skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Attention:

The NSF Public Access Repository (PAR) system and access will be unavailable from 11:00 PM ET on Friday, November 14 until 2:00 AM ET on Saturday, November 15 due to maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


  • NSF Public Access
  • Search Results
  • A descriptive analysis comparison of retained vs. non-retained novice secondary science teachers in four U.S. states from 2007-2018.
Title: A descriptive analysis comparison of retained vs. non-retained novice secondary science teachers in four U.S. states from 2007-2018.
The issue of science teacher retention, with specific emphasis on the problem of retaining novice science teachers has a unique presentation in the United States, where conditions of employment vary widely across the over 18,000 local education agencies, and teachers enter the classroom through an assorted array of pathways that may or may not include teacher preparation programs. The question investigated in this study is: Across different U.S. states, are there categorical differences between teachers who are identified as being retained (i.e. stayed with an employer at least 4 out of first 5 years) and those who were not? Using state-level staffing data sets in four U.S. states, this study presents a descriptive analysis of the differences between teachers who were retained and those who were not, both in terms of characteristics and contexts. Findings include large differences between states, but very few within states, including starting salary. Wisconsin had a far higher rate of teacher retention than other states in the study. There was a higher rate of retention in districts that had a science department size of between 25-50 people as compared with smaller or larger departments.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1758282
PAR ID:
10540996
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
https://www.montclair.edu/imprest/
Date Published:
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Research in Science Teaching)
    Abstract This study uses state‐level staffing data to analyze the five‐year career trajectories of all 231 first‐year secondary science teachers in New Jersey who began teaching during the 2010‐2011 school year. The person‐position framework for studying teacher retention is introduced in this analysis, and the authors present a case for the importance of specifying both location and duration in empirical reporting on teacher retention, as well as distinguishing between the employers’ and individual teachers’ perspectives on retention. In the cohort studied here, the 5‐year retention‐by‐employer rate was 38%, but the retention‐in‐profession rate for those actively teaching was 65%. An additional 24% of science teachers changed districts during or immediately after their first year, and were retained in their second districts for four or more years. 16% of the science teachers in the cohort identified as non‐White or Hispanic and these teachers were retained at similar rates to their White/non‐Hispanic counterparts. Alternate route preparation programs attracted many more secondary science teachers who identified as non‐White or Hispanic, but teachers from these programs had a far lower 5‐year retained‐in‐profession rate (45%) than non‐White or Hispanic traditional route teachers (75%). It was more common for science teachers in higher SES districts to transfer to lower SES districts than the reverse. The position turnover rate for science teachers was slightly lower in higher SES districts. As a category, charter schools had the lowest 5‐year science teacher retention rate (13%). There was no identifiable relationship between the age, sex, subject area certification, or starting salary of science teachers and the measures of retention used in this study. The authors discuss the characterization of retention itself in research, including the use of descriptors related to retention. Implications relating to science teacher education policy are discussed, as is the future use of state‐level data systems in retention research. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; (, NARST Annual Meeting (Virtual))
    This paper theorizes teacher retention using the framework of job-embeddedness, and analyzes the case of a school district in New Jersey where science teachers have been retained at a much higher rate than most other school districts in the state during the focus period of the study (2007-2018). The research team interviewed 18 individuals in the district, including administrators, novice science teachers, mentor science teachers, retained science teachers, and the induction program coordinator. Other data collected included publicly available district documents, and documentation related to the mentoring and induction efforts provided by the district induction coordinator. The primary goal of the site visit was to better understand the factors that may have influenced teacher retention during the focus period of the data and to also investigate current practices around the mentoring and induction of new science teachers. Four factors were identified as salient to the high science teacher retention rate in the district: 1) collaborative and supportive colleagues in the science department, 2) the overall culture of the school, students, and community, 3) hiring and induction practices, and 4) ample resources for teaching and professional growth. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, International Journal of STEM Education)
