We report on a series of pilot programs that we developed and carried out to support the success and satisfaction of new faculty, particularly faculty of color. We hope that others committed to retaining and supporting underrepresented faculty can apply our learning from this pilot project, as a whole or in part.

This collection of articles gathers reprinted materials on teacher attraction and retention for small and rural school districts. The material is organized in two sections: (1) Attracting and Retaining Quality Teachers and (2) Challenging and Enriching Current Staff. Reprints from a number of publications present strategies for addressing the…

How beginning secondary schools teachers shift from university-based to school-based practices was investigated. Thirty-one subjects were followed over a 3-year period through their preparation programs and into their second teaching year. Findings suggested that beginning teachers use conscious selection, processing, and use of information for…

An unresolved dilemma in teacher education is the organizational dislocation that occurs between the setting in which teachers are educated and those in which they are expected to practice. College students are conditioned to be independent and self-interested, while beginning teachers are expected to conform to and support their school system. In…

This study explored how many teachers were leaving public school districts in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin during their first 5 years in teaching. Researchers analyzed four types of novice teachers, including those who: taught continuously in the same district all 5 years, transferred to another district within the state but…

This paper examines findings from a study that investigated the reasons for high teacher attrition rates in South Carolina public schools. Surveys of 359 former teachers and interviews with respondents indicated that the primary issue in teacher attrition was lack of support for beginning teachers from the building and district level…

Assessed problems confronting beginning special education teachers, noting whether contextual factors facilitated or impeded their efforts to solve these problems. Teacher surveys indicated that the most common problems related to insufficient curricular material, handling student behavior, and obstacles in collaboration with general educators.…

Beginning health and physical education (HPE) teachers in rural and urban secondary schools in Australia shared concerns surrounding the status of HPE, HPE teachers' responsibilities, the routine nature of HPE teaching, sexual harassment, and public scrutiny of HPE teachers' lives. Suggests that teacher education programs address the problematic…

Discusses the relationship between teachers' espoused beliefs and beliefs in action, examining two beginning teachers' first-year experiences and the contrasting beliefs they articulated over time. Working conditions strongly affected the teachers. They developed beliefs about teaching and learning during preservice education that were unrelated…

The purpose of this study is to describe the level of administrator support perceived by special education teachers in South Texas. The literature on teacher retention indicates that "lack of administrative support" as an important reason for leaving the profession. This study examined the factors related to administrator support…

The attrition rate of 1st-year special education teachers is a mounting concern. Researchers have identified several factors that contribute to the stress that many novice teachers experience and their subsequent attrition. If necessary support from mentors, colleagues, and administrators is not in place, many 1st-year teachers opt to leave the…

Being a first-year teacher in New York City is not easy. The author received much of the same preparation and advice that he and his colleagues give their students. But even the best education courses and a positive student teaching experience do not seem to be enough to take the edge off of a year he remembers barely surviving. The author…

This article documents the socialization experiences of beginning teachers in five pairs of middle schools and explores the differences in the socialization experiences as they relate to the effectiveness of the middle school where these experiences took place. This research jointly studies school effects and teacher effects through the case study…

This brief describes workplace conditions in "learning centered" schools, where practices are consistent with recent research knowledge about learning and its contexts. Its purpose is to support fundamental, long-term change by offering a vision of best practice for educators to consider, discuss, and adapt to their circumstances. It summarizes…

Urban public schools and their teachers are under siege. From increased standardization, privatization and testing to a growing number of students whose needs are not being met by schools, urban public school teachers face a daunting task. Without a space in which to critically examine their daily experiences within schools, many well-intentioned…