ERIC Number: EJ891351
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Jun
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3737
EISSN: N/A
The Price of Misassignment: The Role of Teaching Assignments in Teach for America Teachers' Exit from Low-Income Schools and the Teaching Profession
Donaldson, Morgaen L.; Johnson, Susan Moore
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, v32 n2 p299-323 Jun 2010
Teach For America (TFA) recruits high-achieving college graduates to teach for 2 years in the nation's low-income schools. This study is the first to examine these teachers' retention nationwide, asking whether, when, and why they voluntarily transfer from their low-income placement schools or leave teaching altogether. Based on a survey of three entire TFA cohorts (n = 2,029), this longitudinal, retrospective study uses discrete-time survival analysis. We found that teachers who have more challenging assignments--split grades, multiple subjects, or out-of-field classes--are at greater risk of leaving their schools or resigning from teaching than those with single-grade, single-subject, or in-field assignments. It is notable that in-field science teachers' risk of resigning was higher than that of their out-of-field counterparts with nonscience degrees. This study informs policymakers and school officials seeking to retain TFA and other promising teachers. (Contains 7 notes and 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Teacher Placement, Beginning Teachers, Alternative Teacher Certification, Disadvantaged Schools, Teacher Persistence, Teacher Transfer, Faculty Mobility, Elementary School Teachers, Science Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, Multigraded Classes, Longitudinal Studies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Elementary Secondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A