Jennifer Butcher, PhD Proposal Defense, Dissertation Chair, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis

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An Examination of Factors Related tothe Job Satisfaction and Retention of

Alternatively Certified TeachersA Dissertation Proposal

Presented by

Jennifer Butcher

Dissertation Committee

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD., ChairDonald R. Collins, PhD., Member

David Herrington, PhD., Member

Ronald Howard, PhD., Member

October 2008



Introduction

• The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001(NCLB) requires that all academic teachersbe highly qualified.

• Taking proactive steps to prepare andretain highly qualified teachers requiressystematic effort of education, mentorship,and motivation (Rosenow, 2005).



Introduction

• Teacher attrition and job shortagesare largely due to teacher

dissatisfaction and pursuit of other jobs (Ingersoll, 2001).

• Studies have shown that higher

employee satisfaction leads toincreased customer satisfaction(Rosenow, 2005).



Background of the

Problem• Statistics gathered over a five yearperiod indicated that approximately25,000 people, per year, were certified

to teach through alternative routes(Feistritzer & Chester, 2003).• Effective alternative teacher

certification programs should have astrong academic course workcomponent, field–based learning in theclassroom, and support from qualifiedmentors (Feistritzer & Chester, 2003).



Statement of the Problem

• Due to the teacher shortage and the influx of new teachers from alternative certificationprograms, it is important to address the

problem of attrition and identify strategies thatfocus on the retention of alternatively certifiedteachers.

• There is a need to determine if currentalternative certification programs and school

districts are providing the training, support,and continued monitoring of alternativelycertified teachers.



Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is toexamine factors related to the job

satisfaction and retention of alternatively certified teachers.

This study will examine factors

related to alternatively certifiedteachers’ decision to enter andremain in the teaching profession.



Research Question

Quantitative

1. What trends are occurring in the

comparative numbers of alternativelycertified teachers and the numbers of traditionally certified teachers over aperiod of five years within a selected

urban district?



Research Question

Quantitative

2. Is there a relationship between the

percentage of alternatively certifiedteachers and the percentage of traditionally certified teachers in theelementary schools of a selected urban

school district?



Research Questions

Qualitative

1. What do alternatively certified teachers

report to be the reasons for enteringthe teaching profession?

2. What do alternatively certified teachersperceive to be the factors that assisted

in their development as teachers?



Research Questions

Qualitative

3. What do alternatively certified teachersperceive to be the factors that hinderedtheir development as teachers?

4. What do alternatively certified teachersreport to be the reasons that they haveremained in the teaching profession?



Research Questions

Qualitative

5. What do alternatively certified teachers

report about their early educatorpreparation experiences?

6. What strategies does the selectedurban school district employ to identify

and utilize factors that encourageteacher job satisfaction and retention?



Null Hypothesis

Ho1: There is no statisticallysignificant relationship in the

comparative numbers of alternatively certified teachersand the numbers of traditionally

certified teachers over a period of five years within a selected urbandistrict.



Null Hypothesis

Ho2: There is no statisticallysignificant relationship between

the percentage of alternativelycertified teachers and thepercentage of traditionally

certified teachers in theelementary schools of a selectedurban school district.



Theoretical Framework

• One theory guiding this study is derivedfrom the economic labor market theoryof supply and demand.

• In the same vein, Frederick Herzberg’s theory of

motivation and job satisfaction which was

developed from his studies of engineers and

accountants complements the supply and demandtheory.



Theoretical Framework

Retention

Employment

Opportunities

Job

Satisfaction

Dearth

of

Teachers

Alternatively

Certified

Teachers



Significance of the Study

• Provide alternative certification programs withinformation regarding areas of concern thatcan be incorporated into their programs.

• Provide mentors with information on how theycan better guide the novice teachers.

• Provide administrators with informationregarding the critical role that alternativelycertified teachers have on their campus.

• Provide district human resources directors withinformation regarding the needs of alternatively certified teachers.



Assumptions

• Interviews will provide informationwith reasons why alternativelycertified teachers remain in the

teaching profession.• Respondents of the study will honestly

give the reasons for alternativelycertified teachers job satisfaction and

retention.• Data will be recorded and analyzed

accurately by the investigator.



Limitations of the Study

• Research will reflect only on oneurban school district in Texas.

• Data will only be obtained fromelementary schools within theselected urban school district.



