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Challenge
Initial Thoughts
Perspectives & Resources

What factors do you think influence special education teacher turnover?

  • Page 1: Teacher Retention and Turnover

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
  • Page 3: Recruiting and Hiring
  • Page 4: Teacher Induction
  • Page 5: Professional Learning
  • Page 6: Principal Support
  • Page 7: School Climate
  • Page 8: Job Design

Resources

  • Page 9: References & Additional Resources
  • Page 10: Credits
Wrap Up
Assessment
We want to hear from you. Please complete our brief Module Feedback Form.

Resources

Page 9: References & Additional Resources

To cite this module, please use the following:

The IRIS Center. (2013). Teacher retention: Reducing the attrition of special educators. Retrieved from
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/tchr-ret/

References

Albrecht, S. F., Johns, B. H., Mounsteven, J., & Olorunda, O. (2009). Working conditions as risk or resiliency factors for teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Psychology in the Schools, 46(10), 1006–1022.

Billingsley, B. (2013). A leader’s model for keeping special educators. Manuscript in preparation.

Billingsley, B. (2004). Special education teacher retention and attrition: A critical analysis of the research literature. The Journal of Special Education, 38(1), 39–55.

Billingsley, B., Carlson, E., & Klein, S. (2004). The working conditions and induction support of early career special educators. Exceptional Children, 70(3), 333–347.

Billingsley, B., Crockett, J. C., & Kamman, M. (in press). Recruiting and retaining high quality special education teachers and administrators. In P. Sindelar, M. Brownell, B. Lignugaris-Kraft & E. McCray (Eds.), Handbook for research on special education teacher preparation. Routledge, Taylor-Francis: New York, NY.

Billingsley, B. S., Griffin, C. C., Smith, S. J., Kamman, M. L., & Israel, M. (2009). A review of teacher induction in special education: Research, practice and technology solutions. (NCIPP Doc. No. RS-1). Retrieved November 29, 2011, from http://ncipp.org/reports/rs_1.pdf.

Boe, E. E. (2006). Long term trends in the national demand, supply, and shortage of special education teachers. Journal of Special Education, 40, 138–150.

Boe, E. E., & Cook, L. H. (2006). The chronic and increasing shortage of fully-certified teachers in special and general education. Exceptional Children, 72(4), 443–460.

Boe, E. E., Cook, L. H., & Sunderland, R. J. (2007b). Trends in the turnover of teachers from 1991 to 2004: Attrition, teaching area transfer, and school migration. (Data Analysis Report No. 2007-DAR2). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, Center for Research and Evaluation in Social Policy.

Boe, E. E., Cook, L. H., & Sunderland, R. J. (2008). Teacher turnover: Examining exit attrition, teaching area transfer, and school migration. Exceptional Children, 75, 7–31.

Boe, E. E., deBettencourt, L. U., Dewey, J. F., Rosenberg, M. S., Sindelar, P. T., & Leko, C. D. (2013). Variability in demand for special education teachers: Indicators, explanations, and impacts. Exceptionality: A Special Education Journal, 21(2), 103–125.

Brown, K. M. & Wynn, S. R. (2009). Finding, supporting, and keeping: The role of the principal in teacher retention issues. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 8, 37–63.

Brownell, M. T., Yeager, E., Rennells, M. S., & Riley, T. (1997). Teachers working together: What teacher educators and researchers should know. Teacher Education and Special Education, 20, 340–359.

Connelly, V., & Graham, S. (2009). Student teaching and teacher attrition in special education. Teacher Education and Special Education, 32, 257–269.

Cook, L. H., & Boe, E. E. (2007). National trends in the sources of supply of teachers in special and general education. Teacher Education and Special Education, 30, 217–232.

Fall, A. M., & Billingsley, B. (2008). Disparities in teacher quality among early career special educators in high and low poverty districts. In T. E. Scruggs & M. A. Mastropieri (Eds.), Advances in learning and behavioral disabilities: Personnel preparation (vol. 21, pp. 181–206). Stanford, CT: JAI.

Fish, W. W., & Stephens, T. L. (2010). Special education: A career of choice. Remedial and Special Education, 31(5), 400–407.

Gersten, R., Keating, T., Yovanoff, P., & Harniss, M. K. (2001). Working in special education: Factors that enhance special educators’ intent to stay. Exceptional Children, 67(4), 549–567.

Guarino, C. M., Santibanez, L., & Daley, G. A. (2006). Teacher recruitment and retention: A review of recent empirical evidence. Review of Educational Research, 76(2), 173–208.

