Education Commons^™

Developing A Partnership In Teacher Preparation Program Between Colleges, Universities And School Districts: A Policy Advocacy Document, Leah Gauthier

Dissertations

Teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate. Many are unprepared for the rigors of the job, and others become overwhelmed with new initiatives. This problem is due in part to school districts in Illinois not currently being a part of the teacher preparation accreditation process for colleges and universities. This policy advocates for creating that partnership. The findings indicate that doing so will build expertise for the new teachers and help them stay in the classrooms. This, in turn, will help improve student achievement.

Meeting The Needs Of Teachers As Whole Learners, Amanda Lea Britt

Theses and Dissertations from 2017

This exploratory study investigated the applicability of the Whole Child/Whole Learner concept to the teaching profession. Utilizing open-ended questions on a web-based questionnaire that was completed by secondary-level teachers throughout Arkansas, this pragmatic qualitative inquiry obtained information about teachers’ experiences in, and attitudes toward, the teaching profession. The constant comparative method was used to analyze participants’ responses to open-ended questions; patterns and themes that emerged through the data were then examined through the lenses of the five tenets of the Whole Child/Whole Learner approach. Of the five, ‘safe’ was the tenet that arose least frequently in participants’ responses. ‘Healthy,’ ‘engaged,’ …

Retaining Highly Qualified Teachers Through Leadership Support In Secondary Mathematics, Wilbur Powell

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind Act was enacted to improve low performing schools. One of the proposed answers to the problem was that all schools would have “highly qualified” teachers, especially in the subjects of mathematics and science. This study was aimed at helping school administrators retain their highly qualified mathematics teachers in their urban schools. The topic for this study was seeking to understand the factors related to school administrators retaining highly qualified mathematics teachers at the secondary level. Therefore, my study examined the lens of leadership factors that related to the retention of secondary mathematics teachers. The study …

Through The Lens Of Novice Teachers: A Lack Of Administrative Support And Its Influence On Self-Efficacy And Teacher Retention Issues, Pamela Talley

Dissertations

Novice teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate. The purpose of this research is to understand the organizational sources that novice teachers perceive as being a lack of administrative support. This phenomenological study explored the perceptions of ten, novice, middle school, and high school teachers, based on their lived experiences, toward the phenomenon of administrative support and how it influenced their career making decisions.

Guided by the theoretical framework of Dr. Victor Vroom’s (1964), expectancy theory, Robert M. House’s, (1971) path-goal leadership theory, Bandura’s (1977) social cognitive and self-efficacy theories, this study set out to investigate how novice …

Supporting Novice Teachers: Peer Coaching And Collaborative Inquiry As Support, Rotonya Rhodes

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine what happens when a peer coaching with collaborative inquiry model is implemented with novice teachers. The goals of the study include examining the peer coaching process as described by teachers, and understanding the relationships between novice teachers and their peer coaches based on the novice teachers’ perspectives. This study employs a qualitative case study methodology, in which the group of novice teachers represents the case bounded by the peer coaching process. The study uses individual interviews, a focus group interview, and teachers’ written reflections with 11 participants to address the research …

Why Do They Stay? Exploring The Factors That Contribute To New Jersey Tfa Alumni Remaining In The Classroom Beyond Their Two-Year Commitment, Shavon Chambers

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

In the United States, there are more than 600 alternate route programs, including Teach for America, providing school districts with hundreds of new teachers every year (Feitritzer, 2009). The shortage of highly qualified teachers, particularly in urban school districts, is an ongoing concern in education and one not easily solved by investment in recruitment and hiring given that in urban school districts half of the new teachers will leave within three years (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003) Despite evidence of the challenges of teacher retention and attrition, many teachers, including those in alternative certification programs like TFA, decide to remain in …

Catholic School Identity: Perceptions That Influence Teacher Retention, Karen Germany Jakuback

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of various factors, especially Catholic school identity factors, which are important to them and may influence their job satisfaction and retention in Catholic parochial schools after year five of their teaching career. An additional purpose of this study was to inform Catholic school administrators about factors that may assist them in sustaining a climate, culture, and organizational structure that influences teachers to remain in the Catholic school setting.

School climate is often used as a broad term that refers to teachers’ perceptions of their general work environment. The cohesion …

An Investigation Of The Variables That Impact The Strength Of Arkansas Public Schools' Educator Workforce, Ivy Lynn Pfeffer

Theses and Dissertations from 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine the variables that impact the strength of the educator workforce in Arkansas's High Poverty/ High Minority schools and to determine if current allocations, expenditures and uses of Title II, Part A funds impact a district's ability to recruit and retain quality teachers, identified as ‘excellent' teachers in this study. This study used a quantitative data analysis approach to describe and test relationships. The researcher selected a total of 126 schools from 37 Arkansas school districts for the study based on the school’s reported poverty and minority status in yearly Cycle 2 submissions …

An Exploration On Perceptions Influencing Teacher Retention In Urban School Settings As Gauged By Kouzes And Posner's Leadership Model On The Principal's Leadership Styles And The School Climate, Tamika Danielle Singletary-Johnson

Education Dissertations and Projects

Throughout this study, the researcher sought to find the key strategies needed to have positive teacher attrition. These findings were measured by the Kouzes and Posner (2002) Leadership Practice Inventory data, as well as staff focus group dialogue with selected school. The participant groups consisted of six elementary schools in a Southwest Virginia school system. Throughout the study, efforts have been made by division leaders to obtain and attract great teachers. Efforts were also made to keep great teachers. Neason (2014) estimated that “over 1 million teachers will move in and out of schools annually and between 40 and 50 …

Perceptions Of International Teacher Turnover In East Asia Regional Council Of Schools, Leon Michael Tkachyk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High teacher turnover has become a serious problem globally, in many international schools, and is a growing concern in segments of the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS). This persistent problem has a detrimental effect on student learning and upsets the culture of school communities. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory served as the framework for this qualitative case study research that examined the perceptions of EARCOS international overseas-hire teachers, to determine their beliefs regarding high teacher turnover in international schools. These questions gave direction to this study: What factors do international teachers in EARCOS member schools believe contribute to high teacher …