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Early Career Teacher Attrition: Searching for Answers in Preservice
Preparation
Dr. Gloria Graham Flynn
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The exodus of teachers realized in public schools negatively influences student outcomes,
teacher potential, and overall school performance (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004; McCleskey &
Billingsley, 2008). Though some turnover is expected from situations in life such as retirement
and raising families, the degree at which teacher attrition is increasing warrants careful
consideration. Data illustrate alarming figures and highlights areas where further study is
needed.
Attrition is noted throughout the U.S., but tends to hold higher prevalence among certain
teacher and student subgroups (McLeskey & Billingsley, 2008; USDE, 2008). Urban and rural
schools with higher rates of minority students living in poverty report lower teacher retention
than those teaching in schools with opposite status (Boyd, Lankford, Loeb, Rockoff, & Wyckoff,
2007). Within secondary education content areas, retention discrepancies are also revealed:
mathematics and science present higher attrition than other teaching genres (USDE, 2008). Of
special concern, however, are the attrition rates of early career educators (Boe, Cook, &
Sunderland, 2007) with approximately 30% leaving during the induction period, the time
considered as the first 3 to 5 years after professional entry (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004). Within this
group, attrition percentages fluctuate depending upon teacher characteristics, teaching
assignment, and student population. For example, early career teachers who demonstrate higher
scores on certification exams and are employed in low performing/high diversity schools are
known to quit teaching at greater rates than teachers with lower scores teaching in similar school
settings (Boyd et al., 2007).
Experienced teachers are considered keys to the success of high performing schools and
are especially needed for certain types of students. Novice educators must have time to hone
their craft (Griffin, Winn, Otis-Wilborn, & Kilgore, 2003) and put theory learned during
preservice education into practice (McLeskey & Billingsley, 2008). Early career educators who
give up too soon diminish opportunities for themselves, students, schools, and communities.
Many who leave teaching may not have done so had they been better prepared to meet
the challenges of today’s classrooms (Darling-Hammond, 2006b; McLeskey & Billingsley,
2008). Though increased student diversity was predicted long ago and continues to rise, teacher
education’s response is described as inadequate in providing future teachers with the skills,
dispositions, and experiences necessary to meet the needs of all students. A homogenous
teaching force, consisting of a middle class, white, female majority, finds themselves teaching
students from dissimilar backgrounds. Diversity growth makes traditional methods of preparing
teachers passé, no longer sufficient for leading early career educators toward satisfaction in their
work and employment longevity. Inadequate coursework and few and/or ineffective clinical
experiences (defined as experiences placing preservice teachers in school settings for the
observation of or participation with students; in this article, the term includes both course field