Hammer, P. C., Hughes, G., McClure, C., Reeves, C., & Salgado, D. (2005). Rural teacher recruitment and retention practices: A review of the research literature, national survey of rural superintendents, and case studies of programs in Virginia. Charleston, WV: Appalachia Educational Laboratory at Edvantia. (ERIC No. 489143). .

Ingersoll, R. M., & Strong, M. (2011). The impact of induction and mentoring programs for beginning teachers: A critical review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 201–233.

Johnson, S. M., & Birkeland, S. (2003). Pursuing a “sense of success”: New teachers explain their career decisions. American Educational Research Journal, 40(3), 581–617.

Johnson, S. M., Kraft, M. A., & Papay, J. P. (2012). How context matters in high-need schools: The effects of teachers’ working conditions on their professional satisfaction and their students’ achievement. Teachers College Record, 114(10), 1–39.

Jones, N., & Youngs, P. (2012). Daily emotions and their association with the commitment and burnout of beginning teachers. Teachers College Record, 114(2), 1–36.

Kaff, M. S. (2004). Multitasking is multitaxing: Why special educators are leaving the field. Preventing School Failure, 48(2), 10–17.

Lui, E., Johnson, S., & Peske, H. (2004). New teachers and the Massachusetts signing bonus: The limits of inducements. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 26(3), 217.

McLeskey, J., Tyler, N. C., & Flippin, S. S. (2004). The supply of and demand for special education teachers: A review of research regarding the chronic shortage of special education teachers. The Journal of Special Education, 38(1), 5–21.

Nance, E., & Calabrese, R. L. (2009). Special education teacher retention and attrition: The impact of increased legal requirements. International Journal of Educational Management, 23(5), 431–440.

Pogodzinki, B., Youngs, P., Frank, K. A., & Belman, D. (2012). Administrative climate and novices’ intent to remain teaching. The Elementary School Journal, 113(2), 252–275.

Putney, L. L. (2009, November). Key issue: Recruiting special education teachers. Retrieved on December 19, 2013, from http://resource.tqsource.org/Search/tqResources.aspx

Rice, C., & Goessling, D. (2005) Recruiting and retaining male special education teachers. Remedial & Special Education, 26(6), 347–356.

Rosenberg, M. S., & Sindelar, P. T. (2005). The proliferation of alternative routes to certification in special education: A critical review of the literature. Journal of Special Education, 39, 117–127.

Schlichte, J., Yssel, N., & Merbler, J. (2005). Pathways to burnout: Case studies in teacher isolation and alienation. Preventing School Failure, 50(1), 35–40.

Smith, T. M., & Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover? American Educational Research Journal, 41(3), 681–714.

Thornton, B., Peltier, G., & Medina, R. (2011). Reducing the special education teacher shortage. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 80(5), 233–238.

Vannest, K. J., & Hagan Burke, S. (2010). Teacher time use in special education. Remedial and Special Education, 31(2), 126–142.

Wynn, S., Carboni, L., & Patall, E. (2007). Beginning teachers’ perceptions of mentoring,

climate, and leadership: Promoting retention through a learning communities perspective.

Leadership and Policy in Schools, 6(3), 209–229.

York-Barr, J., Sommerness, J., Duke, K. & Ghere, G. (2005). Special educators in inclusive education programmes: Reframing their work as teacher leadership. International Journal of Inclusive Education, (2), 193–215.

Additional Resources

Books

Billingsley, B. (2005). Cultivating and keeping committed special educators: What principals and district administrators can do. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Published in collaboration with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), this book-length work uses data and real-life scenarios to present a picture of the special education teacher shortage. On hand here are chapters on why special educators leave the profession, the use of responsive induction to support new educators, and tips for designing effective professional development, among much more.

Johnson, S. M., & the Project on the Next Generation of Teachers. (2004). Finders and keepers: Helping teachers survive and thrive in our schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

This informative work highlights the experiences of ten new teachers, some of whom ultimately chose to quit the profession. Included are chapters on the value of a supportive professional environment and the use of school-based induction programs to reduce the likelihood that new teachers will leave the classroom.

Websites

Center on Great Teachers and Leaders https://gtlcenter.org//

Perpetuating the work of the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (TQ Center), the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL) has broadened its mission to offer technical assistance and a wide array of online resources.

Learning Forward https://learningforward.org/

Learning Forward is an educational association designed to improve student achieve through more effective professional learning.

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