The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on teacher attrition in Arkansas, with many educators facing unprecedented challenges and stressors in their work. However, public data does not give context to why teachers chose to leave. This study aimed to investigate teacher perceptions of the impact of the pandemic on attrition in Arkansas…

In the U.S., state guidance to schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was politicized. We used state-level political affiliation to explore whether access to curricular resources differed pre-pandemic or during pandemic remote teaching and teachers' reported control over curricular resources during pandemic teaching. We found that…

The school reopening debate has reached an inflection point as districts weigh both the safety and learning implications of returning to in-person education this fall. Challenges with transitioning to distance learning during the spring made it clear that teachers, parents and students needed more and different resources to make supportive,…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine teachers and school leaders' experiences using data in the state of Arkansas. Research Design: Initially, an exploratory pilot study was conducted to examine educators' experiences using data within one Arkansas district. This involved focus groups with 24 participants from 10 schools. Data were…

This brief explores whether the geographic location of the early care and education (ECE) workforce might be associated with variations in well-being. Child Trends examined differences in Arkansas's ECE workforce by region and by urbanicity. Measures of well-being were derived from a comprehensive statewide ECE workforce survey. For this study,…

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe factors that are related to agricultural educator career retention and to explore the relationships between work engagement, work-life balance, occupational commitment, and personal and career factors as related to the decision to remain in the teaching profession. The target population for…

The goal of an educational system or degree program is to "educate" students. This immediately raises the question of what does it mean to "educate" students. All academic institutions, degree programs and content areas are typically expected to answer this question and establish appropriate academic expectations both within…