73.046 - School Working Conditions and Teacher Turnover: Implications for Diversifying the Teacher Workforce

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Despite calls by national, state, and local policymakers to diversify the teacher workforce, pre- and in-service teachers of color remain significantly more likely to exit the teaching pipeline than White teachers. This symposium explores possible explanations for the turnover and attrition of Black and Latino teachers, focusing on the organizational context of these teachers’ schools, particularly their working conditions. Papers in this symposium suggest that aspects of policy, administrative leadership, collegial relationships, and school culture are particularly influential in the career decisions of Black and Latino teachers. Given that these teachers may be uniquely positioned to improve the schooling outcomes of historically marginalized students, findings here have implications for education praxis, research, theory, and policy.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Section 6: Human Capital

Chair

• Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Teachers College, Columbia University

Papers

• Teacher Turnover in High-Poverty Schools: What We Know and Can Do - Nicole S. Simon, Harvard University; Susan M. Johnson, Harvard University

• The Effect of Subgroup-Specific Accountability on the Working Conditions, Turnover, and Attrition of Black Teachers in North Carolina - Matthew A. Shirrell, Northwestern University

• Educators of Color in Urban Charter Schools: The Sociocultural Dimensions of Working Conditions and Teacher Turnover - Terrenda Corisa White, University of Colorado-Boulder

• How School Working Conditions Influence Black Male Teachers' Decisions to Stay or Leave the Profession - Travis Bristol, Stanford University

Discussant

• Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University