There is a growing emphasis on social justice pedagogy as a predominantly White teacher labor force infiltrates classrooms in urban schools. Using "critical race theory" (CRT)--and the construct of interest convergence--this study examines how White teachers working in an urban school apply and enact teaching for social justice during…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the experiences of beginning music teachers as they navigate starting instrumental music programs in a large urban school district in the southern United States. A team of researchers collected data from three first-year music educators launching new instrumental programs at seven schools.…

This study seeks to critically examine perceptions of urban school climate from a predominantly white teacher workforce and discuss the role that white identity, as the Dominant culture, plays in maintaining the status quo of racialized school climate. Participants included 145 teachers from a large southwestern urban setting. Teachers'…

Although most students with disabilities (SWDs) receive instruction from general education teachers, little empirical work has investigated whether these students have suitable access to high-quality teachers. We explore the differences in teacher quality experienced by SWDs and students without disabilities (non-SWDs) in the Los Angeles Unified…

In "Will Schools Change Forever," Waite and Arnett contend our educational system, and our society as a whole, have been confronted with two pandemics, COVID-19 and systemic racism (2020). Both of these pandemics have acerbated challenges schools must address and have exposed chronic inequities in educational systems. Our inquiry is case…

Teachers are the most important influence in schools on student achievement, which makes attracting and retaining excellent teachers a high priority for all school districts. But public schools in large cities like Philadelphia are especially challenged to provide every student with a highly-effective teacher. Teacher mobility--that is,…

Research shows that teacher quality is the single most critical factor in whether students succeed. However, efforts to improve teacher quality are often offset by the high rates of turnover, with 40-50 percent of public school teachers leaving within the first five years, and even higher rates in schools serving less advantaged students…

This research investigated the experiences of new teachers employed in urban school districts and how these novice teachers' perceived school district and school administrators' support required to retain them as well as teacher's perceptions of their pre-service experiences and/or induction programs necessary to prepare them for an urban…

Novice special educators (those in their first 3 years) consistently report their workloads are unmanageable. Yet, it is not clear whether their perceptions of workload manageability contribute to outcomes of concern such as emotional exhaustion (a component of burnout) or intentions to continue teaching in their schools and districts. This pilot…

Retaining teachers is a pressing issue facing many urban middle schools in the southern US. Urban middle schools continually face increased teacher turnover rates in spite of state mandated induction and mentoring programs. Drawing from Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, the purpose of the qualitative case study was to examine urban middle…

Early career science teachers are often assigned to classrooms with high numbers of English language learners (ELLs). For the underprepared early career science teacher, these circumstances are challenging. This study examines the changes in beliefs and practices of an early career science teacher who taught high numbers of ELLs in an urban…

Research strongly supports the use of mentoring programs and induction practices for assisting and retaining quality teachers and easing beginning teachers' transition into their full time roles as professional educators. Much evidence and research have proven that mentoring new teachers is good practice with regard to retention within the field…

Beginning teachers have to figure out how to "fit in" once they "get in" their new work environments. New teachers do know they need to perform all aspects of their formal contracts. New teachers may not know there are also extra-role expectations that exist beyond those in the formal contract. The extra-role behaviors teachers…

This article presents 7 years of qualitative research into the emerging understandings of a population of 456 beginning 7 to 12 urban teachers who supplied 130 participants who were enrolled in a total of 26 MSEd English Language Arts courses over 7 years. These were interviewed while teaching in urban schools focused primarily on testing and…

This research studies the effects of a writing community on three novice, middle school, Title I language arts teachers' perceptions of themselves as educators and as writers. The participants wrote on topics of their selection, on a bi-monthly basis, for one semester, to explore their teaching and learning. The teachers are in their first…