REL Midwest Ask A REL Response

Teacher Workforce

January 2021

Bednar, S., & Gicheva, D. (2019). Workplace support and diversity in the market for public school teachers. Education Finance and Policy, 14(2), 272–297. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1211682

From the ERIC abstract: “Mentoring, and to a greater extent support from high-level administrators, has been shown to decrease worker turnover in general, but little is known about its differential impact on minority workers. Utilizing four waves of the Schools and Staffing Survey, we find that administrative support is most strongly associated with retention for minority teachers working in schools where minorities are underrepresented. This effect is pronounced for teachers new to the profession and those in schools with more students from low-income families or located in rural areas. The results indicate that workplace support is essential in maintaining or growing minority representation in relatively less-diverse organizations.”

Carver-Thomas, D. (2017). Diversifying the field: Barriers to recruiting and retaining teachers of color and how to overcome them (Literature Review). Equity Assistance Center Region II, Intercultural Development Research Association. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED582730

From the ERIC abstract: “This paper examines the current state of teachers of color in the workforce, the factors that affect the recruitment, hiring, and retention of teachers of color, and opportunities for growing a stable workforce of teachers of color. The first section of this paper, The Current State of Teachers of Color in the United States, includes a description of the proportion and growth and teachers of color in the workforce based on several national data sources and an analysis of the most recent nationally representative data sets from the U.S. Department of Education Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) 2011-12 and the SASS Teacher Follow-up Survey 2013-14. This section also summarizes recent literature regarding the value to students of a racially diverse teacher workforce, followed by a discussion of the significant role teacher retention plays in shortages of teachers of color. The second section of this paper, Barriers to Recruiting & Retaining Teachers of Color, summarizes the most recent literature on factors affecting the recruitment, hiring and retention of teachers of color. Included within this discussion is enrollment in and completion of high quality teacher preparation, school closure and turnaround policies, and teacher working conditions. The final section of the paper, Promising Practices, examines the evidence for promising practices aimed at overcoming the common barriers to recruiting, hiring, and retaining teachers of color identified in section two. These practices include funding high-retention pathways into teaching, such as teacher residencies, Grow Your Own programs, and college mentoring and support programs; creating pro-active hiring and induction strategies; and improving school teaching conditions through improved school leadership.”

Carver-Thomas, D. (2018). Diversifying the teaching profession: How to recruit and retain teachers of color. Learning Policy Institute. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED606434

From the ERIC abstract: “This research review analyzes studies on the recruitment and retention of teachers of color in order to examine the current state of teachers of color in the workforce; understand the factors that affect their recruitment, hiring, and retention; and highlight opportunities for policymakers to grow a stable workforce of teachers of color in their districts and states. The first section of this paper, Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Teacher Workforce Today, includes a description of the proportion and growth of teachers of color in the workforce based on several national data sources and an analysis of the most recent nationally representative datasets from the U.S. Department of Education Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) 2011-12 and the SASS Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) 2013-14. This section also summarizes recent literature regarding the value to students of a racially diverse teacher workforce, followed by a discussion of the significant role teacher retention plays in shortages of teachers of color. The second section of this paper, Barriers to Recruiting and Retaining Teachers of Color, summarizes the most recent literature on factors affecting the recruitment, hiring, and retention of teachers of color. Included within this discussion is enrollment in and completion of high-quality TPPs, school closure and turnaround policies, and teaching conditions. Finally, the last section of this paper, Promising Practices, examines the evidence for promising practices aimed at overcoming the common barriers to recruiting, hiring, and retaining teachers of color identified in section two. These practices include funding high-retention pathways into teaching, such as teacher residencies, Grow Your Own programs, and college mentoring and support programs; creating proactive hiring and induction strategies; and improving school teaching conditions through improved school leadership.”

Dixon, D., Griffin, A., & Teoh, M. (2019). If you listen, we will stay: Why teachers of color leave and how to disrupt teacher turnover. Education Trust. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED603193

From the ERIC abstract: “Studies consistently show that teachers of color matter for all students, and especially for students of color. Yet, the proportion of teachers of color in the workforce continues to lag far behind the share of students of color in our schools. Recruiting teachers of color only gets them into the building. We must pay equal, if not more, attention to their retention to make long-lasting change in the diversity of the workforce. This is why Teach Plus and The Education Trust set out to learn why teachers of color are leaving schools, what teachers of color believe would help solve the turnover problem, and what strategies exist in schools and school systems that are intentionally working to bring about change. ‘If You Listen, We Will Stay: Why Teachers of Color Leave and How to Disrupt Teacher Turnover’ examines the challenges teachers of color face as they navigate the profession and zeroes in on the solutions adopted by schools working to retain faculty of color.”

