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their second year of teaching indicated that they would apply for teaching positions in urban
areas for the following school year. Only one teacher with more than five years of teaching
experience indented to leave to be closer to family. According to Strange (2011) fully certified
teachers and teachers with more than four years of teaching experience are less likely to leave
village assignments or their profession. Often they have chosen their Alaska teaching
assignments purposefully for a new life challenge or an interesting work opportunity after
leaving or retiring from another state. This was confirmed by four of the participants. However,
for the younger participants (below 30 years of age) teaching in the Alaska “bush” was their first
assignment as a new teacher. The reasons for accepting employment in the Arctic varied from
job availability (8) to adventure (4). Ten of the interviewees had never been to Alaska before
hiring and reported limited knowledge about culture and place. Ten participants were struggling
with the demands of the rural and remote life in a “foreign” cultural setting. Reported feelings of
loneliness, isolation, seasonal depression, and personal failure may contribute to lower retention.
All 15 participants stated that they were deeply committed to students and building strong
student-educator relationships. This commitment often resulted in long school days (12), doing
tutorials (11), coaching basketball teams (5), or preparing of lessons during evenings at schools
using the only dependable Internet access point within the villages (13).
Our interview results confirm that the most committed teachers and teachers new to the
profession seemed to be at risk of burnout, facing colossal demands with few boundaries in place
to protect their time (Cochran-Smith et al., 2012). Younger and first-year teachers tend to move
from rural to urban areas in Alaska as soon as job opportunities arise. One administrator
summarized:
New to the teaching profession, new to an Indigenous community, and new to
Alaska is a troublesome combination.
Teachers reported that understanding the Native
knowledge systems and epistemology is challenging (8). As one teacher reported during the
interview:
I go along with most people here, however, the feeling of being an outsider seems to
be always present when I walk through the village. I really could use a local mentor to
understand the culture.
Overall, community support of the schools’ mission and personnel vary greatly from
village to village. Underlying historical events, current school and village leadership, and past
and present teacher turnover rates seem to be correlated to overall community integration of
teachers. One teacher indicated:
We had five principals in the last three years. All teachers are
new to this school this year. People bet on how long teachers will stay. I somehow understand
why they (students and local people) distrust us.
Building community, teacher, and school
relationships are a collaborative effort as one Native teacher explained:
Community involvement
into education? Teachers new to our school need to make an effort but so does the community.
Going out, walking around, saying hi, understanding small talk, and dropping in unexpectedly is
accepted and expected here in the village.
The complexity of living in Native villages, the low
number of Native educators/mentors, geographical isolation, and the Arctic’s demanding living
conditions affect teacher retention. National accountability practices and proposals for teacher
evaluations tied to student test scores may also become critical factors as reported by eight
participants. Our data indicates complex factors related to teacher retention and a strong
correlation of teacher retention to student achievement in rural Arctic Alaska.
Conclusions and Recommendations