Mentor Teachers' Perceptions of School Working Conditions and Influence on Retention

• In Event: 26.079 - Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: 26.079-4 - Efficacy and Effectiveness of Mentor Teacher Leaders: A Multiperspective Session

Abstract

Purpose

Teacher classroom effectiveness should not be viewed in isolation of other school indicators, such as working conditions and school culture. Further, research on teacher retention does not specifically examine different career ladder positions in schools such as mentor teachers. These teachers are often instructional coaches and support systems for classroom teachers; thus, their stability in the school becomes a consideration when examining school effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between environmental factors and retention of mentor teachers compared with classroom teachers.

Perspective

An ever-increasing body of research indicates that teacher perceptions of their working environment, or working conditions, are associated with their decision to remain in the school and even in the teaching profession (Beltman, Mansfield, & Price, 2011). Not only is there a connection between how teachers perceive their own working environment and teacher reports of their effectiveness, these same perceptions may be correlated with teacher reports of student learning in the classroom (Earthman & Lemasters, 2008). Further, teachers leave low-performing schools at an alarming rate; teacher turnover is markedly higher in these schools, which serve high-poverty and minority students (Ingersoll, 2001; National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 2002).

Methods

Using data from a USDOE funded grant evaluation, teacher characteristics, teacher position, and employment from one school year to the next has been collected over the last three years. Examination of differences in perceptions of school environment by teacher position will be the first analysis. Next, logistic regression will examine differences in retention rates, controlling for school position (mentor teacher and career teacher) and school environment scores.

Data Sources

This study examines results from the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey (WCS) a standardized survey completed to assess teachers’ perceptions of their work environment (The Center for Teaching Quality, n.d.). The survey, administered online, had a response rate of 82%. Scales included: Time, Facilities and Resources, Empowerment, Decision Marking, Leadership, and Professional Development. In addition, retention of was determined using school records.

Results
This analysis included 1,540 Teachers in 59 schools. In an examination using previous school year attrition, classroom teachers and mentor teachers left at similar rates (73% compared with 79%). In addition, when compared with classroom teachers, mentor teachers reported significantly more positive perspectives on their school environment. Mentor teachers rated the following categories higher than classroom teachers: Time, Facilities and Resources, Empowerment, Decision Making, Leadership, and Professional Development (all significant at p < .05). Retention rates of mentor and classroom teachers will be examined, controlling for working conditions, to determine if mentor teachers’ retention in their school and their position differs from the classroom teachers with whom they support.

Significance

This study highlights the importance of retaining mentor teachers who support classroom teachers. Moreover, mentor teachers’ perceptions of school working conditions as a factor in remaining in their school becomes of critical importance. Understanding static and dynamic indicators in educational research emphasize the complex nature of “effectiveness” in education and teachers’ willingness to stay in their positions.

Author

• Wendy Miedel Barnard, Arizona State University