Findings from the Perceptions of Success Inventory for Beginning Teachers

1. Findings from the Perceptions of Success Inventory for Beginning Teachers Northeast Collaborative July 10, 2007 Presented by: Alan Reiman Kristen Corbell Erin Thomas

2. Northeast Collaborative • PSI-BT was administered to 7 school systems • Retention rates varied from 7% - 20% for all teachers in 2005-2006. • 225 beginning teachers participated in the study. • Response rates for the counties varied from 37.5% - 100%

3. Interpreting Data • The data we will share will be the mean for the collaborative. • Some findings and recommendations will not apply to a particular school system. • Please see your individual reports for specific findings and recommendations for your school system.

4. Teacher Retention • The average cost to replace one teacher in the state of North Carolina is $15,750. • Retaining an additional 1% of teachers who participated in the PSI-BT would mean a savings of $35,437 (2.25 teachers)

5. Background Information • Beginning teacher commitment to students means more optimal student learning conditions. • Effective classroom management is correlated to higher student achievement. • Sufficient planning time without student contact and reduced extra duties increases new teacher retention.

6. Background Information, continued • Opportunities to collaborate with teaching colleagues increase new teacher retention. • Organizing instruction for diverse learning needs is a hallmark of effective teaching.

7. Beginning Teacher Commitment • Beginning teachers: • experience high levels of commitment to teaching and their students • Feel empowered to take action when they see vulnerable students that need their attention • Staff, administration, and supporting faculty should sustain their current efforts to recruit teachers committed to students and teaching as a career.

8. Classroom Management • Beginning teachers are confident in their ability to establish clear and effective classroom routines and procedures. • School system leadership and mentoring has moderately contributed to the levels of beginning teacher confidence with classroom management. • Approximately 47.6% of beginning teachers rated student discipline as an area that would improve their job satisfaction if it were improved.

9. Assignment and Workload • Beginning teachers do not have a planning period per day they can devote to planning for their classes that is free of interruption. • Beginning teachers are dissatisfied with the number of extra duties they assume.

10. Colleague Support • Beginning teachers value interactions with other beginning teachers and experienced teachers. • Beginning teachers would prefer more opportunities to observe the instruction of exemplary teachers and to interact with experienced teachers in the same subject.

11. Diverse Learning Needs • Beginning teachers have a strong sense of efficacy in meeting the needs of diverse learners. • However, beginning teachers are much less confident in their ability to meet the needs of students with limited English proficiency and students with learning disabilities.

12. Recommendations for the Northeast Collaborative • Identify a process for sharing promising instructional practices for beginning teachers. • Organize beginning teacher professional development related to students with English as a Second Language and/or learning disabilities. • Improve beginning teachers’ assignment and workload

13. Identify a process for sharing promising instructional practices for beginning teachers. • Conduct a survey of experienced teachers who are willing to sharing promising instructional practices. • Provide a structured and convenient process for beginning teachers to observe exemplary teachers.

14. Organize beginning teacher professional development related to students with English as a Second Language and/or learning disabilities. • Create professional development training and tools for beginning teachers to support instruction of ESL students and students with learning disabilities. • Support sharing of successful instructional strategies that have been initiated with ESL students and students with learning disabilities. Sharing might be done during regular meetings of beginning teachers.

15. Improve beginning teachers’ assignment and workload • Insure that new teachers are allowed to choose whether to take on extra duties. • Insure that beginning teachers have an uninterrupted planning period each day.

17. Contact Information Alan Reiman alan_reiman@ncsu.edu 919-515-1785 Kristen Corbell corbellka@gmail.com 919-604-3811 or 919-513-1767 Erin Thomas ejthomas@unity.ncsu.edu 919-513-1767