Garte, R., & Kronen, C. (2020). You’ve met your match: Using culturally relevant pairing to cultivate mentoring relationships during the early practicum experience of community college preservice teachers. Teacher Educator, 55(4), 347–372. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1271463

From the ERIC abstract: “This work explores mentoring triad relationships between pre-service teachers, school-based cooperating teachers, and professors at a community college. Using cultural historical activity theory, we provide a retrospective analysis of the factors influencing the success of the mentoring relationships. We assessed 60 mentoring triads with a rubric focused on how triads established intersubjectivity and the activity systems of practicum and college course were able to intersect and establish common goals. Results showed that highly successful triads were most likely to have culturally matched student/cooperating teacher pairs and culturally diverse practicum placements. Qualitative analysis showed that an equal exchange of power among the triad was foundational for enabling intersubjectivity. Therefore, equal power exchange between the triad during early practicum experiences are supported by and support cultural responsiveness. We argue for further research on this population of pre-service teachers as well as greater attention to issues of power and cultural responsivity during mentorship.”

Ginsberg, A., & Budd, E. (2017). Mentoring new teachers of color: Building new relationships among aspiring teachers and historically black colleges and universities. Center for Minority Serving Institutions at the University of Pennsylvania. https://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu/content/mentoring-new-teachers-color-building-new-relationships-among-aspiring-teachers-and

From the executive summary: “Teachers of color comprise just 17% of the teaching profession in the United States, and of even more concern half of all U.S. schools do not employ a single teacher of color. With students of color comprising over 50% of the K-12 student population, schools have been increasingly concerned with developing and enacting strategies to not only recruit more minority teacher candidates, but to support these candidates through the teacher certification and hiring processes (Gasman, Castro Samayoa & Ginsberg, 2016). But what happens when they get hired? This research brief considers some of the reasons that teachers of color are frustrated or dissatisfied with the field, why many decide to leave the profession entirely, and what specific strategies and practices might support their retention. After a brief overview of research on the pipeline for teachers of color, we focus on the practice of mentoring aspiring and new teachers. More than half of teacher education programs require some mentoring to assist new teachers in integrating into their roles. The quality and impact of these programs, however, varies significantly (Kent, Green & Feldman, 2012).”

Hayes, C. (2020). The salience of Black mentors on the teaching praxis of Latino male teachers. Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(3), 414–431. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1248930

From the ERIC abstract: “Despite the growing population of Latino students, little has been done to recognize the potential cultural assets and resilience that Latino communities and Latino teachers can bring to the educational environment. Using Critical Race Theory, in this article, each participant shares their experiences with their Black mentors. This article shares the ways in which Black teachers continue to exemplify Black teaching excellence now with a group that isn’t Black.”

Hayes, L., Lachlan-Haché, L., & Williams, H. (2019). 10 mentoring and induction challenges in rural schools and how to address them. Center on Great Teachers and Leaders. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED602971

From the ERIC abstract: “Beginning teachers need strong support systems. In addition to adjusting to the demands of the teaching profession, beginning teachers are often required to teach heavy classloads, manage the most challenging classrooms, and take on non-teaching responsibilities in addition to their regular teaching assignments. Although beginning teachers face similar challenges in every type of school, these challenges are often amplified in rural schools, which frequently have a higher proportion of beginning teachers than their urban or suburban neighbors. Challenges for beginning teachers in rural schools are even further amplified by the fact that these teachers are more likely to have to juggle a greater number of responsibilities to meet the needs of their small school communities. Strong mentoring and induction supports have been linked with improvements in teacher retention, instructional practice, teacher working conditions, and even student achievement. However, in rural schools, mentoring and induction programs must be designed and implemented with the unique challenges of the local context in mind. This brief outlines 10 common challenges encountered by rural schools when implementing mentoring and induction programs along with strategies to address the challenges and examples from the field. The challenges described in this brief are as follows: (1) The demand for qualified mentors is greater than the supply; (2) Beginning teachers are not matched with a mentor in their subject area or teaching role; (3) Beginning teachers may teach multiple courses, grade levels, and subjects; (4) Teachers of color may be less likely to receive sufficient mentoring and induction support; (5) Beginning teachers feel professionally isolated; (6) Beginning teachers feel personally isolated; (7) A lack of educator preparation options makes it difficult to create a smooth preservice to inservice transition for beginning teachers; (8) Youth from rural areas frequently leave their communities in search of other career opportunities; (9) Rural schools lack resources to provide consistent, coherent professional development experiences for beginning teachers; and (10) Teachers need pathways for leadership and professional growth.”

