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Full-Text Articles in Education
Why Teachers Remain Teaching In Rural Districts: Listening To The Voices From The Field, Nancy L. Leech, Carolyn A. Haug, Eleanor Rodriguez, Molly Gold
Why Teachers Remain Teaching In Rural Districts: Listening To The Voices From The Field, Nancy L. Leech, Carolyn A. Haug, Eleanor Rodriguez, Molly Gold
The Rural Educator
Retaining teachers is a problem in all districts but is especially difficult in rural areas. This survey research asked teachers in a western state to respond to open ended questions regarding their choice for teaching in a rural or urban area. Results indicate teachers work in a rural locale because they grew up in the area, already lived there as an adult, and/or had a spouse/partner with a job in the area. Both rural and non-rural teachers cited the importance of a positive school environment with supportive administrators and good working conditions. Teachers stated inadequate working conditions at school affected …
Will They Stay Or Will They Go? Leadership Behaviors That Increase Teacher Retention In Rural Schools, Matthew Frahm, Marie Cianca
Will They Stay Or Will They Go? Leadership Behaviors That Increase Teacher Retention In Rural Schools, Matthew Frahm, Marie Cianca
The Rural Educator
Hard-to-staff rural schools often struggle to attract and retain promising educators. Experts have consistently identified administrative support in rural schools to be of unique importance for recruitment and retention, yet a lack of clarity continues to surround the specific leadership behaviors that new teachers interpret as supportive. This qualitative study collected data from three focus groups; including superintendents, principals, and teachers in a program for aspiring administrators; and found that rural schools have to try much harder and in more active ways to retain new teachers because of the constraints existing within rural education. Rural school support for new teachers …
Leveraging The Perspectives Of Rural Educators To Develop Realistic Job Previews For Rural Teacher Recruitment And Retention, Henry Tran, Suzy Hardie, Simone Gause, Peter Moyi, Rose Ylimaki
Leveraging The Perspectives Of Rural Educators To Develop Realistic Job Previews For Rural Teacher Recruitment And Retention, Henry Tran, Suzy Hardie, Simone Gause, Peter Moyi, Rose Ylimaki
The Rural Educator
Rurality is perceived by many to be a deficit or challenge when it comes to teacher recruitment and retention. However, recently, some have argued that moving away from a deficit model and treating rurality as an asset may hold promise for teacher staffing. Drawing on Person-organization (P-O) fit theory, we extend this argument in our study by investigating the perceptions of teachers from the rural Lowcountry of South Carolina, a region with documented severe teacher shortages, concerning rural teaching advantages and challenges. These reflections provide the data necessary to develop realistic job previews (RJP) that can be highlighted in the …
The Relationship Of Georgia's Rural Foreign Language Teachers' Sense Of Efficacy To Teacher Attrition, Peter Swanson, Robin Huff
The Relationship Of Georgia's Rural Foreign Language Teachers' Sense Of Efficacy To Teacher Attrition, Peter Swanson, Robin Huff
The Rural Educator
Foreign language teachers are in critical need in many parts of rural America. Using Bandura's conceptual framework of self-efficacy teaching languages as a theoretical lens, the researchers created a scale to measure foreign language teacher efficacy and administered alongside a well-known efficacy survey to in-service rural teachers (N = 167) in Georgia. Data analysis indicates that the new instrument is psychometrically sound and there are two dimensions to language teacher efficacy: Content Knowledge and Facilitating Instruction. Positive correlations between the two surveys suggest that teaching languages requires more than just strength of content knowledge and FL teachers may need assistance …
Strategies For Recruitment And Retention Of Secondary Teachers In Central U.S. Rural Schools, Andrea D. Beesley, Kim Atwill, Pamela Blair, Zoe A. Barley
Strategies For Recruitment And Retention Of Secondary Teachers In Central U.S. Rural Schools, Andrea D. Beesley, Kim Atwill, Pamela Blair, Zoe A. Barley
The Rural Educator
This study sought to identify differences in strategies used for teacher recruitment and retention by successful and non-successful rural high schools. According to data from the 2003-2004 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), small towns and rural areas in the central U.S. states did have relatively more difficuly in recruiting teachers than did larger communities. However, when the successful and unsuccessful school districts were compared on the strategies and benefits included in the SASS, the only difference was with signing bonuses, which were offered significantly more often in the unsuccessful group than the successful group. The researchers also interviewed seven principals …
An Examination Of Resiliency In Rural Special Educators, Gregory C. Zost
An Examination Of Resiliency In Rural Special Educators, Gregory C. Zost
The Rural Educator
Retention of rural special education teachers is a dilemma for many school districts. Districts in rural areas suffer from a lack of qualified special educaiton teachers. Therefor, the problem of having enough qualified special educators is not easily solved. Many rural distrits are able to hire teacher candidaes, but fail to retain them for various reasons. Building resiliency in new teachers and educators during the first several years of teaching may be part of the answer to addressing the high rate fo teacher turnover in rural areas. This paper summarizes highlights from research completed with rural Nebraska teachers on th …
Retaining Experienced, Qualified Teachers: The Principal’S Role, Jean M. Haar
Retaining Experienced, Qualified Teachers: The Principal’S Role, Jean M. Haar
The Rural Educator
One process for retaining experienced, qualified teachers is to provide them with opportunities to grow professionally (Blasé & Blasé, 2001). The intent of this paper is to provide information about meeting the needs of experienced, qualified rural teachers, especially in the area of professional development. A story line of one rural science teacher’s journey with professional development opportunities and experiences is shared. Her principal’s role is also described. Also included is a comparison between the teacher’s experiences and research about professional development. The paper concludes with recommendations for those involved in rural schools, especially in administrative positions will be shared. …
Teacher Retention In A Teacher Resiliency-Building Rural School, William W. Malloy, Tawannah Allen
Teacher Retention In A Teacher Resiliency-Building Rural School, William W. Malloy, Tawannah Allen
The Rural Educator
This article focuses on the challenge of teacher retention in rural schools in relation to the No Child Left Behind mandate, that school districts must attract and retain highly qualified teachers. This case study examines the extent to which a rural school enhanced teacher retention by overcoming the barriers that might otherwise have presented a challenge to teacher retention. Findings from this study suggest that the nurturing the nurturers concept, inherent in teacher resiliency-building schools, enhances teacher retention strategies.
Rural Education: Attracting And Retaining Teachers In Small Schools, Jerry M. Lowe
Rural Education: Attracting And Retaining Teachers In Small Schools, Jerry M. Lowe
The Rural Educator
For many small rural school districts across America, the effort to attract and retain quality teachers continues to be a major concern. Schools located in what are considered to be “hard to staff” areas experience the most difficult. While not all communities face the problems of inadequate teacher supply, many small and rural school districts recognize this as a continuing critical issue. A variety of factors contribute to the problems of recruiting and retaining teachers in small and rural school. This article will address the most common causes of high turnover rate among teachers in the rural schools and offer …