University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Influence of teacher recruitment, retention, training, working conditions, and improvement of district support of 21st-century teaching and learning

(USC Thesis Other)

Influence of teacher recruitment, retention, training, working conditions, and improvement of district support of 21st-century teaching and learning

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content Running head: INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 1
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, TRAINING,
WORKING CONDITIONS, AND IMPROVEMENT OF DISTRICT
SUPPORT OF 21ST-CENTURY TEACHING AND LEARNING
by
Vivian Ekchian
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2019
Copyright 2019 Vivian Ekchian

INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 2
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this study to my parents, husband, son, and my sister and her
family who have offered unconditional love and encouragement throughout my life. This
accomplishment became a reality because of their endless support and belief in me.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 3
Acknowledgments
First, I must express enormous gratitude to my mentor and dissertation chair, Dr. Michael
Escalante, for his unwavering guidance throughout this experience. Second, I must acknowledge
my dear friend, Dr. Michelle King, who inspired and encouraged me to earn my doctoral degree
and served as a role model throughout her precious life. A special expression of gratitude goes to
Dr. Rudy Castruita and Dr. Erika Torres for serving on my committee and offering their valuable
feedback and insight.
I also would like to thank my thematic research partners, Christopher Downing and
Cheryl Hildreth, for their friendship and the opportunity to share this journey of inquiry and
learning with them.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 4
Table of Contents
Dedication 2
Acknowledgments 3
List of Tables 7
List of Figures 9
Abstract 10
Chapter One: Introduction 11
Background of the Problem 11
Statement of the Problem 12
Purpose of the Study 14
Overview of Methodology 14
Significance of the Study 15
Limitations of the Study 15
Delimitations of the Study 16
Definition of Terms 16
Organization of the Dissertation 17
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature 19
Recruitment 19
Hiring Practices 20
Subject Area Shortages 20
Hiring Sources 21
Incentives 22
Teacher Preparation Programs 24
Policy Barriers 25
Protections for High-Need Schools 26
Teacher Qualifications 27
Academic Background 27
Subject Matter Knowledge 28
Teacher Characteristics 28
Gender and Race 28
Licensure 28
Social Capital 29
Teacher Placement 30
The Impact of Seniority 30
Mandatory Assignments 31
Teacher Retention 32
Organizational Causes 33
Role of the Principal 35
Value of Teacher Development 36
Investment in Professional Development 36
Impact of Professional Development on Student Success 37
Conditions That Foster Growth 37
Teacher Best Practices 38
Teacher Evaluations 39
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 5
Theoretical Frameworks 40
Recruitment and Retention 40
Teacher Development and Motivation 42
Evaluation 42
Chapter Summary 43
Chapter Three: Research Methodology 45
Research Design 45
Convergent Parallel Mixed-Method Research 45
Quantitative Methods 46
Qualitative Methods 46
Population and Sampling 47
Research Team 48
Instrumentation 49
Access/Entry 49
Data Collection 55
Survey Protocols 55
Interview Protocols 56
Data Analysis 56
Credibility and Trustworthiness 57
Limitations 58
Ethical Considerations 58
Chapter Summary 59
Chapter Four: Results 60
Research Design 61
Participants 62
New Teachers 62
National Board Certified Teachers 62
Principals 64
Data and Analysis 64
Findings for Research Question 1 65
Hiring Sources 65
Financial Incentives 69
Social Media and Online Advertising 72
Summary Discussion for Research Question 1 72
Findings for Research Question 2 74
School Cultures and Working Conditions 75
Retention Incentives 77
Instructional Support 79
Summary Discussion for Research Question 2 84
Findings for Research Question 3 85
Teacher Training Programs 85
Professional Development 87
Administrator Impact 89
Summary Discussion for Research Question 3 93
Findings for Research Question 4 93
Collaborative School Improvement Models 94
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 6
Hybrid Teacher Leader Support 101
Differentiated Support for New and Surplus Teachers 105
Summary Discussion for Research Question 4 109
Chapter Summary 111
Chapter Five: Summary, Implications, Recommendations, and Conclusion 113
Purpose of the Study 114
Research Questions 114
Emergent Themes 115
Summary of Findings 116
Research Question 1 116
Research Question 2 117
Research Question 3 118
Research Question 4 119
Implications for Practice and Policy 120
Encourage Broad Involvement, Collaboration and Collective Responsibility With
HLIs 120
Address Factors Inside the School That Impact Teacher Retention 121
Teaching and Learning in Collaborative Settings 121
Recommendations for Future Research 122
Conclusion 123
References 124
Appendices
Appendix A: Recruitment Letter to Principals 135
Appendix B: Study Information Sheet 136
Appendix C: Qualitative Survey Protocol for School Administrators 138
Appendix D: Qualitative Survey Protocol for Teachers 142
Appendix E: Quantitative Data Collection Source: 2017-18 School Experience
(Teachers) 147
Appendix F: Qualitative Administrator Interview Protocol 150
Appendix G: Qualitative Teacher Interview Protocol 153
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 7
List of Tables
Table 1: Alignment of Qualitative Survey Protocols With Research Questions (RQs) and
Theoretical Frameworks 50
Table 2: Alignment of Interview Protocols to Research Questions (RQs) and Theoretical
Frameworks 52
Table 3: Alignment of Quantitative Survey Protocols With Research Questions (RQs)
and Theoretical Frameworks 54
Table 4: Summary of Participants, Their Organization/Position, and Data Type(s) 63
Table 5: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Impact of Higher Learning Institutes
(HLIs) in Recruitment Strategies in Hiring Effective Teachers, by Per-
centages 67
Table 6: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Impact of District-Implemented Recruit-
ment Strategies in Hiring Effective Teachers, by Percentages 70
Table 7: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of the Impact of Recruitment
Strategies (Advertising) in Hiring Effective Teachers, by Percentages 73
Table 8: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Differential Support
Strategies to Improve Students’ Achievement and Graduation Rates in a
Large Urban District, by Percentages 76
Table 9: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Financial Incentive
Strategies for a Large Urban District to Retain Experienced Teachers in
the System to Improve Students’ Achievement and Graduation Rates, by
Percentages 78
Table 10: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Teacher Instructional
Support Strategies for a Large Urban District to Retain New and Experi-
enced Teachers in the System to Improve Students’ Achievement and
Graduation Rates, by Percentages 81
Table 11: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Differentiated Support
Strategies for a Large Urban District to Retain New and Experienced
Teachers in the System, by Percentages 82
Table 12: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Strategies That Could/
Should Be Used to Improve the Postinduction Training of Teachers, by
Percentages 88
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 8
Table 13: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Strategies for a Large
Urban District to Improve District Postinduction Training, by Percentages 89
Table 14: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Frequency That Instructional Support
Strategies Were Implemented, by Percentages 91
Table 15: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Strategies That Could/
Should Be Used to Support the Effectiveness of Novice and Surplus
Teachers, by Percentages 96
Table 16: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Frequency That Collaborative Strategies
Were Used in Professional Development (Training, Grade- and
Department-Level Meetings, Etc.), by Percentages 97
Table 17: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Frequency That Professional Learning
Community (PLC) Strategies Were Implemented, by Percentages 99
Table 18: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Mentoring Support
Strategies That Could/ Should Be Used to Improve the Effectiveness of
Novice and Surplus Teachers, by Percentages 103
Table 19: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Differentiated Assign-
ments and Training Strategies That Could/Should Be Used to Improve the
Effectiveness of Surplus Teachers, by Percentages 106
Table 20: Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Differentiated Assign-
ments and Training Strategies That Could/Should Be Used to Improve the
Effectiveness of Novice Teachers, by Percentages 107
Table 21: Participants’ Responses Indicating Their Perceptions on the Differentiation of
Professional Development to Improve the Effectiveness of Teachers, by
Percentages 108
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 9
List of Figures
Figure 1: Teacher recruitment strategies, from internal to external, Los Angeles, 2016–
2017 school year 23
Figure 2: Teacher recruitment strategies—universities, 2016–2017 school year 23
Figure 3: Conceptual framework for study 41
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 10
Abstract
Teacher recruitment and retention problems hinder large urban school districts from
assigning the equitable number of quality teachers, thus further adding to the existing high-
caliber teacher shortage at historically underserved schools. In some school districts, policies on
seniority and transfer combined with inadequate administrator support, limited professional
development, and poor working conditions further intensify recruitment and retention challenges.
Successful efforts to increase teaching quality and student achievement require that
teachers teach in the fields for which they are prepared, have sufficient time to collaborate with
colleagues on instruction, receive adequate resources, are provided with meaningful professional
development, and receive concise feedback from their administrators and peers on their teaching.
This study analyzed the perceptions of teachers and administrators on strategies that school
districts can utilize to increase their ability to recruit and retain quality teachers during and
beyond the first 5 years. In addition, the study investigated the influence of professional develop-
ment on teachers during the first 5 years and beyond. Three members of the Superintendents’
Cohort at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, under the guid-
ance of Dr. Michael Escalante, were the researchers of this study. The researchers utilized a
convergent parallel mixed-methods approach in the study, and three forms of data were triangu-
lated to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research problem. The results of this study
should contribute to the existing literature on successful recruitment, retention, and professional
development policies and strategies in school districts. Finally, this study should inform school
boards and superintendents on the value of making financial investments in recruitment, reten-
tion, professional development, and working conditions.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 11
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Problem
The future of the nation and the well-being of its citizens depends on the quality of its
schools and the competitiveness of its workforce. Over the last 10 years, policy and business
leaders have accepted what educators, parents, and community members have always known—
namely, that teachers make the greatest difference to student learning (Berry, Daughtrey, &
Wieder, 2010). There are many effective teachers among the 3.7 million working in the U.S.
public schools; however, there are not a sufficient number of effective teachers in the schools
working in underserved communities (Cavaluzzo, 2004). The data on the supply of qualified and
effective teachers, such as having National Board Certification (NBC), is that they are less
inclined to teach economically disadvantaged students of color (Cavalluzzo, 2004). Successful
efforts to increase teaching quality and student achievement require an intensive focus on work-
ing conditions, ensuring that teachers teach in the fields for which they are prepared, having
sufficient time to collaborate with colleagues on instruction, having adequate resources, and
receiving meaningful feedback and evaluation of their teaching (Little, 1999).
Chester Finn, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, is a strong proponent of
deregulating teaching; he contends that school districts should insist on subject knowledge but
otherwise decentralize hiring decisions to individual schools and hold them accountable for their
student achievement results (Rotherham, 2009). Many school reform advocates insist that
students in high-needs schools are best taught by intellectually and academically talented teachers
such as the Teach for America (TFA) candidates (Rotherham, 2009), because they possess the
personal characteristics important to teach underserved communities.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 12
Innovative alternative teaching pathways have been created within the last decade by
various universities, school districts, and nonprofits; and the number of candidates has increased.
However, identifying teachers as effective because they have completed teacher preparation or an
alternative certification program does not make them automatically effective.
A significant number of studies have concluded that many factors should be taken into
consideration to determine whether qualified teachers can teach effectively. Effective teaching is
not about a teacher’s knowledge, skills, and inherent qualities but, more importantly, about the
conditions under which they work. Delivering effective teaching at schools is not about
problems with individual teachers but rather about the challenges with the systems in which
teachers work (Fullan, 2011a, 2011b). The challenge is how to work in a system that is designed
for success (Ripley, 2010). Considering the complexities and unique challenges that school
systems face, this mixed- method study focused on three essential aspects: how teachers are
recruited and what support and training are available to help them to become effective and to
remain in their teaching assignments.
Statement of the Problem
Teacher recruitment and retention challenges prevent school districts from promoting the
equitable distribution of effective teachers. Underserved students in high-needs schools have less
access to effective teachers, thus contributing to the existing opportunity and achievement gap
(Ingersoll, 2004). Attempts to address these staffing challenges have primarily focused on
recruiting quality candidates into districts, with insufficient attention paid to supporting and
retaining them once they are assigned to school sites (Ingersoll & May, 2011; The New Teachers
Project [TNTP], 2012). Therefore, school districts continue to be plagued by retention chal-
lenges, making continuing improvement a difficult mission (Ingersoll, 2004). Stopping the
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 13
ongoing turnover of effective teachers in schools is required if students are to receive a quality
education (Ronfeld, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2013).
Public school systems are facing teacher recruitment and retention challenges specifically
in the shortage areas of mathematics, science, and special education. In some states education
code layoff provisions and school district policies on tenure, seniority, and transfer constitute
barriers to the recruitment and retention of quality candidates in high-needs schools (TNTP,
2012).
Research by Engel, Jacob, and Curran (2014) indicated that the root cause of teacher
shortage in school districts is its inability to retain teachers. Human resources departments must
carefully consider the proper recruitment, preparation, and strategies for ongoing retention.
Often, recruitment and retention challenges triggered by district policies are further exasperated
by inadequate working conditions. Effective teachers often leave because of weak principal
leadership, an absence of a collegial staff with a shared philosophy and pedagogical practices,
and insufficient access to subject-specific resources (Allensworth, Ponisciak, & Mazzeo, 2009).
According to research by Weisberg, Sexton, Mulhern, and Keeling (2009), when an effective
teacher leaves a low- performing school, it may take 11 hires to find one teacher of comparable
quality, yet schools treat their best teachers as though they are expendable. Due to certain policy
barriers and inadequate working conditions, quality teacher candidates are either not hired or
leave the district due to their dissatisfaction with the hiring process or their experience at the
school site. Research has strongly suggested that the problem is one of the structures in the
system rather than individual teacher attributes (Ingersoll, 2001).
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 14
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to examine ways in which school districts can increase
their ability to recruit and retain quality teachers beyond 5 years. As indicated by the research of
Fullan (2011a, 2011b), the key to systemwide success is to align the goals of the system and the
intrinsic motivation of its participants. According to Fullan, the anchors of whole system reform
are capacity building, group work, pedagogy and “systemness.”
This study focused on capacity building through professional development during the first
5 years of service and beyond. To meet the purpose of this study, four research questions were
addressed:
1. What are the recruitment strategies used by large urban school districts (LUDs) that
result in the most effective hiring?
2. How can large urban school districts improve their postinduction training to retain the
highest number of qualified teachers?
3. What strategies could be used to retain experienced teachers (i.e., 5+ years or comple-
tion of induction process) in the system?
4. What strategies could and should be used to improve the effectiveness of novice and
surplus teachers?
Overview of Methodology
A mixed methodology was utilized to triangulate the results from the separate quan-
titative and qualitative components of the study. By adopting this methodology, the data were
cross-validated, thereby confirming the findings (Creswell, 2014).
Interviewing National Board Certified teachers, new teachers, and administrators in the
an urban district in California was critical in order to appreciate their perspectives. The value of
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 15
this methodology allowed the researchers to gain a deep understanding regarding how teachers
interpreted their experiences and the meaning they attached to the preparation and support that
have been essential for their success (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). A research team of three from
University of California’s (USC) Rossier School of Education collected and shared the quantita-
tive data for this study.
Significance of the Study
Given the importance of teachers improving student achievement and concerns about
unequal access to effective teachers (Jerald, 2009), more access to effective teachers and teaching
is needed. The findings of this study should contribute to the existing literature on successful
recruitment and retention policies and strategies in large urban school districts. In addition, it
reports on the impact of professional development on teacher retention to practitioners who are
leading the preparation and delivery of professional development for teachers. Finally, it should
inform school boards and superintendents on the value of making financial investments in
recruitment, retention and professional development.
Limitations of the Study
Although appropriate measures were taken to ensure the reliability and validity of this
study, there were some limitations:
1. The data were collected from one district and did not include comparison data from
other large urban districts (LUDs).
2. The data were collected during a period of 1 month.
3. The research team was composed of recognized district leaders; consequently, the
participants may have more cautiously responded to the questions.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 16
4. This study was limited to individuals who voluntarily responded to the surveys and
interviews and relied on self-reported data.
Although there were some limitations, validity and reliability were achieved by the col-
lection of data from both a convenience sampling and assembling of quantitative data from over
10,000 districtwide respondents. The data were triangulated with responses from surveys,
interviews, and peer review and member checking of the data interpretations.
Delimitations of the Study
Delimitations are limitations resulting from specific decisions by the researcher in the
design of the study (Simon & Goes, 2011). The scope of the study and the instrumentation were
delimitations because the research team members utilized data from the school experience
surveys to provide quantitative data from over 10,000 districtwide respondents and included
surveys designed specifically for qualitative data collection. This study also collected qualitative
data from interviews with principals, teacher leaders, and new teachers to learn about recruit-
ment, retention, training and teacher effectiveness. The study focused only on K-12 recruitment,
retention, training, and teacher effectiveness, with no consideration of socioeconomic status,
ethnicity, or other demographics. The results of this study were based on the assumption that the
teachers and administrators would be honest in their interview and survey responses.
Definition of Terms
The following terms are operationally defined for use in this dissertation:
Alternative certification: A nontraditional pathway to acquiring teacher certification
(Feiststritzer, 2009).
Desirable teacher characteristics: Deep knowledge of subject matter, good communica-
tor and listener, and so on (Wayne & Youngs, 2003).
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 17
Effectiveness: Teacher’s ability to teach, as measured by student success (Laczo-Kerr &
Berliner, 2002).
Evaluation: A system that fosters a teacher’s learning and competence (Cavalluzo, 2004).
Incentives: Financial incentives aimed at keeping teachers in the profession (Podolsky,
Kini, Bishop, & Darling-Hammond, 2016).
Quality: Difference between (a) teacher credentialing and certification and (b) teaching
competencies (Wenglinsky, 2002).
Retention: Focus on factors such as school characteristics that keep teachers in the
profession (Berry et al., 2010).
Shortage areas: Areas determined by unfilled teaching positions (Darling-Hammond,
Furger, Shields, & Sutcher, 2016).
Social cognitive theory (SCT): Portions of an individual’s knowledge acquisition that can
be directly related to observing others within the context of social interactions (Bandura, 2001).
Systemness: Each individual working toward the same vision and doing his or her part to
make it work (Fullan, 2011a, 2011b).
Turnover: What teachers are leaving, why, who is impacted, and policy considerations
(Ronfeld et al., 2013).
Working conditions: Physical strain on body and mind, support from administration,
collaboration with peers, and access to adequate resources (Rotherham, 2009).
Organization of the Dissertation
This dissertation is organized into five chapters. The first chapter has introduced the
study, provided an overview, presented the statement of problem and the purpose of the study,
stated the research questions and significance of the study, and defined key terms. Recognizing
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 18
the history of teacher recruitment and the challenges of retention in the public school system is
important for this study. Chapter Two presents a review of the pertinent literature regarding the
key phases of a teacher’s career to develop a historical context on teacher recruitment, hiring
practices, teacher preparation programs, teacher qualifications, teacher characteristics, teacher
retention, and their impact on student achievement. It describes the theoretical and conceptual
framework that guided the study. Chapter Three presents the mixed methodology that was used
to conduct the study, including the techniques utilized for collecting, organizing, and analyzing
data as well as a description of the sample population and instrumentation.
Chapter Four presents the research findings from the data collection in response to the
study’s research questions and theoretical frameworks. Chapter Five summarizes the study’s
findings and conclusions and offers recommendations for recruitment and retention strategies. It
also presents implications for further research relating to teachers’ impact on students’ learning.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 19
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
This literature review provides an overview of the limitations of hiring and retaining
effective teachers in large urban school systems. Recruiting and retaining quality teachers are
extremely important for the academic success of youth, particularly those living in underserved
communities. The available theory and research of regarding key phases of a teacher’s career
were used to develop a historical context on teacher quality and its influence on LUDs. In this
literature review, the first section focuses on teacher recruitment and hiring practices. The
second section focuses on teacher preparation programs, teacher qualifications, and teacher
characteristics and their impacts on student achievement. The third section highlights placement
and transfer policies in school districts that hinder students with the highest needs the access to
the most effective teachers. The fourth section focuses on teacher retention and teacher experi-
ence. The fifth section focuses on the value of teacher development, best practices, and evalua-
tion policies to retain effective teachers and accelerate the removal of ineffective teachers. The
chapter ends with a summary of the literature and implications for this study.
Recruitment
It is clearly recognized that student achievement at school sites is most impacted by the
teachers’ ability to teach as well as their effectiveness (Hahnel & Jackson, 2012). The recruit-
ment process is a district’s first opportunity to secure high-quality teachers for its students.
Recognizing the nature of hiring and how new hires are assigned across the district can inform
the development of strategies to attract candidates with the potential to become effective teach-
ers. Educational experts have theorized that one of the essential causes of poor school perfor-
mance is the inability of schools to sufficiently staff classrooms with qualified teachers (TNTP,
2012). Ingersoll, Dougherty, and Sirinides (2017) and Pierce and Buysse (2016) claimed that
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 20
staffing challenges are due to teacher shortages, fundamentally caused by an increase in enroll-
ment and retirements.
Hiring Practices
A recent study by Paul Bruno of the University of Southern California and Katharine
Strunk of Michigan State University in 2018 researched the results of the Los Angeles Unified
School District’s (LAUSD) hiring process, adopted in 2014. Their findings were that the system
is effective in screening for teacher quality overall and for predicting specific favorable out-
comes. The “multiple measures” process has created a standardized system in which applicants
are scored on the following eight areas: undergraduate grade point average (GPA), score on the
subject matter licensure test, background, general preparation, professional references, writing
task, sample lesson plan and delivery, and interview. The findings indicated that the screening
process is effective and higher overall scores are associated with greater teacher effects on
student achievement in both English Language Arts and mathematics, a reduced chance of a
teacher receiving an unsatisfactory evaluation rating, and fewer teacher absences annually. Dif-
ferent scores in specific areas were aligned with certain outcomes. For example, teacher evalua-
tion ratings were predicted by the scores on the sample lesson, undergraduates’ GPAs, and the
subject matter licensing test. In conclusion, the study found that there is great value in making
use of available data during the hiring process and that a rigorous screening process may help to
ensure that districts are making the right choices about who will teach their students.
Subject Area Shortages
There is a common belief that there is an ongoing teacher shortage and a generally
accepted understanding that the discrepancy is due to the inability of large school systems to
attract high-caliber teachers (Cowan, Goldhaber, Hayes, & Theobald, 2016). After many years of
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 21
fiscal instability, in 2013 California introduced the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and
the passing of Proposition 30 created additional funding for school districts. Due to new funding,
teacher hiring increased dramatically and a teacher shortage was created in mathematics, science
and special education (Darling-Hammond et al., 2016). More recently, in 2016, the passage of
Proposition 58, reinstituting bilingual education, has generated additional shortages of bilingual
teachers.
However, some have argued that because of enhanced recruitment efforts, a sufficient
number of high-caliber teacher candidates apply to large urban school districts and that the
shortage is due to retention challenges. Districts address teacher shortages by hiring teachers
with substandard credentials, substitutes, increasing class sizes or changing their master sched-
ules (Podolsky & Sutcher, 2016). Shortages unevenly impact economically disadvantaged
students, and teachers with emergency certifications are three times as likely to teach in high
poverty schools (Torlaksen, 2016).
Hiring Sources
Innovative alternative pathways into teaching have been launched over the past 10 years,
as indicated in the National Academy of Education’s White Paper Project (Wilson, 2009). An
increasing number of new teachers have no formal background in education, have majored in
other subjects in college, or are mid-career changers (Darling-Hammond et al., 2016).
Generally, there is evidence that streamlining the process of becoming a teacher has
increased the number of teacher candidates, particularly in difficult-to-staff areas such as special
education, science, and mathematics. Forty-seven states offer one or more alternative pathways,
and California hires more than a third of its new teachers from alternative certification programs
(Darling-Hammond et al., 2016; Wilson, 2009).
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 22
Innovative recruitment strategies are utilized to address staffing shortages. The most
popular policy response has been to invest in alternative licensing programs, such as TFA, to
attract high-caliber candidates into teaching. In addition, financial incentives, student loan
forgiveness, and tuition reimbursement have been offered to incentivize recruitment of quality
teaching candidates (Hahnel & Jackson, 2012; Hirsch, Koppich, & Knapp, 2001).
In 2015–16, California increased the number of intern, permit, and waiver credentials to
over 10,000 that can only be offered in shortage fields (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond,
2017). Although districts are searching for fewer teachers overall, a larger proportion are on
temporary permits and waivers, thereby indicating that shortages continue.
Nationally, the majority of teachers still enter teaching through the traditional route of
attending university-based training programs. Most recently in California, $45 million has been
allocated to incentivize and support classified employees in becoming teachers and another $5
million to start a Center for Teaching Careers that focuses on recruitment and resources for
teaching candidates (see Figures 1 and 2).
Incentives
Currently, there are a variety of incentives to decrease California’s teacher shortage, such
as loan forgiveness programs and service scholarships. According to the data produced by the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD; 2015), teachers earn about
30% less than any other college graduates. This situation impacts those who would like to teach
but cannot afford the cost of debt associated with the credentialing program. The study of
Podolsky et al. (2016) revealed that service scholarships and forgivable loan programs are highly
successful in terms of recruiting incentives. The California Commission on Teacher Creden-
tialing (CCTC; 2017) surveyed teacher credentialing programs and identified the lack of
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 23
Figure 1. Teacher recruitment strategies, from internal to ex-
ternal, Los Angeles 2016–2017 school year. From Recruit-
ment: Retention and Support Updates, by Los Angeles Unified
School District, Department of Human Resources, 2017, Los
Angeles, CA: Author.
Figure 2. Teacher recruitment strategies—universities, 2016–2017
school year, Los Angeles. USC = University of Southern Califor-
nia; UCLA = University of California, Los Angeles; CSUDH =
California State University, Dominguez Hills; CSUN = California
State University, Northridge; CSULB = California State University,
Long Beach. From Recruitment: Retention and Support Updates,
by Los Angeles Unified School District, Department of Human
Resources, 2017, Los Angeles, CA: Author.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 24
resources for teaching candidates as the largest challenge in increasing enrollment in their
programs.
According to Guha, Hyler, and Darling-Hammond (2016), intensive teacher residency
programs modeled after the medical residencies attract diverse candidates, target high-need
subject areas, and have higher retention rates. Governor Jerry Brown’s 2018 budget proposal
suggested a significant investment in training for special education teachers. Additionally, Grow
Your Own programs are on the rise. Paraprofessionals, after-school program staff, and local
community members are offered the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree and a teaching
credential through the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program.
Teacher Preparation Programs
The connection between student achievement and the content that teachers learn in
teacher preparation programs is unclear. Based on the research of Decker, Mayer, and Glazer-
man (2004), the quality of teachers prepared by alternative certification programs is just as
effective as those prepared in traditional teacher credentialing programs, and they help to address
the critical staff shortages in high-needs schools. While there may be differences between
knowledge and skills between traditional certification and alternative certification candidates,
these differences are not visible enough to be evident in student achievement gains. Researchers
such as Darling-Hammond, Holtzman, Gatlin, and Vasquez Hellig (2005) have argued that
teacher effectiveness flows as much from a teacher’s general academic ability or content knowl-
edge as it originates from any specialized teacher training program, while advocates of more
certification and trainings for teachers cite studies on student achievement that confirm that more
training results in greater student learning (Betts, Rueben, & Danenberg, 2000; Backes &
Hansen, 2018).
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 25
This is an important policy concern in the educational community, as many urban school
districts have increased their hiring of individuals on emergency permits or waivers and placed
