The Influence of Network Bridging on Early Career Teacher Identity and Retention

• In Event: Early Career Teachers' Experiences of Professional Development and Implications for Retention

Abstract

Teacher attrition is a growing concern both within the United States and across the globe. Responding to this concern requires scholars to understand the relationships between the factors that lead to teacher dispositions to leaving the profession. In this study, we explored the relationships between teacher identity, communities of practice network characteristics, and dispositions to leave the profession. Our findings suggest that while both network bridging and teacher identity are significantly related to teachers’ disposition to remain in the profession, network bridging promotes stronger identity development which in turn promotes teachers desire to remain in the profession.

Authors

• Joshua Reid, Middle Tennessee State University

• Samuel J Polizzi, Georgia Highlands College

• Yicong Zhu, Stony Brook University

• Siying Jiang, Stony Brook University

• Brandon Ofem, University of Missouri - St. Louis

• Sara Salisbury, Middle Tennessee State University

• Michael E. Beeth, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

• Margaret Joan Mohr-Schroeder, University of Kentucky

• Keith Sheppard, Stony Brook University - SUNY

• Gillian Roehrig, University of Minnesota

• Gregory Rushton, Middle Tennessee State University