Nancy K. Martin

Predicting teacher retention using stress and support variables

Purpose – Teacher attrition is a significant international concern facing administrators. Although a considerable amount of literature exists related to the causes of job dissatisfaction and teachers leaving the profession, relatively few theoretical models test the complex interrelationships between these variables. The goal of this paper is to partially fill this gap.Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 479 certified teachers who taught either at elementary (55.3 percent), middle (33.0 percent), or high (10.6 percent) school levels, three competing theoretical models with variables related to teacher stress or support were tested using structural equation modeling to predict job dissatisfaction and eventual intention to quit.Findings – The most parsimonious model revealed that student stressors completely mediated the relationship between teacher efficacy related to student engagement and job dissatisfaction, with social support superiors and student stressors being best predictors of job dis...

An evaluation of the Behavior and Instructional Management Scale's psychometric properties using Portuguese teachers

Abstract Classroom management research is an important topic as teachers cannot effectively educate students in unstructured environments. With that said, few psychometrically sound measures are available to measure behavior and instructional management. Using 1520 Portuguese teachers, we evaluated the Behavior and Instructional Management Scales (BIMS) psychometric properties using Bayesian estimation and found that the original 12-item scale provided reasonable evidence of factorial validity and internal consistency reliability; however, a slightly revised model may be more promising. The BIMS subscales also had strong concurrent validity evidence based on the associations with perceived student engagement, perceived instructional strategies, and perceived classroom management.