This research investigated the impact of teacher certification pathways (traditional vs. alternative) on teacher self-efficacy levels; it explicitly focused on elementary teachers in Title I and non-Title I schools. The research context addressed the prevalent issue of teacher shortages in U.S. school districts, which often led to reliance on…

This dissertation aims to find a correlation between collective teacher efficacy (CTE) and student achievement. Through a quantitative study, the researcher collected data from teachers in high- performing, low socioeconomic elementary schools, specifically those identified as Title I Distinguished Schools in a state in the southeastern region of…

This doctoral research study examined the lived experiences of eight highly-effective teachers in New Jersey who have voluntarily chosen to remain working in their challenging school contexts, defined as schools scoring 60 or fewer points on the 2017-2018 NJ School Report Card summative rating. Data from semi-structured interviews was analyzed…

Teacher turnover negatively impacts educational quality. This study investigates whether schools' socioeconomic composition (SES), teachers' teachability perceptions, emotional exhaustion and teacher efficacy impact teachers' intention to quit and transfer schools. Through multilevel analysis on data of 1247 teachers in 59 Flemish schools, our…

Efforts to attract and retain effective educators in high-poverty public schools have had limited success. Dallas ISD addressed this challenge with information produced by its evaluation system to offer large, compensating differentials to highly effective teachers willing to work in its lowest-achievement schools. The Accelerating Campus…

Improving educational performance, including narrowing equity gaps, is frequently touted as a matter of improving the quality of teachers in the lowest performing, often disadvantaged, schools. However, the assumption that teaching is of poorer quality in disadvantaged schools is largely unsubstantiated. Using the Quality Teaching Model of…

The author's statement to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions on the challenges faced by America's classroom teachers focuses on a few of the factors that lead to teacher frustration and burnout that higher pay, however well-intended, does not change. They include, but are not limited to, poor teacher preparation,…

A significant paradox of school autonomy is that it tends to constrain the autonomy of teachers, instead subjecting them to the increased controlling of their work, heightened monitoring, and greater accountability. This paper draws on interview data to show how teachers in accountability-driven and business-like schools face three different but…

In this case study, ten successful, veteran secondary teachers described their decision to remain teaching in a high-needs high school. These participants shared devotion to students, appreciation of colleagues, belief in social justice, and appreciation of diversity and challenge as reasons to continue teaching at the school. Surprisingly, there…

Many rural high-need districts face persistent challenges in retaining a quality teaching force. The researcher designed this quantitative correlational study to explore superintendents' perceptions of the effectiveness of teacher retention practices used in rural high-need districts in New York State and aspects of the Deming Cycle…

Effective teachers are developed through preparation programs, but, more importantly, through continuing professional learning relevant to the students that they teach. To continue to grow, teachers need a supportive environment that allows them to develop their instructional skills through specific, actionable feedback. In fall 2019, the National…

During the 2017 General Session, the Legislature passed House Bill 212, "Incentive for Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools," which provides an annual salary bonus to eligible teachers in high poverty schools. This report is provided to the Education Interim Committee to evaluate the extent to which a salary bonus improves…

This paper examines the effects of a comprehensive performance pay program implemented in high-need schools using administrative data from Louisiana. Exploiting the within-student variation in the timing of implementation, we find a large and significant effect beginning with the second year of the program on math achievement. Similar but…

Extensive sorting of high-performing teachers into the most advantaged schools contributes to the wide socioeconomic achievement gaps in many countries. The Chilean Pedagogical Excellence Assignment (AEP) pays bonuses to high-performing teachers that are larger if they work at a disadvantaged school. Using a sharp regression discontinuity based on…

During the 2017 General Session, the Legislature passed House Bill 212, "Incentive for Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools," which provides an annual salary bonus to eligible teachers in high poverty schools. This report is provided to the Education Interim Committee to evaluate the extent to which a salary bonus improves…