Fostering Relationship to Increase Teacher Retention in Public Schools

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Recommended: Methods of professional development

Many states such as New England have begun to experience the effects of teacher shortages in the areas of Math and Science (Fowler, 2009). The teacher attrition rates have become a problem to many administrators and educators with teachers leaving at twice the rate of nurses and five times the rate of lawyers. Prior work by Ingersol and Perda, have revealed that the annual attrition rate has risen by 19-26% (Jennifer, 2010). As a result, educators spend more money in fast track programs that many researchers believe do not solve the problem. Instead, they contribute to the issue by bringing more inexperienced teachers into the classroom. Despite the promising results of professional developmental programs, these programs can be very costly and can take time to determine their full usefulness. The author believes there are alternatives that do not require costly techniques but instead models and actions that education administration can adopt to increase teacher retention. Instead of focusing on the reasons teachers leave the field, the author takes a different approach by examining the dynamics that cause teachers to stay in the field pass their five year mark.
This is clearly a theory-based research due to the use of the ground theory which involves the development of a theory through a body of data. The study was qualitative in nature, based on inductive reasoning and subjects were matched (criteria of 4- 6 years of teaching experience). Although individuals were picked randomly and attempts were made to avoid bias, there were no controls involved in the design. Participants for this study were made up of teachers chosen from several elementary schools in a Midwestern city. The sample size consisted of 378 individuals tha...

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...ondly, there were no control groups, if teachers were analyzed on why they stayed, there should have been a control of why teachers leave the field. Thirdly, the article states there was a diverse study but it is hard to accomplish when there were 6 white teachers, and only 2 black teachers and the cultural barriers were not addressed. Some of the determinants of a sound study such as the reliability and internal validity are not present and although the study holds promising solutions, one cannot generalize the results of the research.

Works Cited

1. Fowler. R. C. (2009). Educators without Borders: Addressing New England's Teacher Shortages. New England Journal of Higher Education, 24(1), 10-11.

2. Jennifer. H. W. (2010) Fostering Relationships to Increase Teacher Retention in Urban Schools. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 4(1), 70-85.

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