Understanding Teacher Retention Among Secondary Mathematics Teachers in Their First Five Years of Teaching

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:45 pm - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Supporting Mathematics Teachers: Leadership and Retention

Abstract

This collaborative study, conducted across eight campuses in a large public university system in the United States, examines teacher retention, movement, and departure among 685 undergraduate and postbaccalaureate secondary credential program mathematics completers in the first five years of teaching in urban West Coast school districts. Program completers from 2018 to 2023 responded to a 58-item survey that was constructed, validated, and implemented between April 2024 and July 2025. The project examines the influence of individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and policy factors in completers' decisions to either stay, move, or leave the profession. Results will inform recommendations for improving and strengthening the connections between credential, induction, and other professional development programs and initiatives to support long-term retention of mathematics teachers.

Authors

• Babette M. Benken, California State University - Long Beach

• Rong-Ji Chen, California State University - San Marcos

• Peter Gao, San Jose State University

• Sayonita Ghosh Hajra, Sacramento State University

• Dennis Kombe, California State University, Monterey Bay

• Julie McNamara, California State University East Bay

• Ferdinand D. Rivera, San José State University

• Cheryl Roddick, San Jose State University

• Cristina Runnalls, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

• Agnes Tuska, California State University - Fresno