Eight Questions on Teacher Recruitment and Retention: What Does the Research Say?

Publisher: Education Commission of the States
Publication Date: 2005
Full text available online at: http://www.ecs.org/ecsmain.asp?page=/html/educationIssues/teachingquality/trrreport/home/index.asp

Description (written by WestEd)

This Education Commission of the States (ECS) report is the result of a review of 91 studies of teacher recruitment and retention. It looks both at the characteristics of teachers, as well as characteristics of the schools and districts that are more successful in hiring and keeping them.

The eight questions this report attempts to answer, of interest to policymakers and practitioners alike, are:

1. What are the characteristics of those individuals who enter teaching?
2. How do those individuals who remain in teaching compare with those who leave?
3. What are the characteristics of schools and districts most likely to be successful
   in recruiting and retaining teachers?
4. What impact do the working conditions in schools have on their ability to recruit
   and retain teachers?
5. What impact does compensation have on the recruitment and retention of teachers?
6. What impact do various strategies related to teacher preparation have on teacher
   recruitment and retention?
7. What impact do induction and mentoring have on teacher retention?
8. What is the efficacy of particular recruitment strategies and policies in bringing
   new teachers into the profession, including specifically targeted populations?

While much of the information is descriptive, schools and districts may try to enhance some features that show a positive correlation with teacher retention. For instance, research provides evidence, although limited, that schools with greater administrative support and teacher autonomy have lower teacher attrition.

Readers may read an online version or download the full, 145-page report at this website. There is also an 8-page summary of results.