them at schools with higher numbers of socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Many
believe that the placement of alternatively certified teachers in high-needs schools is another
example of districts shortchanging the economically disadvantaged students of color with respect
to a quality education (Laczo-Kerr & Berliner, 2002).
Darling-Hammond et al. (2005) contended that fully certified teachers from approved
teacher education programs show greater student achievement gains than their peers from
alternative certification programs. Darling-Hammond et al. (2005) measured the effectiveness of
TFA teachers by studying student achievement results for TFA teachers as compared to non-TFA
teachers. Their research concluded that TFA teachers did not do as well as standard certified
teachers with comparable years of experience in similar settings and demonstrated a negative
effect on student achievement in comparison with standard certified teachers. Ultimately,
according to Goe (2007), there is no difference in student learning results that can be contributed
to traditional versus alternative teacher alternative certification programs, as both groups have
been certified by meeting program requirements.
Policy Barriers
The root cause why districts are unable to fill vacancies in a timely manner is school
districts’ inability to offer contracts to new teachers until mid to late summer. According to
Levin and Quinn (2003), many low-performing schools are in districts that hire late in the
summer, thereby reducing opportunities to hire the best candidates.
TNTP’s (2012) study concluded that due to hiring delays, large urban school districts lose
quality candidates to smaller suburban districts. The most significant issue is that many of the
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 26
high-caliber candidates, who have the most choices, leave hard-to-staff districts and then the
remaining applicant pool is backfilled with a percentage of unqualified applicants (Darling-
Hammond et al., 2016).
According to Cowan et al. (2016), there are three school district hiring policies that cause
hiring delays and prevent efforts by urban school systems to build quality human capital. The
first policy is the late resignation or retirement notices from teachers who plan to leave, thus
making it impossible to know which vacancies are available for the new academic year. The
second policy that prevents the early hiring of teachers is the union transfer agreement that offers
internal candidates priority for vacancies before any new external candidates can be hired. An
unintended consequence of this policy is that principals hide their vacancies because they do not
want to be forced to hire a transfer teacher without mutual consent. The third cause for the hiring
delays is the state’s late budget timelines and uncertainty in funding, which leave principals
hesitant about which positions to fill.
Protections for High-Need Schools
Upon examination of the district barriers to early hiring of quality candidates, there are
concrete steps that school districts can take to improve access to quality teaching candidates at
schools serving high-need communities. One such strategy would be to allow high-needs schools
to hire any qualified candidate without restriction; second would be allowing high-need schools
to overhire in anticipation of last minute vacancies; and third, protecting high-need schools from
mandatory assignments of priority placement teachers. While districts carry the financial burden
of keeping priority placement teachers without a permanent assignment, some would argue that
this situation is preferable to placing them at school sites where they are not wanted or fit to
teach.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 27
In the absence of proactive policies to level the playing field for high-need schools, the
distribution of qualified and experienced teachers will create greater inequities and widen the
opportunity gap for underserved students. A recent report of the LAUSD’s Independent Analysis
Unit showed that in this district, teachers who had completed the National Board Certification
process and whose students experienced greater rates of academic progress were less likely to
teach students in high-need schools (Daley, Tien Le, & Thomas, 2017).
Teacher Qualifications
Many studies proclaim that some teachers provide more to their students’ academic
success than other teachers. However, research by Goe (2007) revealed that it is difficult to
interpret teacher quality given the various methods of identifying and measuring the qualifica-
tions, characteristics, and practices that define the concept of an effective teacher.
Academic Background
One predictor of teacher effectiveness is a teacher’s academic background. Studies have
indicated that teachers with higher scores on tests of verbal ability, such as the Scholastic
Achievement Test (SAT) or American College Testing (ACT), are more likely to be effective
(Boyd, Lankford, Loeb, Rockoff, & Wyckoff, 2007). Some studies have indicated that a
teacher’s academic capital plays a role in teacher quality. The National Council on Teacher
Quality (NCTQ; 2011) analyzed the undergraduate colleges of teachers working in LAUSD
during the 2009–10 academic school year. The findings indicated that LAUSD was recruiting
most of its teachers from schools with low admissions standards, while the average GPA of a
TFA member was 3.6.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 28
Subject Matter Knowledge
Certain types of teacher qualifications, such as subject knowledge of mathematics, matter
because there is evidence that teachers with robust mathematical knowledge generate better
student achievement in mathematics for student learning at both the elementary and secondary
level (Frome, Lasater, & Cooney, 2005).
According to Carr (2006), teachers’ subject area certification or authorization is one of
the teacher qualifications that is invariably related to improved student achievement. However,
this is not the case for all subject areas. The research of Hanushek, Kain, and O’Brien (2005) and
Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain (2005) indicates no connection between teachers with master’s
degrees and improved student achievement.
Teacher Characteristics
Gender and Race
Teacher characteristics are frequently embraced in teacher quality descriptions but are
rarely measured in connection with student achievement (Goe, 2007). Guarino, Santibañez, and
Daley (2006) carefully considered teacher candidates and concluded that they were primarily
female and White. Teacher characteristics such as race and gender are fixed and brought into the
classroom by teachers, even though they are unrelated to the act of teaching. Research conducted
by Hanushek et al. (2005) indicated that having same-race teachers contributes to higher student
achievement.
Licensure
Research found that teacher achievement on licensure examinations has a positive corre-
lation with student achievement (Wayne & Youngs, 2003). The study also identified a strong
correlation between student achievement and the certification of teachers, most notably in
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 29
mathematics. Some professionals enhance their skills by earning a microcredential, which is like
a certification in a specific content area or topic. This can be broad or specific; to earn a micro-
credential, the individual has to complete a specific number of activities, assessments, or projects
related to the topic. Once he or she has completed all of the requirements for a microcredential,
he or she is awarded proof in the form of a digital certificate.
Social Capital
Another important teacher characteristic is the ability and willingness to collaborate as
drivers of improved student achievement (Kannapel, Clements, Taylor, & Hibpshman, 2005).
Teachers’ social capital is seen as being positively associated with site-level achievement and the
observed quality of instruction in schools. Research done in the LAUSD by the Harvard Uni-
versity Strategic Data Project (SDP; 2012) demonstrated that “teachers who enter the profession
through Grow Your Own pipelines tend to perform at a higher level and to become proficient in
their craft more quickly” (p. 7).
Career Ladders teachers tended to remain in the profession and with the district longer
than those from other pathways. Career Ladders participants have historically outperformed
other new teachers with regard to retention. A study by the Harvard University SDP (2012)
found that Career Ladders teachers had a higher mathematics effect on students (SD = .03) than
other novice teachers and were retained at a much higher rate than new teachers from other
recruitment sources. According to the study, “Career Ladders participants rose from the ranks of
special education paraprofessionals and teaching assistants. Many of the Career Ladders candi-
dates had been students in the district and had deep ties to the communities that they served” (p.
3).
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 30
Teacher Placement
“The research is clear that teachers are game changers in the lives of students and the
most important asset to a school” (TNTP, 2012, p. 2). Without the participation of teachers, no
other curriculum or intervention will be effective. Therefore, it is not just important for districts
to hire great teachers, but they also have to assign them strategically in ways that are beneficial to
teachers and students alike and that incentivize them to stay in the classroom. Teachers are not
randomly assigned to students. “In some districts, more experienced teachers may be assigned to
higher achieving students—a factor that potentially may widen the achievement gap” (TNTP,
2012, p. 9).
Examining and recognizing teacher placement patterns may identify possibilities to raise
student achievement and reduce achievement gaps by more equitably distributing the most effec-
tive teachers across the system and within schools. Unfortunately, in many school systems, a
sufficient amount of attention is not paid to assign and retain the most qualified teachers for
students who need them the most.
The Impact of Seniority
According to Miller and Lee (2014), district placement policies, including seniority-based
staffing decisions and forced placement of teachers, prevent principals’ efforts to improve
teacher quality. Seniority is a component in deciding where teachers are placed when they
transfer schools, and it is a determinant in deciding who teaches which classes within each
school.
The findings of the Harvard University SDP (2012) revealed that “early-career elementary
school teachers in the LAUSD changed grades at higher rates than their more experienced col-
leagues because they are the last to be given the opportunity to select a grade level due to their
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 31
low seniority” (p. 3). The same study suggested that student learning may decrease as a result of
teachers changing grade levels. Less experienced teachers are assigned to lower-performing
students both districtwide and within individual schools, with 1st-year teachers assigned to
students almost 5.7 months behind compared to the prior achievement of students placed with
more experienced teachers (Ingersoll, 1999).
California does not allow school districts to consider classroom performance as an indi-
cator in determining which teachers are laid off when a reduction in force is required. According
to the NCTQ (2018), Colorado, Georgia, and Louisiana all consider teacher effectiveness in the
classroom as their number one criterion for layoffs and may not adopt policies allowing seniority
to be the predominant factor in layoff decisions.
Mandatory Assignments
Seniority is also a factor in deciding which positions will be cut due to declining enroll-
ment or layoffs, and principals are obligated to hire teachers who lost their positions. There is a
common perception that many involuntary transfers are being displaced from their current
schools due to performance issues. Mandatory placements are a result of schools not hiring
candidates prior to the beginning of the school year and displaced teachers not finding a position.
Often, mandatory assignments are less successful and trigger a lack of shared vision, collabora-
tion, and accountability that may negatively impact student learning (NCTQ, 2011).
As some displaced candidates successfully find their own position and are removed from
the available priority placement pool, those remaining at the end of the hiring period are the
individuals who have been perceived by schools to be less desirable. A survey conducted by the
NCTQ in 2011 of LAUSD principals found that nearly 75% of principals rarely or never found a
teacher who was a good fit for their school from the priority placement list of teachers. The same
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 32
study also concluded that mandatory assignment teachers do not stay in their positions as long as
teachers hired through mutual consent, thereby causing continued staffing instability at school
sites. According to the LAUSD’s Human Resources (2017) data, only 40% of teachers involun-
tarily assigned in 2015–16 stayed at their school site for 1 year or more. Thus, a mandatory
assignment in 1 year is likely to be followed by a vacancy in the following year, subsequently
resulting in staffing instability.
In light of the negative outcomes associated with mandatory assignments, it is crucial to
understand how mandatory assignments are distributed through a district. “The presence of
mandatory assignments is a red flag indicating that a school has broader staffing challenges
attracting and retaining highly qualified and experienced teachers” (TNTP, 2012, p. 21).
These data present a clear conclusion that higher need and lower performing schools are
systematically disadvantaged in the competition for teacher talent. It should be recognized, that
individual school site factors play an important role in determining staffing outcomes and that
with strong leadership and excellent systems, high-need schools can go a long way toward over-
coming their inherent disadvantages in the race to attract and retain quality teachers (TNTP,
2012).
Teacher Retention
Many districts lose a portion of their new teachers within their first 5 years of teaching.
The Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study was launched in 2007 and followed the same group
of teachers for 5 years. The most important finding was that only 17% of new teachers left after
the first 4 years, thus countering the urban myth that 50% of teachers leave within their first 5
years (Gray & Taie, 2015). The same study revealed that there was no difference in the attrition
rates of the teachers who began teaching with a bachelor’s degree and those who began teaching
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 33
with a master’s degree. It is also important to recognize that teachers who entered through an
alternative pathway had an attrition rate of 21% compared to 16% for traditionally certified
teachers after 4 years. Another surprising finding was that after 4 years, there was almost no dif-
ference in the attrition rates of teachers who began their teaching in an urban area (17.2%) and
those who began their teaching in a rural school (17.5%).
The cost to replace teachers who leave may exceeds $20,000 per teacher (Barnes, Crowe,
& Shaefer, 2007). Teachers without quality preparation leave the profession at two or three times
the rate of fully prepared teachers (Podolski, Kini, Bishop & Darling-Hammond, 2016).
Research indicates that high quality induction is correlated with higher retention rates and
improved student learning (Podolsky et al., 2016). The most effective induction programs
include coaching, mentoring, reduced workloads; collaborative planning time, and extra class-
room assistance.
High turnover rates among new teachers creates a revolving door effect and may lower
student achievement as teachers improve most in their first years in the classroom (Ronfeldt et
al., 2013). It is especially crucial if more effective than less effective teachers leave at higher
rates.
Organizational Causes
The Harvard University SDP (2012) explored retention patterns in the LAUSD overall
and across various teacher characteristics, including classroom effectiveness, and determined that
turnover impacts student achievement. Other researchers feel that innovative recruitment
strategies will not address staffing problems in schools until the organizational sources of low
teacher retention are resolved.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 34
Studies over the last 2 decades have transitioned from a focus on teacher turnover as a
characteristic of individual teachers, such as age and specialty field, to the study of organizations
and their characteristics. Ingersoll (2001), in his analysis, argued that there are organizational
characteristics and conditions of schools that are increasing teacher turnover and creating staffing
problems. Ingersoll’s (2001) data indicated that the staffing challenges were due to large numbers
of teachers leaving their jobs for reasons other than retirement and mostly due to job dissatisfac-
tion.
Teacher turnover rates in schools serving economically disadvantaged students is very
high because of dissatisfaction with working conditions (Fuller & Young, 2009). There is evi-
dence that even when economically disadvantaged low-performing schools hire high-quality
teachers, dissatisfaction with poor school cultures and working conditions often forces these
teachers to move on (Berry, Smylie & Fuller, 2008; Ingersoll, 1999; TNTP, 2012). Research
shows that quality new teachers leave their high-needs schools when their salaries are lower
relative to suburban school districts, when principal leadership is weak, when working conditions
are chaotic and when instructional resources are lacking (Wilson, 2009).
Allensberg et al. (2009) also recount the challenges of a LUD (Chicago Public Schools)
which experience annual teacher departure to different schools or other Districts.
Repeatedly, the data shows that insufficient support from the principal, student discipline chal-
lenges, restricted staff input into school decision-making and low compensation are connected
with higher rates of teacher turnover.
Research by Allensworth et al. (2009) showed that while 80% of teachers remain in their
schools from year to year, the typical Chicago public school loses over half of its teachers within
5 years. Every year Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has over 100 schools with chronically high
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 35
rates defined as over 25% teacher transiency. The same research also concluded that the majority
of the CPS with chronically high annual turnover also have high populations of students of color
and low achievement rates (Allensworth et al., 2009), thus implying that teacher mobility rates
are strongly correlated with student data. The same study also concluded that the sense of
community and cohesion among families, teachers, and students were important factors influenc-
ing staffing stability.
The research of TNTP (2012) on teacher retention describes that approximately 30% of
teachers leave due to working conditions that principals cannot address on their own, such as
compensation or inadequate preparation. However, the same research indicated that the retention
crisis is triggered because schools are not obligated to be strategic about the teachers they retain.
Role of the Principal
One of the key causes is that principals are not utilizing strategies that help improve
retention that do not require changes in policies, contracts or laws and at no additional cost
(Jacques, Weber, Bosso, Olson, & Bassett, 2016. TNTP’s (2012) research describes principal
actions that would encourage retention of quality teachers by providing detailed performance
feedback, personalizing support in areas of professional and personal development, publicly
recognizing accomplishments and a high level of performance, offering teacher leadership roles
and sharing responsibilities, and providing ample resources for their classrooms. According to
Wood, Goodnight, Bethune, Preston, and Cleaver (2016), quality teachers expect professional
attention and investment from their administration.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 36
Value of Teacher Development
Quality teachers are not the only group of professionals who need attention and support.
All teachers encounter many opportunities to develop their teaching skills and increase their
instructional effectiveness.
Over many decades, school districts have identified professional development as the
primary strategy for accelerating student achievement. Despite a significant investment in
teacher development, the most recent study by TNTP (2015) concluded that all teacher develop-
ment is not effective. Districts have to reevaluate existing efforts and reinvent systems for sup-
porting quality teaching, which will help more students succeed academically (Chetty, Friedman,
& Rockoff, 2011).
Supporting teachers has been the focus of school districts, and the search for the appropri-
ate type and amount of professional development has been debated for decades. Most school
districts feel that they have the solution and the struggle is to do it at scale (Archibald, Coggshall,
Croft & Goe, 2011).
Investment in Professional Development
According to the TNTP (2015) study, districts spend an average of $18,000 per teacher on
development efforts, which in some cases is equivalent to 19 full school days a year. Based on
their analysis, after 10 years an average teacher may have spent the equivalent of more than a
school year on professional development. Despite these investments in funding and time, most
teachers do not improve considerably over time. According to Berry et al. (2008), fundamental
improvement is particularly difficult to achieve after a teacher’s first few years in the classroom,
and there is evidence that teachers’ professional growth does not change even though they have
room to improve.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 37
Impact of Professional Development on Student Success
Even more alarming is the fact that when teachers develop their teaching capacity, it is
difficult to link their improvement to any specific development strategy. The nature of the
professional development, the amount or type of activity (e.g., job embedded or differentiated)
does not make a greater impact to help teachers improve (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005).
Conditions That Foster Growth
Teachers improve at varying rates over time, and there are professional development
experiences that support the learning. According to the NCTQ (2018), the most effective for-
mula to teacher development has yet to be determined; however, there is sufficient evidence that
school systems can create working conditions at schools that will enhance teacher development.
Hamilton, Stecher, Russell, Marsh, and Miles (2008) reported that when teachers work in
isolation, providing professional development by an expert has a limited effect in enhancing
classroom practices. Hamilton et al. contended that this situation may be due to the absence of
teacher input into the professional development process at the school site, coupled with the lack
of collaboration to discuss the use of new strategies.
Newton’s (2004) research quoted the resistance of teacher “buy-in” when the traditional
professional development structure was used in mathematics and proposed that this issue may be
a cause of the lack of systemic change in the instructional practices of mathematics teachers.
School systems must inventory current professional development; evaluate effectiveness; and
balance investments in development with investments in recruitment, compensation, and
retention. They also must redefine professional growth and development by establishing expec-
tations with measurable progress toward specific standards for teaching and student learning.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 38
This can only occur if teachers are provided with ongoing feedback about their performance and
rewarded and held accountable for their progress.
Teacher Best Practices
Based on finding from the NCTQ (2011), the teacher practices variable represents a
process view of teacher quality that might more appropriately be interpreted as instructional
quality. Research on teacher practices investigates the relationship between student achievement
and the classroom practices that teachers employ, such as the ways in which teachers interact
with students and the teaching strategies that they use to complete specific teaching tasks.
One important component of best teacher practice is the alignment of instruction and
student assessments that are correlated with increased student achievement in mathematics,
reading and science (Marcoulides, Heck, & Papanastasiou, 2005). In addition, Kannapel et al.
(2005) stated that aligning instruction with student assessments separates high performing,
economically disadvantaged schools from underperforming economically disadvantaged schools.
Another study by McCaffrey et al. (2001) concluded that teachers’ use of practices aligned with
the standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics was positively connected with
students’ mathematics achievement. Analyzing students’ work, providing feedback, and assess-
ing how much students have learned comprise yet another best practice (Schacter & Thum,
2004).
The most effective formula to teacher development has yet to be determined; however,
there is sufficient evidence that school systems can create working conditions at schools that will
enhance teacher development. Teachers improve their competencies when they are expected to
develop comprehensible learning objectives and are held accountable for their performance
(Matsumara, Garnier, Pascal, & Valdes, 2006; Schacter & Thum, 2004). In both research
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 39
studies, clear learning objectives and performance expectations were correlated with increased
student learning.
A third component of best teacher practice associated with positive elementary and
middle school achievement is cognitively engaging and intellectually stimulating instruction
(Frome et al., 2005). This practice was coupled with providing students with the opportunities to
explain and discuss projects in mathematics, reading, and science (Matsumara et al., 2006).
Research by Smith, Lee, and Newmann (2001) concluded that when teachers utilized
project-based learning practices at the elementary level, student achievement increased in reading
and mathematics. The same study also concluded that the quality of the teachers’ assignments
influenced student achievement.
Teacher Evaluations
The purpose of evaluations is to enhance the quality of the teaching force. Findings from
the Harvard University SDP (2012) concluded that “new teachers’ impact on student learning in
the LAUSD was, on average, predictive of their ability to teach in the future” (p. 13).
Many teachers do not know how to improve and need concise feedback about their
strengths and areas of need in order to improve their teaching competencies. Most teachers are
rated as “meets expectations,” even though student outcomes are lacking. This situation speaks
to school systems’ low expectations for teacher growth and performance. In summary, districts
invest heavily in professional development and have difficulty seeing the results (Berry et al.,
2010).
Twenty-five states require that teachers be evaluated annually. Annual evaluations that
support both the district and the school recognize the performance distribution of their teaching
force. California law (Education Code 44664; California Legislative Information, 2005) requires
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 40
that only nontenured teachers and tenured teachers who previously received an unsatisfactory
rating be evaluated annually. Tenured teachers with a previous satisfactory evaluation must be
evaluated only every other year. In the LAUSD, based upon the evaluation frequency policy, the
evaluation of teachers with 10 or more years of experience who meet other requirements may be
postponed for up to 5 years.
Performance evaluations in most school systems make few distinctions among teachers.
The absence of meaningful information hinders a district’s ability to focus on underperforming
teachers, to support poor performers, or to counsel them out of the system (NCTQ, 2011).
Theoretical Frameworks
According to Maxwell (2013), a theoretical framework of a study is the underlying struc-
ture, scaffolding, or frame of the study. Both Maxwell and Merriam (2009) defined the frame-
work as a system of assumptions, concepts, beliefs, and theories that support an investigation.
The present study is framed by the work of Fullan (2011b) on teacher quality recruitment and
retention as whole system reform, on Bandura’s (1986) SCT, on teacher motivation and condi-
tions that foster professional growth, and on Kirkpatrick’s (1994) Four Levels of Evaluation of
teacher development and evaluations (see Figure 3).
Recruitment and Retention
The work by Fullan (2011b) on whole system reform notes that the key to systemwide
success is to align the goals of a system and the intrinsic motivation of participants. Human
capital can improve only if systems use drivers that trigger whole system change and are measur-
able in practice and results. According to Fullan, an effective driver is a policy and related
strategies that produce better results across the system.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 41
Figure 3. Conceptual framework for study. Based on Social Founda-
tions of Thought and Action: A Social-Cognitive Theory, by A. Ban-
dura, 1986, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; Whole System Reform
for Innovative Teaching and Learning, by M. Fullan, 2011b, retrieved
from https://michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/ 2016/ 06/Untitled_
Document_5 .pdf; and Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Lev-
els, by D. L. Kirkpatrick, 1994, San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
This study examined the five key phases of a teacher’s career—recruitment, placement,
development, evaluation, and retention—through Fullan’s (2011) whole system reform frame.
Fullan’s frame was utilized to view the barriers to quality recruitment and retention through the
lens of systems rather than the characteristics of individual teachers. A system approach to
reform has a greater impact and did not rely solely on removing the weakest performers or on
attracting the most effective teachers to underperforming schools by offering them financial
incentives.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 42
Teacher Development and Motivation
Recruitment and retention plans and policies that do not foster strong internal motivation
across the entire district cannot be a source of districtwide reform. Studies from a number of
school districts have indicated that there are large differences in teachers’ influences on students’
academic success, unrelated to teacher certification or academic credentials. According to Goe
(2007), the greatest value of determining teacher effectiveness and its predictive power is to
make teacher assignment decisions that match teacher skills and competencies to student needs.
If the most important indicator of teacher quality is student outcome, teacher effective-
ness in getting student results may be viewed as a function of three broad variables: knowledge,
skill, and motivation. Logically, knowledge and skill are necessary for promoting student
achievement; however, alone they are not sufficient to produce high levels of growth in student
achievement. The most intelligent and skillful teacher may contribute little to a student’s educa-
tional development if that teacher is not motivated to teach the student. Although there is no
single theory of motivation, Bandura’s (1986) theory asserts that motivation is cultural and vari-
ables that capture the essence of teacher motivation include passion for the work and love of
children irrespective of color and socioeconomics. Bandura further believed that the interactions
of cognitive, behavioral, and contextual factors impact a person’s ability to function. Through
Bandura’s frame, the present study examined teacher goal setting, self-efficacy, and self-
regulation with the assumption that people can influence their own behavior and the environment
in a purposeful, goal-oriented fashion.
Evaluation
As Clark and Estes (2008) have stated, “evaluation is the only way to determine the con-
nections between performance gaps, improvement programs, and cost-effectiveness” (p. 125). A
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 43
district’s decision to initiate substantial human capital changes and financial investments or make
mid-course corrections should be based on evaluations with robust data. If research has indicated
that professional development is not effective, a gap analysis process should be conducted by
utilizing Kirkpatrick’s (1994) four levels of evaluation, which is a universally accepted tool to
measure performance. Assessing training effectiveness entails using the four-level model and
begins with how participants in a training program perceive and react to a training. Level 2
moves the evaluation beyond learner satisfaction and attempts to assess the extent that teachers
have advanced in skills, knowledge, or attitude. Level 3 measures the transfer that has occurred
in a teacher’s behavior due to the training program and whether the acquired skills, knowledge,
or attitude is being used in the classroom. During Level 3, the question becomes when to evalu-
ate, how often to evaluate, and how to evaluate. Finally, Level 4 measures the success of the
training by observing teaching occur that impacts successful student learning.
The implications of utilizing comprehensive evaluations are that when professional
educators face organizational challenges such as failed human capital initiatives, they should not
presume causes, rely on perceptions, and jump to solutions but rather make recommendations
based on causes that are validated and introduce practices that will be effective in their settings.
Chapter Summary
Both educators and researchers have recognized that teacher quality is important;
however, they have not always interpreted it the same way or agreed on strategies to improve
teacher quality. The purpose of the study was to examine ways in which educators can invest in
human capital as a system by deepening their understanding of the five phases of a teacher’s
career, with a specific focus on recruitment and retention of effective teachers. The mindset that
is instrumental in whole system reform is the one that creates individual and collective
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 44
motivation and the talent, skills, and competence to transform the system. This study’s goal was
to recommend basic changes to policies on recruitment, assignment, transfer, and tenure that will
significantly improve teacher retention and refine the quality of teaching in LUDs.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 45
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The review of the literature indicated that teacher turnover negatively impacts the quality
of education in the United States (Ingersoll 2001). In economically disadvantaged, high-need
schools, the challenges created by teacher turnover are particularly important (Allensworth et al.,
2009). High turnover numbers trigger staff instability at high-need schools.
This study was conducted to determine ways that school districts can increase their ability
to recruit and retain quality teachers for more than 5 years. As indicated by Fullan’s (2011a,
2011b) research, the key to systemwide success is to align the goals of the system and the intrin-
sic motivation of its participants. According to Fullan (2011a, 2011b), the anchors of whole-
system reform are capacity building, group work, pedagogy and “systemness.”
The study focused on capacity building through professional development during the first
