Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Predicting Long-Term Success:
Correlates of Teacher Retention
Introductions ● Al Meyers – Program Director
● Deborah Dickerson- Program Coordinator
● Bruce Yelton – Program Evaluator
NC INSPIRE: A different sort of TTT Grant
• Centrally administered, distributed state-wide
• Four “fellow” cohorts
• Cooperation with state/federal teacher preparation initiatives including the NC New Teacher Project
• Multi-LEA and IHE collaborative
• Program supported teacher coaches
• External evaluator
About the NC INSPIRE Fellows Program ● Developed by the UNC Center for School Leadership
Development – UNC General Administration
● Funded by a Transition-to-Teaching grant from the US Department of Education
● The Purpose is to recruit, prepare, support, and license highly qualified mid-career professionals and recent college graduates to teach the high-need subject areas of Math, Science, and Special Education in high-need North Carolina schools as Lateral Entry teachers.
NC INSPIRE Partners UNC Campus Schools of Education
● East Carolina University ● UNC Charlotte ● Western Carolina University
NC INSPIRE Partners Local School Districts
Alamance-Burlington Schools Hickory Public Schools Pitt County Schools
Buncombe County Schools Hertford County Schools Polk County Schools
Caldwell County Schools Hoke County Schools Roanoke Rapids City Schools
Cleveland County Schools Jackson County Schools Rockingham County Schools
Craven County Schools Johnston County Schools Rowan-Salisbury Schools
Durham Public Schools Lee County Schools Rutherford County Schools
Gates County Schools Newton-Conover Schools Swain County Schools
Franklin County Schools McDowell County Schools Thomasville City Schools
Halifax County Schools Montgomery County Schools Transylvania County Schools
Harnett County Schools Person County Schools Warren County Schools
Teacher Retention Research • Deborah Ann Smith (2015) dissertation showed a relationship between teacher
demographics (preparedness, age, years of experience) and retention.
• Zumwalt & Craig (2005) Mid-career teachers (age) more likely to stay, frequently reported “breaks” in teaching.
• Goode, et al. (2004) teacher “agency” (active roles in school decision making) makes a difference in retention.
• Ingersoll (2001) working conditions (job dissatisfaction, “to change careers, or to move for a better teaching job”) and retention.
• Feistritzer (2009) one third of teacher workforce nationally alt-cert.
Teacher Retention Research • Cochran-Smith, et al. (2011).
– Teachers in math/science most committed, – Teachers with high college entrance exams most
likely to leave, – TFA and traditional retention comparable after two
years traditional higher afterwards, – Mentoring, personal expectations, administrative
support, collaboration, opportunity impact retention
Teacher Retention Research • Smith & Ingersoll (2004). The more support a
new teacher receives the greater the retention – A coach with the same content area background – Common planning time – Scheduled collaboration – External networking
What support do beginning teachers need to keep them in the classroom?
• Informal peer support- 80%
• Formal peer support- 75%
• Formal mentoring Programs- 80%
• School administrator Support- 89%
• Systemic evaluation of their work- 60%
Goldberg & Proctor (2000). A Survey of Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Job Satisfaction
Retention
Giacometti, 2005 Motivation
In-service Training
School Culture
External Forces
Preservice Preparation
Compensation
Emotional Factors
Research Questions: How do the variables described below
impact teacher retention?
• Academic qualifications [GPA, GRE, PRAXIS] • Age • Gender • Instructional level, school setting, and content area • Job satisfaction [support, context, mentoring]
Hypotheses • There will be no differences between “retained” and
“withdrawn” teachers due to: – Age, gender – Teacher qualification/preparadness – Instructional level, licensure content area, urbanity – Perceptions of support, job satisfaction/instructional
efficacy
Methodology
• Teacher of Record (TOR) database (demographic, context)
• NC INSPIRE eligibility records (preparation)
• Exit interview data (qualitative)
• Retained and Withdrawn Fellow survey (working environment, support, efficacy)
Methodology • Population of 72 current (53) and withdrawn (19) teacher fellows in four
cohorts.
