Teachers’ Career Advice Networks and Career Decisions: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

• In Event: Staying, Leaving, and Thriving: The Complex Realities of Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this mixed methods study is to examine teachers’ career advice networks and how they relate to the types of career decisions teachers make over time. Using an exploratory sequential design, we conducted a secondary analysis of survey data collected in 2016 from 378 urban mathematics teachers who entered teaching a decade earlier through a nationally prominent alternative certification program. We identified five distinct qualitative themes: (1) switching to a new field, (2) advancing within K–12, (3) changing schools or systems, (4) relocating geographically, and (5) choosing stability. Quantitative results showed these decisions were linked to different patterns of advice-seeking. This study makes a novel contribution to the related literature on teachers’ career trajectories and teachers’ social networks.

Authors

• Chunru Dong, University of Maryland

• Andrew M. Brantlinger, University of Maryland

• Sora Kim, University of Maryland