Chemistry Teacher Isolation, Contextual Characteristics, and Student Performance

Abstract

This case study explored chemistry teacher isolation through the compilation and analysis of contextual characteristics and student performance data of 895 public schools and 2321 chemistry teachers in New York State in 2011–12. Data on the teachers’ qualifications along with school characteristics were collected from several independent, publicly available data sources. Chemistry teacher characteristics included professional age, certification type (primary or secondary), and whether the teachers were isolated, that is, the only teachers of chemistry in their schools. School-level data included socioeconomic status, chemistry course-taking rates, and passing rates on the statewide high-stakes chemistry exam. Analysis revealed that more than half of public secondary schools in New York State had isolated chemistry teachers, and they were concentrated in urban schools and had less professional teaching experience. When examining the chemistry performance of students of isolated teachers in a multivariable model, it was determined that school-level socioeconomic status, chemistry-taking ratio, certification type, and professional age were predictors, accounting for 27% of the variance in scores. Results were consistent with mediation analyses indicating both teacher professional age and school test-taking ratio mediated the relationship between socioeconomic status and chemistry passing rate, suggesting that teaching experience and chemistry course-taking rates mitigated the effects of poverty on student chemistry performance. These findings have implications for education policy makers indicating that teacher preparation and induction programs should be re-examined to address: (1) teaching chemistry in isolation and (2) the relationships among school conditions, chemistry teacher retention, and high school chemistry students’ achievement.

Physics teacher isolation, contextual characteristics, and student performance

“…Students from schools with isolated physics teachers demonstrated weaker physics performance compared to students from schools with multiple physics teachers, with a small to medium effect size. These findings are consistent with a similar study concerning isolated chemistry teachers [15]. Isolation was found to have a significant relationship with previously reported issues regarding physics access and equity for students, which may have been exacerbated by previously reported teacher workplace tensions associated with isolated working environments, including limited pedagogical development, occupational stress, and lack of social integration among peer educators [22,23,30,56].…”

“…This had a direct relationship with both student access to physics courses as well as isolated teacher course load. In line with previous research, the majority of isolated teachers were not full-time physics teachers, rather, they also taught STEM courses such as chemistry, earth science, and mathematics [6,7,15,34]. Students who attended schools with an isolated teacher often experienced restricted access to advanced and second year physics courses, both previously reported to strengthen a student's likelihood of STEM interest and persistence [2,4,5].…”

“…While physics access and enrollments are important factors in increasing student preparedness for postsecondary STEM study, the prevalence of underqualified teachers in the physical sciences is also a concern [15][16][17]. Darling-Hammond [18] identified teacher-level factors that impact student performance in STEM, including degree in the field taught, certification status, teaching experience, and subject matter knowledge.…”

“…Additionally, physics teachers often do not exclusively teach physics due to relatively low enrollment in physics courses [19]. In a study of isolated chemistry teachers, data revealed that these teachers were less experienced, less likely to be certified in chemistry, and more likely to work in high needs schools [15]. Novice teachers in the subjects of physics, chemistry, physical science, geometry, and biology displayed an improvement in their teaching effectiveness with more years of teaching experience [21].…”

“…In response to the chronic shortage of physics teachers, states may set different requirements for certification. While teachers may be considered to be qualified in some states, the same teachers may be considered unqualified in other states, removing the generalizability of research findings and subsequently masking the wide variations among states [15].…”