Chapter II

Review of Literature



No Child Left Behind

• The language in the bill states schools areexpected to hire only “highly qualified”teachers, ensure that all teachers are

assigned to teach in their field, are fullylicensed, and meet other criteria outlinedin the law (Trahan, 2002).

• Alternative route certification programsare one example of states’ and cities’

attempts to fill urban classrooms withhighly qualified teachers (Easley, 2006).



Alternative CertificationPrograms

• Alternative teacher certification hasbecome an increasingly popularstrategy for addressing both teacher

quality and teacher shortages (Darling-Hammond, 2005).

• One out of four Texas teachers hired inthe last three years came into the

teaching workforce through alternativecertification (May, Katsinas, and Moore,2003).



Recruitment of Teachers

Principals are often reluctant to hirealternatively certified teachers because of the amount of work and support required

and problems that these teachers mayhave with regard to discipline, lessonplanning, student interaction,assessments, and instructional strategies

in their first one to two years in theclassroom (Wang, 2007).



Recruitment of Teachers

Improving working conditions andsalaries are helpful steps toward

recruiting an adequate number of teachers, but giving them chancesto learn and grow as they practice

their craft is the best way to retainquality teachers in our nation’sclassrooms (Gray & Smith, 2005).



Induction / Mentoring

A number of studies have foundthat well-designed mentoring

programs raise retention rates fornew teachers by improving theirattitudes, feelings of efficacy, and

instructional skills (Darling-Hammond, 2003).



Professional Development

• Essential for teachers to receive currentinformation in the field of education.

• Allows an opportunity for teachers’ tostrengthen weak areas.

• Should be a priority in developing acampus plan.

• Opportunities to enhance one’steaching ability will lead to meeting theneeds of the students (Trahan, 2002).



Teacher Retention

• According to Greiner & Smith (2004), studiesfound links between teacher retention andstate mandated teacher certification scores

and teacher education preparation programs.• Teachers’ feelings about administrativesupport, resources for teaching, and teacherinput into decision making are strongly relatedto their plans to stay in teaching and to their

reasons for leaving (Darling-Hammond, 2000;Ingersoll, 2001).



Job Satisfaction

The main contributors to high levels of teacher job satisfaction are workingwith children (particularly where

teachers can develop strongprofessional relationships), theintellectual challenge of teaching andemployee autonomy and

independence (Spear, Gould, and Lee,2000).



Chapter III

Methodology



Research Design

Research Method – Mixed methods

using a complementary design. This

includes descriptive and correlationalanalysis of existing data as well as data

obtained from open-ended interview

questions and surveys.



Research Design

• Trend analysis will be used to identifythe staffing patterns comparingalternatively certified teachers to

traditionally certified teachers.• Trend analysis refers to the concept of

collecting information and attempting tospot a pattern, or trend, in the

information.• Descriptive trends will be used to

examine emerging trends.



Subjects of the Study

QuantitativeQuestion 1:• Alternatively and Traditionally Certified

Teachers from 65 schools in a selected districtQuestion 2:• Alternatively and Traditionally Certified

Teachers from 30 elementary campuses in a selecteddistrict

Qualitative• Alternatively Certified Teachers with 3 or more years of

teaching experience from 30 elementary campuses in a

selected district• 15 Mentors• 15 Administrators• 2 Human Resources Directors



Instrumentation

• The researcher developed a questionnaire thatwill be used to collect data related to theattitudes of alternatively certified teachers inregards to their retention in the field.

• A semi-structured interview technique will be

used to collect data from selected alternativelycertified teachers, mentors, administrators,and human resources directors.



Validity and Reliability

A pilot study will be conducted forthe questionnaire and interview

guide to ensure reliability. Itemswill be reviewed for logical validity.



Data Collection andRecording

• The questionnaires will be delivered viaelectronic mail to the alternativelycertified participants. Information

pertaining to distribution and due dateswill also be included with the delivery.• Responses will be coded to assure

identity protection.• Data from the questionnaires will be

placed in tables and graphs.• Data from the district and respondents

will be secured in a bank vault for seven years.



