ABSTRACT

The issue of science teacher turnover has been examined in many national studies, yet most educational policies related to teacher preparation and student performance are determined at the state level. There has been a lack of research that explores this issue in specific science domains. The present nonexperimental longitudinal study examined physics teacher retention, attrition, and migration patterns over a five-year period from 2012 to 2017 in the case of New York State. The theoretical framework is based upon theories of teacher retention, attrition, and migration, specifically with regard to teacher preparation, organizational culture, and student performance in physics. The sample included 1472 teachers, 105 of whom retired from the profession. Of the remaining 1367 physics teachers, 78.3% (n = 1070) were retained in their schools, 13.2% (n = 181) left public school teaching all together preretirement, and 8.5% (n = 116) migrated to work in other school districts. Multinomial logistic regression determined physics teacher attrition was predicted by years of teaching experience (professional age), school-level socioeconomic status, school locale, and course load taught in physics. A significant interaction between professional age and urban locale suggested novice teachers in urban schools were particularly vulnerable. Physics teacher migration was predicted by professional age and school-level socioeconomic status. Of the novice teachers who migrated to other schools, approximately one-third left urban and rural schools to work in suburban schools while most of the others migrated to similar locales. Implications for the support and preparation of novice physics teachers, particularly those who work in high need schools, are discussed.

摘要

许多国家研究都研究了科学教师流失的问题，但大多数与教师准备和学生表现有关的教育政策都是在州一级确定的。缺乏在特定科学领域探索这个问题的研究。目前的非实验性纵向研究以纽约州为例，研究了 2012 年至 2017 年五年期间物理教师的保留、流失和迁移模式。理论框架基于教师保留、减员和迁移理论，特别是关于教师准备、组织文化和学生在物理方面的表现。样本包括 1472 名教师，其中 105 人已退休。其余1367名物理教师中，78.3%（n= 1070) 留在他们的学校，13.2% ( n = 181) 离开公立学校教书全部退休前，8.5% ( n= 116) 迁移到其他学区工作。多项逻辑回归确定的物理教师流失是通过多年的教学经验（专业年龄）、学校水平的社会经济地位、学校区域和物理教学的课程量来预测的。专业年龄和城市地区之间的显着相互作用表明城市学校的新手教师特别容易受到伤害。物理教师迁移是由职业年龄和学校水平的社会经济地位预测的。在迁移到其他学校的新手教师中，大约有三分之一离开城市和农村学校到郊区学校工作，而其他大多数迁移到类似的地方。讨论了对新物理教师，特别是在高需求学校工作的物理教师的支持和准备的影响。