• Survey returns for 31 teachers (43%), 37% current, 53% withdrawn
Setting Level of Schooling Frequency Percent
Elementary 12 16.7
Middle 28 38.9
High 32 44.4
Content Area Frequency Percent
Special Education 32 44.4
Science 23 31.9
Math 15 20.8
Social Studies 2 2.8
Age & Gender
Gender Frequency Percent
Male 23 31.9
Female 49 68.1
Age
Range 24-65 Years
Mean 38.3 Years
Preparation GPA
Range 2.58-3.90
Mean 3.27
Praxis
Range 158-189
Mean 167.7
Survey Questions Statement Strongly
Agree Agree Don’t Know
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
I plan on remaining in education for the next five years.
I feel that most parents of students in my school respect teachers as educational experts.
Leaders in my school allow teachers to have input into decision making.
I enjoy my work as a teacher on most days.
Teachers at my school are involved in school improvement planning.
School administrators enforce the school rules for students.
In my school problems get solved.
Most students in my school follow the expected rules of conduct.
Having the support of other teachers in this school was important in helping me through my first year of teaching.
Having a NC INSPIRE/NC NTSP coach was important in helping me through my first year of teaching.
Withdrawn Yes No
I am currently employed in the field of education.
Statement Strongly Agree Agree Don’t
Know Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Please answer each statement based on experience as an NC INSPIRE fellow:
I feel that most parents of students in my school respected teachers as educational experts.
Leaders in my school allowed teachers to have input into decision making.
I enjoyed my work as a teacher on most days. Teachers at my school were involved in school improvement planning.
School administrators enforced the school rules for students.
In my school problems got solved. Most students in my school followed the expected rules of conduct.
Having the support of other teachers in my school was important.
Having a NC INSPIRE/NC NTSP coach was important in helping me.
Support, Working Conditions, Efficacy Survey Item Don’t
Know (0) Strongly Disagree
(1)
Disagree (2)
Agree (3)
Strongly Agree (4)
Mean
I feel most parents of students in my school respect teachers as educational experts.
3 1 4 14 8 2.77
Leaders in my school allow teachers to have input into decision making.
2 0 5 13 10 2.97
Teachers at my school are involved in school improvement planning.
3 0 2 14 11 3.00
School administrators enforce the rules for students at my school.
4 1 5 13 7 2.60
In my school problems get solved. 4 3 6 11 6 2.40
Most students in my school follow the expected rules of conduct.
1 3 4 17 5 2.72
Having the support of other teachers in my school was important in helping me through my first year of teaching.
0 0 1 8 21 3.67
Having an NC INSPIRE and/or NC NTSP coach was important in helping me through my first year of teaching.
0 0 1 6 19 3.69
Commitment to Education • I plan on remaining in education for the next five years.
– 80% of the current fellows “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that they planned on remaining teachers.
• I am currently employed in the field of education.
– 16% of the withdrawn fellows stated that they were currently involved in education in some capacity.
Hypothesis Testing
• Age – Significant relationship between age and retention (ANOVA, p=.020).
• Gender – No significant relationship
24-30 31-35 36-44 44-65
Retained* 73 85 54 50
Withdrawn 27 15 46 50
*percent
Hypothesis Testing- Teacher Preparation
Praxis Testing and Undergraduate GPA- No significant relationship
– Minimum GPA (2.5) required for program participation
– Significant missing data for Praxis (n=27)
Hypothesis Testing- Instructional Level, Licensure Content Area
• Licensure – Those in special education are significantly (Crosstabs,p=.045) more likely to be retained.
*percent
Instructional Level [Elementary, Middle, High] and Urban/Non-Urban settings– No significant difference.