5 years of service and beyond. This chapter describes the research design for this study, the
setting and context of the study, the participants and data sources, the characteristics of the par-
ticipants, and the instruments and procedures used to gather the data. The chapter includes the
justification for the instruments used, data collection methods, data analysis procedures, and the
role of the research team. Creswell’s (2014) six steps to conduct a research study were utilized:
the identification of the research problem, review of current literature, purpose for research,
collection of data, analysis of data, and reporting of evaluation of data.
Research Design
Convergent Parallel Mixed-Method Research
According to Creswell (2014), “mixed methods research is an approach to inquiry involv-
ing collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, integrating the two forms of data, and using
distinct designs that may involve philosophical assumptions and theoretical frameworks” (p. 4).
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 46
A convergent parallel mixed-method approach was utilized in this study. Both quantitative and
qualitative data were collected, and the two forms of data were integrated to provide a compre-
hensive analysis of the research problem. Mixed-methods research is utilized in various fields
including sociology, health sciences, education. and evaluation (Creswell, 2014). The value of
the methodology is that it benefits from both quantitative and qualitative data collection and
minimizes the limitations of both approaches (Creswell, 2014).
The researchers collected both forms of data during the same period of time. The combi-
nation of both quantitative and qualitative data provided a more complete understanding of the
research problem than either approach alone.
Quantitative Methods
The quantitative section included surveys of school administrators, new teachers, and
National Board Certified teachers to determine their perceptions on strategies aligned to recruit-
ment, retention, training, and improvement practices by districts. The surveys were formatted
with Likert scales responses (Robinson-Kurpius & Stafford, 2006) to specifically measure the
perceptions of administrators and teachers and the rankings of strategies. The surveys were
administered to 15 administrators, 15 novice teachers, and 15 National Board Certified teachers,
who served as a random sampling pool.
Qualitative Methods
The qualitative section of the mixed-method study focused on process, understanding,
and the researchers as the primary instruments of data collection and analysis (Merriam, 2009).
A qualitative data collection facilitated the collection of data that informed the researchers with
respect to the experiences of the individuals interviewed (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam, 2009). The
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 47
qualitative study consisted of interviews with randomly selected school administrators, novice
teachers, and National Board Certified teachers.
The interviews were semistructured with standardized, open-ended questions (Robinson-
Kurpius & Stafford, 2006). The interviews were conducted by participating cohort members,
who used an identical protocol prior to administering the interviews. To ensure that all selected
administrators and teachers participated, a completion incentive was provided by the research
team.
Population and Sampling
The participating administrators, National Board Certified teachers, and new teachers
chosen by the purposive selection process constituted a sample of convenience (Merriam &
Tisdale, 2016). The convenience sampling was necessary because the research team had famil-
iarity with the group of potential participants, and the identification of potential participants
reduced the time frame necessary for the collection of the survey tools and conducting the inter-
views. The fact that the research team was known to the potential participants also facilitated a
more immediately established productive relationship that led to strong rapport and data collec-
tion.
Purposeful sampling was utilized to identify and select 45 survey and interview partici-
pants for the study within three geographical areas of the LUD. Merriam and Tisdell (2016)
reported that purposeful sampling allows the greatest insight and enables the researcher to stra-
tegically select study participants from whom the most can be learned. Maxwell’s (2013)
research indicates that there are five possible goals for purposive sampling:
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 48
1. “Achieving representativeness or typicality of these settings, individuals, or activities
selected” (p. 98): Deliberately selecting cases, individuals, or situations that are typical provides
more confidence in the conclusions, as opposed to a random sample.
2. “Adequately capture the heterogeneity in the population” (p. 98): Select participants
who represent the entire range of variation, rather than an average subset of this range.
3. “Deliberately select individuals or cases that are critical for testing the theories” (p.
98): Being deliberate can illuminate what is going on and provide a crucial test of theories. In
this study, new teachers (who are most vulnerable to retention challenges) participated.
4. “Establish particular comparisons to illuminate the reasons for differences between
settings or individuals” (p. 98). This study included National Board Certified teachers, who on
average had taught more than 5 years, as well as new teachers, who had taught less than 5 years.
5. “Select groups or participants with whom you can establish the most productive
relationships, ones that will best enable you to answer your research questions” (p. 98). This
study included administrators from the three geographic areas with whom the researchers already
had an established professional relationship.
Research Team
The research team for this study consisted of three USC’s Rossier School of Education
doctoral students under the direction of Dr. Michael Escalante, who met with the research team
on a monthly basis. In the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018, the research team met biweekly to
determine research questions and develop data collection tools; to review relevant research lit-
erature; and to identify the conceptual frameworks that contribute to teacher recruitment,
retention, training, and effectiveness. The tools developed had questions aligned with the
research questions to allow the team to understand the perceptions of teachers and administrators
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 49
on the processes used to recruit, retain, and train teachers. From this shared thematic team
approach, there are necessarily some similarities among the dissertations; however, each group
member’s study reflects his or her distinct study parameters and is reflective of his or her individ-
ual efforts.
Instrumentation
The qualitative components of this mixed-methods research study identified the research-
ers as the primary data collection instruments. The instrumentation and protocols used by the
research team included three survey protocols and two interview protocols (Creswell, 2014).
The main instruments for data collection were the survey and interview protocols, which
supported the researchers in gathering information from administrators, National Board Certified
teachers, and novice teachers (see Table 1). The research team aligned the qualitative survey
questions for the participants with the four research questions and conceptual frameworks (see
Table 2). The research team also used quantitative data collected from a districtwide school
satisfaction survey with questions that provided data on training strategies, participation in
professional learning communities (PLCs), and the support of mentor teachers (see Table 3).
The data collected were triangulated to establish the internal validity of the study (Mer-
riam, 2009). All participants completing the research team-created surveys and interviews were
contacted through a recruitment–consent correspondence. In the fall of 2018, the instruments
were submitted for approval to the USC Institutional Review Board (IRB), which permitted the
team to perform the study and to utilize the data collection tools.
Access/Entry
In preparation for this study, the research team gained access (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007) by
completing a request for IRB with the large urban school district. Because the name of the
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 50
Table 1
Alignment of Qualitative Survey Protocols With Research Questions (RQs) and Theoretical
Frameworks
Fullan Bandura Kirkpatrick
Item RQ1 RQ2 RQ3 RQ4 (2011b)
a
(1986)
b
(1994)
c
Section I
1 X #
2 X
3 X #
4 X #
5 X #
6 X #
7 X #
8 X #
9 X #
10 X #
11 X #
12 X #
Section II
1 X #
2 X #
3 X #
4 X #
5 X #
6 X #
7 X #
8 X #
9 X #
10 X #
11 X #
Section III
1 X # #
2 X # #
3 X # #
4 X # #
5 X # #
6 X # #
7 X # #
8 X # #
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 51
Table 1 (continued)
Fullan Bandura Kirkpatrick
Item RQ1 RQ2 RQ3 RQ4 (2011b)
a
(1986)
b
(1994)
c
9 X # #
10 X # #
11 X # #
12 X # #
13 X # #
Section IV
1 X # #
2 X # #
3 X # #
4 X # #
5 X # #
6 X # #
7 X # #
8 X # #
9 X # #
10 X # #
11 X # #
a
Whole System Reform for Innovative Teaching and Learning, by M. Fullan, 2011b, retrieved
from https://michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Untitled_Document_5.pdf.
b
Social
Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social-Cognitive Theory, by A. Bandura, 1986, Engle-
wood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
c
Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels, by D. L.
Kirkpatrick, 1994, San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 52
Table 2
Alignment of Interview Protocols to Research Questions (RQs) and Theoretical Frameworks
Fullan Bandura Kirkpatrick
Item RQ1 RQ2 RQ3 RQ4 (2011b)
a
(1986)
b
(1994)
c
Section I
1 X #
2 X
3 X #
4 X #
5 X #
Section II
1 X #
2 X #
3 X #
4 X #
5 X #
6 X #
7 X #
Section III
1 X # #
2 X # #
3 X # #
4 X # #
5 X # #
6 X # #
7 X # #
8 X # #
Section IV
1 X # #
2 X # #
3 X # #
4 X # #
5 X # #
6 X # #
7 X # #
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 53
Table 2 (continued)
Fullan Bandura Kirkpatrick
Item RQ1 RQ2 RQ3 RQ4 (2011b)
a
(1986)
b
(1994)
c
8 X # #
9 X # #
a
Whole System Reform for Innovative Teaching and Learning, by M. Fullan, 2011b, retrieved
from https://michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Untitled_Document_5.pdf.
b
Social
Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social-Cognitive Theory, by A. Bandura, 1986, Engle-
wood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
c
Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels, by D. L.
Kirkpatrick, 1994, San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 54
Table 3
Alignment of Quantitative Survey Protocols With Research Questions (RQs) and Theoretical
Frameworks
Fullan Bandura Kirkpatrick
Item RQ1 RQ2 RQ3 RQ4 (2011b)
a
(1986)
b
(1994)
c
Section I
1 X # #
2 X # #
3 X # #
4 X # #
5 X # #
Section II
1 X # #
2 X # #
3 X # #
Section IV
1 X # #
Section V
1 X # #
Section VI
1 X # #
2 X # #
Section VII
1 X # #
2 X # #
a
Whole System Reform for Innovative Teaching and Learning, by M. Fullan, 2011b, retrieved
from https://michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Untitled_Document_5.pdf.
b
Social
Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social-Cognitive Theory, by A. Bandura, 1986, Engle-
wood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
c
Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels, by D. L.
Kirkpatrick, 1994, San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 55
district is not included in the study, the timeline for approval was greatly reduced. Following
approval by the district, entry was negotiated by contacting the supervisors of the administrators
and teachers to request the opportunity to conduct the surveys and interviews (Bogdan & Biklen,
1998).
The final access–entry step (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998) in preparing for the study was to
request participation for the surveys and interviews with the selected teachers and administrators
(see Appendix A), to provide a consent form (see Appendix B), and to schedule the date for the
administration of the survey or interview.
Data Collection
Survey Protocols
The surveys were self-administered questionnaires used to collect information and to
provide usable and reliable data (Creswell, 2014). There were three sets of surveys to collect
both qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative surveys included a Likert type of scale
with the following responses: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Disagree nor Agree, Agree,
and Strongly Agree. The research team was deliberate in developing clear and valid qualitative
items by using standard grammar and syntax, utilizing common educational terms, avoiding the
use of acronyms, and keeping the survey items concrete and relevant to the respondents’ experi-
ence (Fink, 2013). The qualitative survey items were consistent for the administrators, National
Board Certified teachers, and novice teachers. The quantitative surveys (see Appendices C, D,
and E) included differentiated questions specific to administrators and teachers and did not
identify data from National Board Certified teachers. The quantitative surveys disaggregated
data by teacher’s years of experience. The quantitative survey items were aligned with each of
the four research questions, with specific questions within each of the survey tools. The majority
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 56
of the quantitative surveys included a Likert type scale with the following five responses:
Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Disagree nor Agree, Agree, and Strongly Agree. The
quantitative teacher surveys also included a Likert scale with the following four responses:
Weekly, Monthly, Rarely, and Never. Additionally the quantitative teacher surveys included
close-ended responses to queries on teacher training and PLCs.
Interview Protocols
In conducting the interviews, the research team deployed the standardized open-ended
interview approach (Patton, 2002) and administered a set list of questions that were asked of each
interviewee (see Appendices F and G). The rationale for the use of this interview approach was
to ask the same questions of each participant to identify the differences in perceptions that
occurred within the three geographical areas. With the participation of the research team, the
interviews were conducted at school sites to create a comfort level for participants in their natural
setting (Merriam & Tisdale, 2016).
Data Analysis
The data collected from the administrators, National Board Certified teachers, and novice
teachers were assessed and reviewed for the frequency of responses. This survey model allowed
the researchers to have a better understanding of the respondents’ perceptions about strategies for
effective recruitment, teacher retention, training, and teacher effectiveness. The interview guides
and surveys were aligned with the research questions that framed this study. The qualitative and
quantitative data were collected concurrently using structured interviews and 4-point Likert scale
surveys. Qualitative coding software was utilized to code the interviews and prepare the data for
analysis (Creswell, 2014).
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 57
The surveys were the basis for the open-ended questions that were contained in the inter-
view protocols of this study. Interviews were conducted at school sites with purposefully
selected administrators, National Board Certified teachers, and new teachers from three geo-
graphical areas in a large urban school district.
The research was conducted from a reflexive perspective. When utilizing a reflexive
perspective, attention is often drawn to the importance of recognizing the social location of the
researcher as well as the ways in which the emotional responses to respondents can shape the
interpretations of their accounts (Mauthner & Doucet, 2003). The interviewees’ answers were
coded and transcribed. A thorough analysis of the data was reviewed to identify the perceptions
of the sampling of administrators, National Board Certified teachers, and novice teachers.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Merriam (2009) asserted the use of different strategies to ensure the credibility and trust-
worthiness of research findings. The first strategy to be employed in this study was member
checking (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), which was done by sharing the coding and interpretations
of the administrators, National Board Certified teachers, and novice teachers with selected
participants to gauge their reaction. As outlined by Patton (2015), the researcher must pay close
attention to the reactions of the participants in response to the interpretations and findings.
The second strategy used was peer review/examination, where the process, interpreta-
tions, and findings were shared with other research team members (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
The research team members then provided constructive feedback and shared their perceptions on
whether or not the findings answered the four research questions.
The third procedure to ensure credibility and trustworthiness was investigator triangula-
tion. Interview data were cross-checked with survey data at different times to confirm emerging
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 58
themes. The fourth procedure was peer review; the researchers asked peers familiar with the
topic to review the data to determine whether the findings were plausible. The co-researchers
provided constructive feedback and shared their perceptions on the thoroughness of the findings
and whether or not the findings answered the research questions.
Limitations
Limitations of this study included researcher bias, as two members of the research team
worked in the LUD in a supervisory capacity; therefore, there was an inherent risk of researcher
bias in the selection of administrators and teachers as well as the implemented protocols of the
interview. In addition, although the respondents voluntarily participated, they may have felt
pressure to participate, thus possibly impacting the validity of their responses. Another validity
limitation was the small sample size of the interview participants that may have impacted the
generalizability of the study.
Ethical Considerations
Prior to conducting the surveys and interviews, the research team reviewed the Ethical
Studies Checklist discussed by Patton (2015). The research team was committed to the proce-
dure that the conversations with the principal supervisors, principals, and teachers would be
preceded by emails to confirm their participation and to receive consent. The researchers
believed that this research study was conducted ethically and impacted neither their employment
nor their good standing at the university.
Due to the supervisory capacity of members of the research team with the participants, it
was critical to the integrity of the process to embody the phrase, “Do no harm,” and to receive
informed consent from all of the administrators, National Board Certified teachers, and novice
teachers being interviewed, as well as their supervisors (Tracy, 2013). The protocols of this
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 59
study were submitted for approval to the university’s IRB and were conducted with written
consent from each study participant.
The conversations with the participants and their supervisors will remain confidential.
Emails to confirm participation and consent forms were included in the study notes and, when
applicable, audio recordings from the interviews. In order to ensure confidentiality and anonym-
ity, careful procedures were established to protect the study participants; participants were
allowed to withdraw from this study at any time during the study.
Chapter Summary
This chapter has outlined the quantitative and qualitative methods that were used to
conduct this mixed-methods study. The methods described were the research design, the
research team, the sample and population, instrumentation, the methodology for data collection
and analysis, reliability, and ethical considerations (Creswell, 2014).
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 60
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
Teacher recruitment and retention barriers prohibit school districts from advancing the
equitable distribution of effective teachers and improving access to quality teaching candidates at
schools serving highest need communities (Ingersoll & May, 2011; TNTP, 2012). Preventing the
growing turnover of effective teachers in school districts is essential if students are to receive a
quality education (Ronfeld et al., 2013). Research findings by Ingersoll (2001) revealed that
policy hurdles and challenging working conditions are the root cause of teacher hiring and reten-
tion challenges and that the problem is one of the structures in the system rather than individual
teacher characteristics.
The purpose of this study was to provide insight on how school districts can increase their
capacity to recruit and retain quality teachers beyond 5 years through capacity building and pro-
fessional development and to deepen their understanding of the various phases and experiences
of a teacher’s career. This chapter outlines the research design, identifies participants, and
reports the findings delineated by the following four research questions that framed the study:
1. What are the recruitment strategies used by large urban school districts that result in
the most effective hiring?
2. How can large urban school districts improve their postinduction training to retain
the highest number of qualified teachers?
3. What strategies could be used to retain experienced teachers (i.e., 5+ years or comple-
tion of induction process) in the system?
4. What strategies could and should be used to improve the effectiveness of novice and
surplus teachers?
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 61
This study utilized three theoretical frames to research how human capital can improve in
school districts by examining the challenges to quality recruitment and retention and highlighting
promising recruitment, retention, and professional practices within a school system. The first
theoretical framework was based on Fullan’s research (2011a, 2011b) that suggests that teacher
quality recruitment and retention require whole system reform and that the key to systemwide
success is to cohere the goals of the system and the inherent willingness of its participants.
The second theoretical framework utilized in this study was Bandura’s (1986) SCT,
which guided the examination of data on teacher motivation and conditions that fostered profes-
sional growth, reflective practices, collaboration, and collective responsibility. The third theoret-
ical framework was guided by Kirkpatrick’s (1994) four levels of evaluation; this framework
was utilized to search for professional development strategies that cultivated the promise, talent,
competencies, and beliefs of teachers in a school district.
Research Design
The research team for this study was composed of three USC Rossier School of Educa-
tion, doctoral students under the guidance of Dr. Michael Escalante. The team met regularly to
review current research literature, select theoretical frameworks, design research questions, and
develop data collection tools. The developed tools focused on teacher recruitment, retention,
training, and effectiveness. The quantitative portion included surveys of school administrators,
new teachers, and National Board Certified teachers to determine their perceptions on strategies
aligned to recruitment, retention, training, and improvement practices by districts. The qualita-
tive portion of the study focused on the collection of data that informed the researchers of the
experiences of the individuals interviewed (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam, 2009). The shared the-
matic process generated some similarities among the dissertations; however, each researcher’s
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 62
study identifies his or her defined study parameters and is reflective of his or her individual
efforts.
Participants
Purposeful sampling was employed to identify and select the administrators and teachers
in this study from three geographic areas: the San Fernando Valley, West Los Angeles, and
South Los Angeles. The participating administrators, National Board Certified teachers, and new
teachers were selected as a sample of convenience (Merriam & Tisdale, 2016). The purposefully
and strategically selected study participants allowed the researcher to gain the greatest insight
from the individuals from whom the most could be learned (Merriam and Tisdell (2016).
Findings from the researcher’s data collection were incorporated in the discussion of the research
questions and developing themes. Table 4 provides a summary of participants involved in qual-
itative surveys and interviews.
New Teachers
Based on Maxwell’s (2013) research, the participants were purposefully selected because
they were critical for testing the theories (p. 98) in this study. New teachers were deliberately
selected because they were most vulnerable to retention challenges and had appropriate knowl-
edge to provide data to address the study’s research questions (Merriam, 2009). This study
defined new teachers as a teacher with less than one full year of experience. The 15 new teachers
who were interviewed and the 15 new teachers who participated in the qualitative survey repre-
sented three geographic areas within a LUD.
National Board Certified Teachers
National Board Certified teachers were purposefully selected to establish particular com-
parisons to illuminate the reasons for differences between settings or individuals (Maxwell,
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 63
Table 4
Summary of Participants, Their Organization/Position, and Data Type(s)
Participants Organizations/positions Data type(s)
New teachers
15 LUD new teachers interview
15 LUD new teachers survey
National Board Certified teachers
15 LUD National Board Certified teachers interview
15 LUD National Board Certified teachers survey
Administrators
15 principals LUD principals interview
15 teachers LUD principals survey
Teachers
842 LUD, less than 1 year survey
1,042 LUD, 1–2 years survey
2,391 LUD, 3–4 years survey
2,390 LUD, 6–10 years survey
14,474 LUD, over 10 years survey
Note. LUD = large urban district, pseudonym for district studied.
2013). In this study, National Board Certified teachers were selected, who on average, had taught
more than 5 years in contrast to new teachers who had taught less than 1 year. This study defined
National Board Certified teachers as teachers with current certification from the National Board
and currently completing service hours to fulfill the program requirements. The 15 National
Board Certified teachers who were interviewed, and the 15 National Board Certified teachers
who participated in the qualitative survey represented three geographic areas within the LUD.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 64
Principals
The principal participants were purposefully selected because the researcher had already
established a productive professional relationship with them that enabled them to best respond to
the research questions (Maxwell, 2013). This study included school site administrators with
years of experience ranging from 5 to 15. The 15 principals who were interviewed and the 15
who participated in the qualitative survey represented three geographic areas within the LUD.
Data and Analysis
A convergent parallel mixed-method application was utilized in this study, and the
researchers gathered both forms of data during the same period of time. The instrumentation and
protocols utilized by the researchers included survey protocols and interview protocols (Creswell,
2014). The data collected to respond to the study’s four research questions were collected
through the use of three research instruments: qualitative surveys, quantitative surveys, and
interviews. The qualitative survey protocols are included in Appendices B, C, D, and F; the
qualitative interview protocols are in Appendices F and G; and the quantitative survey protocol is
in Appendix E. Based on Creswell’s (2014) model for data analysis, the interview data were
organized and prepared for analysis through transcription and note taking. Next, the research
team engaged in the coding process, where the responses were organized into categories that
ultimately developed into themes and descriptions. Based on the gathered and triangulated qual-
itative and quantitative responses from new teachers, National Board Certified teachers, and
principals, common themes and findings emerged that allowed the researchers to understand the
perceptions of teachers and administrators on the processes utilized to recruit, retain, and profes-
sionally develop teachers. The next section of this chapter reintroduces the study’s four research
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 65
questions, presents the findings into common themes, and connects the data to existing research
literature.
In the analysis of data from surveys and interviews, three themes emerged as common in
response to each of the four research questions across all transcripts. For Research Question 1
regarding the recruitment strategies used by LUDs that result in the most effective hiring, the
themes were (a) hiring sources, (b) financial incentives, and (c) social media and online adver-
tisements. For Research Question 2, how LUDs can improve their postinduction training to
retain the highest number of qualified teachers, the themes were (a) school cultures and working
conditions, (b) retention incentives, and (c) instructional support. For Research Question 3,
strategies that can be used to retain experienced teachers (5+ years or completion of induction
process) in the system, the themes were (a) teacher training programs, (b) professional develop-
ment, and (c) administrator impact. For Research Question 4, strategies that could or should be
used to improve effectiveness of novice and surplus teachers, the themes were (a) collaborative
school improvement models, (b) hybrid teacher leader support, and (c) differentiated support for
new and surplus teachers.
Findings for Research Question 1
Hiring Sources
According to Cowan et al. (2016), there is evidence that large school systems have chal-
lenges in recruiting high-caliber teacher candidates. Therefore, Hirsch et al. (2011) concluded
that LUDs were utilizing innovative strategies to address teacher shortages by investing in
alternative licensure programs to attract high-caliber candidates. This is a crucial policy concern
in the educational community, as the placement of alternatively certified teachers in high-needs
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 66
schools is interpreted as depriving economically underserved students of quality teachers (Laczo-
Kerr & Berliner, 2002).
Innovative alternative pathways that streamline the process of becoming a teacher in
difficult-to-staff areas have been launched by institutions of higher learning within the last 10
years (Wilson, 2009). Concerns continue to exist in the educational research community that
districts are addressing teacher shortages by hiring teachers with substandard credentials (Podal-
sky & Sutcher, 2016). However, based on the research of Decker et al. (2004), the quality of
teachers prepared by alternative certification programs is on par with traditional teacher
credentialing programs. According to Guha et al. (2016), intensive teacher residency programs
attract diverse candidates and target high-need subject areas.
The objective of this question was to gather data on how school districts can recruit high-
caliber candidates and identify the recruitment strategies that are most effective. In order to
collect data to respond to this question, qualitative surveys and interviews of new teachers,
National Board Certified teachers, and principals were conducted. When triangulated, the data
provided a holistic perspective of the recruitment strategies identified as most effective by these
participants.
Based on the data from the qualitative surveys, there was significant evidence that LUDs
can improve teacher recruitment by launching partnerships with higher learning institutes (HLIs)
to create pathways for college graduates to join their teaching workforce. As evidenced by the
findings summarized in Table 5, 100% of the participating new teachers and National Board
Certified teachers as well as 86.7% of principals strongly agreed or agreed that HLIs result in
hiring effective teachers. The participants stated that hiring fairs at HLIs provide a pathway for
the LUD to improve recruitment. This realization included 100% of National Board Certified
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 67
teachers and 86.7 % of new teachers and principals who strongly agreed or agreed with this
strategy as effective. The research study data also indicated that 100% of the new teachers,
National Board Certified teachers, and principals strongly agreed or agreed that the recruitment
staff at HLIs resulted in the hiring of effective teachers.
Table 5
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Impact of Higher Learning Institutes (HLIs) in Recruit-
ment Strategies in Hiring Effective Teachers, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
HLIs result in hiring effective teachers and improving student
achievement and graduation rates.
Strongly Agree 73.33 73.33 66.67
Agree 26.67 26.67 20.00
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Hiring fairs for recruitment at HLIs result in hiring effective
teachers and improving student achievement and graduation
rates.
Strongly Agree 60.00 80.00 60.00
Agree 33.33 20.00 33.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 6.67 0.00 6.67
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Recruitment staff at universities result in hiring effective
teachers and improving student achievement and gradua-
tion rates.
Strongly Agree 86.67 66.67 73.33
Agree 13.33 26.67 26.67
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 6.67 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 68
Based on the data from the interviews, there was the strongest support for collaboration
with HLIs and the results in filling vacancies in high-needs schools. This view was strongly
communicated by one principal:
It is important to establish a relationship with local colleges and partnerships so that we
could have those teachers in our schools. They kind of know what they’re getting them-
selves into, so I think it really depends. If the teaching training program involves a part-
nership with the local school district and they’re providing us with student teachers, then
those teachers, I think, end up being better prepared and we can retain them because they
know what they’re signing up for. (interview, November 8, 2018)
A second principal had similar views about the partnership of the LUD with a local university:
We currently have two of them at my site as well. Two of the best young teachers I’ve
had in a very long time. A lot of it is, of course, internal desire to teach. Both have come
from communities similar to where our schools are located. One started as a TA
[teaching assistant] with me and was introduced to the Cal State Dominguez program
after we started the partnership. I handed a flyer—didn’t realize that he had gone through
the process, enrolled, until he came to me months later and said, “You know, I’m almost
finished with the Dominguez program. You gonna hold a job for me?” And I said,
“When did you get in?” It’s nice because he’s there teaching second grade, and the kids
also see it because they remember when he was TA and to see him back in the school
teaching. (interview, November 8, 2018)
A third principal identified the importance of partnership with a HLI:
I think it goes beyond creating partnerships. Through the partnership you form relation-
ships, and now you have people at the institutions. . . . Higher institutions looking out for
