately associated with the conditions in their schools. Population/Setting: This longitudinal study included 30 randomly selected beginning teachers who graduated from three mission-driven teacher education programs located at elite colleges: UTEP at the University of Chicago, ACE at the University of Notre Dame, and DeLeT at Brandeis University. Research Design: We employed a comparative, longitudinal case based study of 30 teachers from three programs. Teachers were interviewed during their second and fourth year in teaching. Findings: This study demonstrates the ways in which professional cultures in schools may positively or negatively affect teachers in different school contexts. It illustrates the considerable impact school leaders have on the lives and career commitments of teachers. Finally, it confirms the positive impact that preparing teachers to teach in context (Context Specific Teacher Education) may have on teachers’ career commitments. Conclusions: In order to support teachers’ initial commitments to their schools and students, schools need to take a proactive approach. We emphasize the primary role of school conditions and argue that teacher preparation takes a back seat after several years in terms of its impact on teacher career choices. The findings still suggest that preparation can have some effect on teachers’ preparedness to 1. teach in culturally diverse environments and/or 2. adapt to challenging demands in hard-to-staff schools. We believe that over the years, preparation and school conditions get tightly interwoven with each other. Yet, the comparative design of this research enables us to point out that when teachers were not adequately prepared to teach in particular schools they were more likely to move from their schools in search for more hospitable conditions.
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This research investigated the experiences of new teachers employed in urban school districts and how these novice teachers’ perceived school district and school administrators’ support required to retain them as well as teacher’s perceptions of their pre-service experiences and/or induction programs necessary to prepare them for an urban environment. The three middle schools selected were characterized by high poverty, low academic achievement, and not meeting Average Yearly Progress. The research outcomes revealed that teachers did not feel they were adequately prepared for the urban setting and that they were not provided adequate support. Administrators also acknowledged that novice teachers were not prepared to succeed in an urban school setting since they lacked classroom management skills and strategies; they did not spend enough time in urban schools in their pre-service training; and many had limited or no experience with urban, at-risk students.
A Comparison of Beginning and Experienced Teachers' Concerns
Educational Research Quarterly, 2008
Over the past thirty years, numerous studies confirmed that new teachers do not have the requisite knowledge to understand the complex interrelationships among management, behavior, and academic tasks. An important missing piece in the literature is how the concerns of experienced teachers differ from those cited by beginning teachers. Based on previous research, this study compares beginning and experienced teachers' concerns with respect to managing classroom behavior, dealing with time constraints and work load, parent interactions, and academic preparation. This paper examines these complex relationships by comparing a national sample of beginning teachers to a national cross-section of experienced teachers to ascertain if beginning teachers' concerns diminish with experience. Significant differences were found on the Classroom Management and Parent Interaction scales while no differences were found on the Academic Preparation and Time Management scales. This study points to a number of issues important to teacher educators responsible for preparing candidates for initial certification as well as to school district personnel responsible for mentoring new teachers and strengthening professional development for in-service teachers.
Experiences of Early Career Teachers and Their Influences on Teacher Retention
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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...