A study of entry-phase agriculture teachers (n=90, one-third female) identified personal, professional, and situational characteristics that would explain how long they expected to remain in teaching. Gender and agricultural work experience were significant predictors. (Contains 28 references.) (SK)

Understanding how to prepare and support teachers as social justice educators committed to working in high-poverty, urban schools is a growing area of inquiry--one that is crucial if we are to stem the tide of high attrition from these hard-to-staff schools. Teacher educators struggle to create conditions within formal preservice programs that…

This article discusses the results of interviews with eleven new teachers about what their major fears are when starting to teach. Previous research about teachers' concerns points to a number of problem areas (Fuller 1969; Rutherford and Wall, 1990; Borko and Putnam 1996; Veenman 1984). New data reveal underlying patterns that, at first glance,…

The No Child Left Behind Act requires that all teachers in core academic subjects to be "highly qualified" by the end of the 2005-06 school year. New teacher leave the profession at an alarming rate--research indicates that 50% have left within five years of their first job. This article explores the personality types of pre-service…

This article is a recollection of events as the author began her teaching career. Her first experience was an "alternative route" she claims, since it involved her joining the Peace Corps and accepting a teaching position in Uganda. In the article, she discusses that although the breadth and depth of induction programs vary widely both…

When Erik G. Brown launched his teaching career at the Cesar Chavez Academy in East Palo Alto, California, four years ago, he was not alone. Seventy-five percent of the teachers in the 400-student middle school were new to the district, and two-thirds of those were new to the field. The school had gone through six principals in six years, and its…

The purpose of this study is to identify the causes of first year teacher attrition and compile a profile of first year teacher drop-outs. Of 138 beginning teachers who returned a questionnaire concerning their reasons for not returning to their first-year teaching positions in Alabama's public elementary and secondary schools, 47.2 percent left…

Another new title addressing the issue of teacher retention, this practical guide is full of "real-life" strategies and suggestions for coping with the challenges facing teachers today. An excellent resource for beginning teachers, it includes chapters on classroom management, relationships with colleagues and students, setting goals, curriculum,…

This paper explains the importance of new teacher induction programs to help beginning teachers successfully transition to the classroom and remain in teaching. Such programs use different activities to orient, support, train, and assess teachers within their first 3 years of teaching. Activities include orientation, mentoring, staff development,…

Findings from Project CREDIT (Certification Renewal Experiences Designed to Improve Teaching) indicate that a multiple support system combining mentors, peers, and university personnel can reduce some complications of first-year teachers. This intern program for 20 first-year Indiana teachers extends teacher education into the first year of…

A survey of 2,500 teachers entering a large urban school district over the last 7 years showed that alternatively certified teachers were as likely as traditional, university-certified teachers to remain in the profession and pay back the school district's initial investment in teacher training. Many become committed to teaching as a meaningful…

A survey of 27 agriculture, 13 biotechnology, and 44 health occupations teachers found that fewer than half experienced adequate materials, facilities, and continuing education reimbursement during induction. Better retention strategies matching teachers' stages of concern were needed during the first five years of teaching. (SK)

Beginning teachers are often given teaching assignments that would challenge even the most skillful veteran teachers. Such assignments can take several forms: teaching in a subject area for which the teacher is not certified; having too many class preparations; "floating" from classroom to classroom; working with low-ability, unmotivated, or…

A common but largely unacknowledged problem in public education in the US is the practice of hazing beginning teachers that leads to low retention rates. Factors that contribute to new teachers leaving high schools and often the teaching profession are presented and how these can and should be mitigated is discussed.

A survey of South Texas Special Education teachers was conducted to determine how they perceived their behavior management skills in the classroom and what effect, if any, this had on their job satisfaction. The majority of teachers were confident in their ability to accomplish the management demands of the classroom. The teachers who showed the…