Karen J. DeAngelis

The Impact of Preservice Preparation and Early Career Support on Novice Teachers’ Career Intentions and Decisions

A rationale for providing high-quality support during teachers’ early years is to develop further the skills teachers acquire during preparation and to help overcome weaknesses that might lead them to abandon the profession. Yet, almost no consideration has been given to potential interactions between preservice preparation and induction support received. This study utilizes survey and administrative data to examine the effects, including interactions, of preservice preparation and early career support on new teachers’ career intentions and decisions. Consistent with previous research, we find a direct association between perceived preparation quality and leaving teaching. Moreover, we find the quality and comprehensiveness of mentoring and induction to be related to teachers’ intentions and decisions. Our results also suggest that comprehensive support moderates the relationship between preservice preparation and intentions to leave. The findings point to the importance of considering preservice preparation in combination with induction support in efforts to address teacher attrition.

Toward a More Nuanced Understanding of New Teacher Attrition

Teacher attrition, especially among new teachers, has been an issue of major concern for policy makers and administrators for many years. Prior research has provided valuable information regarding the teacher and organizational factors associated with attrition from the profession and teacher mobility across schools. Less attention, however, has been placed on quantifying the problem and placing actual differences by teacher and organizational characteristics into perspective. Using more than 30 years of population data on new teacher cohorts from Illinois, the authors provide a more nuanced analysis of new teacher attrition from both the profession and schools. In contrast to conventional wisdom, the authors reveal a stronger attachment to the profession by recent cohorts of Illinois teachers compared to teachers who began during the 1970s. Moreover, the authors find that variation in school-level attrition is substantially greater within school type than across school type. Thus, rather than thinking of new teacher attrition from schools as primarily an urban or disadvantaged school problem, the study results suggest that policy makers and administrators need to be thinking of it as primarily an individual school problem, and thereby work to identify and provide more targeted assistance to schools of all types that are particularly burdened by high teacher turnover.

Examining the Pipeline Into Educational Administration An Analysis of Applications and Job Offers

Purpose: Studies show that there are far greater numbers of individuals certified to be educational administrators than of positions requiring such certification. Yet concerns regarding shortages abound, in part because of widespread perceptions of a lack of interest by teachers and administrative certificate holders in administrative work. This study takes a close look at the pipeline into educational administration to determine whether decisions on the supply side, demand side, or both are responsible for the movement (or lack thereof) of individuals into administration. Research Design: This study employs survey and administrative data from 2002 to 2006 to track a sample of administrative certificate earners in Illinois through the pipeline into administrative positions. Using application and job offer information, the authors identify who applied for administrative jobs, received job offers, and accepted administrative positions and assess using logistic regression models factors associated with the decisions of prospective employees and employers in this labor market. Findings: Although a majority of respondents attempted to obtain administrative positions within 2 years of completing administrative certification, a substantially smaller percentage actually became administrators. This study reveals that approximately 30% of eligible respondents are lost at each stage—application, job offer, and job acceptance. Conclusions: Multiple factors contribute to the loss of prospective administrators from the pipeline into educational administration. The findings suggest that more job-specific training opportunities and greater support and encouragement throughout the transition process would stem some of the loss of prospective administrators.

The Characteristics of High School Department Chairs: A National Perspective.

Department chairs occupy a potentially important leadership position in high schools, yet little is known about them, particularly with regard to who they are and how they compare to other high school teachers. This is surprising given growing expectations for distributed leadership practice in schools. In this study, I utilize a national dataset to provide a large-scale look at the characteristics of department chairs. Additionally, I provide insight into the characteristics of chairs that appear to be important to their serving in the position.