Identifying Personal and Contextual Factors that Contribute to Attrition Rates for Texas Public School Teachers

Authors

  • Daniel Allen Sass University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Belinda Bustos Flores University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Lorena Claeys University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Bertha Pérez University of Texas at San Antonio

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v20n15.2012

Keywords:

Teacher attrition, teacher characteristics, school context, survival analysis, charter schools, school accountability.

Abstract

Teacher attrition is a significant problem facing schools, with a large percentage of teachers leaving the profession within their first few years. Given the need to retain high-quality teachers, research is needed to identify those teachers with higher retention rates. Using survival analyses and a large state dataset, researchers examined teacher data to identify those teacher and school variables associated with attrition. Unique to this study was the investigation of testing era (basic competency vs. higher standards based), school districts’ yearly ratings based on state-mandated testing, and charter school status. Analyses revealed that teacher attrition was greater during the high stakes-testing era, at low-performing schools, and for charter schools; however, beginning teacher age, gender, and school level moderated several attrition rates. Implications for public policy are discussed.

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Author Biographies

Daniel Allen Sass, University of Texas at San Antonio

Dr. Sass is an assistant professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His research interests include methodological issues related to multivariate statistics, with a central focus on factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

Belinda Bustos Flores, University of Texas at San Antonio

Dr. Bustos Flores is a professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research focuses on teacher personal (e.g., beliefs, efficacy, & identity) and professional development (e.g., recruitment & mentoring).

Lorena Claeys, University of Texas at San Antonio

Dr. Claeys is the executive director for the Academy for Teacher Excellence at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research interest includes preparation, induction, and retention of teachers working with culturally and linguistically diverse students.

Bertha Pérez, University of Texas at San Antonio

Dr. Pérez is Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at San Antonio.  Her research focuses on biliteracy, language and literacy development in bilingual settings, sociocultural context of literacy, and bilingual teacher education.

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Published

2012-05-30

How to Cite

Sass, D. A., Flores, B. B., Claeys, L., & Pérez, B. (2012). Identifying Personal and Contextual Factors that Contribute to Attrition Rates for Texas Public School Teachers. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 20, 15. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v20n15.2012

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Articles