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Improving Teacher Retention With
Supportive Workplace Conditions
Teacher retention is a persistent issue in school improvement. While it
is true that some degree of teacher turnover in schools is both healthy
and inevitable, the exodus of large numbers of teachers over time
diminishes the overall capacity of a school to serve its students. In
addition, it creates new problems related to recruiting and inducting
new teachers. Statistics show that small schools, urban schools, and
schools serving high-minority, high-poverty populations are
particularly at risk of losing teachers (Marvel, Lyter, Peltola,
Strizek, & Morton, 2007).
While states and districts are experimenting with various programs to
encourage retention, one body of research highlights the importance
of supportive working conditions. Factors such as time, leadership,
professional development, access to resources, and teacher empowerment
all exert a significant influence on the degree of satisfaction
teachers feel in their jobs. Recent research indicates that “teachers
with positive perceptions about their working conditions are much more
likely to stay at their current school than educators who are more
negative about their conditions of work, particularly in the areas of
leadership and empowerment” (Hirsch & Emerick, 2007, p. 14).
Studies of Workplace Environment
Time
Teachers at all grade levels typically have less than
an hour a day of designated planning time to prepare for multiple
teaching periods. The majority of teachers surveyed in South Carolina
report spending more than five hours per week outside the school day on
school-related activities such as grading and parent conferences (Hirsch, 2005).
Johnson (2006) writes that the lack of time to plan, teach, and assess
not only creates stressful work conditions, it diminishes the quality
of instruction.
By altering schedules, schools are
finding creative ways to provide more instructional time for students
and noninstructional time for teachers to plan and collaborate with
peers. Practices that ensure productive and focused use of this time
should also be implemented.
Johnson (2006) advises that administrators take care to
ensure “fair and appropriate” teaching assignments. Responsibility for
several different courses, split assignments between several schools,
and excessive teaching loads all consume what limited time a teacher
may have. These situations can contribute to diminished morale,
effectiveness, and ultimately commitment.
Strategies for Time
- Lengthen the school day to generate time for early release or additional planning days.
- Employ paraprofessionals or permanent substitute teachers who can
assist with administrative tasks, lead small-group activities, or cover
class periods.
- Consult with teaching staff to ensure course and student loads are fair and reasonable.
Principal Leadership
Positive and supportive leadership by principals matters to teachers.
Leadership in South Carolina, “identified by more than one-quarter of
teachers as the most crucial working condition in making their
decisions about whether to stay in a school, was significantly
predictive of teacher retention” (Hirsch, 2005, p. 12). When comparing
schools with high and low turnover rates, Hirsch & Emerick (2007)
found the greatest variation in leadership and empowerment. More than
half of those who left the teaching profession in 2004–05 indicated
they receive better recognition and support from administration in
their new jobs, as did 41 percent of teachers who left the classroom
for a noninstructional position in the field of education (Marvel et
al., 2007).
One recent survey highlighted the importance of trust between
administrators and teachers and found it to be strongly correlated with
teacher turnover. Among the attributes associated with trust were the
communication of clear expectations to parents and students, a shared
vision among faculty, consistent administrative support for teachers,
and processes for group decision making and problem solving (Hirsch
& Emerick, 2007). Administrative support for student discipline
also is an issue of considerable importance to teachers. Surveys
indicate student behavior is a reason teachers leave or seriously
consider leaving the profession (Coggshall, 2006). Principals as
instructional leaders can enhance workplace conditions by attending to
teachers’ professional need for clear and consistent discipline
policies, instructional support, and recognition.
Strategies for Principal Leadership
- Recognize teacher accomplishments; communicate support for and
belief in the role of teachers as experts in instruction and learning.
- Work with teaching staff to devise and implement clear discipline policies and procedures.
- Regularly update the school community on policies and initiatives.
Empowerment and Professional Influence
Historically, teachers have been permitted to make instructional
decisions within their classrooms but have experienced much less
influence in other school functions.
Teachers derive greater satisfaction from their work when they are able
to contribute to decisions such as scheduling, selection of materials, and professional development experiences. Studies
show that of teachers leaving the classroom, more
than half report greater control over their own work and the ability to
exert greater influence over workplace policies and practices in their
new position (Marvel et al., 2007).
One avenue to engage teachers in a collaborative decision-making
process is a school improvement team. Analysis of survey results in
North Carolina suggests that the effectiveness of a school improvement
team at the middle and high school levels has an effect on teacher
retention (Hirsch & Emerick, 2007). Another avenue for teachers to
expand their influence is through varied instructional leadership
roles. Johnson (2006) claims there is “growing interest today in
differentiated roles, which would provide teachers a chance to extend
their professional influence” (p. 14). Some schools and districts have
instituted positions allowing for a reduced course load while
fulfilling other obligations such as peer review and coaching.
