Award Abstract # 1203132
Factors Related to Teacher Retention in Arctic Alaska, an Integral Part of the Circumpolar North

NSF Org: OPP
Office of Polar Programs (OPP)
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS
Initial Amendment Date: July 31, 2012
Latest Amendment Date: June 12, 2014
Award Number: 1203132
Award Instrument: Continuing Grant
Program Manager: Anna Kerttula de Echave
OPP
 Office of Polar Programs (OPP)
GEO
 Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date: August 1, 2012
End Date: July 31, 2017 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $499,848.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $499,848.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2012 = $142,094.00
FY 2013 = $178,563.00

FY 2014 = $179,191.00
History of Investigator:
  • Ute Kaden (Principal Investigator)
    ukaden@alaska.edu
  • Joanne Healy (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Beth Leonard (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Barbara Adams (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
2145 N TANANA LOOP
FAIRBANKS
AK  US  99775-0001
(907)474-7301
Sponsor Congressional District: 00
Primary Place of Performance: University of Alaska Fairbanks
707 Gruening
Fairbanks
AK  US  99775-6480
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
00
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): FDLEQSJ8FF63
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): ASSP-Arctic Social Science,
EPSCoR Co-Funding
Primary Program Source: 01001213DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
0100XXXXDB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1079, 5221, 9150, 9151
Program Element Code(s): 522100, 915000
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.078

ABSTRACT

This is a three-year research project to do indepth quantitative and qualitative research on teacher retention in rural schools in Arctic Alaska. Rural Alaskan schools are populated by over 90% Alaska Native students and are in majority Alaskan Native communities. One of the key issues in these school systems, not just in Alaska but throughout the circumpolar North, is how to retain teachers. Up until now, teacher retention studies focused on the statistical analyses of how many teachers stayed in rural community schools and for how long. And although there has been research on the effects of teacher retention and student achievement, findings showing that student performance is directly connected to teacher retention, no substantive scientific research has been done that explains why retention rates are so low in Alaskan Native communities. Using an explanatory design, the study will triangulate findings by looking at multiple qualitative and quantitative indicators related to teacher retention, comparing them and using qualitative evidence to shed light on the quantitative patterns. Teachers in the region will be surveyed using electronic and interview survey methods. Attempts to contact teachers who left the district within the past 2 years will be made for purposes of semi-structured telephone interviews. Alaskan Native researchers will conduct focus group field interviews of a purposefully selected, weighted, and stratified sample of teachers, school board members, Elders, and Tribal Council members. The goals of the research project are: 1. To identify the degree of school and community integration, which influence teacher retention; 2. To identify school workplace characteristics, including recruitment practices, which influence teacher retention; 3. To identify teacher preparation practices which influence retention; 4. To identify key unknown variables for understanding teacher retention in Arctic Alaska.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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(Showing: 1 - 10 of 12)
Ute KadenJoanne Healy "Factors Related to Teacher Retention in Arctic Alaska" International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS) VIII , 2014
Ute KadenJoanne Healy "Stemming the Revolving Door: Teacher Retention and Attrition in Arctic Alaska Schools" 9th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS IX) , 2017
Ute KadenJoanne Healy "Teaching in Rural Alaska- Teacher Training and Retention" U-Arctic Conference 2016 , 2016
Ute KadenJoanne Healy "Teaching in Rural Alaska- Teacher Training and Retention" UArctic Congress , 2016
Ute KadenJoanne HealyBarbara Leigh Adams "Equal Opportunity and Teacher Retention" American Educational Research Association (AERA) , 2017
Ute KadenJoanne HealyBarbara Leigh Adams "Understanding Wicked Problems: Teacher Retention in Rural Alaska" Division K Teaching and Teacher Education: American Educational Research Association (AERA) , 2016
Ute KadenJoanne HealyBarbara Leigh AdamsPhillip Patterson "Developing Excellent Teachers in Rural and Remote Arctic Communities: Challenges and Efforts in Rural Alaska" Division K Teaching and Teacher Education, SIG Rural Education, American Educational Research Association (AERA) , 2015
Ute KadenJoanne HealyPhilip PattersonBarbara Leigh Adams "Understanding Wicked Problems: Teacher Retention in Rural Alaska" AERA , 2016
Ute KadenPhilip PattersonJoanne HealyBarbara Adams "Baby it is cold outside" The Journal of Teaching Effectiveness und Student Achievement , v.2 , 2015 , p.45
Ute KadenPhillip PattersonJoanne HealyBarbara Leigh Adams "Baby it?s cold outside: Perspectives on teacher retention and student achievement in Arctic schools" The Journal of Teaching Effectiveness and Student Achievement , v.2 , 2015 , p.45
Ute KadenPhillip PattersonJoanne HealyBarbara Leigh Adams "Stemming the revolving door: Teacher retention and attrition in arctic Alaska schools" Global Education Review , v.3 , 2016 , p.129 2325-663X
(Showing: 1 - 10 of 12)

