Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4064-3743

Date of Award

Spring 5-17-2019

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Policy Studies

First Advisor

William Curlette

Second Advisor

Chris Oshima

Third Advisor

Hongli Li

Fourth Advisor

Robert Hendrick

Abstract

In order to provide equal access to a high-quality education that prepares students for global competitiveness, local education agencies are constantly working to recruit bright new educators and engage in practices that support teacher development and retention. The purpose of this study is to examine how teacher preparation program quality and the impact of various individual and school-level characteristics relate to beginning teacher attrition. Propensity score matching, specifically optimal full matching, was used to match teachers who participated in two post-baccalaureate teacher preparation programs with year-long residencies on eight variables. The study supported the hypothesis that program participants had significantly higher average treatment effect and average treatment effect of the treated, indicating higher one- and five-year retention rates than non-participants who began teaching the same school year. The average treatment effect models had a moderate effect size, with the year five average treatment effect of the treated model having a small effect size. The significant findings may indicate that the signature components of CREST-Ed and Net-Q programs, such as the year-long residency and TIP-AAR, have a long-term impact on teacher quality. Results of the multilevel logistic regression and average treatment effect models confirmed that factors such as teacher age, teacher race/ethnicity, school socioeconomic composition, school performance and subject taught were significant predictors of teacher retention. However, teacher race/ethnicity was the only significant variable found in all average treatment effect models, suggesting that the factors influencing teacher retention are dynamic over time and change as teachers gain classroom experience. The study contributes to scholarly knowledge in the design of teacher residency programs and on factors associated with beginning teacher retention. The findings from this study may assist local education agencies and educator preparation providers in understanding ways to support pre-service and beginning teachers. Suggestions for future research and implications for policies addressing pre-service teacher support and teacher retention are discussed.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/14422382

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