Special Ed. Science Math
Retained 88 61 53
Withdrawn 12 39 47
Hypothesis Testing- Job Satisfaction, Mentoring
Statement F Significance
I feel that most parents of students in my school respect teachers as educational experts. .131 .721
Leaders in my school allow teachers to have input into decision making. 7,721 .010*
I enjoy my work as a teacher on most days. 12.005 .002*
Teachers at my school are involved in school improvement planning. 10.159 .005*
School administrators enforce the school rules for students. 4.473 .043*
In my school problems get solved. .233 .633
Most students in my school follow the expected rules of conduct. 6.089 .020*
Having the support of other teachers in this school was important in helping me through my first year of teaching. 2.213 .148
Having a NC INSPIRE/NC NTSP coach was important in helping me through my first year of teaching. 6.382 .019*
Factor Analysis • Two “factors” identified:
– Job satisfaction, 52% of variance • “teachers involved in improvement planning” • “enjoy teaching”
– Coaching, 18% of variance • “teacher support” • “NC INSPIRE/NCNTSP coaching”
Regression Analysis
Commentary and Feedback
Fellow Feedback
Coaching Job Satisfaction Personal
Retained 75% 25% 0%
Withdrawn 17% 66% 17%
Exit Interview Responses
Reason for Withdrawal Percent
Not Qualified 21%
Personal 16%
Relocation 8%
Not in High Risk School 7%
Working Conditions 6%
Dismissed 5%
Other Employment 5%
Commentary and Feedback
Sample Commentary • The administration at my school was present, but
they created more stress with their demeanor, language, and actions. They did not create a safe space where teachers could approach administrators for assistance - when we did, the outcome was often that the teacher was reprimanded.
Sample Commentary • (At my school at least), teachers were
expected to be social workers / parents / administrators / consumable suppliers / and more, as well as educators. The job required a sense of sacrificial duty. With a lot more funding, public schools might have a chance.
Sample Commentary
• During my first few years my coach was very helpful by introducing me to resources and teaching approaches that were relevant to my students and capabilities.
• My coach has provided me with everything I have needed to make sure my first years of teaching were great and that I stayed in the field of education; not only materials --but the confidence that I needed to make it work as a new teacher.
Conclusions • 16% of teachers identified as “withdrawn” were still in the field of education
supporting the suggestion that teachers take professional breaks (Zumwalt & Craig, 2005).
• There were significant differences between “retained” and “withdrawn” teachers due to: – Age (mid-career) – Licensure content area (special education) – Job satisfaction and – Coaching support
Conclusions • The strongest overall impact in this study is
associated with “job satisfaction”.
• This conclusion is supported by program records and teacher commentary.
References Cochran-Smith, Cannady, McEachern, Piazza, Power, & Ryan (2011). Teacher education, teaching practice and retention: A cross genre review of recent research. Feistrizter, C. E. (2009a). Teaching while learning: Alternative routes fill the gap. Edge (5)2. Goldberg, P. & Proctor, K. (2005). Teacher Voices: A Survey of Teacher Recruitment and Retention. Council of Chief State School Officers. Goode, T., Quartz, K., Barraza-Lyons, K. & Thomas, A. (2004). Developing teacher leaders: Exploring the multiple roles of beginning urban educators. Teacher Education and Practice, 17(4), 417-431. Giacometti, K. (2005). Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction and Retention of Beginning Teachers. Dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Ingersoll, R.M. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 499-534.
Smith, Deborah Ann, "The Relationship Between Professional Preparedness and Long Term Teacher Retention" (2015). Dissertations. 139. http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/139 Smith, T. M., & Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover? American Educational Research Journal, 41(3), 681-714. •Zumwalt & Craig (2005) Teacher Characteristics: Research on the Demographic Profile. Studying teacher education: The report of the AERA panel on research and teacher education (Cochrane-Smith, Zeichner eds.).
References
Contact the Authors Bruce Yelton, Ed. D. BYC Consulting, PO BOX 22, East Middlebury, VT 05740 704-904-6951 [email protected] Alan Meyers NC INSPIRE, Chapel Hill, NC 919-843-7303 [email protected] Deborah Dickerson NC INSPIRE, Chapel Hill, NC 919-843-7303 [email protected]
