School Working Conditions and Teacher Retention: The Roles of Policy, Teacher Preparation, and School Principals
Matthew Shirrell
About the research
Award
NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship
Award Year
2013
Institution
Northwestern University
Primary Discipline
Education
School working conditions matter to teacher retention, yet little is known about the factors that shape school working conditions, or how and when these working conditions affect teachers. My dissertation uses mixed methods and a variety of data sources?including national survey datasets, state administrative data, and original surveys?to explore the relationship between school working conditions and teacher retention. I test the causal effects of school accountability on student-teacher matching within schools (Paper 1) and the retention of minority teachers (Paper 2); examine whether school working conditions are associated with changes in student teachers? career plans (Paper 3); and explore how new principals shape both school working conditions and school staffing (Paper 4). A more complete understanding of the relationship between school working conditions and teacher retention is crucial to efforts to improve schools as workplaces and retain the best teachers in the profession.
About Matthew Shirrell
N/A