The Effects of Education and Preparation on Beginning Teacher Attrition: A Longitudinal Study

• In Event: STEM Education Supporting Diverse Communities and Contexts

Abstract

This study addresses the question: do the kinds and amounts of pre-service education and preparation beginning teachers receive before they begin teaching have any impact on whether they remain in teaching? Our data source is the National Center for Education Statistics’ nationally representative the Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study (BTLS), which followed a cohort of newly hired teachers from 2007-08 to 2011-12. Our analyses also show that, after controlling for the background characteristics of teachers and their schools, a number of aspects of the education and preparation beginning teachers receive were significantly associated with their retention. The amount of pedagogical preparation teachers received, especially practice teaching, was the most strongly related to whether new teachers remained in teaching.

Authors

• Richard Ingersoll, University of Pennsylvania

• Philip M. Sirinides, The Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg