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Article Excerpt
In August 2005, Highland Elementary (a pseudonym) entered into a formal professional development school (PDS) relationship with our university. Teachers at Highland faced many challenges, including a high rate of student mobility and students with limited financial resources. Coupled with these challenges was the prevalence of teacher turnover. As we began our PDS relationship with Highland, our university wanted to engage in collaborative activities responsive to the needs of the school. Teachers voiced concerns about the alarming rate of teacher mobility and the implications for the climate of the school. Teachers who had taught at the school for an extended period of time had observed this exodus throughout several years and wanted to explore its roots. Therefore, teachers asked if we, as university partners and researchers, could support them in a collaborative inquiry with the purposes of investigating why teachers leave (mobility) as well as why teachers stay (retention) at this school.
The PDS is a form of collaborative partnership between an institution of higher education and a K-12 school whose function is school improvement through a transformative learning community of educators (Darling-Hammond, 2005; Teitel, 2003). Central to this partnership is the practice of collaborative inquiry, which seeks to strengthen schools and support the growth and development of teachers by studying and assessing teaching-learning processes (Pajak, 1999; Teitel, 2003). One area for school improvement, particularly in schools serving high-needs populations, is the retention of teachers (Guarino, Santibanez, & Daley, 2006; Nieto, 2003). Teacher retention has been linked to PDS models, but these studies largely focus on benefits for preservice teachers completing a teacher preparation program with PDS experiences, with little attention to teachers in K-12 PDS settings (Latham & Vogt, 2007).
Although collaborative inquiry is an essential element of the PDS model, hierarchical power structures in school organizations can thwart the efforts of teachers as researchers (Johnston, 1997). Within the organizational framework of public school settings, questioning of status quo practices is sometimes equated with insubordination (Sarason, 1971); therefore, teachers need to feel safe in their professional environment (i.e., supported by administration) before being able to engage in systematic inquiry (Snow-Gerono, 2005). As university researchers supporting teachers in a shared inquiry, we felt impelled to remain attentive to the risks teachers could encounter while exploring such a sensitive topic of study. From the onset, a recursive research design was used that could be modified at any time.
Related Research
A pressing concern within the field of K-12 education is the retention of teachers; approximately one third of new teachers leave the profession in their first 3 years, with only 40% to 50% remaining at the end of 5 years (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). In 2001, about 15% of public school teachers either changed schools or positions within the profession (mobility) or left the field of education entirely (attrition) (Luekens, Lyter, & Fox, 2004). The turnover ratio in public schools is moderately higher than most other occupations, which according to the Bureau of National Affairs (1998; cited in Ingersoll, 2001) averaged about 11% per year in the 1990s.
Teacher turnover has significant implications for the education profession because it contributes to organizational instability and high levels of uncertainty in educational settings (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). Moreover, the continuity of school reform efforts is highly sensitive to teacher stability (Fullan, 2001). Annual expenditures for recruiting and replacing teachers usurp funding that could otherwise be used for classroom resources, teacher salaries, and facilities (Minarik, Thornton, & Perreault, 2003). There is also strong evidence that teachers who leave the profession early are often among the best and the brightest (Henke, Chen, Geis, & Knepper, 2000; Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2002; Podgursky, Monroe, & Watson, 2004). Because teacher quality is one of the most significant predictors of student achievement (Greenwald, Hedges, & Laine, 1996; Verstegen & King, 1998), this trend is alarming.
A recent review of the literature on teacher mobility, attrition, and retention focuses on two domains: individual and organizational characteristics (Guarino et al., 2006). Ingersoll (2001) argues that researchers have focused predominantly on individual characteristics (i.e., years of teaching experience, educational background, gender) as factors contributing to attrition, with much less research on organizational factors and mobility. Our study addresses this gap in the literature. Notable organizational variables affecting teachers' decisions to stay or leave their schools include administrative support, student characteristics, decision-making opportunities, pressure associated with high-stakes testing and accountability, and teacher morale.
Luekens et al. (2004) published the most recent national study of teacher mobility, attrition, and retention. Conducted with a 2000-2001 data sample, the authors report that a significantly higher proportion of teachers left the profession between 1999 and 2001 than in previous national studies. During this time, the combined teacher mobility and attrition rate was about 15%. Using the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS), the researchers surveyed more than 8,000 public and private school teachers. The most common reasons related to teacher mobility were (a) finding a better teaching assignment (40%), (b) dissatisfaction with support from administrators (38%), and (c) dissatisfaction with workplace conditions (32%).
