What can school leaders do to reduce the number of special education teachers who leave each year?
Page 2: A Model for Retaining Effective Special Educators
The retention of special education personnel requires that school leaders consider how to increase the attractiveness of special education positions compared to general education teaching and other occupations. A Leader’s Model for Cultivating and Keeping Effective Special Educators provides an overview of the key components that have an impact on teacher retention. This model is summarized in the movie below (time: 1:42).
Transcript: Video
This figure provides a big-picture view of the factors that affect teacher retention: A Leader’s Model for Cultivating and Keeping Effective Special Educators.
This model focuses on two key ideas. The first is to Cultivate Effective Special Educators, and the second is to Improve Work Conditions.
There are three key leadership actions associated with each of these two major areas. To cultivate effective special education teachers, leaders need to 1) use effective recruiting and hiring procedures to identify the best possible teachers and provide a good job match, 2) provide thoughtful teacher induction to help them become more effective as they enter the profession, and 3) address professional learning throughout their careers.
These three actions in combination should lead to greater teacher effectiveness.
To create favorable working conditions leaders need to 1) provide supports to new teachers, 2) foster a positive school climate, and 3) engage in thoughtful role design.
Most teachers are motivated to make a difference in the lives of their students, and leaders need to facilitate teacher learning and create an environment that allows them to use these skills. Effective teachers (highlight Teacher Effectiveness oval) who work in supportive environments are more likely to experience job satisfaction and see their students succeed, factors that are important to retention. The center arrow that connects effective teaching to supportive work environments highlights the significance of this mutual reinforcement. Effective and knowledgeable teachers support each other’s learning and a supportive work environment, in turn, increases opportunities to teach and thus be more effective.
The model focuses on two key ideas. The first is to Cultivate Effective Special Educators (left half of figure). There are three key leadership actions associated with this idea. Implementing these three actions in combination should lead to greater teacher effectiveness by:
- Using effective recruiting and hiring procedures to identify the best possible teachers and provide a good job match
- Providing teacher induction to help new teachers become more effective as they enter the profession
- Addressing professional learning throughout teachers’ careers (i.e., lifelong learning)
The second key idea of this model is to Improve Work Conditions (right half of figure). There are three key leadership actions associated with this idea:
- Being a supportive principal
- Encouraging a positive and collaborative school climate
- Establishing clear job responsibilities
School leaders who implement the six primary actions outlined in the Leader’s Model can increase teacher retention and decrease teacher turnover. These six actions will be discussed in more detail on subsequent Module pages.
Mars Hill Middle School
Clara Kamei, the principal in the Challenge, learns about A Leader’s Model for Cultivating and Keeping Effective Special Educators and decides to implement it and determine whether her actions affect teacher turnover.
