Proven Preparation and Development Policies to Find and Keep Teachers

• In Event: Investing in a Diverse, Quality Teacher Workforce: From Recruitment to Retention

Abstract

This paper examines preparation and development policies associated with finding and keeping talented educators. The goal of this paper is to help policymakers, researchers, and K-12 practitioners understand the range of preparation and development policies that can improve the recruitment and retention of teachers, and the contexts in which they have been proven to work. To identify promising approaches, we review peer-reviewed literature to analyze at least two of the major factors influencing teachers’ career decisions: (1) preparation and costs to entry, and (2) induction and support for new teachers.

Strong preparation for teaching enhances teachers’ sense of efficacy and their effectiveness, improving student outcomes. Strong preparation also increases the likelihood that teachers will remain in the profession. Teachers who enter the profession underprepared have been found to be two to three times more likely to leave the profession than those who are comprehensively prepared. A comprehensive preparation typically includes observing others teaching, student teaching at least a full semester, receiving feedback, taking courses in teaching methods, learning theory, and selecting instructional materials.

After districts hire talented teachers, strong support for novice teachers, sometimes referred to as “induction,” can increase their retention, accelerate their professional growth, and improve student learning. The most effective induction programs include mentoring, coaching, and feedback from experienced teachers in the same subject area or grade level as the novice teacher; the opportunity for novice teachers to observe expert teachers; orientation sessions, retreats, and seminars for novice teachers; and reduced workloads and extra classroom assistance for novice teachers. Teachers who receive strong early-career supports have been found to stay in teaching at rates more than twice those of teachers who lack these supports.

Given the importance of preparation and support for teachers, we explore the evidence-base for policies in these areas, including the contexts in which they have been successful. We uncover examples of several empirically proven approaches. For example, local pathways into the profession, such as high school career pathways and Grow Your Own teacher preparation models, motivate and expose talented individuals to a career in education and provide financial assistance as they prepare to become teachers. Teacher residencies that recruit talented candidates to work as paid apprentices to skilled expert teachers have also been associated with attracting greater diversity into the teaching workforce and supplying teachers in hard-to-staff subjects. In addition, high-quality mentoring and support programs for early-career teachers can be a cost-effective strategy to keep teachers in the classroom. And service scholarships and loan forgiveness programs that underwrite teachers’ preparation in exchange for a number of years of service in the profession can be effective in attracting and preparing high-ability candidates and recruiting them to the places or fields where they are needed.

This analysis of preparation and development programs for teachers provides critical insight into the approaches that can ensure that teachers are well-prepared and more likely to remain in the profession.

Author

• Anne Podolsky, Learning Policy Institute