The Meritocratic Mystique and Mathematical Mediocrity in Hard-to-Staff Schools: A Critique of the Best and Brightest Teacher Agenda

Brantlinger, Andrew

doi:10.1177/0042085919894040

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…This study incorporates survey and retention data collected as part of a longitudinal research project on the recruitment, training, induction, and instruction of hundreds of NYCTF mathematics teachers (Brantlinger, 2020;Cooley et al, 2021). That project began with an exploratory, qualitative-to-quantitative mixed-methods design (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2017).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At that time, policy makers expressed concern about teacher shortages and quality (Levy, 2000). Through the targeted recruitment of selective college graduates and professional career changers, Teaching Fellow programs promised to improve teacher quality while addressing shortages of certified teachers (Brantlinger, 2020).…”

Section: Sample and Context: Two Cohorts Of Nyctf Mathematics Teachersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, while selective alternative route programs may help districts and high-turnover schools to meet immediate staffing needs, they seem to maintain high levels of turnover in the long run. Arguably, given the massive expenditure and the problems associated with high turnover, NYC citizens might expect better outcomes from taxpayer-funded programs like NYCTF (Brantlinger, 2020).…”

Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Entering, Staying, Shifting, Leaving, and Sometimes Returning: A Descriptive Analysis of the Career Trajectories of Two Cohorts of Alternatively Certified Mathematics Teachers

Brantlinger

2021

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

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Background: By attracting high-achieving college graduates and professional career changers, selective alternative certification programs, such as the New York City Teaching Fellows (NYCTF), promise to address pressing teacher shortages while also improving outcomes in hard-to-staff schools. Purpose: Looking at the main patterns in their careers before, during, and after completing NYCTF, the study provides insights into the short- and long-term impacts of mathematics teachers who entered as first- and second-career teachers on NYC public schools and the people in them. Participants: The study tracked the career trajectories and decision-making of more than 600 NYCTF mathematics teachers over a 9-year period. Research design: The longitudinal analysis of the teachers’ career trajectories is illuminated by descriptive statistics and qualitative analyses of their responses to open-ended survey items. Results: The article provides a portrait of urban mathematics teachers’ career decision-making as it unfolds over time. It challenges conventional understandings by demonstrating the stochastic nature of teachers’ career decision-making and, as part of this, consequential amounts of involuntary and midyear turnover. It further shows that, although in many ways similar, the career trajectories of the career changers and recent college graduates differed in key regards. Recommendations: On their own, strategies designed to attract high-achieving recent graduates and professional career changers to teach core subjects like mathematics will not solve long-standing teacher turnover and shortage issues in in high-needs urban schools. Districts also should focus on retention strategies, including training and induction tailored to meet the different needs and career goals of first- and second-career teachers.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sample and Context: Two Cohorts Of Nyctf Mathematics Teachersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Entering, Staying, Shifting, Leaving, and Sometimes Returning: A Descriptive Analysis of the Career Trajectories of Two Cohorts of Alternatively Certified Mathematics Teachers

Brantlinger

2021

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

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“…What distinguishes selective ATCPs from other programs is the meritocratic talent they reportedly attract: namely, elite college graduates and professional career changers (Brantlinger, 2020; Kopp, 1994; Mikuta & Wise, 2008). Such recruits are assumed to have greater potential than others, particularly traditional education majors.…”

Section: Pte and Alternative Route Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maintaining Gaps in Teacher Diversity, Preparedness, Effectiveness, and Retention? A Program Theory Evaluation of Mathematics Teacher Training in the New York City Teaching Fellows

et al. 2020

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This study examines the extent to which the New York City Teaching Fellows (NYCTF) has delivered on its promise of improving mathematics teacher diversity, preparedness, effectiveness, and retention in hard-to-staff city schools. As a program theory evaluation study, it articulates the theory of action for selective alternative route programs and uses this to evaluate NYCTF’s program for secondary mathematics. The analysis draws on longitudinal data from 620 secondary mathematics teachers who began NYCTF in the prior decade. While the results point to potential improvements, it provides evidence that selective programs like NYCTF serve to maintain important gaps in teacher quality that they were designed to address.

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“…NYC Public Schools is an urban district that serves many low-income children and suffers from high teacher turnover. NYCTF partners with the district by recruiting “talented new teachers,” including both high-achieving recent college graduates and professional career changers, to become teachers in areas of high need, such as secondary mathematics (Brantlinger, 2020; Brantlinger et al, 2020). That is, rather than filling empty teaching positions with unqualified or out-of-field teachers, NYCTF aims to recruit promising new teacher candidates and train them to fill specific content areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demography as Destiny: Explaining the Turnover of Alternatively Certified Mathematics Teachers in Hard-to-Staff Schools

Grant

Brantlinger

2022

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

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Background: To stem the tide of teacher turnover and prevent shortages, teacher turnover interventions and policies often focus on new and novice teachers because evidence suggests that teacher turnover is particularly high among these teachers. In addition, researchers continue to investigate the root causes of the high teacher turnover observed in many low-income, high-minority schools and whether this is due more to school demographics or poor working conditions. Purpose: This article examines New York City Teaching Fellows (NYCTF) teachers’ risk of leaving their first school in their first 9 years. It both describes the patterns in leaving and examines how school demographics and school climate predict these leaving patterns. Participants: The study follows 608 teachers: two cohorts of secondary mathematics NYCTF teachers who entered the classroom in New York City in 2006 or 2007. Research Design: This is a quantitative study of survey and retention data that were collected as part of a longitudinal research project on NYCTF mathematics teachers. Data Analysis: We use an event history analysis (including a life table and hazard function graphs) to describe patterns in teachers’ timing of leaving their first school. We also use a discrete time hazard model to estimate the relative relationships between the predictors of interest (school demographics and school climate) and teacher turnover. Results: The findings from this study provide evidence against the general hypothesis in the field that teachers leave their first schools at the highest rate during their first 1 to 3 years. Second, we also found that the turnover of alternatively certified teachers who began in low-income, high-minority urban schools was driven by both student demographics and school climate conditions, including teacher collegiality and student behavior. Third, we found evidence to support our hypothesis that teachers’ individual perceptions of their school environment are stronger drivers of their turnover compared with the perceptions of their colleagues. Conclusion: The results from this study add to our understanding about the timing of teacher turnover among secondary mathematics NYCTF teachers, illustrating that teacher turnover may remain higher later in beginning teachers’ careers than currently assumed. This suggests that teachers in Years 3 to 5 in their careers may be good targets for supports. Our findings support the theory that improving school climate can help retain teachers but also provide a cautionary tale for a complete focus on school climate; stemming teacher turnover may require addressing larger economic forces (e.g., the global trend toward temporary work) and more insidious social forces, such as structural racism and inequality.

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The Meritocratic Mystique and Mathematical Mediocrity in Hard-to-Staff Schools: A Critique of the Best and Brightest Teacher Agenda

Cited by 12 publications

References 64 publications

Entering, Staying, Shifting, Leaving, and Sometimes Returning: A Descriptive Analysis of the Career Trajectories of Two Cohorts of Alternatively Certified Mathematics Teachers

Entering, Staying, Shifting, Leaving, and Sometimes Returning: A Descriptive Analysis of the Career Trajectories of Two Cohorts of Alternatively Certified Mathematics Teachers

Maintaining Gaps in Teacher Diversity, Preparedness, Effectiveness, and Retention? A Program Theory Evaluation of Mathematics Teacher Training in the New York City Teaching Fellows

Demography as Destiny: Explaining the Turnover of Alternatively Certified Mathematics Teachers in Hard-to-Staff Schools

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