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

Factors Related to Teacher Retention in Arctic Alaska

 

To provide equity and access to quality education, Arctic Alaska needs a consistent and culturally responsive teacher workforce that is integrated into the community life. This research project confirmed that 75% percent of Alaskan teachers were hired from outside the state each year between 2010-2016 and an average of 48% of the newly hired teachers left Alaska after the first year. Such excessive teacher turnover impacts student achievement, contributes to a school climate of instability, and redirects funds to recruitment that might better be spent towards student learning.

 

Using an explanatory mixed methods design this research contributed to our understanding of teacher attrition by examining the relationships between teacher turnover and characteristics of (a) teachers (i.e., what types of teachers are more likely to leave), (b) communities (i.e., what living conditions contribute to high teacher turnover), (c) workplace (i.e., what types of school contextual factors are related to higher teacher turnover), and (d) school community integration (i.e., what socio-cultural factors influence turnover).

Research results summarized below will impact teacher training and hiring practices for schools in Arctic Alaska and other rural areas with significant indigenous populations.

 

Why do teachers leave?

  • District and school leadership - Lack of administrative backing and stability (e.g., high administrative turnover, inexperience)
  • Inadequate preparation for the demands of teaching and challenging working conditions in a small rural Arctic school (e.g., multi-age and multi-ability classrooms, teaching many different subject areas, lack of high-speed internet access, excessive extra duty workloads)
  • Lack of support for new teachers including barriers to teacher certification, availability of instructional materials, cultural integration into the community, and meaningful professional development (e.g., insufficient framework for mentoring, unexpected social context, reciprocity of out of state certifications)
  • Unexpected Arctic and rural living conditions (e.g., isolation, limited shopping, and shipping availability, cost of transportation, socio-cultural detachment from family) 
  • Lack of consistent parental and community support for education (e.g., differences in communication styles, historical mistrust toward western education systems)
  • Dissatisfaction with compensation, retirement benefits, and accessibility to healthcare (e.g., average wages and lack of incentives, high costs of living, long distances to hospitals)
  • Variety of personal reasons

 

Overall, we found that administrative support emerged as a particularly important factor in retention decisions. Experienced principals and lead teachers integrated in local culture who lived for a longer time in the communities where schools are located can have a major influence on teacher retention and school operations.

Policy Recommendations to Mitigate Turnover

This study suggests that policies aimed at improving school administration may be especially effective at reducing teacher turnover. Recruiting high-potential leaders with knowledge about Indigenous culture, providing apprenticeship experiences for prospective administrators, providing incentives, and supporting principals while on the job may improve administrative support. Shared governance of schools with local tribal participation and teacher autonomy in curricular decision making may increase overall stability of the schools’ workforce.  

Focusing on utilizing and developing resources, such as local teachers and staff with Alaska Native backgrounds, individuals who can speak the Native language(s) within the area of the school to further teacher knowledge of their students’ cultural backgrounds, ability to locate culturally relevant teaching materials, and capacity to provide engaging instruction might be an important step toward successful teaching, retention, and improving the outcomes of Alaska Native students.   

 

  • Improve working conditions and administrative leadership (e.g., provide administrative training and hiring practices, invest in the development of high-quality principals, provide opportunity for career advancement with increased compensation, responsibility, and recognition)
  • Improve teacher preparation for teaching in rural areas and reduce costs to enter the profession
    (e.g., Provide flexible pathways to teacher certification, provide service scholarships and loan forgiveness programs to attract prospective teachers, develop teacher residencies to work as paid apprentices with skilled expert teachers).
  • Develop recruitment strategies for a diverse teaching force (e.g., create local pipelines into the profession, establish high school career pathways/dual enrollment, recruit talented individuals from the community and support them as they prepare for the profession).
  • Provide quality mentoring and induction for beginning teachers including cultural induction (e.g., name a local Native mentor, establish time for collaboration, offer targeted professional development with a focus on distance education and skills in individualized learning and place-sustaining pedagogy).
  • Improve overall living conditions and affordability of teaching and living in rural areas (e.g., provide career ladders, competitive compensations, affordable healthcare and retirement benefits, improve teacher housing with reliable maintenance, subsidize rent and transportation costs, and provide access to high-speed Internet access).

To develop and retain effective teachers policies will require a systems approach that entails analysis of the interacting variables and development of a blend of solutions tailored for individual school settings and systemic changes.


Last Modified: 10/30/2017
Modified by: Ute Kaden

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