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 69
our best interests by always sending us their best candidates. I think we have to create
more of those type of pathways so that we can get additional candidates that are of high
quality. (interview, November 8, 2018)
Financial Incentives
According to findings of the OECD (2015), teachers earn about 30% less than any other
college graduates, subsequently resulting in college graduates who want to go into the teaching
profession but cannot afford the cost associated with the credentialing program. Research by
Darling-Hammond et al. (2016) indicated that teacher hiring in California has greatly increased
since 2013 due to funding generated by the LCFF and further exacerbated teacher shortages in
the areas of mathematics, science, and special education. The CCTC (2017), based on its survey,
concluded that the absence of resources for teaching candidates was the greatest barrier to
increasing enrollment in teacher credentialing programs. Findings by Podolsky et al. (2016)
indicated that service scholarships, tuition reimbursements, and forgivable loan programs were
highly successful as recruitment incentives. In addition, Hirsch et al. (2001) reported that finan-
cial incentives for serving in shortage fields and hard-to-staff schools were effective tools to
attract quality candidates to the teaching profession.
Based on the data from the qualitative surveys, there was strong agreement among
respondents that offering financial incentives was an effective recruitment tool. Table 6 indicates
that 100% of the new teachers, National Board Certified teachers, and principals surveyed
strongly agreed or agreed that financial incentives resulted in the hiring of effective teachers. It
was significant that only 60% of new teachers strongly agreed, compared to 80% of National
Board Certified teachers and 73.33% of principals. The survey results also indicated that 100%
of the new teachers and principals strongly agreed or agreed that offering immediate loan
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 70
forgiveness resulted in the successful recruitment of effective teachers. Of the National Board
Certified teachers, 93.33% either strongly agreed or agreed that offering immediate loan forgive-
ness resulted in the increased recruitment of effective teachers; 6.67% indicated that they neither
agreed nor disagreed.
Table 6
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Impact of District-Implemented Recruitment Strategies in
Hiring Effective Teachers, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
Contract incentives result in hiring effective teachers and
improving student achievement and graduation rates.
Strongly Agree 60.00 80.00 73.33
Agree 40.00 20.00 26.67
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Offering immediate loan forgiveness programs results in
hiring effective teachers and improving student achievement
and graduation rates.
Strongly Agree 66.67 80.00 80.00
Agree 33.33 13.33 20.00
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 6.67 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Increased advertising of benefits package (via district tele-
vision station) results in hiring effective teachers and
improving student achievement and graduation rates.
Strongly Agree 13.33 13.33 20.00
Agree 13.33 40.00 46.67
Neither Disagree nor Agree 53.33 33.33 13.33
Disagree 13.33 13.33 13.33
Strongly Disagree 6.67 0.00 6.67
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 71
Interviews reflected data collected through the survey instruments in support of using
financial incentives to recruit new teachers. National Board Certified Teacher 1 noted:
I remembered when I started as a teacher back in 1989 at 24th Street school, they offered
combat pay. Does everybody remember that combat pay? I think it was $5,000. I
remember that was a huge incentive for some of our TAs, our teacher assistants that
wanted to go into teaching. So I think incentives would go a long way in filling hard to
staff vacancies. (interview, November 3, 2018)
National Board Certified Teacher 2 commented:
I think financial incentives are helpful. It is not a whole chunk of money, but I think
anything really helps. If you are looking into getting into a profession, why not take
advantage of the fact that they’re gonna forgive your loan. Plus with what it costs to live
in the area. I know some schools have started where they are supplementing the housing
for the teachers. So I think that’s great. I think that’s a great one to start with. (inter-
view, November 3, 2018)
New Teacher 1 said:
I feel that clarity would be a great incentive. I don’t know how I feel about getting more
money, but it would be nice to know what type of support I will receive at the school. So
definitely class size would be great if someone is willing to get paid more by working at
those schools. I kind of figured I wasn’t going to be made rich being a teacher. Yeah, I
think there should be incentives such as lower class sizes for low-performing schools.
(interview, October 22, 2018)
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 72
Social Media and Online Advertising
According to Cowan et al. (2016), there is a dire need to improve access to high-caliber
teaching candidates in highest need schools by changing policies to address particular shortage
areas such as science, mathematics, and special education. This study solicited responses from
administrators, National Board Certified teachers, and new teachers about the effectiveness of
using social media, radio ads, and job posting websites for the recruitment of teachers in shortage
areas and high-need schools.
Based on the data from the qualitative surveys, Table 7 indicates that there was the
strongest agreement among National Board Certified teachers (86.66%) and principals (73.33%),
who either strongly agreed or agreed that social media is effective. Forty percent of the new
teachers surveyed, however, neither agreed nor disagreed that social media was an effective
strategy for recruiting in high-need areas. The data were very definitive for new teachers and
National Board Certified teachers in relation to the use of radio ads, with only 13.33% of new
teachers who agreed that radio ads are effective in recruitment for high-need areas and only 40%
of National Board Certified teachers who agreed with this strategy. While the majority of prin-
cipals (53.33%) either strongly agreed or agreed with the use of radio ads, 33.33% disagreed with
this strategy. The survey data were much stronger when identifying the effectiveness of job
posting websites, with new teachers (60%), National Board Certified teachers (80%), and princi-
pals (80%) who either strongly agreed or agreed with the use of job posting websites.
Summary Discussion for Research Question 1
LUDs are experiencing a rising need to recruit quality candidates for vacant teaching
positions in shortage areas and high-needs schools. The data revealed that partnerships between
local HLIs and school districts have been showing promise by launching alternative certification
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 73
Table 7
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of the Impact of Recruitment Strategies
(Advertising) in Hiring Effective Teachers, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
Social media recruitment results in hiring effective teachers
and improving student achievement and graduation rates.
Strongly Agree 20.00 13.33 33.33
Agree 40.00 73.33 40.00
Neither Disagree nor Agree 40.00 6.67 6.67
Disagree 0.00 0.00 13.33
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Radio ads result in hiring effective teachers and improving
student achievement and graduation rates.
Strongly Agree 0.00 0.00 13.33
Agree 13.33 40.00 40.00
Neither Disagree nor Agree 40.00 46.67 13.33
Disagree 33.33 13.33 33.33
Strongly Disagree 13.33 0.00 0.00
Job posting websites result in hiring effective teachers and
improving student achievement and graduation rates.
Strongly Agree 33.33 20.00 13.33
Agree 26.67 60.00 66.67
Neither Disagree nor Agree 40.00 20.00 20.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
and career ladder programs that invest in grow-your-own pipelines. Through alternative certifi-
cation programs, teachers who were recruited from the community and the ranks of paraprofes-
sionals tended to perform at a higher level and remained in the profession. It was recognized in
the analysis of the data that the surveyed new teachers, National Board Certified teachers, and
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 74
principals identified HLIs and financial incentives as the most impactful drivers to recruit new
teachers in shortage areas and hard-to-staff schools. Interview results suggested a focus on year-
round collaborative activities with HLIs, such as student teaching opportunities, hiring fairs, and
financial incentives. The survey findings also revealed that while social media, radio ads, and
job posting websites were effective, there was much less support of these strategies to address the
recruitment of teachers in LUDs.
Findings for Research Question 2
According to Barnes et al. (2007), teachers without quality preparation leave the profes-
sion at a much faster rate than do fully prepared teachers. Podolsky et al. (2016) further sug-
gested that high-quality induction is correlated with higher retention rates and improved student
learning. A review of most productive induction programs by Podolski et al. included coaching,
mentoring, reduced workload, collaborative planning time, and additional classroom assistance.
Research studies by Ingersoll (2001) on teacher attrition rates have shifted from a focus on the
characteristics of individual teachers to the study of organizations and their individual character-
istics. The objective of this question was to examine supports that districts must put in place to
effectively retain qualified teachers once they are in the system. This study surveyed and inter-
viewed new teachers, National Board Certified teachers, and principals who worked in a LUD
and were familiar with the challenges associated with teacher attrition and its negative impact on
student achievement and staffing stability. The findings of the research are organized into three
themes that identify the recommended practices for a LUD to improve the retention of qualified
teachers.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 75
School Cultures and Working Conditions
The review of research by Fuller and Young (2009) indicated that teacher attrition rates in
hard-to-staff schools was very high due to dissatisfaction with working conditions. According to
Berry et al. (2008), the problem has been further aggravated by the fact that quality new teachers
leave their schools when dissatisfied with poor school cultures and working conditions.
Allensworth et al. (2009) described insufficient support from the principal, student disci-
pline challenges, limited staff voice in school decision making, and low compensation as justifi-
cations for teachers leaving for different schools or other districts. The same research concluded
that high teacher attrition rates strongly correlated with low student achievement in CPS. Fullan
and Quinn’s (2016) literature in response to teacher attrition challenges recommends that districts
create “cultivating collaborative cultures” (p. 461) that promote collaboration and coherence
within the system.
Table 8 shows that based on the data from the qualitative surveys, 100% of the new
teachers, National Board Certified teachers, and principals surveyed strongly agreed or agreed
that district supports that promote collaboration, including demonstration lessons, gallery walks
where teachers visit each other’s classrooms, and co-teaching with a peer, lead to higher retention
of qualified teachers. Based on the data from the interviews, there was strong support for the role
of the school administrator in creating a collaborative culture. The findings of the study were in
alignment with the review of literature illustrating that schools within LUDs that promote strong
collaboration among teachers and between the principal and the teachers retain teachers at much
higher rates than other schools that lack collaborative cultures (Allensworth et al., 2009).
A new teacher expressed her opinion on the impact of principals on school culture:
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 76
Table 8
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Differential Support Strategies to Improve
Students’ Achievement and Graduation Rates in a Large Urban District, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
District support (i.e., demonstration lessons, gallery walks,
co-teaching, etc.) lead to higher retention of highly
qualified teachers.
Strongly Agree 66.67 73.33 73.33
Agree 33.33 26.67 26.67
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
So I think the administrators are very responsible for the atmosphere that’s created there
and how they make the teachers feel and how they relate to people. I also think, through
experience, the administrator would be able to bring strong programs to the school and
present the school in a certain way. They are responsible to be a balance for the whole
environment to function properly. (interview, October 22, 2018)
A second new teacher discussed the importance of professional collaboration:
At my school, the professionals working there have 2-year goals of where that school
wants to go and how each instructor on that campus fits into that goal. Then the profes-
sionals have a clear route to success. Then they know that they are making a big differ-
ence for the school and it is a schoolwide effort. It has to be connected. I’m not the only
English teacher; I’m not the only special ed teacher. I am connected with all the depart-
ments. (interview, October 22, 2018)
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 77
Retention Incentives
TNTP’s (2012) research on teacher retention reported that 30% of teachers left due to
working conditions such as compensation and inadequate preparation and that the root cause of
teacher attrition was the principals’ inability to be strategic about the teachers they retained. A
study by Guarino et al. (2006) also determined that in surveys of teachers, dissatisfaction with
salary correlated very highly with teacher attrition and decreased commitment to the district.
According to Guarino et al., teachers are incentivized to stay when they are provided with higher
salaries and financial incentives for working in hard-to-staff schools, taking on leadership posi-
tions within the school or district, specializing in shortage areas, and gaining NBC differentials.
Table 9 demonstrates that data from the qualitative surveys indicated that over 90% of the
new teachers, National Board Certified teachers, and principals strongly agreed or agreed that
supplemental compensation to attend professional development positively impacted the retention
of qualified teachers. The data in Table 9 further indicates that over 90% of all respondents felt
that improved pay for completion of microcredentials led to higher teacher retention. These data
were supported by Berry et al. (2016), who contended that the mircocredentialing process is a
valuable opportunity for teachers to develop their teaching skills and to increase their instruc-
tional effectiveness.
The qualitative surveys also determined that 100% of the new teachers and principal
participants and 93.33% of National Board Certified teachers strongly agreed or agreed that loan
forgiveness programs improved the retention of qualified teachers. Findings from the interviews
indicated the strongest support for financial incentives as an effective strategy to improve teacher
retention.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 78
Table 9
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Financial Incentive Strategies for a Large
Urban District to Retain Experienced Teachers in the System to Improve Students’ Achievement
and Graduation Rates, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
Stipends to participate in professional development lead
to higher retention of highly qualified teachers.
Strongly Agree 66.67 46.67 53.33
Agree 26.67 53.33 40.00
Neither Disagree nor Agree 6.67 0.00 6.67
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Improved compensation for professional development
completion (microcredentials) leads to higher retention
of highly qualified teachers.
Strongly Agree 53.33 73.33 40.00
Agree 46.67 20.00 53.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 0.00 6.67
Disagree 0.00 6.67 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Loan forgiveness programs lead to higher retention
of highly qualified teachers.
Strongly Agree 73.33 86.67 73.33
Agree 26.67 6.67 26.67
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 6.67 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Note. Experienced teachers: 5+ years of experience or completion of an induction process.
A new teacher discussed how loan forgiveness programs positively impacted teacher
retention:
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 79
Loan forgiveness helps a lot out. It is a whole chunk of money; and if you are trying to
get into a profession, why not take advantage of the fact that they’re gonna forgive your
loan. I think I owed $10,000, and then I knocked out a certain portion every year. By the
time I reached my fifth year, my loan was gone. (interview, October 22, 2018)
One principal interviewed shared her opinion on loan forgiveness programs:
I think loan forgiveness programs are good both for recruitment and retention. Depend-
ing on the experience that someone has, it may change their mind and say, “You know,
this isn’t what I really had planned, but now that I’m here, I have fallen in love with what
I do and this is what I commit to do for the rest of my years or a longer period of time.
(interview, November 8, 2018)
A second principal also shared how her experience with loan forgiveness:
I have teachers giving me a form to fill out for the loan forgiveness, and they said that it
just reduces some of the stress for them and that once they get to the school site, they find
that it’s a diamond in the rough, and they actually do stay and they do wanna be there. I
think that it definitely can help by doing the loan forgiveness program. (interview,
November 8, 2018)
Instructional Support
According to TNTP’s (2012) report, quality teachers expect professional attention and
investment by their principals. The report further delineates that principals can improve teacher
retention by providing detailed performance feedback, differentiating support in the areas of
professional and personal development, publicly recognizing accomplishments, offering teacher
leadership roles and sharing responsibilities, and adequately resourcing classrooms. TNTP
(2012) reported that high-performing teachers who experienced at least two of the
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 80
aforementioned strategies remained at their schools an average of 6 years longer than those who
did not and that less than half of the teachers in the study had experienced two or more of these
strategies.
The review of literature by Archibald et al. (2011) revealed that while there may not be
specific strategies that work for all teachers, principals can create conditions that foster growth.
According to Fullan and Quinn (2016), successful school districts have clear strategies to
promote teacher commitment and retention, thereby leading to improved student achievement,
while struggling districts are often ineffective in their support of teachers and do not differentiate
instructional support for teachers as a districtwide priority.
Table 10 indicates that the data findings from the qualitative surveys were strongly asso-
ciated with the discoveries of TNTP (2012). The results showed that 80% of new teachers and
86.67% of National Board Certified teachers and principals strongly agreed or agreed that the
identification of mentor opportunities led to higher retention of qualified teachers. Other prac-
tices that the survey participants marked as effective in the retention of highly qualified teachers
were substitute release time for teachers to attend professional development, which generated
strong agreement or agreement by 86.67% of new teachers and principals and 80% of National
Board Certified teachers.
Table 11 indicates that there was a strong association of the data from the qualitative
surveys with the research by Berry et al. (2010), who noted that many teachers want to improve
and need concise feedback, differentiated support, and additional resources to improve their
teaching competencies. The data illustrate that 86.67% of new teachers, 80% of National Board
Certified teachers, and 73.33% of principals strongly agreed or agreed that providing extra
planning time and conference periods for planning led to higher retention of qualified teachers.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 81
Table 10
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Teacher Instructional Support Strategies
for a Large Urban District to Retain New and Experienced Teachers in the System to Improve
Students’ Achievement and Graduation Rates, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
Programs to identify teachers as mentors lead to higher
retention of highly qualified teachers.
Strongly Agree 53.33 40.00 46.67
Agree 26.67 46.67 40.00
Neither Disagree nor Agree 13.33 0.00 13.33
Disagree 6.67 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Substitute days to attend professional development leads
to higher retention of highly qualified teachers.
Strongly Agree 53.33 40.00 53.33
Agree 26.67 40.00 46.67
Neither Disagree nor Agree 13.33 20.00 0.00
Disagree 6.67 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Note. Experienced teachers: 5+ years of experience or completion of an induction process.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 82
Table 11
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Differentiated Support Strategies for a
Large Urban District to Retain New and Experienced Teachers in the System, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
Extra conference period/planning time for nonpermanent
teachers leads to higher retention of highly qualified
teachers.
Strongly Agree 46.67 46.67 40.00
Agree 40.00 33.33 33.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 13.33 20.00 13.33
Disagree 0.00 0.00 13.33
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Additional counselors (secondary/PSAs/PSWs/nurses
lead to higher retention of highly qualified teachers.
Strongly Agree 33.33 33.33 46.67
Agree 26.67 46.67 20.00
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 13.33 13.33
Disagree 40.00 6.67 20.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Note. Experienced teachers: 5+ years of experience or completion of an induction process. PSA
= pupil services and administration; PSW = psychiatric social worker.
The survey data further indicated that resourcing schools with additional health and
human services support staff (e.g., counselors, nurses, and psychiatric social workers) to address
students’ needs were welcomed by the majority of participants. The responses to the assignment
of additional health and human services staff varied significantly by participant groups. Sixty
percent of new teachers indicated strong agreement or agreement, but 40% disagreed that these
additional supports are a successful strategy to improve teacher retention. The responses were
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 83
more positive for National Board Certified teachers, of whom 80% strongly agreed or agreed
with this support and only 6.67% were in disagreement. The results demonstrated that principals
also largely strongly agreed or agreed (66.67%) with these additional health and human services
resources to support improved retention, while 20% disagreed.
Based on the data from the interviews, the strongest support was in the area of building
the professional capacity of teachers by offering collaborative learning opportunities and mean-
ingful professional relationships with other teacher leaders, such as mentors and National Board
Certified teachers. The results were in alignment with the findings of the TNTP (2012) study,
which concluded that fundamental teacher improvement and retention require that mentors and
other teacher leaders serve as role models coaches who can be observed and shadowed.
One principal highlighted the significance of mentors:
I think mentors are very important. Let’s reflect on our careers. There are mentors that
we’ve had in our lives, whatever capacity we’ve had, that probably develop us to the
people that we are and the profession we are. I think mentors are very valuable. And
that’s at all levels, buildings, and ground. When you have a mentor, it speaks volumes.
When you trip and fall, you rise and you have that mentor that you can go and lean on.
(interview, November 8, 2018)
A new teacher discussed her thoughts about the value of a mentor:
For a mentor to be effective, the mentor has to be at the school site so there’s immediate
support. Someone that comes from another school doesn’t know your school and comes
once a month, or every other month, isn’t gonna make an impact on who you are and
what you do. I am a Pro 2 in a special day class, and my mentor is in a different location,
with different programs. My person next door has been the person guiding me all year.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 84
Mentors need to be strong and qualified, but they don’t necessarily have to have the title,
right? (interview, October 22, 2018)
The interviews also indicated that National Board Certified teachers perceived the
strongest element for teacher support, leading to greater retention, to be the ongoing support
provided by the administrator. One National Board Certified teacher expressed her opinion on
the impact of administrator support:
The impact of having an effective administrator to retain is huge, because if you are all
over the place, how does a teacher come to you and feel that they can even ask you for
support? If you don’t have follow through, clarity, and instructional focus, what kind of
support can you offer your teachers? (interview, November 3, 2018)
The response of another National Board Certified teacher highlighted the impact of district
initiatives and policies that negatively influenced an administrator’s ability to support teachers:
There are things that are out of an effective administrator’s control, and the amount of
new policies and changes within our curriculum—sometimes directives, sometimes
coming from networks, local district, and big district—make it difficult. A successful
administrator needs to make sure that your teachers have everything that they need but
there are things that are out of their control. (interview, November 3, 2018)
Summary Discussion for Research Question 2
The three emergent themes from Research Question 2 shed light on the practices that
districts use to build teacher capacity and enhance working conditions to improve retention.
Most significant was the role of the administrator in creating collaborative professional environ-
ments at schools to help in retaining high-quality teachers. Both surveys and interviews revealed
that LUDs can create positive cultures and working conditions by focusing on creating structures
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 85
that emphasize collaboration and support. The data also indicated that financial incentives matter
to teachers and that engaging them in differentiated professional development and teacher lead-
ership activities, such as microcredentialing, mentoring, and coaching, recognizes the value that
they bring to the organization. Finally, the data highlighted the that role principals and mentors
play in offering timely instructional support to teachers, hence improving teacher competencies
and retention.
Findings for Research Question 3
The objective of this question was to identify meaningful commitments that LUDs can
make to improve the training of teachers beyond the traditional postinduction period of 5 years.
Researchers such as Darling-Hammond et al. (2005) have contended that teacher effectiveness is
a combination of a teacher’s general academic ability or content knowledge and the specialized
teacher training program. While other researchers such as Betts et al. (2000), who are advocates
for more certifications and training, have argued that more training results in greater student
learning. The survey and interview research conducted in this study identified three themes.
Teacher Training Programs
Research literature by Goe (2007) indicated that there is sufficient evidence that teachers
with traditional certification and alternative certification add equally to student achievement
because they have both gained certification and completed the requirements of their programs.
According to Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond (2017), the majority of teachers enter the
teaching profession by attending university-based training programs and teacher credentialing
programs are accountable for the quality of teachers entering the educational system and their
ability to exercise resilience, improve competencies, and successfully teach students. Darling-
Hammond et al. (2005) identified that a combination of full certification, having a professional or
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 86
standard teaching certificate, and graduation from an approved teacher education program has
resulted in greater achievement for students.
Data results from principal, new teacher, and National Board Certified teacher interviews
indicated the strongest support for new teachers to receive in classroom experiences prior to
beginning their teaching assignments to build their effectiveness. A principal stated:
I haven’t heard positive things for the university, of people coming into the job. It’s
really important to have hands-on experience. That’s why I went back to the hands-on
experience. I don’t know how out of touch some of these professors are with what goes
on in a public school setting. That ‘s why I think when you do your student teaching, and
when you do your observing, and you develop with your master teacher, I think that’s the
most productive. (interview, November 8, 2018)
A National Board Certified teacher expressed her opinion about student teaching
programs:
It’s almost like going back to being an apprentice. I can have all the book knowledge, and
the content and theory and pedagogy, but until I roll my sleeves up, lesson plan, try it, see
how it doesn’t work period one to make shifts for period four. Until I actually live it,
that’s where the learning takes place. And have the ability to have a master teacher, that’s
very experienced and has a lot of skill set, a lot of experience, to go ahead and help guide
you through the experience. (interview, November 3, 2018)
A new teacher advocated for a teacher training program that would include student teaching:
I agree, student teaching was the most important because you have the in-class
experience—you get to go through institution, and you would come across my 1st
semester was half day and my 2nd semester was full day. So I think that really helped me
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 87
because some teachers that I spoke with, if they only did 1 semester, I think were less
prepared. And being able to have primary and an upper experience, that really helped me.
(interview, October 22, 2018)
Professional Development
The review of literature by TNTP (2015) revealed that all teachers encounter numerous
opportunities to learn and build their competencies and that school districts have identified
professional development as the paramount strategy for improving teaching and student learning.
According to Chetty et al. (2011), when school districts support teachers, they become successful
in the classroom and student achievement increases. A study by TNTP (2015) calculated that
districts spend an average of $18,000 per teacher on professional development and that after 10
years, a teacher may have spent the equivalent of more than a school year on professional devel-
opment. Berry et al. (2008) found that despite dedicating funding and time, most teachers do not
improve significantly after the first few years of teaching and that it is difficult to link teacher
improvement to a particular professional development strategy. These results make it difficult
for school districts and particularly principals to design and determine the type (e.g., job embed-
ded or differentiated) and the amount of time of professional development that will have the
greatest impact on teacher learning (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005).
Regarding data findings from the qualitative surveys, Table 12 indicates that there was
strong support for online professional development as a strategy to improve the postinduction
training of teachers. The new teachers (93.33%), National Board Certified teachers (73.33%),
and principals (86.67%) strongly agreed or agreed with this strategy of training as a choice to
improve teacher training. These findings align with the research of Hamilton et al. (2008) that
teachers improve at varying rates over time and that teacher input into the professional
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 88
development process coupled with collaboration may enhance classroom practices. Newton
(2004) asserted that teacher input into the professional development process at the school site
improves teacher buy-in and that traditional professional development structures may be the
cause of the lack of systemic change in the instructional practices of teachers. In addition to a
preference for online professional development, the survey data on Table 12 indicate that 100%
of new teachers, 80% of National Board Certified teachers, and 93.33% of principals strongly
agreed or agreed that providing a stipend would improve the postinduction training of teachers.
Table 12
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Strategies That Could/Should Be Used to
Improve the Postinduction Training of Teachers, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
Online professional development (on demand) improves
the postinduction training of teachers.
Strongly Agree 40.00 46.67 26.67
Agree 46.67 46.67 73.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 13.33 13.33 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Salary (stipends) to participate in training improves the
postinduction training of teachers.
Strongly Agree 80.00 46.67 33.33
Agree 20.00 33.33 40.00
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 20.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 6.67
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 89
The findings shown in Table 13, similarly based on the qualitative survey, demonstrate
that participants strongly supported the use of additional compensation strategies, such as
stipends for participation in professional development, to improve the postinduction training of
teachers. Table 13 shows that 86.67% of new teachers and National Board Certified teachers
strongly agreed or agreed with the strategy of additional compensation to improve postinduction
training. It should be recognized that 100% of principals strongly agreed or agreed that additional
compensation to teachers for microcredentialing certifications in content areas would improve
postinduction training.
Table 13
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Strategies for a Large Urban District to
Improve District Postinduction Training, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
Additional compensation for microcertifications (digital
badges of training completion) in content area(s) improves
district postinduction training.
Strongly Agree 66.67 73.33 73.33
Agree 33.33 26.67 26.67
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Administrator Impact
Research by Ripley (2010) indicated that providing effective teaching in every school is
less about challenges with individual teachers and more about the challenges with the system in
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 90