Quantitative

Qualitative Qualitative

• Demographic Data of Alternatively Certified Teachers• Comparative Numbers of Alternatively Certified Teachers and Traditionally

Certified Teachers (Over a five year period as reported by a selected urbandistrict)

• Percentages of Alternatively Certified Teachers and Traditionally Certified Teachers(In the elementary schools of a selected urban district)

Interviews of Alternatively CertifiedTeachers, Mentors, School

Administrators, and HumanResources Directors

Questionnaires of AlternativelyCertified Teachers

Analysis of Data



Analysis of Data (Quantitative)

Correlational

ResearchQuestion 1

Hypothesis IndependentVariables

DependentVariable

StatisticalMeasurement

What trendsare occurring in

thecomparativenumbers of alternatively

certifiedteachers and

the numbers of traditionally

certifiedteachers over aperiod of fiveyears within aselected urban

district?

There is nostatistically

significantrelationship in

the comparativenumbers of alternatively


the numbers of traditionally

certifiedteachers over aperiod of fiveyears within aselected urban

district.

Two Groups:

1) AlternativelyCertifiedTeachers

2) TraditionallyCertifiedTeachers

Pearson’s rcoefficient

of correlation

Number of Alternatively

CertifiedTeachers

andTraditionally

CertifiedTeachers



Analysis of Data (Quantitative)

Correlational

ResearchQuestion 2

Hypothesis IndependentVariables

DependentVariable

StatisticalMeasurement

Is there arelationship

between thepercentage of alternatively


the percentageof traditionally

certifiedteachers in the

elementaryschools of theselected urban

district?

There is nostatistically

significantrelationship inthe percentageof alternatively


the percentageof traditionally

certifiedteachers in the

elementaryschools of theselected urban

district.

Two Groups:

1) AlternativelyCertifiedTeachers

2) TraditionallyCertifiedTeachers

Pearson’s rcoefficient

of correlation

Percentage of Alternatively

CertifiedTeachers

andTraditionally

CertifiedTeachers



Analysis of Data (Qualitative)Surveys/Questionnaire

& Interviews

Data will bepresented in

tabular form toshow categories& frequencies.The weighted

mean will becomputed for

retentionfactors.

Responses forquestions will be

categorizedinto emergentthemes. These

will be presented

in tabular formshowing the

categories withcorresponding

frequencies andpercentages.

Inputs from theselected teachers,mentors,administrators, andHR directors willbe identified,summarized andexplained.



References

• Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Solving the dilemmas of teacher supply, demand, and quality. New York:

National Commission on Teaching and America’sFuture.

• Darling-Hammond, L. (2003). Keeping good teachers:

Why it matters, what leaders can do. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 7-13.

• Darling-Hammond, L. (2005). Prepping our teachers forteaching as a profession. The Education Digest , 22-27.

• Easley, J. (2006). Alternative route urban teacher

retention and implication for principals’ moral leadership.Educational Studies, 32(3), 241-249.• Feistritzer, C.E., and Chester, D. T. (2003). Alternative

teacher certification. National Center for EducationInformation.



References

• Gray, D.L. & Smith, A.E. (2005). No teacher left behind.Kappa Delta Pi Record, 42(1), 7-9.

• Greiner, C.S. & Smith, B.S. (2004). Determining the effectof selected variables on teacher retention. Education,126(4), 653 -659.

• Hoy, W.K. and Miskel, C.G. (2005). Educationaladministration: Theory, research, and practice. New York,NY: McGraw-Hill.

• Ingersoll, R. (2001). Teacher turnover and teachershortages: an organizational analysis. AmericanEducational Research Journal, 38(3), 499-534.

• May, P.B., Katsinas, S.G., and Moore, L. (2003).Alternative teacher certification programs and Texascommunity colleges. New Directions for Community College, 121.



References

• Rosenow, D. (2005). Stress, burnout and self-esteemamong educators. Journal of Border EducationalResearch, 4, 87-90.

• Spear, M., Gould, K., and Lee, B. (2000). Who would be ateacher? A review of factors motivating and

demotivating prospective and practicing teachers(Slough, UK, NFER).

• Trahan, C. (2002). Implications of the no child left behind act of 2001 for teacher education.Washington, DC. (Eric Document Reproduction ServiceNo. ED477723).

• Wang, C. (2007). The alternate route teachers’transition to the classroom: Preparation, support, and

retention. NASSP Bulletin 91(1) 98-113.

Documents

Jennifer Butcher, PhD Proposal Defense, Dissertation Chair, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis