A study investigated from a national perspective factors that influence the attrition and retention of newly hired secondary business teachers in the public sector. It also identified factors important to determine a business teacher's interest in continuing or not continuing in the teaching profession. The survey developed for the study consisted…

This report looks at and identifies emerging trends in the roles that teacher unions play in educational reform and improving the quality of teaching. A description of the efforts of six teacher unions to improve teacher quality within the context of the current systemic reform movement shows a range and depth of union initiatives beyond what is…

This report addresses the problem of special education personnel attrition in Kansas, focusing on those personnel employed in Kansas during the 1991-92 year who did not return for the 1992-93 year. Part 1 provides 12 tables which show: attrition rates from 1977 through 1992; special education personnel attrition by category (focus year); total…

A longitudinal study compared the characteristics of teacher candidates who persisted and did not persist through the early years of teaching. Gender, major, initial assurance about teaching, and time of the decision to teach were related to persistence for the 29% of 551 candidates studied who persisted. (SLD)

A study of beginning teachers (N=391) in North Dakota led to a group mentoring program to deal with the unique induction needs of new teachers in rural districts. (Author/IAH)

Reports the initial results of a survey of the career satisfaction and plans of foreign language teachers. The survey compared foreign language teachers with teachers in general in such areas as educational background, teaching specialties, income, and assessment of their profession. (Author/CB)

An exploratory methodology is presented for analyzing teacher survival data and detecting/documenting involuntary layoffs as an influence on teacher employment. Employment data for over 14,000 teachers hired between 1969 and 1981 in St. Louis (Missouri) illustrate that mandated staff reductions were key factors in teacher employment trends. (TJH)

This research examined the career paths of 2,700 former special educators hired by Michigan public schools between 1972 and 1985. An estimated 34% of the former educators reentered a Michigan classroom within five years of leaving, and an estimated 58% of these stayed for more than seven years. (Author/JDD)

A survey of 158 rural special education teachers found that 57% expected to be in the same position in 5 years. A predictive model developed through logistic regression analysis suggested that administrative support and job requirements played important roles in teachers' five-year plans. (Author/DB)

Compared Professional Development School (PDS) and non-PDS graduates regarding retention in teaching, teaching effectiveness, and perceptions of professional preparation. Surveys of beginning teachers and principals found no differences in teacher retention. Principals rated PDS graduates higher in some aspects of teaching effectiveness. PDS…

Experienced teachers are, on average, more effective at raising student performance than those in their early years of teaching. This gives rise to the concern that too many teachers leave the profession after less than a full career and that too many leave troubled inner-city schools for suburban ones. Until now, the roots of these problems have…

This article examines the influence of work-place factors, job satisfaction and professional commitment on the intent to leave the profession of 165 primary school teachers in the city of Lagos, Nigeria. Most of the teachers were women (74.5 per cent). Teachers' satisfaction was characterized by job apathy, satisfaction with pay and benefits, and…

The purpose of this case study was to understand and to describe the sources of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997) for an experienced European American teacher in a suburban high school. Like other teachers who may have left teaching, this teacher had been challenged over the years. This could have threatened her sense of self-efficacy and ultimately…

This article revisits a phenomenological case study in which I used metaphor to explore, over a seven-year span, the blossoming and wilting of an early childhood teacher's career due to the complex interplay between a range of personal, relational and contextual influences (Sumsion 2002). Following Kamler (2001), I now bring a critical lens to my…

This report presents findings from the second-year evaluation of the Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (GEEG) program. The GEEG program was federally- and state-funded and provided three-year grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans from the 2005-06 to 2007-08 school years. GEEG was implemented in 99 high poverty, high…