which the teachers work. Effective teachers often leave because of lack of principal leadership,
an absence of collegial staff with a shared philosophy and pedagogical practices, and insufficient
access to subject-specific resources (Allensworth et al.. 2009).
Table 14 summarizes data drawn from qualitative surveys from a LUD’s School Experi-
ence Survey that supported the findings of TNTP (2012) regarding the value of principal
feedback, guiding teachers in the areas of development, and providing critical feedback about
classroom performance. These data included 21,139 responses from teachers disaggregated by
less than 1 year of teaching experience, 1 to 2 years of experience, 3 to 5 years of teaching expe-
rience, 6 to 10 years of experience, and over 10 years of experience. The survey data disclosed
that administrators visited classrooms weekly to observe teaching more frequently for new
teachers (19.2%) with declining frequency for years of experience: 1 to 2 years, 14.1%; and 3 to 5
years, 13.1%. The data also unveiled that following the postinduction period of 5 years, princi-
pals initiated increasing weekly visits based on more experience, with 6 to 10 years of experience
at 13.7% and over 10 years of experience at 14.8%. A significant number of teachers’ responses
revealed that they were observed by their administrator “a few times per year” to “never” for less
than 1 year of experience, 34.5%; 1 to 2 years of experience, 38.8%; 3 to 5 years of experience,
44.1%; 6 to 10 years of experience, 44.7%; and over 10 years of experience (44%). The implica-
tions of these findings are that principals who do not often visit classrooms may be unable to
provide timely support for teachers who do not know how to improve and need timely and
concise feedback about their practices to improve their teaching competencies.
The data from Table 14 indicates that when principal classroom observations were made,
the teachers perceived the feedback as constructive and useful. The survey data indicated that
teachers received useful feedback either always or often following visits for less than 1 year of
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 91
Table 14
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Frequency That Instructional Support Strategies Were
Implemented, by Percentages
Length o f t i me teaching
Less than Over 10
1 year
a
1–2 years
b
3–5 years
c
6–10 years
d
years
e
Administrators visit your classroom
to observe your teaching:
Weekly 19.2 14.1 13.1 13.7 14.8
Twice a month 19.0 20.0 18.5 17.7 18.0
Monthly 27.2 27.1 24.3 23.8 23.2
A few times per year 24.3 29.7 30.9 30.9 30.3
Hardly ever 6.8 7.0 10.1 9.8 10.2
Never 3.4 2.1 3.1 4.0 3.5
Administrators provide useful feed-
back to you based on their obser-
vations:
Always 29.2 26.6 21.2 20.2 22.4
Often 30.4 33.9 31.1 29.3 28.0
Sometimes 25.8 27.9 20.7 28.8 29.8
Rarely 9.6 8.4 13.0 15.0 13.6
Never 5.0 3.2 5.1 6.7 6.1
a
n = 842.
b
n = 1,042.
c
n = 2,391.
d
n = 2,390.
e
n = 14,474.
experience, 59.6%; 1 to 2 years of experience, 60.5%; 3 to 5 years of experience, 52.2%; 6 to 10
years of experience, 49.5%; and over 10 years of experience, 50.4%.
Based on the data from teacher interviews, the principal’s role is essential to teacher
improvement. A new teacher noted that
principal visits are a very real reward. You don’t need the money—you need to feel it.
Because we’re in this for something else. Like right now on my campus, my principal has
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 92
an open door policy and I can go to her office and speak about my problems in the class-
room. I don’t feel so alone. I don’t feel like I have to keep it to myself. (interview,
October 22, 2018)
A National Board Certified teacher commented on the impact of administrative evaluations:
The administrator plays a huge role. If you have an ineffective administrator, the same
old, same old is gonna be going on. And if you have an ineffective teacher that’s not held
accountable, and if the ineffective administrator, not that they have to know everything,
but can’t give the resources needed, or understand where the problems are, and under-
stand where to go to get solutions for those problems—if they don’t have the capacity to
do that, then the ineffective teacher will remain ineffective and then the kids will suffer.
Bottom line, an ineffective administrator is a huge detriment to the school. (interview,
November 3, 2018)
A principal shared the importance of prioritizing support to certain teachers:
I’m the type of person that brings them in and says, “Listen. In this district it’s very easy
just to be mediocre and survive. So I’m gonna try to get my best personnel to those who
need it most. Those are the administrative decisions that I’ll make to do that. To try to
get the right players in at the right time.” And those people that need more attention, you
give them more attention. (interview, November 8, 2018)
Another principal summarized his perspective on leading a successful school:
My biggest thing, to be honest with you, I try to make as many people happy as I can. If
you wanna say, “What makes a good principal?” Trying to make as many people happy
as you can while still maintaining compliance and procedure. Obviously, you can’t do
whatever you wanna do. I gotta check my ego at the door, whether I like you or I don’t
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 93
like you. I love kids—that’s what I wake up for every day, for kids. You, you’re gonna
do something great for kids—I’m your number one fan and cheerleader. If it’s legal, if
it’s in compliance, we can support it—let’s try it. But also do you have some information
where this is proven? (interview, November 8, 2018)
A principal shared his thoughts on teacher support through site-based professional development:
Meaningful PD [professional development] for me means staying with one or two
concepts for a year, and every Tuesday, or every three or four times a month, you keep
hitting that same topic deeper, deeper, and deeper. That will be meaningful. Because you
will have time to practice it; you’ll have time to fail. Fail is good. You’ll have time to
stub your toe. You’ll have time to collaborate with “What did you try this week on our
theme that we’re doing?” (interview, November 8, 2018)
Summary Discussion for Research Question 3
Based on the data analysis for Research Question 3, it became evident that addressing
teacher improvement required participation in a quality teacher training program, differentiated
professional development, and targeted administrative support. The findings indicated that new
teachers, National Board Certified teachers, and principals recognized the value of offering a
variety of innovative professional development opportunities that were individualized by teach-
ers’ needs, experience, and subject matter such as online training options and microcredentialing
certifications. The participants strongly expressed the importance of administrative support and
feedback for teachers at all levels of experience and effectiveness.
Findings for Research Question 4
According to Darling-Hammond et al. (2005), LUDs require stronger pathways to attract
teachers to teach in schools with the greatest need. Research by Daley et al. (2017) revealed that
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 94
although hiring policies are equal, hiring outcomes at hard-to-staff schools are not the same and
the distribution of highly effective teachers is not equitable across schools. According to Miller
and Lee (2014), higher need and low-performing schools are systematically disadvantaged in
their selection of high quality candidates. The authors indicated that district assignment policies,
including seniority-based staffing considerations, prohibit principals’ attempts to improve the
effectiveness of teachers. However, TNTP’s (2012) report specifies that individual school site
factors play a crucial role in staffing results and that with quality leadership and coherent
structures, high-need schools can overcome their systemic disadvantages in the competition to
recruit and retain quality teachers. The work by Fullan (2011a, 2011b) on whole-system reform
points out that by altering how teachers work and providing them with more time and resources,
school districts can ensure that the additional challenge associated with working in high-needs
schools is balanced with the supplemental support required to be successful. The objective of
this question was to outline the strategies that could be used to support new teachers and surplus
teachers, as they are considered professionally most vulnerable and require coordinated efforts
and training to increase their teaching capacity. New teachers are considered professionally
vulnerable because they are still developing the necessary skills and strategies to become compe-
tent educators, and many surplus teachers who have remained on the surplus teacher list are
vulnerable because they are often perceived by schools to be less effective and desirable. Three
main themes emerged to provide conclusions for Research Question 4.
Collaborative School Improvement Models
According to TNTP (2012) research, a collaborative model for school leadership can
develop buy-in across the school community, serve as a motivator for positive change, and raise
expectations for teacher growth and performance. A thoughtful and integrated school
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 95
improvement process is most meaningful when the school community collaboratively engages in
the cycle of inquiry, action research, new teacher support meetings, and grade-level meetings to
find patterns to guide their instruction (Matsumara et al., 2002; Schacter & Thum, 2004). One
such strategy employed by many school leaders is to build a PLC that stimulates collaborative
learning among colleagues within a school, organizes teachers into working groups, and engages
them in practice-based professional learning. Teacher leaders, under the guidance of their
principal, take responsibility for inquiring about the instructional challenge, researching possible
solutions, and implementing recommendations to improve their professional practices (Smith et
al., 2001).
Table 15 shows that based on the data from the qualitative surveys, there was the
strongest agreement among participants that dedicated time for PLCs improves teacher effective-
ness. The results indicated that 100% of National Board Certified teachers and principals
strongly agreed or agreed that PLCs improve teacher effectiveness. The data for the new teachers
indicated that 93.33% of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that dedicated time for PLCs
improves teacher effectiveness.
Table 16 summarizes the responses from the LUD’s School Experience Survey data and
the questions that measured the degree of implementation of strategies aligned with PLCs. These
data included 21,139 responses from teachers disaggregated by years of teaching experience.
The respondent data indicated that there were limited observation opportunities for teachers to
learn ideas from their colleagues, with the majority of responses ranging from “a few times per
year” to “never”: new teachers 62.8%; 1 to 2 years of experience, 65.2%; 3 to 5 years of expe-
rience, 71.9%; 6 to 10 years of experience, 68.2%; and over 10 years of experience, 71.6%.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 96
Table 15
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Strategies That Could/Should Be Used to
Support the Effectiveness of Novice and Surplus Teachers, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
Support from National Board Certified teachers improves
effectiveness.
Strongly Agree 46.67 33.33 6.67
Agree 26.67 33.33 73.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 20.00 33.33 13.33
Disagree 6.67 0.00 6.67
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Dedicated time for professional learning communities
improves effectiveness.
Strongly Agree 80.00 60.00 80.00
Agree 13.33 40.00 20.00
Neither Disagree nor Agree 6.67 0.00 0.00
Disagree 6.67 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
The district should require teachers to commit to his-
torically underperforming schools for a minimum of
4 years to build staff consistency.
Strongly Agree 6.67 53.33 33.33
Agree 13.33 26.67 33.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 20.00 6.67 0.00
Disagree 33.33 13.33 26.67
Strongly Disagree 6.67 0.00 0.00
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 97
Table 16
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Frequency That Collaborative Strategies Were Used in
Professional Development (Training, Grade- and Department-Level Meetings, Etc.), by Per-
centages
Length o f t i me teaching
Less than Over 10
1 year
a
1–2 years
b
3–5 years
c
6–10 years
d
years
e
Observed the instruction of my col-
leagues to get ideas for my own
instruction:
Weekly 15.7 13.4 10.6 9.0 7.8
Twice a month 8.7 8.3 6.9 5.5 4.7
Monthly 12.8 13.1 10.6 11.4 9.0
A few times per year 24.3 25.0 28.6 23.1 20.2
Hardly ever 17.1 21.3 23.1 23.0 26.5
Never 21.4 18.9 30.2 22.1 24.9
With my colleagues, examined
evidence of students’ understand-
ing/mastery (e.g., test data, student
work) to improve my instruction:
Weekly 23.4 21.3 19.2 17.2 16.2
Twice a month 15.1 16.3 15.1 14.9 15.4
Monthly 21.4 23.0 24.6 23.0 24.1
A few times per year 20.4 24.6 27.2 28.9 29.4
Hardly ever 10.2 9.6 9.5 10.8 10.1
Never 9.5 5.2 4.3 5.3 4.8
a
n = 842.
b
n = 1,042.
c
n = 2,391.
d
n = 2,390.
e
n = 14,474.
The respondent data in Table 16 further shows that the majority of teachers received opportuni-
ties ranging from weekly to monthly to work with colleagues to examine evidence of students’
understanding/mastery and calibrate test data and student work including new teachers (59.9%);
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 98
1 to 2 years of experience (60.6%); 3 to 5 years of experience (58.9%); 6 to 10 years of experi-
ence (55.1%); and over 10 years of experience (55.7%).
Table 17 outlines the responses from the LUD’s School Experience Survey data and the
questions that measured the frequency with which PLC strategies were implemented. These data
included 21,139 responses from teachers disaggregated by years of experience. The responses
demonstrated that the majority of teachers indicated that they met frequently, ranging from
“weekly” to “monthly”: new teachers, 80%); 1 to 2 years of experience, 80.4%; 3 to 5 years of
experience, 77.7%; 6 to 10 years of experience, 76.1%; and over 10 years of experience, 75.9%.
The responses summarized in Table 17 strongly indicated that opportunities for teacher
collaboration by departments, grade levels, or PLCs did occur within the LUD: new teachers,
90.5%; 1 to 2 years of experience, 92.1%; 3 to 5 years of experience, 89.4%; 6 to 10 years of
experience, 87.1%; and over 10 years of experience, 88.6%.
Based on data from interviews, there was the strongest affirmation for PLCs as building
collaboration and being a successful strategy to use in schools. A principal commented:
I think you need to make a strategy like a PLC mandatory. I think you need to set the
structure, set the time aside, and part of the structure is having PD . . . There are school
districts that have PD time before the school year starts or at least time throughout the
year with a common goal, a common purpose that is beneficial. To me, there’s no better
strategy than a PLC. Yes, it takes time because everybody has to be on the same page,
and it always has to be led by an administrator or a member of the administrative team.
That’s why you end up getting the grade-level discussions that are not useful because you
have to leave people up to themselves and it has to be led by an administrator at all times.
(interview, November 8, 2018)
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 99
Table 17
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Frequency That Professional Learning Community (PLC)
Strategies Were Implemented, by Percentages
Length o f t i me teaching
Less than Over 10
1 year
a
1–2 years
b
3–5 years
c
6–10 years
d
years
e
Teachers meet to examine student
performance data:
Weekly 28.4 25.1 22.8 20.5 19.2
Monthly 51.6 55.3 54.9 55.6 56.7
Rarely 17.0 17.9 20.5 22.2 22.1
Never 2.9 1.8 1.9 1.7 2.1
Teachers collaborate with one an-
other by department, PLCs, or grade
level about curricular or instructional
issues:
Weekly 49.2 46.9 43.0 39.5 42.2
Monthly 41.3 45.2 46.4 47.6 46.4
Rarely 7.9 6.6 9.8 11.8 10.1
Never 1.6 1.2 0.9 1.1 1.3
a
n = 842.
b
n = 1,042.
c
n = 2,391.
d
n = 2,390.
e
n = 14,474.
A second principal affirmed the positive results from PLCs but did not agree to it being man-
dated:
I don’t know. I think I may disagree. A mandate goes against the spirit of a PLC. How-
ever, I think that we, as a district, model the importance of it, model our actions of us
having PLCs at principal meetings, at a district meeting, and so forth. We need to show
that we value PLC. Through action is always better than through words. I don’t know if
there always has to be an administrator present. I do know there needs to be somebody
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 100
well trained and a leader. There needs to be a leader in the PLC, but it does not always
have to be an administrator. It may be teacher leaders; it may be National Board Certified
teachers or mentors. (interview, November 8, 2018)
One new teacher expressed her concern over being at a school that no longer had a PLC:
I have to be honest—I came to a training, and that was the first time I had heard of PLCs,
which made me extremely sad because the school where I’m currently working at, they
used to have them last year. And they got rid of it. But what I’m hearing from all the
other teachers is that it was wonderful to have that because they actually had the time to
work together and be on that same path and all come to an agreement as to what their goal
was going to be at a grade level and schoolwide. And now as a new teacher there, I need
that. I’m constantly running to my colleagues and saying like, “What are you doing for
this?” So I think the role of having that after school is a must. It should be mandated that
all schools have these if they want the schools to grow together. (interview, October 22,
2018)
The interviews clearly revealed that the implementation of districtwide PLCs was incon-
sistent. A second new teacher shared her understanding of PLCs:
One being able to collaborate. So collaboration, because you can’t just look at your
classroom and say, “I’m gonna do well with my classroom because it’s the school.” You
should really think about all kids, the whole grade level. So being able to come together
as a grade level or a school and being able to share your ideas and being able to collabo-
rate and working together. (interview, October 22, 2018)
A National Board Certified teacher expressed her opinion of PLCs:
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 101
I think PLCs should be more school based. Well, scratch that. I guess it depends. If
you’re looking at academic performance of a school, I think it’s beneficial for a school to
be running its own PLCs because professional learning community can be based on dif-
ferent things. It doesn’t necessarily have to be academic geared. It could be something
personal, or it could be a teacher wanting to learn something for themselves. So if a
district has a PLC where teachers with the same set of minds come together and then
they’re trying to learn from one another, I think that would be something the district can
kind of monitor and set up, versus for academic, it could be more geared towards the
school itself or grade level or a program, so it kind of depends on the need, I think.
(interview, November 8, 2018)
Hybrid Teacher Leader Support
According to TNTP (2015), cultivating the potential, belief, and ability of teachers is the
most important driver of improved student achievement. A review of literature by Wood et al.
(2016) indicated that novice teachers who received focused instructional support from mentors,
National Board Certified teachers, coaches, and other teacher leaders at the school site became
more effective teachers. Hahnel and Jackson (2012) proposed that principals should take maxi-
mum advantage of existing expertise in their schools through hybrid leadership roles that allow
teachers to stay in the classroom. In their review of literature, Backes and Hansen (2018) also
recommended that these hybrid teacher leaders be given additional planning time and compensa-
tion while also supporting their peers’ professional learning. Pierce and Buysse (2016) advo-
cated that instructional support personnel should conduct peer observations, provide feedback,
participate in professional development, and provide support to new and struggling teachers who
receive below standard evaluations. Ingersoll et al. (2017) argued that LUDs should raise a
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 102
school’s capacity to coach and teach others—an action that could eventually improve the efficacy
of additional teachers on that campus. They felt that mentors and instructional coaches who
partner with new teachers and focus on their differentiated needs are more likely to improve
student outcomes.
Table 18 summarizes the strong agreement of the participating new teachers, National
Board Certified teachers, and principals regarding multiple mentoring support strategies. Based
on the data from the qualitative surveys, 100% of the new teachers, National Board Certified
teachers, and principals strongly agreed or agreed that conducting a demonstration lesson with
mentor feedback improved effectiveness. Similarly, Table 18 shows that 100% of new teachers,
National Board Certified teachers, and principals strongly agreed or agreed that weekly supports
from mentors and other instructional leaders improved teacher effectiveness. Table 18 further
shows data indicating that 100% of National Board Certified teachers and principals felt that
receiving peer feedback at their school site improved teacher effectiveness. Responses from new
teachers revealed that 86.66% strongly agreed or agreed, with 13.33% of respondents expressing
neither agreement nor disagreement.
Based on data from the interviews, there was the strongest support for LUDs to offer
mentoring and multilevel coaching to new teachers and surplus teachers, thus ultimately helping
them to become more effective at teaching their students. A new teacher described her relation-
ship with her mentor as follows:
I have one. She helped me, and she shared her classroom routines with me and her
procedures. She shared a syllabus with me. She shared, at the very beginning, just so the
kids can know each other—she shared some of that also. I really appreciated that she
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 103
Table 18
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Mentoring Support Strategies That Could/
Should Be Used to Improve the Effectiveness of Novice and Surplus Teachers, by Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
Conducting a demonstration lesson with mentor feedback
improves effectiveness.
Strongly Agree 66.67 80.00 86.67
Agree 33.33 20.00 13.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Weekly supports from mentors and administrators improve
improve effectiveness.
Strongly Agree 73.33 80.00 86.67
Agree 26.67 20.00 13.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Observing fellow teachers and receiving peer feedback
improves effectiveness.
Strongly Agree 33.33 73.33 66.67
Agree 53.33 26.67 33.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 13.33 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
went the extra mile for me. She allowed people to come in and observe her and had no
problems sharing her resources. (interview, October 22, 2018)
One National Board Certified teacher discussed the value of school site mentors:
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 104
I can speak to that because that’s what I do. I actually look at the mentor very highly. In
any profession, if you look at it, there’s always somebody that you can turn to and that, by
default, will become your mentor. But I think it speeds the process of learning because
that mentor has experience and you don’t have to travel that same path of hardship
because they’re there to say, “You know what, I did that—it’s not gonna work.” They’ll
give you the fast track. I think we look at how to really utilize the mentors, I agree. I
think it should be something that’s on the school site. (interview, November 3, 2018)
A principal shared how mentors support the retention of new teachers:
You want to attract people to the profession but in order to keep them, they will not stay
unless there’s someone’s shoulder to cry on, or somebody to say, “It’s gonna get better”
or “This is how I’ve done it.” Somebody who has already navigated that road really plays
a huge role in whether somebody will stay in the profession, any profession. (interview,
November 8, 2018)
One National Board Certified teacher discussed how she mentored two experienced
teachers:
I think mentors are really important. I know when I was at School D [pseudonym], I
mentored a teacher who had been teaching for 25 years. The principal was like, “Please
help me.” And they were my partners, so I would go in there and I would do lessons for
both classes together and have them watch me do like a blending lesson. I would tell her,
“Have your kids come on in.” So they would come in each day and I’m like, “Here’s how
we do blending.” And I would explain to them. Initially, I did not see changes to her
teaching, but eventually, little by little, she was able to use it. But I know that it helped
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 105
her and know the principal felt better having her kids get it. (interview, November 3,
2018)
Differentiated Support for New and Surplus Teachers
According to Newton (2004), school systems must inventory current professional devel-
opment, evaluate its effectiveness, and redefine professional growth and development by estab-
lishing professional expectations with measurable progress toward specific standards for teaching
and learning. It was reviewed in the literature that teacher effectiveness in obtaining student
results may be observed as a function of three comprehensive elements: knowledge, skill, and
motivation (Bandura, 2001). Based on Bandura’s (2001) theory, new and surplus teachers will
improve if they engage in professional goal setting, exercise self-efficacy, and purposefully self-
regulate their behavior in the classroom. In alignment with Bandura’s (1986, 2001) SCT, this
study surveyed the new teachers, National Board Certified teachers, and principals regarding
differentiated support to improve teacher effectiveness and self-efficacy. Table 19 shows that the
responses from the qualitative surveys indicated that there was strong agreement that districts
should provide differentiated opportunities for surplus teachers. One hundred percent of new
teachers strongly agreed or agreed that surplus teachers should receive co-teaching support from
mentors to improve their effectiveness. The majority of National Board Certified teachers
(66.66%) and principals (80%) also strongly agreed or agreed with this differentiation strategy.
Table 19 also highlights that 80% of the new teachers, National Board Certified teachers,
and principals strongly agreed or agreed that surplus teachers should not be assigned to histori-
cally underperforming schools. The majority of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the
strategy of the LUD retraining surplus teachers on best practices to improve their effectiveness:
93.33% of new teachers and 80% of National Board Certified teachers and principals.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 106
Table 19
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Differentiated Assignments and Training
Strategies That Could/Should Be Used to Improve the Effectiveness of Surplus Teachers, by
Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
Surplus teachers receiving co-teaching support from
mentor teachers improves effectiveness.
Strongly Agree 33.33 33.33 13.33
Agree 66.67 33.33 66.67
Neither Disagree nor Agree 0.00 33.33 20.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Surplus teachers not being placed at historically under-
performing schools improves effectiveness.
Strongly Agree 40.00 53.33 60.00
Agree 40.00 26.67 20.00
Neither Disagree nor Agree 13.33 6.67 13.33
Disagree 6.67 13.33 6.67
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Programs to retrain surplus teachers on best practices
improves effectiveness.
Strongly Agree 46.67 26.67 33.33
Agree 46.67 53.33 33.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 6.67 20.00 33.33
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Table 20 illustrates the different perceptions that the respondents held for new teachers as
opposed to surplus teachers. Although 93.33% of the new teachers and 80% of the National
Board Certified teachers, and principals strongly agreed or agreed that surplus teachers should
not be placed at historically underperforming schools, the data displayed in Table 20 shows that
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 107
only 46.67% of new teachers, 0% of National Board Certified teachers, and 33.33% of principals
felt that new teachers should not be assigned to historically underperforming schools.
Table 20
Participants’ Responses Indicating the Importance of Differentiated Assignments and Training
Strategies That Could/Should Be Used to Improve the Effectiveness of Novice Teachers, by
Percentages
National
Board
New Certified
Survey item and response categories teachers teachers Principals
New teachers not being placed at historically underperforming
schools improves effectiveness.
Strongly Agree 20.00 0.00 20.00
Agree 26.67 0.00 13.33
Neither Disagree nor Agree 6.67 13.33 26.67
Disagree 40.00 33.33 33.33
Strongly Disagree 6.67 33.33 6.67
Table 21 profiles the responses from the LUD’s School Experience Survey data and the
questions that ascertained the degree to which teachers perceived that professional development
was differentiated to meet their individual needs and to build their effectiveness. These data
were comprised of 21,139 responses from teachers disaggregated by years of experience. The
table shows that the majority of all teachers strongly agreed or agreed that the professional devel-
opment provided at their school was differentiated for their level of teaching experience: new
teachers, 79.8%; 1 to 2 years of experience, 80.7%; 3 to 5 years of experience, 79.2%); 6 to 10
years of experience, 77%); and over 10 years of experience, 77.6%.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 108
Table 21
Participants’ Responses Indicating Their Perceptions on the Differentiation of Professional
Development to Improve the Effectiveness of Teachers, by Percentages
Length o f t i me teaching
Less than Over 10
1 year
a
1–2 years
b
3–5 years
c
6–10 years
d
years
e
The professional development at this
school is differentiated for my level of
teaching experience.
Strongly Agree 31.5 31.8 29.1 27.3 25.7
Agree 48.3 48.9 50.1 49.7 51.9
Disagree 16.9 15.6 16.6 17.2 17.5
Strongly Disagree 3.3 3.6 4.1 5.7 4.9
What I learn in our school profes-
sional development meetings addresses
my students’ needs.
Strongly Agree 32.7 28.9 25.7 23.7 25.3
Agree 53.1 53.7 52.5 52.8 52.9
Disagree 11.8 12.8 16.6 17.8 16.5
Strongly Disagree 2.4 4.6 5.2 5.7 5.3
a
n = 842.
b
n = 1,042.
c
n = 2,391.
d
n = 2,390.
e
n = 14,474.
The data in Table 21 also demonstrate that the majority of all five categories of teachers
strongly agreed or agreed that their school’s professional development was differentiated to meet
the needs of their students: new teachers, 85.8%; 1 to 2 years of experience, 82.6%; 3 to 5 years
of experience, 78.2%; 6 to 10 years of experience, 76.5%; and over 10 years of experience,
78.2%.
Based on the data from the interviews, there was a strong opinion among the participants
that all teachers can become effective with the appropriate support. One new teacher expressed
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 109
her opinion on working hard to improve through self-reflection: “You put in the time and effort
[and] your practices will improve. It might not reach the same level as someone who might have
natural abilities. And I know this by self-reflection” (interview, October 22, 2018).
One principal described an effective teacher as follows:
Effective teachers are reflective. You think about and reflect on your practice continu-
ously, so when you hear other perspectives or other ways of doing, I think it does contrib-
ute to their professional knowledge to reflect on their own experiences and those around
them. An effective teacher never stops learning. Whether it’s a good thing or maybe a
negative thing. Maybe that’s one way that I’m going do it, right? “I’m not going to use
that in my classroom” or “I’m not going proceed in that way,” so I think that’s learning
and growth. (interview, November 8, 2018)
One National Board Certified teacher spoke about the need for differentiated support to
become effective:
I think I’m saying something similar, but I’m just going to say it differently. Whether it’s
PD or whatever it is that the things that happen in the school, because oftentimes I’ll be
sitting in a PD and I have that training five times—but because some people really need
it, then we all have to get it. We have to do some of that anyway, like we do that some-
times in our own classrooms because of the structure of the organization and the limited
time that we have an opportunity. I think if you want to really retain effective teachers,
then you differentiate for effective teachers. (interview, October 3, 2018)
Summary Discussion for Research Question 4
Data analysis for Research Question 4 indicated three themes that emerged from the
findings. The first theme of PLCs being valuable methods for the promotion of school
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 110
improvement, professional development, and collaborative working environments was articu-
lated by multiple stakeholder groups through qualitative survey, interview, and a districtwide
quantitative survey with more than 20,000 respondents. The interview findings also revealed that
although the respondents appreciated the benefits of PLCs, there were some new teachers who
did not have access to PLCs at their schools and were struggling to receive support. The inter-
views also communicated that PLCs were not mandated by the district and that implementation
as a best practice was largely inconsistent. The uneven application of this research-based best
practice aligned with the research of Fullan and Quinn (2016) and the need for a focusing direc-
tion to successfully move a district forward.
The second theme that emerged from the data for this question was the conclusion that
mentoring support builds teacher efficacy and effectiveness. The respondents from all stake-
holder groups indicated in both surveys and interviews that the use of teacher leaders at school
sites, such as mentors, National Board Certified teachers, and coaches are a strategy that a LUD
may want to formalize, particularly across high-needs schools, to build teacher efficacy and
effectiveness.
The third theme that became apparent from the data was that the LUD must offer differ-
entiated training and workloads for new and surplus teachers to enhance their effectiveness. The
respondents strongly supported the idea of differentiated professional development and recom-
mended that surplus teachers should not be assigned to hard-to-staff schools. The data revealed
that the stakeholder groups were not opposed to the assignment of new teachers to historically
hard-to-staff schools. Although there was agreement among respondents that all teachers can
improve and become effective over time, there was hesitation to endorse the assignment of
surplus teachers to hard-to-staff schools due to the possible negative impact on student learning.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 111
Chapter Summary
The data analysis for this study was based on the review of research literature, qualitative
and quantitative surveys, and interviews of three purposefully selected stakeholder groups.
The data were triangulated and analyzed by posing four research questions that were framed
