Teaching as a Calling: Why Early-Career Math Teachers Stay

• In Event: More than Numbers: The Emotional Labor of Mathematics

Abstract

This proposal examines identity- and ideology-based motivations for staying in the teaching profession among 25 mathematics credential program completers who remained in teaching two to seven years after program completion. Drawing on open-ended survey responses from a broader NSF-funded study across eight public West Coast universities, participants’ descriptions of their decisions to stay or leave the teaching profession are examined. Thematic analyses revealed that care for students and alignment of teaching with cultural, religious, or familial values sustained commitment. These findings illuminate how highly personal beliefs about identity and calling may influence persistence in teaching but also highlight challenges in how to best support early career teacher retention in the face of systemic challenges.

Author

• Cristina Runnalls, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona