Why Rural Stem Teachers Stay: An Investigation of the Perceptions of Middle School Stem Teachers and the Factors that Influence Retention in Rural California
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: One of the greatest challenges facing rural schools is retaining ???highly qualified??? teachers. Compared to schools in urban areas, rural schools have difficulty filling vacancies, especially those in science and math. The shortage of qualified teachers can result in practices that perpetuate further attrition or continue the cycle of hiring less qualified instructors because of the limited supply in the rural area. These current trends pose a serious threat to our young adolescent middle school students. This is a strange and challenging period of their lives when students may begin to disengage from school and lose motivation. Because classroom instruction techniques are one of many key components to childhood development, keeping ???highly qualified??? individuals in the classroom is the key to addressing adolescents??? motivation and achievement issues, especially for rural California. \nThe purpose of this qualitative study was to examine personal and organizational factors that three middle school STEM teachers reported as influencing them to stay in their current teaching positions, for more than four years, in rural schools in California. Three middle school, rural, STEM teachers participated in three (one per person) 90 minute in-person interviews and six (two per person) phone interviews over a period of three months. This study was guided by the literature of identified factors that promote teacher retention, including rewarding and enhancing teacher interest, persistence, and commitment to teaching, in addition to four personal decision-making factors that have been identified which are specifically affecting rural STEM teachers to determine if these indicators hold in the context of California rural schools. An analysis of the interview transcripts revealed three themes or main factors that were influencing these three teachers in rural communities to stay. The main three factors were administrative flexibility, administrative support, and the family-based community culture. These factors, as well as other factors suggested by researchers focused on teacher retention, were examined in this qualitative study in an effort to research what makes rural teachers stay.
Author: Gilbert B. Abel
Language: English
Topic: Education in Rural Contexts
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3126723319