through the theories of Bandura (1986, 2001), Fullan (2011a, 2011b), and Kirkpatrick (1994).
Data gathered and analyzed in response to Question 1 created three themes. The first
theme was that LUD partnerships with local HLIs are an effective means to recruit high-caliber
teacher candidates both from traditional and alternative certification pathways. The second
theme revealed that financial incentives, such as loan forgiveness programs, stipends for teaching
in shortage areas, and differentials for serving in historically underserved communities, improve
recruitment efforts to attract high-caliber teacher candidates. The third theme indicated that there
was less support for the use of social media, radio ads, and job postings as effective recruitment
strategies to attract teachers in shortage areas and for vacancies in historically underserved
schools.
Data collected and analyzed in response to Research Question 2 generated three themes.
The first theme asserted that teacher retention rates increased when working conditions were
satisfactory as a result of principals offering support and resources to staff and the school culture
embracing teachers’ voices in decision making. The second theme was that financial incentives
such as improved salaries, additional compensation for working in historically underserved
communities, and participation in teacher training and certification programs were effective
means to improve teacher retention. The third theme indicated that principals who provided
concise feedback, differentiated guidance, adequate resources, and who shared leadership
responsibilities increased teacher retention at school sites.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 112
Data collected and analyzed in response to Research Question 3 highlighted three themes.
The first theme was that teachers who complete traditional or alternative certification training
programs coupled with a residency and/or a student teaching component were better prepared to
teach in LUDs and produced better student achievement results. The second theme asserted that
teacher practice was most improved when teachers had input, demonstrated buy-in, and were
offered differentiated professional development at school sites. The third theme was that princi-
pals who promoted a shared philosophy, guided pedagogical best practices. and offered access to
subject- specific resources improved instructional practice for teachers.
Data collected and analyzed in response to Research Question 4 illuminated three themes.
The first theme indicated that a collaborative model for learning such as PLCs improved teacher
practice and were meaningful vehicles to stimulate practice-based professional development but
were not consistently utilized across all schools. The second theme demonstrated that novice and
surplus teachers improved their instructional practices when offered focused instructional support
by teacher leaders such as mentors, National Board Certified teachers, and coaches in the form of
peer feedback and classroom observations. The third theme communicated that teacher efficacy
increased when teachers participated in professional growth opportunities that promoted goal
setting and were expected to make measurable progress toward specific standards for teaching
and learning through reflection and self-regulation.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 113
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND
CONCLUSION
A large number of studies highlight the importance of quality teachers on a large urban
school district’s ability to successfully educate its students and close the opportunity and achieve-
ment gap (Berry et al., 2010). Quality teachers are essential to the success of schools that serve
historically underserved communities, yet studies have revealed that the distribution of qualified
and effective teachers across schools is inequitable (Cavaluzzo, 2004). There is an increasing
need for high-quality teachers, and many school districts are searching for deliberate strategies to
recruit and retain teachers by focusing on recruitment sources, collaborative professional devel-
opment methods, and supportive working conditions (Hahnel & Jackson 2012). According to
Ingersoll and May (2011), recruitment and retention challenges are caused by structures in the
system rather than individual teacher attributes, and quality teacher candidates are either not
hired or leave districts due to their dissatisfaction with the hiring process or their experience at
the school site.
Chapter One introduced the study, provided an overview, presented the statement of the
problem, explained the purpose of the study, established the research questions, declared the
limitations, defined key terms, and presented the overall organization of the document. Chapter
Two put forth the theoretical and conceptual frameworks that guided the study and reviewed the
literature on the development of a teacher’s career and the complexities around recruitment,
hiring practices, preparation programs, characteristics, working conditions, and retention.
Chapter Three described the mixed-method approach used to conduct the study; explained the
research design, including the techniques utilized to collect, organize, and analyze data; identi-
fied the research team; delineated the sample population; and defined the instrumentation,
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 114
credibility, trustworthiness, reliability, and ethical considerations. Chapter Four presented the
research findings from the data collection and illuminated emergent themes in response to
research questions and theoretical frameworks. Chapter Five reviews the study’s findings on
teacher recruitment, retention, working conditions, and improvement of district support; draws
conclusions; discusses implications; and makes recommendations for further research.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this mixed-method study was to contribute to the body of research on
promising practices to recruit and retain effective teachers in LUDs. There exists a need to
examine the complexities and distinctive challenges that school systems face with respect to how
teachers are recruited, what support and training are available to help them become more effec-
tive, and long-term strategies to retain them. The analysis in this study focused on to how to best
cultivate a large urban school district’s strategies to increase its ability to recruit and retain
quality teachers during their first 5 years and beyond. In addition, the study sought to identify the
specific ways in which principals create the culture and climate that both facilitate and inhibit the
existence of supportive working conditions leading to increased teacher retention.
Research Questions
Four research questions were designed by the research team and framed the study:
1. What are the recruitment strategies used by LUDs that result in the most effective
hiring?
2. How can LUDs improve their postinduction training to retain the highest number of
qualified teachers?
3. What strategies could be used to retain experienced teachers (5+years or completion of
induction process) in the system?
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 115
4. What strategies could or should be used to improve effectiveness of novice and
surplus teachers?
The study was framed by the work of Fullan (2011b) on teacher quality recruitment and
retention as whole system reform, on Bandura’s (1986) SCT on teacher motivation and condi-
tions that foster professional growth, and on Kirkpatrick’s (1994) four levels of evaluation of
teacher development and evaluations. These three frames guided the process of examining the
four research questions.
Emergent Themes
The data analysis for this study was based on the review of research literature, qualitative
and quantitative surveys, and interviews of three purposefully selected stakeholder groups. As a
result of the analysis of data through surveys and interviews collected from 15 new teachers, 15
National Board Certified teachers, and 15 principals, 12 themes emerged as common across all
transcripts in response to the research questions: (a) the importance of hiring sources, (b) the
value of financial recruitment incentives, (c) use of social media and advertising, (d) impact of
school culture and working conditions, (e) effectiveness of retention incentives, (f) significance
of instructional support, (g) merit of teacher training programs, (h) benefit of professional devel-
opment, (I) administrator impact on teacher practice, (j) impact of collaborative models for
school improvement, (k) role of hybrid teacher leader support, and (l) value of support to new
and surplus teachers.
Summary of Findings
Research Question 1
Research Question 1 asked, “What are the recruitment strategies used by LUDs that result
in the most effective hiring?” The purpose of this question was to gather data on how school
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 116
districts could identify the most effective recruitment strategies to attract high-caliber candidates
to the district. Based on the analysis of surveys and interviews of new teachers National Board
Certified teachers, and principals, the following three themes emerged: (a) the importance of
hiring sources, (b) the value of financial recruitment incentives, and (c) the usefulness of social
media and advertising. The first theme ascertained that LUD partnerships with local HLIs are a
successful strategy to recruit quality teacher candidates from both traditional and alternative
certification programs. This finding was in alignment with Carver-Thomas and Darling-
Hammond’s (2017) research that school districts should partner with HLIs to recruit teachers
from both alternative and traditional certification programs.
The second theme indicated that a variety of financial incentives, such as loan forgiveness
programs, stipend, and differentials for different programs and settings, enhanced recruitment
efforts across the board. The survey responses further highlighted the importance of hiring
sources and the value of launching partnerships with HLIs for the purpose of recruiting candi-
dates in shortage areas such as mathematics, science, and special education. There was evidence
that these partnerships accelerated the recruitment of quality candidates from the community to
historically underserved schools, and the personalization of the relationship with the schools
improved the opportunities to fill vacant positions with quality candidates. Interview results also
demonstrated that career ladder programs and alternative certification programs, co-designed by
school districts and local HLIs, produced teacher candidates with higher retention rates. The
participants expressed that the commitment by HLIs to focus on building alternative teaching
pipelines from the community and paraprofessional ranks was valuable and an effective recruit-
ment strategy. Interview responses also confirmed that offering financial incentives such as loan
forgiveness programs and stipends to teach in underserved communities and shortage areas were
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 117
effective ways to attract high-caliber candidates to their district. In addition, interview respon-
dents noted that the absence of financial resources had triggered teacher shortages in large urban
school districts and had created teacher recruitment barriers.
Finally, in response to the use of social media as a recruitment strategy, participants were
most supportive of job posting and least supportive of radio ads as an effective recruitment
strategy. Interview respondents commented that these strategies were not sufficiently personal-
ized to positively impact recruitment.
By reviewing the emerging themes through Fullan’s (2011b) frame of whole-system
reform, it became evident that successful recruitment could only materialize if it was a district-
wide effort that prioritized partnership with HLIs and offered financial incentives to recruit
teachers for high-needs schools and shortage areas.
Research Question 2
Research Question 2 asked, “How can LUDs improve their postinduction training to
retain the highest number of qualified teachers?” The purpose of this question was to identify the
interrelated components that a large urban school district must support to effectively retain quali-
fied teachers. In the analysis of the data, three themes emerged: (a) impact of school culture and
working conditions, (b) effectiveness of retention incentives, and (c) significance of instructional
support. The first theme indicated that teacher retention improved when working conditions
were adequate due to principal support and shared decision-making opportunities. The second
theme was that teacher retention improved when increased salaries and compensation for special
assignments and trainings were offered. The third theme advised that administrators who offered
personalized professional feedback, differentiated support, and satisfactory resources, and who
exercised distributive leadership strategies increased teacher retention at school sites. The
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 118
emerging themes illuminated the best practices that districts use to build teacher capacity and the
desirable working conditions that must exist to improve retention. The impact of school culture
and working conditions was highly correlated with the principal’s ability to create professional
environments that were collaborative, supportive, and well resourced. Teacher retention was
enhanced when financial incentives were offered for supplemental certification such as microcre-
dentialing, hybrid teacher leadership roles, and assignments in challenging settings. The data
findings, which were in agreement with research by Berry et al. (2010), strongly supported the
argument that teacher competencies and retention increased when timely and ongoing instruc-
tional support was offered by the principal and mentors. The three interrelated themes, examined
through Bandura’s (1986) frame, illustrated how the interaction of cognitive, behavioral, and
contextual factors influenced teacher retention at schools.
Research Question 3
Research Question 3 asked, “What strategies could be used to retain experienced teachers
(i.e., 5+ years or completion of induction process) in the system?” The purpose of this question
was to identify meaningful commitments that LUDs can make to improve the training of teachers
beyond the traditional postinduction period of 5 years. In the analysis of the data, three themes
emerged: (a) merit of teacher training programs, (b) benefit of professional development, and (c)
administrator impact on teacher practice. The first theme indicated that teachers who graduated
from traditional or alternative certification programs that included a teacher residency/student
teaching element demonstrated a greater level of readiness to teach in LUDs. The second theme,
in concurrence with the literature by Chetty et al. (2011), concluded that teacher competencies
were most enhanced when teachers had an opportunity to provide input to the nature of the
learning and were given differentiated professional development at their schools. The third
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 119
theme indicated that administrators who encouraged a shared theory, conducted pedagogical best
practices, and provided ample subject-specific resources enhanced instructional practice for
teachers. The data revealed that addressing teacher improvement and competencies required
quality teacher training programs, individualized professional attention, and focused principal
support. New teachers, National Board Certified teachers, and principals advocated that a variety
of professional learning opportunities, differentiated by teacher competencies, interests, and
learning preferences (e.g., online trainings and microcredentialing certifications) motivated
teachers to improve their professional capacity. Survey and interview respondents also strongly
believed in continuous administrative support as well as concise and timely feedback for all
teachers as a tool to improve teacher practice. When examining the themes through Bandura’s
(2001) frame, it was evident that teacher motivation and growth were cognitively based and that
teacher motivation influenced goal setting, self-regulation, and professional progress.
Research Question 4
Research Question 4 asked, “What strategies could or should be used to improve the
effectiveness of novice and surplus teachers?” The purpose of this question was to examine the
relationship of the recruitment, retention, professional training programs, and supports to build
the effectiveness of all new and surplus teachers in the system. In analysis of the data, three
themes emerged: (a) impact of collaborative models for school improvement, (b) role of hybrid
teacher leader support, and (c) value of differentiated support for new and surplus teachers.
The first theme identified that collaborative models for learning such as PLCs enhanced
teacher competencies and were effective methods to encourage practice-based professional
development. However, the data also revealed that these models were not consistently utilized in
all schools. The second theme, in alignment with research from TNTP (2012), showed that
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 120
novice and surplus teachers enhanced their professional competencies when given focused
instructional guidance by hybrid teacher leaders such as mentors, coaches, and National Board
Certified teachers. The third theme indicated that teacher efficacy grew when teachers took part
in learning opportunities that advanced goal setting and were expected to make measurable
progress toward specific competencies through reflection and self-regulation. According to
Bandura (2001), explicitly defined goals, regulated performance by designating the type and
amount of effort required, and fostering self-satisfaction were clear signs of personal accomplish-
ment.
Implications for Practice and Policy
Findings from this study identify ways in which school districts can invest in human
capital as a system by understanding the influence of teacher recruitment, retention, working
conditions, and improvement of district support. The findings of this study should contribute to
the existing literature on successful recruitment and retention policies in large urban school
districts. This study’s implications for practice and policy are targeted toward leaders who are
making financial investments in recruitment, retention, and professional development.
Encourage Broad Involvement, Collaboration and Collective Responsibility With HLIs
The data on teacher recruitment recommended the creation of learning-focused partner-
ships with local HLIs to build quality teacher recruitment pipelines from the community, with an
emphasis on alternative teacher training programs that emphasize the residency model and
student teaching at multiple schools. The findings also revealed that respondents preferred an
array of recruitment strategies that included social media but were skeptical of radio ads. The
data further revealed that financial incentives (e.g., loan forgiveness programs, recruitment and
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 121
retention incentives to teach in underserved communities and shortage areas) significantly
increased a LUD’s ability to attract high-caliber candidates.
Address Factors Inside the School That Impact Teacher Retention
Much of this study’s data on teacher retention directed attention to working conditions at
school sites and found that unsatisfactory working conditions triggered teacher attrition and
staffing instability. The increase of teachers’ skills, knowledge, and efficacy hinged upon the
administrator’s ability to create a positive and supportive culture and climate at the school. The
policy implication is that principals must be trained and resourced to create working conditions
that are conducive to teaching and learning.
This study also found that the value of a teacher’s personal growth and achievement was
sometimes hindered by lack of administrative and peer support, time constraints, and limited
instructional resources at schools. The policy implication is that large urban school districts
should redirect resources to schools for professional development release time that would allow
the use of collaborative learning models, coaching, observations, demonstration lessons, timely
feedback, and additional teaching resources. Another significant policy implication to increase
teacher retention would be the utilization of retention incentives for teachers who have enhanced
their professional practice by gaining additional certifications and/or have taught in historically
underserved communities and shortage areas.
Teaching and Learning in Collaborative Settings
The data from this study revealed that, despite inconsistencies with the implementation of
PLCs, teachers and administrators saw genuine feedback, practice, and mentoring as valuable
opportunities for personal and professional growth. Teachers in hybrid teacher leadership roles
were eager to share their expertise and to showcase their leadership skills with other teachers
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 122
who were building their competencies. These mentoring opportunities allowed supportive and
trusting relationships to be built and provided novice and surplus teachers with the chance to
develop into effective teachers. The policy implication is that school districts should invest in
hybrid teacher leader roles and encourage mentoring and coaching at schools.
Ultimately, the findings of this study imply the promotion of policies that will increase
the opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of professional development by utilizing Kirk-
patrick’s (1994) four levels of evaluation:
1. Determine training effectiveness by gauging how participants perceive and react to
training;
2. Assess the degree to which they have advanced in skills, knowledge, and attitude;
3. Monitor whether they have transferred that knowledge to the classroom; and
4. Measure the application of new learning by observing teachers incorporate the new
strategies into their delivery of instruction.
Recommendations for Future Research
This study collected data on the four research question from one LUD and did not include
comparison data from other LUDs. Additional research in the area of recruitment, retention,
working conditions, and training is recommended in order to generalize the findings to other
large urban school districts and to test the validity of the findings. The data were collected during
a period of a month; the study was limited to individuals who voluntarily responded to the
surveys and interviews and relied on self-reported data. In addition, the data did not disaggregate
by gender, age, and ethnicity. This study should be expanded to other school districts. Further
research would be beneficial that would expand the length of the study, increase the number of
participants, and include disaggregated participant data by gender, age, and ethnicity.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 123
Conclusion
This study, in coherence with Fullan’s (2011b) theory on whole-system reform, noted that
the key to systemwide success is to align the goals of a system and the intrinsic motivation of its
participants. The best practices delineated in this study serve as a recruitment and retention
roadmap for large urban school districts. This study’s findings concluded that teacher recruit-
ment and retention increased when teachers taught in the subject areas for which they were
prepared, had sufficient time to collaborate with their peers on instruction, received adequate
resources, were provided with meaningful professional development, and received concise
feedback on their teaching. It is the researcher’s expectation that with the implementation of
these recommendations, teacher recruitment and retention will increase and ultimately lead to
improved teaching and learning in schools.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 124
References
Allensworth, E., Ponisciak, S., & Mazzeo, C. (2009). The schools teachers leave: Teacher
mobility in Chicago Public Schools. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, Consortium on
Chicago School Research.
Archibald, S., Coggshall, J., Croft, A., & Goe, L. (2011). High quality professional development
for all teachers: Effectively allocating resources. Washington, DC: National Comprehensive
Center for Teacher Quality.
Backes, B. & Hansen, M. (2018). Reaching further and learning more? Evaluating public
impact’s opportunity culture initiative. Retrieved from https://caldercenter.org/publications/
reaching-further-and-learning-more-evaluating-public-impacts-opportunity-culture
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social-cognitive theory. Engle-
wood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychol-
ogy, 52, 1–26.
Barnes, G., Crowe, E., & Schaefer, B. (2007). The cost of teacher turnover in five school dis-
tricts: A pilot study. Retrieved from https://nctaf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/NCTAF-
Cost-of-Teacher-Turnover-2007-full-report.pdf
Berry, B., Daughtrey, A., & Wieder, A. (2010). Teacher effectiveness: The conditions that matter
most and a look to the future. Carrboro, NC: Center for Teaching Quality.
Berry, B., Smylie, M., & Fuller, E. (2008). Understanding teacher working conditions: A review
and look to the future. Carrboro, NC: Center for Teaching Quality.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 125
Betts, J. R., Rueben, K. S., & Danenberg, A. (2000). Equal resources, equal outcomes? The
distribution of school resources and student achievement in California. San Francisco, CA:
Public Policy Institute of California.
Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to
theories and methods (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Boyd, D., Goldhaber, D., Lankford, H., & Wyckoff, J. (2007). The effect of certification and
preparation on teacher quality. Future of Children, 17(1), 45–68.
Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2007). The narrowing gap in New York City
teacher qualifications and its implications for student achievement in high-poverty schools
(CALDER Working Paper 10). Retrieved from https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/mygsb/
faculty/research/pubfiles/3132/Narrowing_Gap.pdf
Bruno, P., & Strunk, K. O. (2018). Making the cut: The effectiveness of teacher screening and
hiring in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Retrieved from https://caldercenter.org/
sites/default/files/WP%20184_0.pdf
California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2017, October). Program capacity survey.
Retrieved from htpps://www/ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/commission/agendas/2017-10/
2017-10-3f.pdf
California Legislative Information. (2005). Education Code: 44664. Retrieved from http://leginfo
.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC§ionNum=44664
Carr, M. (2006). The determinants of student achievement in Ohio’s public schools (Policy
Report). Retrieved from http://www.cna.org/documetns/CavaluzzoStudy.pdf
Carver-Thomas, D., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2017). Addressing California’s growing teacher
shortage: 2017 update. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 126
Cavaluzzo, L. (2004). Is National Board Certification an effective signal of teacher quality?
Alexandria, VA: CNA.
Chetty, R., Friedman, J., & Rockoff, J. (2011). The long-term impacts of teachers: Teacher
value-added and student outcomes in adulthood (NBER Working Paper No. 17699). Cam-
bridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Clark, R. E., & Estes, F. (2008). Turning research into results: A guide to selecting the right
performance solutions. Charlotte, NC: Information Age
Cowan, J., Goldhaber, D., Hayes, K. & Theobald, R. (2016). Missing elements in the discussion
of teacher shortages. Educational Researcher, 45, 460–462.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods ap-
proaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Daley, G., Tien Le, Q., & Thomas, A. (2017). The effectiveness and distribution of National
Board Certified Teachers. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Unified School District, Inde-
pendent Analysis Unit.
Darling-Hammond, L., Furger, R., Shields, P.M., & Sutcher, L. (2016). Addressing California’s
emerging teacher shortage: An analysis of sources and solutions. Palo Alto, CA: Learning
Policy Institute.
Darling-Hammond, L., Holtzman, D. J., Gatlin, S. J., & Vazquez Heilig, J. (2005). Does teacher
preparation matter? Evidence about teacher certification, Teach for America and teacher
effectiveness. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 13(42), 1–51.
Decker, P. T., Mayer, D. P. & Glazerman, S. (2004). The effects of Teach for America on stu-
dents: Findings from a national evaluation. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 127
Engel, M., Jacob, B. A., & Curran, F. C. (2014). New evidence on teacher labor supply. Ameri-
can Educational Research Journal, 51(1), 36–72.
Epstein, R. M., & Hundert, E. M. (2002). Defining and assessing professional competence.
Journal of the American Medical Association, 287, 226–235.
Feistritzer, E. (2009). Alternative teacher certification: A state by state analysis 2009. Washing-
ton, DC: NCEI.
Fink, A., (2013). How to conduct surveys: A step-by step guide (5th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Frome, P., Lasater, B., & Cooney, S. (2005). Well-qualified teachers and high-quality teaching:
Are they the same? [Research Brief]. Atlanta, GA: Southern Regional Education Board.
Fullan, M., (2011a). Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin Press,
Fullan, M. (2011b). Whole system reform for innovative teaching and learning. Retrieved from
https://michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Untitled_Document_5.pdf
Fullan, M., & Quinn, J. (2016). Coherence: The right drivers in action for schools, districts, and
systems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Fuller, E., & Young, M. D. (2009). Tenure and retention of newly hired principals in Texas.
Austin: University of Texas at Austin, University Council for Educational Administration.
Gersten, R., Taylor, M. J., Keys, T.D., Rolfhus, E., & Newman-Gonchar, R. (2014). Summary of
research on the effectiveness of math professional development approaches (REL 2014-
010). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences,
National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.
Goe, L. (2007). The link between teacher quality and student outcomes: A research synthesis.
Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 128
Gray, L., & Taie, S. (2015). Public school teacher attrition and mobility in the first five years:
Results from the first through fifth waves of the 2007–08 Beginning Teacher Longitudinal
Study (NCES 2015-337). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center
for Education Statistics.
Guarino, C. M., Santibañez, L., & Daley, G.A. (2006). Teacher recruitment and retention: A
review of the recent empirical literature. Review of Educational Research, 76, 173–208.
Guha, R., Hyler, M. E., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2016). The teacher residency: An innovative
model for preparing teachers. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.
Hahnel, C., & Jackson, O. (2012). Learning denied: The case for equitable access to effective
teaching in California’s largest school district. Retrieved from https://edtrust.org/wp-
content uploads/2013/10/ETW-Learning-Denied-Report_0.pdf
Hamilton, L. S., Stecher, B. M., Russell, J. L., Marsh, J. A., & Miles, J. (2008). Accountability
and teaching practices: School-level actions and teacher responses. In B. Fuller, M. K.
Henne, & E. Hannum (Eds.). Strong schools, weak schools: The benefits and dilemmas of
centralized accountability (pp. 31–66). Bingley, England: Emerald Insight.
Hanushek, E. A., Kain, J. F., & Rivkin, S. G. (2005). Why public schools lose teachers. Human
Resources, 36, 326–354.
Harvard University, Strategic Data Project. (2012). SDP human capital diagnostic: Los Angeles
Unified School District. Retrieved from http://studentsmatter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/
11/SM_Harvard-LAUSD-teacher-study_11.14.12.pdf
Hirsch, E., Koppich, J., & Knapp, M. (2001). Revisiting what states are doing to improve the
quality of teaching: An update on patterns and trends. Seattle: University of Washington,
Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 129
Ingersoll, R. (1999). The problem of underqualified teachers in American secondary schools.
Educational Researcher, 28(2), 26–37.
Ingersoll, R. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. Ameri-
can Educational Research Journal, 38, 499–534.
Ingersoll, R. (2004). Why do high-poverty schools have difficulty staffing their classrooms with
qualified teachers? Washington DC: Center for American Progress and Institute for Ameri-
can’s Future.
Ingersoll, R., Dougherty, P., & Sirinides, P. (2017). School leadership counts. Retrieved from
http://info.newteachercenter.org/school-leadership-report
Ingersoll, R., & May, H. (2011). Recruitment, retention, and the minority teacher shortage.
Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=
1&article=1232&context=gse_pubs
Isenberg, E., Max, J., Gleason, P., Potamites, L., Santillano, R., Hock, H., & Hansen, M. (2013).
Access to effective teaching for disadvantaged students. Washington, DC: U.S. Department
of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and
Regional Assistance.
Jacques, C., Weber, G., Bosso, D., Olson, D., & Bassett, K. (2016). Great to influential: Teacher
leaders’ role in supporting instruction. Retrieved from https://gtl:gtlcenter.org/sites/default/
files/GreatTo_Influential.pdf
Jerald, C. D. (2009). Believing and achieving (Issue Brief). Washington, DC: Center for Compre-
hensive School Reform and Improvement.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 130
Kannapel, P. J., & Clements, S. K., Taylor, D., & Hibpshman, T. (2005). Inside the black box of
high performing high-poverty schools. Lexington, KY: Prichard Committee for Academic
Excellence.
Kirkpatrick, D. L. (1994). Evaluating training programs: The four levels. San Francisco, CA:
Berrett-Koehler.
Laczko-Kerr, I., & Berliner, D. C. (2002). The effectiveness of “Teach for America” and other
under-certified teachers on student academic achievement: A case of harmful public policy.
Education Policy Analysis Archives, 10(37), 1–53. doi:10.14507/epaa.v10n37.2002
Levin, J., & Quinn, M. (2003). Missed opportunities: How we keep high quality teachers out of
urban classrooms. Brooklyn, NY: The New Teacher Project.
Little, J. W. (1999). Organizing schools for teacher learning. In L. Darling-Hammond & G. Sykes
(Eds.), Teaching as the learning profession: Handbook of policy and practice (pp. 233–
262). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Los Angeles Unified School District, Human Resources Department. (2017). Recruitment,
retention, and support update. Los Angeles, CA: Author.
Marcoulides, G. A., Heck, R. H., & & Papanastasiou, C. (2005). Student perceptions of school
culture and achievement: Testing the invariance of a model. International Journal of Educa-
tional Management, 19(2), 140–152.
Matsumara, L. C., Garnier, H., Pascal, J., & Valdes, R. (2002). Measuring instructional quality in
accountability systems: Classroom assignments and student achievement. Educational
Assessment, 8(3), 207–229.
Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Los
Angeles, CA: Sage.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 131
McCaffrey, D. F., Hamilton, L. S., Stecher, B.M., Klein, S.P., Bugliari, D., & Robyn, A. (2001).
Interactions among instructional practices, curriculum, and student achievement: The case of
standards-based high school mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education,
32, 493–517.
Merriam S. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (3rd ed.). San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementa-
tion (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Miller, L. J., & Lee, J. S. (2014). Policy barriers to school improvement: What’s real and what’s
