The Reference Desk, using available evidence and research, provides quick-turnaround responses to questions submitted by education stakeholders around the Northeast and Islands Region. Every Friday, REL-NEI highlights one or two questions submitted to its Reference Desk.
Recent Research and Findings on Teacher Retention
The Reference Desk received this question from a group working with the New York State Education Department on high-quality teachers and alternative pathways to teacher certification in high-demand areas (Math, Science, Special Education, English Language Learners). The Reference Desk received a number of questions regarding teacher retention and incentives as the 2008-2009 school year came to a close.
Question
What types of incentives for attracting teachers to and retaining them in high-need schools and hard-to-staff subject areas and grade levels have been studied? Which of these incentive types have been proven effective or to have promising results, and which have not?
Research Synopsis
The Reference Desk found research largely focusing on financial incentives. Other types of incentives—working conditions, physical environment, relationships with administrators and others, adequacy of resources such as time and materials, and mentoring and induction programs (for beginning teachers)—are beginning to be examined as well.
Publicly Available Resources
- Teacher Retention at Low-Performing Schools: Using the Evidence. SERVE Center for Continuous Improvement at UNC-Greensboro; December 2006; ERIC ED498833; 3 pages.
Source: ERIC
This research update summarizes three studies addressing issues related to teacher retention. One study examined North Carolina’s use of a yearly bonus to certified math, science, and special education teachers working in high-poverty and at-risk secondary schools. The study found that, on average, the bonus reduced turnover rates of the targeted teachers by 12 percent; experienced teachers were most likely to respond to the program; and, in many cases, principals did not know about the program.
- Eight Questions on Teacher Recruitment and Retention: What Does the Research Say? Allen, M.; September 2005; 8 pages.
Source: Education Commission of the States
This report found that “the research provides strong support for the conclusion that compensation plays a key role in the recruitment and retention of teachers. Not surprisingly, the research indicates that increasing compensation tends to increase the rate of teacher retention, but this relationship is not a simple one. Compensation has a varying impact on retention depending on other factors such as teachers’ gender, level of experience, and current job satisfaction. There is moderate evidence that working conditions may, in some cases, trump salary as a factor in teacher retention, and it is the relative salary between districts that is the important consideration. The research evidence is inconclusive as to whether limited career-advancement opportunities in teaching contribute to attrition.”
- The Workplace Matters: Teacher Quality, Retention, and Effectiveness. Johnson, S.M.; July 2006; National Education Association; 23 pages.
Source: ERIC
This research review explores how the context in which teachers work contributes to their willingness to enter and remain in teaching and to their success or failure in the classroom. The author discusses research findings indicating that “once teachers are in the classroom, they are more likely to report that they would leave teaching because of poor working conditions than because of low pay” (page 3). She also cited a 2004 study from Buckley, Schneider, and Shank of survey data from urban K–12 teachers that found “facility quality” to be an important predictor of teachers’ decisions to leave their current position. These researchers concluded that “the benefits of facilities improvement for retention can be equal to or even greater than those from pay increases” (page 15).
- Developing the “Compendium of Strategies to Reduce Teacher Turnover in the Northeast and Islands Region”: A Companion to the Database. Ellis, P., Grogan, M., Levy, A.J., Tucker-Seeley, K.; U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Issues & Answers Report, REL 2008–No. 052; September 2008; 40 pages.
Source:
National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
This report provides state-, regional-, and district-level decision-makers in the Northeast and Islands Region with a description of the Compendium of Strategies to Reduce Teacher Turnover in the Northeast and Islands Region, a searchable database of selected profiles of retention strategies implemented in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
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