ERIC Number: ED373033
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1994-Feb-11
Pages: 65
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Concerns of Beginning Middle and Secondary School Teachers.
Thomas, Beverly; Kiley, Margaret A.
Statistics indicate that 15 percent of beginning teachers leave the profession after the first year of teaching, and more than 50 percent leave within 6 years. This study was conducted to identify the problems and concerns faced by neophyte teachers at the middle and high school levels, and to distinguish between the concerns of first-year, second-year, and experienced but non-tenured teachers, new to the school district under study. The sample--middle and high school teachers in a growing school of Maryland (N=68) completed a questionnaire requesting demographic data, and rankings of both classroom and out-of-class concerns. According to the data analysis: (1) first-year teachers' concerns focused on the classroom, and tended to focus more on dealing with individual student differences, working with special needs students, and classroom management and discipline; (2) the majority of first-year teachers (63 percent) were under 25, while the other groups ranged in age from 26 to 45; and (3) older teachers reported greater concern over outside-the-classroom issues such as extracurricular assignments. Based on the responses, recommendations are offered which address: opportunities for inservice activities, peer mentoring, creation of professional development programs for all teachers, and the availability of support and assistance throughout a teacher's career. The bulk of the paper is an appendix containing statistical tables (numbered 6 through 33) detailing the study's findings. (Contains 15 references.) (LL)
Descriptors: Age Differences, Beginning Teacher Induction, Beginning Teachers, Classroom Techniques, Demography, Dropout Rate, Elementary School Teachers, Extracurricular Activities, High Schools, Intermediate Grades, Junior High Schools, Nontenured Faculty, Secondary School Teachers, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Burnout, Teaching Conditions, Teaching (Occupation)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A