imagined? Retrieved from http://www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/crpe_policy-barriers-
school-improvement_report.pdf
National Council on Teacher Quality. (2011). Teacher quality roadmap: Improving policies and
practices in LAUSD. Retrieved from https://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Teacher_Quality_
Roadmap_Improving_Policies_and_Practices_in_LAUSD_NCTQ_Report
National Council on Teacher Quality. (2018). Teacher prep review: Raising the bar on teacher
prep. Retrieved from https://www.nctq.org/review/home
Newton, S. (2004). STULL evaluations and student achievement. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles
Unified School District, Program Evaluation and Research Branch.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2015). Education at a glance 2017:
OECD indicators. Paris, France: Author.
Patton, M. (2002). How to use qualitative methods in evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 132
Pierce, J., & Buysse, V. (2016). Effective coaching: Improving teacher practice and outcomes for
all learners. Retrieved from https://ncsi-library.wested.org/resources/57
Podolsky, A., Kini, T., Bishop, J., & Darling Hammond, . L. (2016). Solving the teacher short-
age: How to attract and retain excellent educators. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.
Podolsky, A., & Sutcher, L. (2016). California teacher shortages: A persistent problem (Brief).
Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.
Ripley, A. (2010, January/February). What makes a great teacher? The Atlantic. Retrieved from
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/01/what-makes-a-great-teacher/
307841/
Rivkin, S. G., Hanushek, E. A., & Kain, J. F. (2005). Teachers, schools, and academic achieve-
ment. Econometrica, 73, 417–458.
Robinson-Kurpius, S. E., & Stafford M. E. (2006). Testing and measurement: A user-friendly
guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ronfeld, M., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2013). How teacher turnover harms student achievement.
American Educational Research Journal, 50(1), 4–36.
Rotherham, A. J. (2009). Achieving teacher and principal excellence: A guidebook for donors.
Washington, DC: Philanthropy Roundtable.
Schacter, J., & Thum, Y. (2004). Paying for high- and low-quality teaching. Economics of Edu-
cation Review, 23, 411–430.
Smith, J. B., Lee, V. E., & Newmann, F.M. (2001). Instruction and achievement in Chicago
elementary schools. Retrieved from http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/p0f01.pdf
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 133
TNTP [The New Teacher Project]. (2012). The irreplaceables: Understanding the real retention
crisis in America’s urban schools. Retrieved from http://tntp.org/assets/documents/TNTP_
Irreplaceables_2012.pdf
TNTP [The New Teacher Project]. (2015). The mirage: Confronting the hard truth about our
quest for teacher development. Retrieved from https://tntp.org/assets/documents/TNTP-
Mirage_2015.pdf
Torlaksen, T. (2016, November 8). California state plan to ensure equitable access to excellent
educators [memorandum]. Retrieved from http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/pn/im/documents/
memo- ilssb-plsd-dec16item01.doc
Tracy, S. J. (2013). Qualitative research methods. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Wayne, A. J., & Youngs, P. (2003). Teacher characteristics and student achievement gains: A
review. Review of Educational Research, 73, 89–122.
Weisberg, D., Sexton, S., Mulhern, J., & Keeling, D. (2009). The widget effect: Our national
failure to acknowledge and act on differences in teacher effectiveness. New York, NY:
TNTP.
Wenglinsky, H. (2000). How teaching matters: Bringing the classroom back into discussions of
teacher quality (Policy Information Center Report). Princeton, NJ: Education Testing
Service.
Wilson, S. (Ed.). (2009). Teacher quality education policy White Paper. Retrieved from ERIC
database (ERIC Document Service Reproduction No. EDED531145)
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 134
Wood, C., Goodnight, C., Bethune, K., Preston, A., & Cleaver, S. (2016). Role of professional
development and multi-level coaching in promoting evidence-based practice in education.
Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 14, 159–170. Retrieved from ERIC data-
base (ERIC Document Reproduction No. EJ1118436)
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 135
Appendix A
Recruitment Letter to Principals
Dear [CONTACT NAME],
My name is [USC STUDENT’S NAME], and I am currently [USC STUDENT’S TITLE/
POSITION], located in the United States. I am also a doctoral student at the University of
Southern California (USC), and in September 2018 I will conduct research along with two other
doctoral students from USC as part of a research team led by Dr. Michael Escalante.
Recently, a member of our research team contacted you or a representative at your school to
request your participation in a 1-day study. On September 14, 2018, another doctoral student and
I hope to visit [NAME OF SCHOOL/INSTITUTION] to talk with and survey willing teachers0
and administrators.
This study’s ultimate goal is to understand how school districts can improve the recruitment,
retention, and training of teachers to build effectiveness and reduce attrition. We are interested in
the impact of professional development, mentor teachers, National Board Certified teachers, and
professional learning communities (PLCs) on building teacher self-efficacy and improving the
ability to raise academic achievement in students. Furthermore, we aim to understand how the
support system at schools reduces teacher attrition by creating collaborative cultures that promote
conditions for success.
The following questions will guide our research:
1. What are the recruitment strategies used by large urban districts that result in the most effec-
tive hiring?
2. How can large urban districts improve their postinduction training to retain the highest
number of qualified teachers?
3. What strategies could be used to retain experienced teachers (5+ years or completion of
induction process) in the system?
4. What strategies could or should be used to improve the effectiveness of novice and surplus
teachers?
Thank you for considering my request and taking your valuable time to read this correspondence.
Without your help, this study would not be possible.
May I request that you reply at your convenience via email to [USC STUDENT’S EMAIL] to
provide a contact number and preferred time for me to call you to discuss details about my visit
to [NAME OF SCHOOL/INSTITUTION].
Sincerely,
[USC STUDENT’S NAME]
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 136
Appendix B
Study Information Sheet
INFORMATION/FACT SHEET FOR EXEMPT NONMEDICAL RESEARCH
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
Waite Phillips Hall
3470 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA 90089
THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, TRAINING,
AND IMPROVEMENT ON DISTRICT SUPPORT OF 21ST-CENTURY
TEACHING AND LEARNING
You are invited to participate in a research study. Research studies include only people who
voluntarily choose to take part. This document provides information about the study. You should
ask questions about anything that is unclear to you.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to examine how large urban school districts can increase efficiency
and effectiveness in recruiting and retaining quality teachers in the system beyond 5 years. This
study takes a comprehensive look at the necessary training needed to build teacher self-efficacy
and the effects of traditional and online professional development, the newly created microcre-
dentials, and how these modes of training impact both novice and experienced teachers’ ability to
provide instruction that improves student academic achievement. The study also examines how
districts should implement support systems for teacher improvement including the use of and
impact of PLCs, induction programs, the establishment of peer–mentor support, and the effective
use of National Board Certified teachers.
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to participate in a 15-minute survey and/
or a 45-minute audiotaped interview. You do not have to answer any questions that you don’t
want to answer; if you don’t want to be taped, you can still participate in the study.
You may elect to participate in the interview process and not be audio recorded. You may elect
not to participate at all. Your relationship with your school/employer will not be affected by
whether or not you participate in this study.
CONFIDENTIALITY
No identifiable information will be obtained in connection with this study. Your name, address,
or other identifiable information will not be collected. The members of the research team and the
University of Southern California’s Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) may access the
data. The HSPP reviews and monitors research studies to protect the rights and welfare of
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 137
research subjects. When the results of the research are published or discussed in conferences, no
identifiable information will be used.
INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Michael Escalante, Clinical Professor, University of Southern California, mescalan@usc.edu
Co-investigators:
Christopher Downing, Superintendent, Anaheim Elementary School District, cdowning@usc.edu
Vivian Ekchian, Deputy Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District, vekchian@usc.edu
Cheryl Hildreth, Local District Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District, childret@usc.edu
IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
University Park Institutional Review Board (UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los
Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu
IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about your rights as a research participant or the
research in general and are unable to contact the research team, or if you want to talk to someone
independent of the research team, please contact the University Park Institutional Review Board
(UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or
upirb@usc.edu
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 138
Appendix C
Qualitative Survey Protocol for School Administrators
Date: Location of Survey:
Directions: Please read the terms and definitions below prior to proceeding to the questions.
Once you have read the terms and definitions, proceed to survey items 1–11 and rate your
opinion next to each statement.
Highly qualified: Teachers who help students learn 2–3 additional months of mathematics and
reading compared to an average teacher.
Professional development: Training that supports the development of effective teachers and
improving student achievement.
Professional growth: Improvement in teacher practice demonstrated by growth in the ability to
engage students and to provide student-centered instruction that yields higher-than-predicted
increases in student achievement.
Teacher effectiveness: The degree to which teachers impact student learning and have higher-
than-predicted increases in student achievement.
Post-induction: Access to external training and National Board Certification support provided to
teachers after their 5th year of service (e.g., peer mentors, professional learning communities
[PLCs], teacher support, etc.).
RESEARCH QUESTION #1: What are the recruitment strategies used by large urban districts
that result in the most effective hiring?
Identify how much impact each of the following recruitment strategies results in hiring effective
teachers and improves student achievement and graduation rates:
Recruitment strategies
Strongly
disagree Disagree
Neither
disagree
nor agree Agree
Strongly
agree
Higher Learning Institutes (HLIs) F F F F F
Hiring Fairs F F F F F
Contract Incentives F F F F F
Increased Advertising of
Benefits Package via District
TV Station Job Search Ads
F F F F F
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 139
Radio Ads F F F F F
Social Media F F F F F
Job Posting Websites F F F F F
Programs to Train Existing Staff
to Meet Teaching Qualifications
of Nonpermanent Teachers
F F F F F
Recruitment Staff at
Universities
F F F F F
Increased Partnerships With
HLIs to Host Student Teachers
F F F F F
Offering Immediate Loan
Forgiveness Programs
F F F F F
Recruiting Content Specialists
(e.g., Engineers, Biologists etc.)
F F F F F
RESEARCH QUESTION #2: How can a large urban district improve its postinduction training
to retain the greatest number of highly qualified teachers?
Identify how much impact each of the following training strategies has had on your ability to
improve student achievement and graduation rates:
Training strategies
Strongly
disagree Disagree
Neither
disagree
nor agree Agree
Strongly
agree
Conducting a demonstration
lesson
F F F F F
Weekly supports from mentors
and administrators
F F F F F
Observing fellow teachers and
providing peer feedback
F F F F F
Annual training to address cultural
diversity and awareness
F F F F F
Additional compensation for
micro-certifications in content area
F F F F F
School site retention plan for new
teachers
F F F F F
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 140
Nonpermanent teachers teaching
fewer periods than permanent
teachers
F F F F F
Programs to training existing
staff to meet teaching qualifications
of nonpermanent staff
F F F F F
Teachers completing an annual
Survey to identify their training
Needs
F F F F F
Requirement to commit to his-
torically underperforming school
for a minimum of 4 years
F F F F F
Programs to develop parent
Engagement strategies
F F F F F
RESEARCH QUESTION #3: What strategies could or should be used to retain experienced
teachers (5+ years or completion of induction process) in the system?
Identify how much impact each of the following investments or additional supports has had to
support your ability to improve student achievement and graduation rates:
Investment/additional support
Strongly
disagree Disagree
Neither
disagree
nor agree Agree
Strongly
agree
Training Stipends F F F F F
Additional A-Basis Assistant
Principal
F F F F F
Additional Counselors
(Secondary/Pupil Services &
Administration (PSA)/Psychiatric
Social Worker (PSW)
F F F F F
Special Education Support
Provider
F F F F F
Programs to Identify Teachers
as Mentors
F F F F F
Professional Development Salary F F F F F
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 141
Extra Conference Period for
Nonpermanent Teachers
F F F F F
Substitute Days (25/35/45) F F F F F
Extended Assignment Substitute F F F F F
District Staffing Support F F F F F
Improved Compensation F F F F F
Loan Forgiveness Programs F F F F F
RESEARCH QUESTION #4: What strategies could or should be used to improve effectiveness
of surplus teachers?
Identify how much impact each of the following strategies has had on your ability to improve
student achievement and graduation rates:
Retraining strategies
Strongly
disagree Disagree
Neither
disagree
nor agree Agree
Strongly
agree
Conducting demonstration lessons
with mentor feedback
F F F F F
Weekly supports from mentors and
administrators
F F F F F
Observations of fellow teachers F F F F F
Annual trainings to address cultural
diversity and awareness
F F F F F
Additional compensation for micro-
certifications in content area
F F F F F
Surplus teachers receiving co-teaching
assignments with mentor teachers
F F F F F
Programs to retrain surplus teachers to
identify their training needs
F F F F F
Surplus teachers not being placed at
historically underperforming schools
F F F F F
Programs to develop parent
engagement strategies
F F F F F
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 142
Appendix D
Qualitative Survey Protocol for Teachers
Date: Location of Survey:
Directions: Please read the terms and definitions below prior to proceeding to the questions.
Once you have read the terms and definitions, proceed to survey items 1–11 and rate your
opinion next to each statement.
Highly qualified: Teachers who help students learn 2–3 additional months of mathematics and
reading compared to an average teacher.
Professional development: Training that supports the development of effective teachers and
improving student achievement.
Professional growth: Improvement in teacher practice demonstrated by growth in the ability to
engage students and to provide student-centered instruction that yields higher-than-predicted
increases in student achievement.
Teacher effectiveness: The degree to which teachers impact student learning and have higher-
than-predicted increases in student achievement.
Post-induction: Access to external training and National Board Certification support provided to
teachers after their 5th year of service (e.g., peer mentors, professional learning communities
[PLCs], teacher support, etc.).
RESEARCH QUESTION #1: What are the recruitment strategies used by large urban districts
that result in the most effective hiring?
Identify how much impact each of the following recruitment strategies result in hiring effective
teachers and improves student achievement and graduation rates:
Recruitment strategies
Strongly
disagree Disagree
Neither
disagree
nor agree Agree
Strongly
agree
Higher Learning Institutes (HLIs) F F F F F
Hiring Fairs F F F F F
Contract Incentives F F F F F
Increased Advertising of
Benefits Package
F F F F F
Radio Ads F F F F F
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 143
Social Media F F F F F
Job Posting Websites F F F F F
Programs to Train Existing Staff
to Meet Teaching Qualifications of
Nonpermanent Teachers
F F F F F
Recruitment Staff at
Universities
F F F F F
Increased Partnerships With
HLIs to Host Student Teachers
F F F F F
Offering Immediate Loan
Forgiveness Programs
F F F F F
Recruiting Content Specialists
(e.g., Engineers, Biologists, etc.)
F F F F F
RESEARCH QUESTION #2: How can a large urban district improve its postinduction training
to retain the greatest number of highly qualified teachers?
Identify how much impact each of the following training strategies has had on your ability to
improve student achievement and graduation rates:
Training strategies
Strongly
disagree Disagree
Neither
disagree
nor agree Agree
Strongly
agree
Conducting a demonstration
lesson
F F F F F
Weekly supports from mentors
and administrators
F F F F F
Observing fellow teachers and
providing peer feedback
F F F F F
Annual training to address
cultural diversity and awareness
F F F F F
Additional compensation for
micro-certifications in content area
F F F F F
School site retention plan for
new teachers
F F F F F
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 144
Nonpermanent teachers teaching
fewer periods than permanent
teachers
F F F F F
Programs to train existing staff to
meet teaching qualifications of
nonpermanent teachers
F F F F F
Teachers completing an annual
survey to identify their training
needs
F F F F F
Requirement to commit to his-
torically underperforming school
for a minimum of 4 years
F F F F F
Programs to develop parent
engagement strategies
F F F F F
RESEARCH QUESTION #3: What strategies could be used to retain experienced teachers (5+
years or completion of induction process) in the system?
Identify how much impact each of the following investments or additional supports has had to
support your ability to improve student achievement and graduation rates:
Investment/additional support
Strongly
disagree Disagree
Neither
disagree
nor agree Agree
Strongly
agree
Training Stipends F F F F F
Additional A-Basis Assistant
Principal
F F F F F
Teacher Retention Incentive Pay F F F F F
Additional Counselors
(Secondary/PSA/PSW)
F F F F F
Special Education Support
Provider
F F F F F
Programs to Identify Teachers
as Mentors
F F F F F
Professional Development
Salary
F F F F F
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 145
Extra Conference Period for
Nonpermanent Teachers
F F F F F
Substitute Days (25/35/45) F F F F F
Extended Assignment Substitute F F F F F
District Staffing Support F F F F F
Improved Compensation F F F F F
Loan Forgiveness Programs F F F F F
RESEARCH QUESTION #4: What strategies could or should be used to improve the effective-
ness of surplus teachers?
Identify how much impact each of the following strategies has had on your ability to improve
student achievement and graduation rates:
Retraining strategies
Strongly
disagree Disagree
Neither
disagree
nor agree Agree
Strongly
agree
Conducting demonstration lessons
with mentor feedback
F F F F F
Weekly supports from mentors and
administrators
F F F F F
Observations of fellow teachers F F F F F
Annual trainings to address cultural
diversity and awareness
F F F F F
Additional compensation for
micro-certifications in content area
F F F F F
Surplus teachers receiving co-
teaching assignments with mentor
teachers
F F F F F
Programs to retrain surplus teach-
ers to identify their training needs
F F F F F
Surplus teachers teaching fewer
periods than permanent teachers
F F F F F
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 146
Programs to retrain surplus teach-
ers on best practices
F F F F F
Teachers completing an annual
survey to identify their training
needs
F F F F F
Surplus teachers not being placed
at historically underperforming
schools
F F F F F
Programs to develop parent
engagement
F F F F F
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 147
Appendix E
Quantitative Data Collection Source: 2017-18 School Experience Survey
(Teachers)
How many years have you worked at any school in your current position (teacher)?
( ) Less than 1 year
( ) 1 to 2 years
( ) 3 to 5 years
( ) 6 to 10 years
( ) Over 10 years
Section I:
How strongly do you agree or disagree with each statement about your experience teaching at
this school this year?
Statement
Strongly
disagree Disagree
Neither
disagree
nor agree Agree
Strongly
agree
I feel confident integrating technol-
ogy into my instruction.
F F F F F
I feel confident using digital tools
to personalize learning activities.
F F F F F
I have sufficient autonomy to
implement an instructional
program that meets the needs of my
students.
F F F F F
The professional development at
this school is differentiated for my
level of teaching experience.
F F F F F
What I learn in our school profes-
sional development meetings
addresses my students’ needs.
F F F F F
The educator development and sup-
port process for teachers helps me
improve my teaching and learning.
F F F F F
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 148
Section II:
In your professional development (training, grade-level and departmental-level meetings, etc.),
about how often did you do the following this year?
Activity Weekly
Twice a
month Monthly
A few
times
per
year
Hardly
ever Never
Observed the instruction of my
colleagues to get ideas for my
own instruction
F F F F F F
With my colleagues, I examined
evidence of students’
understanding/mastery (e.g., test
data, student work) to improve
my instruction.
F F F F F F
Worked in grade-level or
department-level teams to re-
view and align grading prac-
tices.
F F F F F F
Section III:
How often does school leadership do the following?
Activity Weekly
Twice a
month Monthly
A few
times
per
year
Hardly
ever Never
Visit your classroom to observe
your teaching
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Section IV:
How often does school leadership provide useful feedback to you based on their observations?
( ) Always
( ) Often
( ) Sometimes
( ) Rarely
( ) Never
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 149
Section V:
To what extent are teaching social and emotional skills happening in classrooms at your
school?
( ) Not really taught in my school
( ) In some teachers’ curricula but not in others
( ) Happening on a programmatic basis school wide
( ) Not sure
Section VI:
How often do teachers do the following at your school?
Activity Weekly Monthly Rarely Never
Teachers meet to examine student performance
data.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Teachers collaborate with one another by de-
partment, Small Learning Communities, or
grade level about curricular or instructional
issues.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Section VII:
Do teachers have common planning time in teams to discuss instruction and academic sup-
ports for students?
( ) Yes
( ) No
( ) Don’t know
About how often do teachers in your school participate in common planning related to in-
struction and academic supports
( ) Less than once a month
( ) About once a month
( ) Two to three times per month
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 150
Appendix F
Qualitative Administrator Interview Protocol
Interviewer: Date:
Interviewee: Location:
Job Title: Contact Information:
Length of Time in Your Position:
Start Time: End Time:
Introduction:
[Introduce yourself and your affiliation.]
During this conversation, we hope to learn more about [insert affiliation] and your perceptions of
how recruitment, retention, training and improvement strategies contribute to teacher effective-
ness. Your responses should be based on your own experiences and your observations of peers
who meet the quality of effectiveness, including the degree to which teachers impact student
learning and have higher-than-predicted increases in student achievement.
We are requesting use of a tape recorder to help accurately capture all your responses. We will
compile the data from this study into a report that will include your direct quotes; however, none
of the responses will be attributed to you. We will create a pseudonym for you and your school
to maintain your confidentiality.
If you remember, we shared a Study Information Sheet with you at the time you agreed to partici-
pate in the study. As it outlined, we will maintain data from this study in a password-protected
computer for 3 years, at which time it will be destroyed. Do we have your consent to record?
This interview will last approximately 45 minutes. Do you have any questions before we begin?
I. Influence of Recruitment Strategies on Teacher Shortages
1. What is your opinion of the importance of Higher Learning Institutes in recruiting teach-
ers to districts and hard-to-staff schools?
2. What is your opinion of contract incentives to fill teacher vacancies at hard-to-staff, low-
performing schools?
3. Would the implementation of immediate loan forgiveness programs increase the recruit-
ment of teachers and reduce teacher attrition from the district?
4. What is the importance of teacher training programs in preparing future recruitments
who become effective teachers?
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 151
5. How do programs such as Teach for America that recruit candidates to remain in teach-
ing for short-term periods impact student achievement?
II. Influence of Retention Strategies on Retaining Highly Effective Teachers in School
Districts
1. What is your opinion of mentors to improve teacher competency and reduce attrition?
2. What is the impact of ineffective administrators of fostering satisfactory working condi-
tions to retain effective teachers in the district?
3. How do mindsets impact teachers’ perceptions about their jobs?
4. How do administrators retain effective teachers at higher rates than ineffective teachers?
5. How do inter-district teacher mobility rates impact the attrition rate of districts by provid-
ing teachers with the ability to transfer schools?
6. What is the importance of effective teacher skillsets in preparing teachers to be success-
ful and to remain in the district?
7. What is the more important teacher quality, mindset or skillset?
III. Strategies to Implement Effective Teacher Training
1. What is the role of the school to provide PLCs to promote teacher discussion and focus
on commonly identified student needs?
2. What is the value of a PLC to improve teacher practice?
3. What is the role of universities and teacher training programs to provide ongoing training
support for teachers once they work for a district?
4. What is the role of the district in providing effective training to build teacher knowledge
and practice?
5. What are the characteristics of an effective teacher induction program?
6. What is the role of National Board Certified teachers in improving the skills of novice
and less effective teachers?
7. How can the district improve the use of mentors to work with novice and less effective
teachers?
8. How should districts and universities work together to create teacher training programs
and support teacher development?
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 152
IV. Strategies to Implement Teacher Effectiveness
1. What characteristics are evident in an effective teacher?
2. Do effective teachers have natural abilities that other less talented teachers do not?
3. Do “bright people” have the ability to figure out teaching as they experience it?
4. Do “bright people” make better teachers?
5. Do effective teachers have specific professional knowledge that is improved through
interactions with other teachers?
6. What is the role of mentors in helping to share practices of effectiveness?
7. What is your opinion on all effective teachers being good mentors?
8. What can districts do to make sure that PLCs are implemented to promote teacher discus-
sion and collaboration?
9. What is your opinion on the characteristics of PLCs that improve teacher effectiveness?
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 153
Appendix G
Qualitative Teacher Interview Protocol
Interviewer: Date:
Interviewee: Location:
Job Title: Contact Information:
Length of Time in Your Position:
Start Time: End Time:
Introduction:
[Introduce yourself and your affiliation.]
During this conversation, we hope to learn more about [insert affiliation] and your perceptions of
how recruitment, retention, training and improvement strategies contribute to teacher effective-
ness. Your responses should be based on your own experiences and your observations of peers
who meet the quality of effectiveness, including the degree to which teachers impact student
learning and have higher-than-predicted increases in student achievement.
We are requesting use of a tape recorder to help accurately capture all your responses. We will
compile the data from this study into a report that will include your direct quotes; however, none
of the responses will be attributed to you. We will create a pseudonym for you and your school
to maintain your confidentiality.
If you remember, we shared a Study Information Sheet with you at the time you agreed to partici-
pate in the study. As it outlined, we will maintain data from this study in a password-protected
computer for 3 years, at which time it will be destroyed. Do we have your consent to record?
This interview will last approximately 45 minutes. Do you have any questions before we begin?
I. Influence of Recruitment Strategies on Teacher Shortages
1. What is your opinion of the importance of Higher Learning Institutes in recruiting teach-
ers to districts and hard-to-staff schools?
2. What is your opinion of contract incentives to fill teacher vacancies at hard-to-staff, low-
performing schools?
3. Would the implementation of immediate loan forgiveness programs increase the recruit-
ment of teachers and reduce teacher attrition from the district?
4. What is the importance of teacher training programs in preparing future recruitments
who become effective teachers?
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 154
5. How do programs such as Teach for America that recruit candidates to remain in teach-
ing for short-term periods impact student achievement?
II. Influence of Retention Strategies on Retaining Highly Effective Teachers in School
Districts
1. What is your opinion of mentors to improve teacher competency and reduce attrition?
2. What is the impact of ineffective administrators of fostering satisfactory working condi-
tions to retain effective teachers in the district?
3. How do mindsets impact teacher perceptions about their job?
4. How do teachers retain effective teachers at higher rates than ineffective teachers?
5. How do inter-district teacher mobility rates impact the attrition rate of districts by provid-
ing teachers with the ability to transfer schools?
6. What is the importance of effective teacher skillsets in preparing teachers to be success-
ful and to remain in the district?
7. What is the more important teacher quality, mindset or skillset?
III. Strategies to Implement Effective Teacher Training
1. What is the role of the school to provide PLCs to promote teacher discussion and focus
on commonly identified student needs?
2. What is the value of a PLC to improve teacher practice?
3. What is the role of universities and teacher training programs to provide ongoing training
support for teachers once they work for a district?
4. What is the role of the district in providing effective training to build teacher knowledge
and practice?
5. What are the characteristics of an effective teacher induction program?
6. What is the role of National Board Certified teachers in improving the skills of novice
and less effective teachers?
7. How can the district improve the use of mentors to work with novice and less effective
teachers?
8. How should districts and universities work together to create teacher training programs
and to support teacher development?
INFLUENCE OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 155
IV. Strategies to Implement Teacher Effectiveness
1. What characteristics are evident in an effective teacher?
2. Do effective teachers have natural abilities that other less talented teachers do not?
3. Do “bright people” have the ability to figure out teaching as they experience it?
4. Do “bright people” make better teachers?
5. Do effective teachers have specific professional knowledge that is improved through
interactions with other teachers?
6. What is the role of mentors in helping to share practices of effectiveness?
7. What is your opinion on all effective teachers being good mentors?
8. What can districts do to make sure that PLCs are implemented to promote teacher discus-
sion and collaboration?
9. What is your opinion on the characteristics of PLCs that improve teacher effectiveness?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Teacher recruitment and retention problems hinder large urban school districts from assigning the equitable number of quality teachers, thus further adding to the existing high-caliber teacher shortage at historically underserved schools. In some school districts, policies on seniority and transfer combined with inadequate administrator support, limited professional development, and poor working conditions further intensify recruitment and retention challenges. ❧ Successful efforts to increase teaching quality and student achievement require that teachers teach in the fields for which they are prepared, have sufficient time to collaborate with colleagues on instruction, receive adequate resources, are provided with meaningful professional development, and receive concise feedback from their administrators and peers on their teaching. This study analyzed the perceptions of teachers and administrators on strategies that school districts can utilize to increase their capacity to recruit and retain quality teachers during and beyond the first 5 years. In addition, the study investigated the influence of professional development on teachers during the first 5 years and beyond. Three members of the Superintendents’ Cohort at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, under the guidance of Dr. Michael Escalante, were the researchers of this study. The researchers utilized a convergent parallel mixed-methods approach in the study, and three forms of data were triangulated to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research problem. The results of this study should contribute to the existing literature on successful recruitment, retention, and professional development policies and strategies in school districts. Finally, this study should inform school boards and superintendents on the value of making financial investments in recruitment, retention, professional development, and working conditions.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Influence of teacher recruitment, retention, training, and improvement on district support of 21st-century teaching and learning

