Encouraging Our Community and Retaining Our Educators

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the challenge of retaining high quality, committed teachers from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. https://inallthings.org/encouraging-our-community-and-retaining-our-educators

NEPC Review: Autonomous Schools Can Help Solve the Problem Behind the Teacher Shortage Problem (Progressive Policy Institute, October 2022)

The Progressive Policy Institute published a report highlighting the emergence of widespread teacher staffing shortages. It describes contemporary &ldquo;autonomous&rdquo; school initiatives, which all fall under the umbrella of positioning teachers with greater decision-making responsibilities and authority. It then suggests that such initiatives are effective strategies to remedy shortages because increased autonomy produces greater job satisfaction for teachers. However, supporting evidence for the claims in the report is thin and relies primarily not on empirical literature, but on popular contemporary readings and descriptive surveys. Policymakers and other readers should be aware that what is ignored in this report is far more important to informed policy than what it contains.</p

Standardized Isn\u27t Standardized: Eliminating the ACT for Teacher Education Admission

As nationwide teacher shortages continue to grow (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018; Garcia & Weiss, 2019; Sutcher et al., 2016), the standards for which a teaching candidate is admitted into teacher education programs have continued to remain steadfast in rigid assessment scores and vast amounts of “hoop-jumping” for potential teacher education candidates who otherwise meet all of the academic and nonacademic requirements, with the exception of standardized assessments, such as the SAT or ACT (Ingersoll, et al., 2014; Lankford et al., 2014). After potential candidates with high GPAs, satisfied criteria, and dreams of becoming a teacher were being rejected, in the same week they received a Dean’s Honor Roll letter, faculty began to question key assessments used to admit students. In addition, key accreditation bodies (i.e., CAEP) loosened their qualifications regarding candidate selection and admission

Reflecting on Modern Public-School Teacher Experience: An Overview of Select Challenges Facing the Educator Workforce with an Emphasis on Teachers of Color

New demographic research shows that the school-aged population in the U.S. is rapidly diversifying in terms of student racial and ethnic identity. However, as the educator workforce also diversifies, teachers of color are less likely than White teachers to remain in the profession and persist at their current school. This backgrounder reviews a growing body of research outlining the multiple social and academic benefits associated with increasing diversity in the educator workforce. In addition, research on school working conditions, with a specific focus on accountability reforms and practices, and its impact on the retention of teachers of color is discussed. The backgrounder concludes by framing additional areas of research related to the current experiences of teachers and the workforce.Educatio

Editors\u27 Notes

Editors\u27 Note

Why Principals Hire Recent Graduates from a Teacher Preparation Program

Principals want to hire the most qualified teacher when positions are open at their schools. Oftentimes a preservice teacher, who recently earned their teaching certificate is their first choice. The purpose of this research was to look at the satisfaction level of elementary, middle-level, and high school principals who hired graduates from a local teacher preparation program at a nationally accredited 4-year baccalaureate-granting university in Leeward O‘ahu. The methodology utilized in the study includes four individual face-to-face interviews. Questions were asked to determine 1) desired qualities principals look for when hiring a new teacher and 2) what a local teacher preparation program does well to prepare future teachers to have a positive impact on student learning. The findings suggest that principals were highly satisfied with local graduates because they demonstrate life-long learning, leadership skills, technology skills, connect with diverse student populations, and are part of the community. In this study, the local teacher preparation program is meeting the expectations of principals. Nevertheless, further investigations into this research are important to understand more about the rationale principals use to hire new teachers

2022 TCPEA Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Research Summary

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of administrative support on teachers in Title I schools during the Coronavirus pandemic. This study added to the knowledge base by providing information on teachers\u27 work experiences in Title I schools during the Coronavirus pandemic. This study included a review of data collected from interviews of elementary teachers in a Title 1 district. A purposeful sample of 12 teachers who worked in Title 1 elementary schools during the Coronavirus pandemic were interviewed. The interviews provided an in-depth understanding of the teachers’ perceptions on administrative support during the pandemic in Title 1 schools. The findings of this study showed that administrative support has a significant role in influencing on teachers’ perception of teaching, self-efficacy, decreasing stress, cultivating positive school culture, and lessening teacher burnout. The recommendations include ways district and school level administrators can create a collaborative learning environment where teachers and students are successful