Papay, J. P., West, M. R., Fullerton, J. B., & Kane, T. J. (2012). Does an urban teacher residency increase student achievement? Early evidence from Boston. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 34(4), 413–434. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ985263

From the ERIC abstract: “Boston Teacher Residency (BTR) is an innovative practice-based preparation program in which candidates work alongside a mentor teacher for a year before becoming a teacher of record in the Boston Public Schools (BPS). The authors found that BTR graduates are more racially diverse than other BPS novices, more likely to teach math and science, and more likely to remain teaching in the district through Year 5. Initially, BTR graduates for whom value-added performance data are available are no more effective at raising student test scores than other novice teachers in English language arts and less effective in math. The effectiveness of BTR graduates in math improves rapidly over time, however, such that by their 4th and 5th years they outperform veteran teachers. Simulations of the program’s overall effect through retention and effectiveness suggest that it is likely to improve student achievement in the district only modestly over the long run.”

Scott, L. A. (2019). Experience of black male special education teachers: Are alternative licensure programs the desired route for recruitment and preparation? Education and Urban Society, 51(3), 332–350. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1204310

From the ERIC abstract: “Many Black men interested in special education careers enroll in alternate route special education programs over traditional preparation programs. However, there is little research that focuses on their reasons for choosing special education alternate route programs and what makes these programs an effective choice for Black men pursuing teaching careers in special education. This qualitative study interviewed Black men regarding (a) reasons they chose an alternate route special education program, (b) core components of the program they found effective, and (c) support needs once they exited programming. Several themes emerged from this study and indicated that funding, targeted recruitment, and mentoring from Black faculty were among important factors for recruitment and retention. Recommendations for the field, implications and recommendations for policy and practice, and future research are also discussed.”

Note: REL Midwest was unable to locate a link to the full-text version of this resource. Although REL Midwest tries to provide publicly available resources whenever possible, it was determined that this resource may be of interest to you. It may be found through university or public library systems.

Yun, C., & DeMoss, K. (2020). Sustainable strategies for funding teacher residencies: Lessons from California. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/strategies-funding-teacher-residencies-california-report

From the summary: “Like many states, California has faced acute teacher shortages for a number of years, particularly in special education, mathematics, science, and bilingual education. Research suggests that a system of high-quality teacher residencies has the potential to address multiple areas of concern with the state’s educator workforce, including teacher shortages and underprepared educators. High-quality teacher residencies can prepare effective teachers who stay in the profession; often provide financially feasible pathways for candidates; and, when adequately funded, are more likely to recruit teachers of color than other pathways into teaching. Developing and sustaining high-quality residency programs requires resources, and, in 2018-19, California appropriated $75 million dollars to establish the Teacher Residency Grant Program. Under this program, teacher residencies can receive a competitive grant of up to $20,000 per resident to launch or expand programs to recruit and prepare teachers in high-need areas. These state-financed residency grants have provided seed funding to jump-start participating programs—or, in some cases, to scale existing programs. However, recognizing that state funding may not always be available, particularly in the wake of COVID-19, which has placed unprecedented stress on state budgets, programs are working toward greater financial sustainability. This report shares examples from California of partners working together to bring local resources to their residencies to improve sustainability. The report sets the California context and briefly describes how securing funding for residencies can help to address teacher shortages, while increasing the diversity of the teaching workforce. The report also provides concrete strategies that programs can use to move toward long-term sustainable funding, with examples of how specific programs in California have successfully implemented select strategies. These strategies could be useful to districts, teacher preparation programs, community leaders, and state policymakers to help inform teacher residency design and supports.”