What can schools do to maintain a pool of experienced, highly qualified teachers? Although efforts directed at reducing new teacher attrition are undeniably worthwhile, research suggests that experienced teachers also need support so that they remain in the classroom and thrive. Here are some areas of need that schools should address in their efforts to sustain teachers' commitment and job satisfaction throughout their careers.
Professional Development
A survey of more than 5,000 teachers conducted by the Fast Response Survey System of the National Center for Education Statistics (Parsad, Lewis, & Farris, 2001) found a link between the amount of professional development in which teachers had participated and the teachers' feelings of competence. When asked how well prepared they felt in various instructional areas, fewer than half of the teachers said that they felt “very well prepared” to implement new methods of teaching (45 percent), to implement the state or district curriculum (44 percent), to use student performance assessment (37 percent), to address the needs of students from diverse cultural backgrounds (32 percent), or to integrate education technology into the grade or subject taught (27 percent).
The extent to which teachers felt very well prepared for most classroom activities varied according to the amount of professional development that they had received in those activities. In general, teachers who had spent more than 8 hours in professional development for a specific activity were more likely to indicate that they felt very well prepared for that activity than were those who had spent 1–8 hours or who did not participate at all.
Collaborative activities appeared to be especially effective in promoting teachers' feelings of competence. Teachers who participated in regularly scheduled collaboration with other teachers, networked with teachers outside the school, and mentored another teacher were more likely than those who did not participate in these activities to report feeling very well prepared for the overall demands of their classroom assignments.
The 1998 edition of the survey also asked for teachers' perceptions of the professional development activities that had most improved their teaching. The most beneficial professional development topics were addressing the needs of children with disabilities (with 42 percent of respondents saying that these activities improved their teaching “a lot” if they participated in at least 8 hours of training); in-depth study in the subject area of the main teaching assignment (41 percent); classroom management, including student discipline (40 percent); and new methods of teaching (39 percent) (U.S. Department of Education, 1998).
Ongoing Mentoring
For mentoring to have a sustained effect on teaching, Eberhard, Reindhardt-Mondragon, and Stottlemyer (2000) suggest that new teachers must be mentored not just in their first year, but through their third or fourth year of teaching. Teachers in the study who did not receive such sustained mentoring had a smaller chance of being successful and making an impact as they gained experience. In addition to extending mentoring beyond the first year of teaching, these researchers found that this support must be combined with ongoing professional development for all teachers throughout the year.
Resiliency and Empowerment
Bernshausen and Cunningham (2001) suggest that teachers who are experiencing stress must be taught resiliency, or the ability to adapt and bounce back when faced with upsetting or stressful conditions. These researchers contend that without resiliency, new teachers cannot sustain their enthusiasm and commitment over time. They found that most experienced teachers who leave the field do so because of such factors as lack of support from administrators or colleagues and insufficient involvement in decision making. Their research suggests that school communities can promote resiliency by encouraging teachers' feelings of competence, belonging, and usefulness.
Shen (1997) suggests that to promote resiliency, schools should create teacher career ladders. Because most teacher salaries are based simply on years of experience, the culture of teaching is one of equality regardless of performance. Shen advocates a more differentiated salary schedule linked to a career ladder that gives teachers empowerment and influence over school and teaching policies. She asserts that the more a teacher has invested in teaching, the more he or she tends to stay in the profession.
Barth's discussion in The Teacher Leader (1999) supports Shen's concept of increased teacher empowerment. Barth defines teacher leaders as those who have a positive influence on the school, and he believes that this expanded role paves the way to teacher job satisfaction. Leadership positions provide teachers with experiences that reduce their isolation, increase their personal and professional satisfaction, and enhance their sense of investment and membership in the school community. These feelings, according to Barth, invigorate teachers and enhance their classroom teaching.
Teachers also feel more empowered and satisfied when the work itself is rewarding and when external rewards support and reinforce the work, according to Elmore (2002). His research shows that most teachers derive personal satisfaction in seeing improved student achievement, having opportunities to work with other teachers on instructional problems, reaching wider school goals, and gaining public recognition of their success. According to Elmore, visible evidence of student learning is the most immediate motivator for continued improvement for all.
Sustained Support
Most would agree that new teachers deserve assistance and nurturing during their induction phase into the profession. But only by providing support throughout teachers' careers can we ensure a sustainable pool of high-quality teachers for all students. Research indicates that the strategies reviewed here—professional development, ongoing mentoring, and fostering teacher empowerment—can help schools keep experienced teachers in the classroom and increase their job satisfaction.
