Developing and Supporting North Carolina Teachers

• In Event: The Role of Research and Researchers in Supporting States to Take Responsibility and Action for Addressing Educational Equity

Abstract

One of the requirements of the State’s long-standing court case is to ensure that students have access to competent, certified, well-trained teachers. The research team conducted multiple studies to examine the current state of the teacher workforce and to recommend needed actions to ensure that students of color and low income students have access to well-prepared, effective and diverse teachers. Research indicates that teachers are the most important school-based factor affecting student achievement (McCaffrey, Lockwood, Koretz, & Hamilton, 2003; Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2002). Therefore, it’s critical that states, districts, and schools strategically develop and sustain an effective teacher workforce. For this study, the researchers examined current and past status, policies and programs for providing an effective teacher in every classroom with respect to:

• Working conditions and professional environments to support the growth and development of teachers
• Retaining and extending the reach of high-quality teachers

Researchers utilized a mixed-methods approach and included reviews of prior research; analyses of existing state administrative data sets and survey data from NCES; data from an original survey sent to every principal in the state; perceptual data from interviews and focus groups with teachers, principals, superintendents and other district and state professionals from across the state; and other extant data.

Key findings from this study are:
1. Access to, and quality of, professional learning opportunities vary across schools and districts.
2. Teachers’ professional environments differ across the state and influence teacher growth and development.
3. The state’s regional support system lacks the capacity to support teacher growth and development for all districts.
4. State-level efforts that support teacher growth and development are inadequate and inequitable.

Access to effective, diverse, and experienced teachers is critical for students’ academic success and well-being, especially for economically disadvantaged students and students of color. Yet, currently, the study finds that the state’s most underserved students do not have equitable access to the teachers they need the most. Supporting teachers’ growth and development is essential to reversing this trend and promoting student success, but meaningful statewide improvements can come only when high-quality, job-embedded professional learning (JEPL) experiences are available for all teachers. Our analysis of professional environments in districts in North Carolina showed great variation across the state. Our analysis also found that at the state level, there are weak structures for systemic supports for teacher development and support, including induction, coaching, and mentoring. To implement models and practices reflecting the tenets of JEPL at scale, and thereby improve the quality of the teaching workforce, we must look beyond improving individual teachers and instead focus at a systems level on improving the organizations in which they teach (Kraft & Papay, 2014; Johnson, 2009; Kennedy, 2010; Papay & Laski, 2018). Specific recommendations and current actions to address this critical equity issue will be discussed during this pres

Author

• Angela Minnici, WestEd