Interviewed beginning teachers in Massachusetts to determine how they experienced curriculum and state-mandated assessments they encountered. Most respondents received little or no guidance about what to teach or how to teach it and spent inordinate amounts of time and money developing their own content and materials from scratch. Asserts that…

Four-year study of the career paths of 50 beginning teachers in Massachusetts focuses on why 8 of these teachers ("Voluntary Movers") transferred from original schools to other public schools. Reasons given for transferring include reasonable assignments, stable working environments, opportunities to learn and grow, and accessible,…

Investigates second-year Massachusetts teachers' experiences with three professional cultures of their schools: veteran-oriented, novice-oriented, and integrated. Finds, for example, that integrated professional cultures, unlike either veteran- or novice-oriented cultures, provided new teachers with sustained support and collegial exchange…

Background/Context: In order to develop effective strategies for retaining able and committed teachers, it is important to understand how new teachers experience their work with their colleagues. A previous qualitative study conducted by the authors and others presented a conceptual framework for understanding new teachers' experiences of the…

In 1998, Massachusetts instituted a $20,000 Signing Bonus to address concerns about the supply of quality teachers. This article reports on a longitudinal, qualitative study of the experiences of 13 of the original 59 recipients of the Signing Bonus, and analyzes their responses to various incentives embedded within the Massachusetts Signing Bonus…

Interviewed diverse beginning teachers in a variety of Massachusetts public schools regarding how they experienced curriculum and assessments in the face of standards-based reform. Respondents received little or no guidance about what to teach or how to teach it and struggled to prepare content and materials. The standards and accountability…

Purpose: Teacher hiring decisions have far-reaching consequences for a school, its students, and faculty. This article examines how new teachers in four states are hired and explores whether the process leads to good matches between these individuals and their schools. The authors conceive of hiring as a two-way process and examine the extent to…

Based on information from interviews with 50 first- and second-year teachers in Massachusetts, proposes a mixed model for the teaching career: one that would be responsive to the needs of both teachers who envision long-term careers and those who envision short-term stays in teaching. Draws implications for teacher recruitment and retention…

In this article, the authors consider three sources of support for new teachers--hiring practices, relationships with colleagues, and curriculum--all found in earlier research to influence new teachers' satisfaction with their work, their sense of success with students, and their eventual retention in their job. They find that a "support…