Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Teachers

Teacher shortage as a local phenomenon: District leader sensemaking, responses, and implications for policy

“…This trend is particularly true for women, who make up approximately 77% of the teaching workforce nationwide (Taei, Goldring, & Spiegelman, 2018). Because districts show a propensity to hire local teachers (Engel & Cannata, 2015), those systems that tend to produce lower than average numbers of college graduates may find themselves trapped in a shortage cycle, limited to a small pool of local candidates and less able to recruit individuals who are unfamiliar with the geographic or cultural context (Bland, Church, & Luo, 2016;Reininger, 2012).…”

“…In general, geographic placement can make it challenging or expensive for local districts to solve shortage problems through recruitment and retention initiatives (Bland et al, 2016). This leaves district leaders with the decision to employ myriad strategies to fill open classrooms, often through "less than ideal practices" (Podolsky & Sutcher, 2016, p. 3) including: the hiring of teachers with "substandard credentials," the use of substitutes when available, emergency certification, placing teachers in subjects outside their certification areas, and leaving positions unfilled.…”

“…The low number and limited reach potentially speak to the lack of eligible and interested candidates as individuals need to have at least a "relevant" bachelor's degree and pass the appropriate licensure exams to be eligible. This is likely connected to the educational attainment realities in West Virginia, which ranks 51 st in the nation, behind all states and the District of Columbia, in the percentage of women with bachelor's degrees (Anderson & Clark, 2018) At the same time the state has initiated policy reforms to reduce the teacher shortage, stakeholders point to several statewide reforms that have simultaneously made it more difficult to attract and retain teachers. These include a new WVDE policy that make it challenging for experienced educators to serve as new teacher mentors (WVDE, 2017), and hiring practices that inhibit districts from offering jobs onsite to candidates at career fairs.…”

Les types de besoins de soutien des enseignants débutants et leur perception de l’aide reçue par le biais des différentes mesures de soutien

“…En effet, les enseignants débutants ont bien souvent une insertion professionnelle (IP) laborieuse empreinte d' embuches, et ce, pour différentes raisons. Les difficultés souvent recensées touchent la grande mobilité professionnelle (Ingersoll, 2012), la gestion de la classe, la gestion des comportements difficiles des élèves, la gestion des relations interpersonnelles avec leurs collègues et les parents des apprenants, ainsi que la fatigue causée par la lourdeur de la charge de travail (Bland, Church et Luo, 2014;Coggins et Diffenbaugh, 2013). Il y a aussi les inquiétudes liées à l'adaptation des interventions aux élèves en difficulté et à l' évaluation des apprentissages et des compétences des élèves (Mukamurera et Tardif, 2016;Potemski et Matlach, 2014).…”

“…), diverses mesures de soutien à l'insertion sont mises en place pour soutenir les enseignants débutants (Bland et al, 2014;Kang et Berliner, 2012 La finalité des mesures de soutien est d'améliorer les compétences et la satisfaction des nouveaux enseignants afin qu'ils développent un sentiment d'auto-efficacité positif, décident de rester dans la profession et que cela entraine, par ricochet, une amélioration des apprentissages et de la réussite des élèves (Ingersoll, 2012).…”