    Abstract BackgroundTeacher turnover is a dire and chronic problem for many education systems across the globe. According to UNESCO, 70% of teachers will be replaced by 2030. This study investigates the relationship between the retention of science and mathematics teachers and factors related to human, social, structural, and positive psychological capital—a four-capital teacher retention model. More specifically, this study explores how teaching self-efficacy, leadership engagement, teacher-school fit, diversity beliefs, community connections, and professional social network characteristics (e.g., size, bridging, proximity, reach) relate to teacher retention. Additionally, potential differences in retention and the aforementioned factors related to the four-capital model between Master Teaching Fellows (MTFs) and their peers (non-MTFs) with similar human capital (demographics and experience) are explored in this study. Participants were K-12 science and mathematics teachers (85 MTFs and 82 non-MTFs) from six different regions across the U.S. MTFs participated in one of seven long-term (5–6 years) Robert Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship Programs funded by the National Science Foundation. ResultsLeadership engagement was positively associated with shifting (from teaching to a formal leadership position). Teacher-school fit was negatively associated with leaving. For secondary teachers, teaching self-efficacy was positively associated with shifting to a leadership position. Leadership network size, bridging, and geographic proximity variables were positively related to shifting when compared to staying as classroom teachers. Teaching network bridging and leadership network bridging were positively related to leavers when compared to stayers. MTF shifters were likely to shift earlier in their careers than non-MTFs. Lastly, MTFs had higher self-efficacy, geographically larger teaching networks and leadership networks, and more contacts and bridging roles in their leadership networks than non-MTFs. ConclusionFindings provide support for teacher leadership programs in promoting leadership roles and responsibilities for STEM teachers and retaining teachers in STEM education either in the classroom or in administrative roles. These findings suggest that school administrators may also play a key role in encouraging teachers to engage in leadership activities and have a broader impact on public education by, for example, adopting a hybrid model of leadership roles that involves classroom teaching. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; (, https://www.montclair.edu/imprest/)
    This research reports on the results of a 5-year study undertaken in the United States to better understand the reasons for novice science teacher retention in school districts and other local educational agencies that have demonstrably high rates of such retention. The primary question investigated in this study was, “In districts that have demonstrated comparatively more successful novice science teacher retention, what are the factors that relate to such retention?” Two additional aims were to report on factors that were specific to schools or districts that were identified as “high-need” by the U.S. Department of Education. The second was to focus on the unique factors reported as relevant to the retention of novice science teachers of color. Analysis of state-level school staffing data between 2007-2018 from four U.S. states was used to identify districts with exemplary novice science teacher retention, and focus districts (n=13) were selected for qualitative site visits and case study construction. The proposed paper presents the findings of this cross-case analysis of the 13 cases. Our analysis, informed by the framework of teacher embeddedness, yielded 10 distinct categories of factors that influenced teacher retention across the case study districts: 1) support from departmental colleagues, 2) school/district-level systems and culture of support, 3) compensation, 4) teacher autonomy and agency, 5) specialness of place, 6) resources for teaching, 7) opportunity and agency for professional growth, 8) district and school-level race-consciousness, 9) affordances related to school size, and 10) personal satisfaction & rewards. Implications of specific aspects of the findings related to the retention of teachers of color and the role of mentoring and induction are discussed. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; (, https://www.montclair.edu/imprest/)
    This research reports on the results of a 5-year study undertaken in the United States to better understand the reasons for novice science teacher retention in school districts and other local educational agencies that have demonstrably high rates of such retention. The primary question investigated in this study was, “In districts that have demonstrated comparatively more successful novice secondary science teacher retention, what are the factors that relate to such retention?” Analysis of state-level school staffing data between 2007-2018 from four U.S. states was used to identify districts with exemplary novice science teacher retention, and focus districts (n=13) were selected for qualitative site visits and case study construction. The proposed paper presents the findings of this cross-case analysis of the 13 cases. Our analysis, informed by the framework of teacher embeddedness, yielded 10 distinct categories of factors that influenced teacher retention across the case study districts, including support from departmental colleagues, school/district-level systems and culture of support, compensation, teacher autonomy and agency, specialness of place, and five other factors. Implications of specific aspects of the findings related to the retention of teachers of color and the role of mentoring and induction are discussed. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email