A Causal Analysis of the Relationship Between School Safety and Teacher Turnover in NYC

• In Event: Perspectives on School Safety

Abstract

Teacher shortages confirm that teacher turnover remains a pressing problem. School safety has been found to be an important school condition related to turnover, but there has been limited research disentangling its particular impact. This study uses a causal inference framework to disentangle estimates of the impact of safety on teacher turnover among a sample of 608 secondary mathematics NYC Teaching Fellows from 2006-2017. Our findings from regression models using inverse probability weighting provide further evidence for the detrimental effect of unsafe schools, as perceived by teachers and students, on early-career teacher retention. Additionally, we find evidence of consequential heterogeneity, implying that certain organizational factors (such as strong leadership) might buffer against the impact of an unsafe environment on turnover.

Authors

• Ashley Anne Grant, Johns Hopkins University

• Andrew M. Brantlinger, University of Maryland