Teacher Perceptions and Principal Race: Exploring Predictors of Turnover Among Teachers of Color in New York City

• In Event: Compensation, Race, and Burnout: Examining Drivers of Disparate Teacher Retention

Abstract

Teacher turnover can potentially be a disruptive and pervasive phenomenon within education (e.g., Ronfeldt et al., 2013). Decades of education research has sought to understand the factors that predict and influence teacher turnover, particularly in school settings that are low performing, hard to staff, and serving students in most need of stable and effective learning environments.

Past studies have identified school location, enrollment size, administrative resources, and instructional support as significant factors influencing the likelihood teacher attrition (e.g., Borman & Dowling, 2008). Considering the well-documented high turnover rate for teachers of color (Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017), more recently, education researchers have become increasingly attentive to the racial dynamics that might influence retention of teachers as well (Grissom & Keiser, 2007; Bartenan & Grissom, 2019).

The current study seeks to extend the literature base by exploring the role that principal leadership plays in the retention of teachers of color in a racially and ethnically diverse urban school setting. I use longitudinal administrative and survey data from New York City to address two main research questions: (1) To what degree are teachers more or less likely to stay in their schools when they work for a principal of the same race? (2) To what extent do teachers’ perceptions of principal leadership predict differences in turnover among teachers of color?

Prior research leveraging school administrative data has primarily been limited to examine race-based interactions between black principals and teachers. New York City serves as a particularly distinct setting with regard to the racial/ethnic diversity of teachers and education leaders, which thus provides a unique opportunity to more closely explore turnover dynamics between Latinx, Asian, and multi-racial principals and teachers. In this regard, this study contributes to the literature on teacher turnover by affirming the ways race interplays with turnover among teachers of color. In addition, findings from this study explore perceptions of leadership associated with increased retention of teachers of color, which have direct implications for teacher policy by informing and promoting best practices for preparing school leaders.

Preliminary results suggest that having a principal of the same race decreases the probability that a teacher leaves their position by 2.8 percentage points, or approximately 17.5 percent of the average turnover rate in the city, even after controlling for school, principal, and fixed teacher characteristics. However, this pattern is not consistent within racial/ethnic subgroups, as principal race-match effects on teacher turnover are observable only among black and white teachers. I also find that school-level survey measures of teachers’ perceptions of principal leadership partly explain principal race-match effects on teacher turnover. More specifically, teachers’ rating of their principal’s understanding of children’s learning and their ability to communicate a clear school vision are two salient leadership qualities that predict reductions in turnover among black teachers.

Authors

• Luis Alberto Rodriguez, New York University

• Julie Pham, New York University