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)

This review of research related to teacher retention and attrition in special education organizes research findings around a conceptual model of teachers' career decisions that includes three major factors: external, employment, and personal. The review also considers major findings from general education retention studies, and conceptual and…

Quantifies the relationships among the personal and professional attributes of teachers, school district characteristics, and the retention behavior of teachers employed by these districts. Retention is negatively related to property wealth and the percentage of Indian and Asian students and is positively related to teaching experience, salary,…

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…

As beginning teachers continue to leave the profession within the first several years of entering, educators must identify factors which cause teachers to remain in the profession, as well as factors related to attrition if the current teacher shortage is to be remedied. The purpose of this study was to examine the reported attitudes of beginning…

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…

During the past decade or so, popular rhetoric has shifted away from site-based management and participatory governance as the centerpiece of school reform strategies as accountability and standards-based reform have become the reform mantra of policy makers at all levels of government. Critics of accountability-based reforms have suggested that…

Mentoring has been used in many professional-development settings to support individuals new to a profession. In particular, mentors are used in education and nursing to support new professionals who must meet the demands of a new position while managing the stresses of a new environment. When a mentor is asked to support a new professional, the…

Across the country, new and experienced teachers find themselves losing the confidence and energy it takes to challenge an unacceptable status quo. Too often, dynamic educators disappear within systems that are antithetical to what they envisioned when they entered the profession or they leave the profession altogether. This article describes the…

This research review examines various barriers that affect the retention and attrition of special education teachers. The purpose of this examination is to look at various problems associated with maintaining and attracting new teachers to the field of education. Retention and attrition will be vital components in addressing teacher shortages in…

Past research on new teacher induction has focused on changes in retention. Keeping people in the profession is important, but new teachers may need help in learning about curriculum and students in order to be effective instructional leaders. New teachers may also need assistance in learning how to interact with colleagues. We asked new teachers…

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…