Seven Trends: The Transformation of the Teaching Force

Abstract

Has the elementary and secondary teaching force changed in recent years? And, if so, how? Have the types and kinds of individuals going into teaching changed? Have the demographic characteristics of those working in classrooms altered? To answer these questions we embarked on an exploratory research project to try to discover what trends and changes have, or have not, occurred in the teaching force over the past few decades. We were surprised by what we found. We discovered that the teaching force has been, and is, greatly changing; yet, even the most dramatic trends appear to have been little noticed by researchers, policy makers, and the public.

An examination of individual teacher engagement and school climate characteristics that influence highly effective veteran teachers to remain teaching in low-performing schools.

“…Teachers who are hired to teach in lowperforming schools are generally new, inexperienced, less qualified, and not as effective as their more experienced counterparts (Clotfelter et al, 2004;Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2004). Research indicates that retaining effective experienced teachers would help schools to be more successful (Ingersoll & Merrill, 2013). However, only one study examined factors motivating highly effective veteran teachers to remain teaching.…”

“…Attempts by states and districts to retain these new teachers have only achieved pockets of success as novice teachers generally leave the profession within three to five years. These teachers often leave jobs in low performing schools seeking jobs in higher-performing schools or leaving the profession altogether (Ingersoll, 2001(Ingersoll, , 2011Ingersoll & Merrill, 2013). The most vulnerable schools continue to lose teachers as the majority of teachers seek assignments in schools where students are easy to teach (Clotfelter, Ladd, Vigdor, & Aliago-Diaz, 2004;Ingersoll, 2011).…”

“…Data from 1998 to 2008 indicated that teacher attrition increased by 41 percent particularly in poor, urban schools that served high populations of minority students (Ingersoll, 2001(Ingersoll, , 2011Ingersoll & Merrill, 2013).…”

“…Researchers have also suggested that inexperienced teachers' interaction with veteran teachers may influence beginning teachers to remain teaching in low-performing schools thereby helping to stem the teacher carousel (Ingersoll & Merrill, 2013).…”

“…does not guarantee quality instruction, but studies show that experienced teachers are more effective than inexperienced, beginning teachers (Ingersoll & Merrill, 2013).…”