Strategies for Empowerment and Professional Influence
- Develop differentiated instructional roles in schools, such as assistants, mentors, coaches, and supervisors.
- Establish formal and informal opportunities to garner teacher input
on the design and implementation of school and district policies and
procedures.
- Engage school improvement teams in substantive and collaborative decision making.
Professional Development
Ensuring that teachers have continued opportunities to develop skills
to meet the diverse needs of learners contributes to a positive and
supportive working environment. In the first-year phase-in of the
Arizona teacher working conditions survey, 55 percent of teachers rated
“effectiveness with the students” as the most important factor
influencing employment decisions (Hirsch & Emerick, 2006, p. 11).
Developing teachers’ abilities to educate students is at the core
of successful professional development. School communities should
analyze data and collaborate to identify and implement those practices
that the data suggest could improve student achievement. Johnson (2006) notes that teachers
increasingly are expecting to collaborate with peers. While a degree of
autonomy is appreciated by teachers, isolation from the support of
colleagues can have a detrimental effect on teacher satisfaction,
effectiveness, and retention.
Strategies for Professional Development
- Engage teachers in determining the structure and content of
professional development by using data to examine the needs of diverse
learners and struggling students.
- Promote models of professional development, such as study groups, critical friends groups, and action research.
Curricular Resources
Teachers’ perceptions of their working environment are affected by the
level of instructional resources available to them. A supportive
workplace provides the curricular infrastructure teachers need to teach
effectively. Material resources are needed to give life to curricular
standards and to support instruction.
Teachers generally support standards-based teaching and learning.
However, many lack adequate material or support to successfully
implement a standards-based curriculum (Johnson, 2006). A curriculum
begins with standards but also includes pacing guides, outcome
expectations, formative and summative assessments, rubrics, textbooks,
unit and lesson plans, and supports such as instructional interventions
for struggling students. Teachers new to the profession regularly spend
many hours outside the school day locating or creating curricular
materials—often at their own expense. These teachers operate in
“survival mode,” staying just ahead of their students and scrambling to
add flesh to the skeleton of standards. As instructional approaches are
adopted by districts and schools, leaders must consider what new and
veteran teachers will need in hand to effectively implement them and
take steps to provide those resources.
Strategies for Resources
- Build a bank of locally developed standards-based lesson plans and assessments for all teachers to access.
- Engage community-based organizations, parent teacher associations,
and school boards to identify how community resources can support
student learning outside the school day.
- Train instructional staff on the implementation of texts and curriculum materials.
Conclusion
Teachers leave the classroom for a variety of reasons. Administrators
have little control when teachers leave because of
retirements, family responsibilities, or health issues, but administrators can
positively affect workplace conditions. Research supports attending to
workplace conditions as a means to retain teachers. When teachers are
given adequate time to prepare, are respected as professionals, and are
properly supported, they are more likely to remain in the profession.
References
Center for Teaching Quality. (n.d.). Teacher working conditions toolkit. Retrieved June 22, 2007, from
http://www.teacherworkingconditions.org/
Coggshall, J. G. (2006). Prospects for the profession: Public opinion research on teachers. Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. Retrieved June 22, 2007, from
http://www.ncctq.org/publications/October2006Brief.pdf
Hirsch, E. (2005). Listening to the experts: A report on the 2004 South Carolina teacher working conditions survey. Chapel Hill, NC: Southeast Center for Teaching Quality. Retrieved June 22, 2007, from
http://www.teachingquality.org/pdfs/TWC_SCFinalReport.pdf
Hirsch, E., & Emerick, S. (with Church, K., & Fuller, E.). (2006). Arizona
teacher working conditions: Designing schools for educator and student
success. Results of the 2006 phase-in teacher working conditions survey. Hillsborough, NC: Center for Teaching Quality. Retrieved June 22, 2007, from
http://www.teachingquality.org/pdfs/twcaz2006.pdf
Hirsch, E., & Emerick, S. (with Church, K., & Fuller, E.). (2007). Teacher
working conditions are student learning conditions: A report on the
2006 North Carolina teacher working conditions survey. Hillsborough, NC: Center for Teaching Quality. Retrieved June 22, 2007, from
http://www.teachingquality.org/pdfs/twcnc2006.pdf
Johnson, S. M. (2006). The workplace matters: Teacher quality, retention, and effectiveness. Washington, DC: National Education Association. Retrieved June 22, 2007, from
http://www.nea.org/research/bestpractices/images/wcreport.pdf
Marvel, J., Lyter, D. M., Peltola, P., Strizek, G. A., & Morton, B. A. (2007). Teacher attrition and mobility: Results from the 2004–05 teacher follow-up survey.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 22,
2007, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/2007307.pdf
Administered by Learning Point Associates in partnership with the
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) and WestEd, under
contract with the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of the
U.S. Department of Education.
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