PDF

Educational leadership: a comprehensive analysis of the preparation, recruitment, and retention of school district superintendents

PDF

“It is all about student equity”: improving teacher retention and recruitment in a large urban district

PDF

The 21st-century principal: the recruitment, mentoring, and retention of principals

PDF

School leadership: preparation, recruitment, and retention of principals

PDF

Public school district principals in California: preparation, recruitment, and retention

PDF

The preparation, recruitment, and retention of California K-12 principals

PDF

High-performing school district superintendents: preparation, recruitment, and retention

PDF

Understanding the 21st-century principalship: contemporary preparation, recruitment and retention practices

PDF

Developing longevity in the K-12 principal position: strategies for preparation, recruitment, and retention

PDF

Perception of the preparation, recruitment, and retention of California school district superintendents

PDF

The impact of Masters in Governance training on school boards

PDF

The preparation, recruitment, and retention of principals in southern California

PDF

The impact of formalized school board training on California school districts

PDF

K-12 public school district principals in California: strategies for preparation, recruitment, and retention

PDF

The obscurity inside the margins: the preparation, recruitment, and retention of women of color superintendents

PDF

Successful strategies and skills utilized by high school principals as perceived by Southern California superintendents

PDF

The influence of formalized school board training on California school districts

PDF

Understanding the pathway leading to the recruitment, support, and retention of superintendents from multiple lenses

PDF

The superintendency in a California school district: preparation, recruitment, and career longevity

Asset Metadata

Creator Ekchian, Vivian Karakhanian (author)

Core Title Influence of teacher recruitment, retention, training, working conditions, and improvement of district support of 21st-century teaching and learning

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 04/08/2019

Defense Date 03/11/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,retention,teacher recruitment,Training,working conditions

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Escalante, Michael (committee chair), Castruita, Rudy (committee member), Torres, Erika (committee member)

Creator Email vekchian@gmail.com,vekchian@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-137988

Unique identifier UC11675738

Identifier etd-EkchianViv-7184.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-137988 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-EkchianViv-7184.pdf

Dmrecord 137988

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Ekchian, Vivian Karakhanian

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA