Educator Quality: Recruitment & Retention​

Students need and deserve a diverse corps of highly skilled teachers. Expanding the teacher workforce to meet changing educational needs requires a retooling of recruitment strategies to attract young people and career changers to the profession who are well prepared to succeed. School districts and state policymakers have a role to play in stopping the “leaky bucket” of teacher turnover that exacts both a financial and academic toll on students and school systems.

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Research identifies a number of effective strategies for attracting—and keeping—a diverse and high-quality teacher workforce. Building on the evidence, districts, schools of education, and states are adopting innovative strategies to recruit and retain talented educators, including:

  • Policies and practices, including financial incentives, to make teaching careers more attractive and available to diverse candidates.
  • Innovative teaching pathways that encourage and prepare young people and others to teach in their communities, which research indicates increases retention.
  • Improved teaching and learning conditions, including access to academic resources and supportive services, skilled and supportive school leaders, and opportunities to collaborate and partner with peers and parents.
“ Teacher turnover is 50 percent higher in high-poverty than in low-poverty schools.”
Teacher Turnover and Teacher Shortages: An Organizational Analysis
American Educational Research Journal
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Research Related to Educator Quality

Jul 01 2015
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In keeping with the Learning Policy Institute’s commitment to communicating high-quality research to inform education policy and practice, we have assembled a selection of reports by other organizations that address critical questions and issues in LPI’s core topic areas. This collection, which will be periodically updated, is part of our larger effort to provide policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders with useful information as they seek to advance equitable and empowering learning for all students.
Report

Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It

Aug 16 2017
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As students return to school this year, many will be in one of the more than 100,000 classrooms across the country staffed by an instructor not fully qualified to teach. This shortage of qualified teachers is almost entirely due to teachers leaving the profession and about 2/3 of teachers who leave do so for reasons other than retirement. This study looks at who is leaving, why, who is impacted, and policy considerations.
Report

Diversifying the Teaching Profession: How to Recruit and Retain Teachers of Color

Apr 19 2018
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More and more states and districts are recognizing that recruiting and retaining teachers of color can help meet their students' needs while also helping to curb critical teacher shortages. But prospective teachers of color encounter unique barriers to entering and staying in the profession. High-retention pathways—combining high-quality clinically rich preparation with financial support—can be especially effective at reversing those trends.