Student body characteristics and school location (e.g., urban vs. suburban) have been associated with teacher turnover. Using data from the national SASS of 1991 and the TFS of 1992, Shen (1997) conducted a discriminant analysis on three groups of teachers: movers, leavers, and stayers. Teachers working in schools with a higher proportion of students of color and students receiving free or reduced lunches were much more likely to relocate to a different school or leave teaching altogether. He also found that stayers, when compared to movers and leavers, had more influence over school policies and decision making, and their administrators were more aware of teachers' problems. These findings are consistent with Fullan's (1993) assertion that educator turnover is highest in schools where decision making is nondemocratic.
Although little research has linked the trickle-down effects of federal accountability policies with teacher mobility, attrition, and retention, a study found that "low-performing" schools experienced much higher rates of teacher turnover in the first 2 years following statewide implementation of a high-stakes accountability system (Clotfelter, Ladd, Vigdor, & Diaz, 2004). The results showed schools labeled as low performing (i.e., 50% of students not meeting performance standards and not achieving specific growth standards) had higher turnover rates than similar schools without this label, calling into question the practical intentions of assigning such labels to schools.
Higher levels of teacher morale have also been linked with retention. Using regression analysis on a national data sample of 1st-year teachers, Weiss (1999) found teachers' levels of satisfaction with key organizational characteristics, such as class size, school leadership and culture, and teacher autonomy and discretion, were highly related to perceived morale. More specifically, perceptions of school leadership and culture along with teacher autonomy were the strongest predictors of 1st-year teachers' decisions to remain in teaching. Teachers who felt they were empowered to make choices about pedagogy, discipline methods, and curriculum development were most likely to stay.
Ingersoll (2001) studied three organizational variables related to teacher attrition and mobility: (a) level of administrative support (as measured by teachers' perceptions of assistance with student discipline, instructional methods, curriculum, and adjusting to the school environment), (b) degree of conflict and strife within the school organization, and (c) extent of teacher input into and influence on school policies (i.e., selecting curriculum, topics and skills to be taught, teaching techniques, and content of in-service programs). Regression analyses on SASS and TFS data indicated two important findings. First, schools with a more supportive administration had significantly lower teacher turnover. Second, schools where teachers were allowed more autonomy and influence on decision making had significantly higher retention rates. An additional finding was that high-poverty schools were much more prone to mobility and attrition than affluent schools.
Research Questions
Our study focuses on organizational factors related to why teachers leave and remain at a particular school. This study addresses the need for more evidence related to teacher mobility rather than the more prevalent focus on teacher attrition (Ingersoll, 2001). This study also seeks to add to the current literature, composed predominantly of large-scale quantitative studies, by using a mixed-methods design allowing for in-depth analysis within one particular school context. More specifically, our study moves beyond the surface of quantitative trends and brings to the forefront local context and meaning of a particular setting. By using this methodology, we want to uncover the complex ways in which schools contribute to teachers' decisions to stay or leave. Our research questions are as follows:
1. What are teachers' perceptions of factors contributing to teacher retention at a PDS?
2. What are teachers' perceptions of factors contributing to teacher mobility at a PDS?
Methodology
Participants and Setting
This study involved 134 teachers at a large, suburban elementary school in the southeastern United States. To address teachers' concerns around anonymity and confidentiality, the specific demographic background of the participants was not requested during data collection. Published data on this school indicated teachers' years of teaching experience as follows: 43% with 5 years or less, 27% with 6 to 10 years, and 30% with more than 10 years. Regarding the educational background of the teachers, 52% had at least a master's degree.
Highland is a Title I school with 88% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch at the time of this study. The student population was highly diverse, with 59% Hispanic, 23% African American, 11% Asian, and 4% Caucasian students. Seventy-two percent of the students were nonnative English speakers, and 47% of the student population was served by the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Highland had a 50% student mobility rate per year, with only 15% of fifth-grade students attending since first grade. In 2002, this school was removed from the state's failing-schools list and had achieved adequate yearly progress (AYP) goals for the subsequent 3 years.
In August 2005, Highland entered into a PDS relationship with our university. This formal partnership was established in the context of the university's receiving a large federal grant to support the development of PDS relationships with high-needs schools. From the onset, administrators at Highland were significantly committed to building and sustaining a PDS. Prior to this time, Highland was considered a partnership school where the university placed student interns. In preparing for the 2005-2006 academic school year, Highland teachers and administrators, as well...
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