To Leave or Stay: Understanding Teacher Committment among Social Studies Educators

Paul G. Fitchett
pfitchet@email.unc.edu
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Teacher turnover is a national phenomenon that has crippling effects on state learning institutions. In North Carolina, attrition rates have slowly climbed over the last several years. Turnover in the social studies teacher workforce contributes to a decline in the quality of instruction in the field and perpetuates substandard civic and social instruction. The following study analyzes the characteristics (professional and demographic) of social studies teachers and their association with occupational commitment.  Using logistic regression, results indicated that the odds of intending to stay in teaching increased for male teachers compared to their female counterparts. In addition, Black social studies practitioners decreased the odds of staying.  Professional perceptions such as collegiality, student discipline, and resource availability significantly impacted the odds of leaving or staying.  Among social studies teachers, salary satisfaction was not as an important determinant of leave or stay compared to math and science educators.  These findings suggest that state and local educational leaders should utilize more non-pecuniary policies in order to retain quality social studies educators.

"Objectives"
Within North Carolina, the most recent reports from the Department of Public Instruction suggest that teacher turnover rates have increased statewide (Public Schools of North Carolina, 2005).  North Carolina school districts lost 12.95 percent of their workforce following the 2004-2005 academic year.  This figure is a slight increase from the previous year’s turnover rate of 12.37 percent. In order to curtail teacher attrition, state officials and legislators have enacted programs to support retention. These policies have included alternative licensure, salaries increases, and promotion of advanced degree programs (Public Schools of North Carolina, 2005).

Among the core subject areas (math, science, social studies, and English), the importance of retaining quality social studies educators is often overlooked in favor of math and science teachers (Ingersoll, 2001).  Kincheloe (2001) proposes that social studies teachers are charged with the responsibility to foster civic-mindedness and participation in the democratic process.  If learners are not receiving a sufficient social education, then the results could have de-habilitating effects for the future of our democratic system.  Few studies have investigated teacher attrition and retention characteristics among social studies practitioners.  Those studies that have provided insight into the field have been limited in their research design and sampling techniques (see Ochoa, 1981; Leming, 1991; Bliss and Banks, 1994).

The following research proposal attempts to determine the association between key teacher level variables (both demographic and professional) and the odds of leaving or staying in the profession. Specifically, the study intends to investigate how these explanatory variables differ between social studies educators and other core subject area teachers. From the proposed research model, five research questions were developed:
1. Who are secondary social studies teachers? How are social studies teachers different from the English, science, and math teachers?
2. What are the self-perceived intentions regarding retention and attrition for social studies teachers, and how are these self-perceived attention/attrition intentions different among social studies teachers and English, science, and math teachers?
3. What are the variables, as supported by the current theory, contributing to teachers' intention regarding retention/attrition? Is there a difference in teachers' intention among social studies teachers and other teachers when the other related variables were controlled for?
4. What is the association between the explanatory variables and teachers' professional intention within social studies? How are the effects of these explanatory factors different for social studies teachers compared to teachers in other core subject areas?
5. How do these explanatory variables vary (in terms of significance and size of effect) in correspondence to social studies teachers' intention at multi-levels?                                                                                     
"Theoretical Framework"
The research model will draw upon four theories prevalent in teacher turnover research.  The occupational socio-cultural theory emphasizes the importance of teacher and school characteristics in determining teacher turnover. Among the many tenants of this theory, minority teachers are more likely to stay in teaching (King, 1993), teachers with more advanced degrees are more likely to leave (Boyd, et al., 2005), and urban schools experience higher levels of attrition.
The “supply and demand” theory emphasizes the supply and demand relationship between people’s perceived value (e.g., professional credentials, etc.) on the job market and the needs of the market (see Boardman et al., 1982). Specifically, it suggests that educators have to weigh cost versus rewards.  At the forefront of this theory is the impact of salary level on teacher retention.  In addition, teacher perspectives of school characteristics and student demographics have an influential effect on risk/rewards of teaching.  Among different subject areas, the “opportunity costs” of teaching compared to the financial and professional incentives have varied results.

The organizational structure theory contends that teacher retention and attrition is associated with leadership qualifications of the schooling institution (see Bogler, 2001).  Teachers are more likely to remain in the profession if their principal maintains a collaborative, encouraging leadership style.  Teacher commitment decreases when administration maintains a micro-managing, authoritative relationship with faculty.  In addition, the principal should have a supportive discipline plan that is confirmed by staff.

Finally, the professional satisfaction theory includes aspects of the teaching culture that are neither demographic (school or teacher-centered), financial (salary), nor organizational (leadership style).  Teacher perspectives of violent or abusive behavior within the school can have an adverse effect on teacher retention.  Concurrently, teacher collegiality serves as a support system for educators.  Schools that fail to foster such a professional climate are more apt to lose teachers to other professions.   Within the last ten years, high-stakes testing and accountability measures have become more pervasive.  The professional satisfaction theory suggests that increased pressures from these assessments exacerbate attrition rates within the teacher profession.

"Methods"
Five major steps for data analysis were taken in addressing the five research questions:
Step 1. Descriptive statistics in terms of teacher's demographic and academic characteristics as well as the school characteristics will be presented for all teachers as well as for teachers across the four major content areas to answer Research Question 1.
Step 2. Descriptive statistics in terms of teachers' self-perceived intention regarding retention/attrition will be presented for all teachers as well as for teachers across the four major content areas to answer Research Question 2.
Step 3. Step 3.1. Descriptive statistics of teachers’ professional perceptions will be presented in terms of teacher resources, leadership and organization structure and professional satisfaction.  Measurements of central tendency (mean, median, mode and standard deviation)  will be calculated to answer part of Research Question 3. Step 3.2.  A full model of binary logistical regression for all teachers will be conducted with the explanatory variables and a dichotomized dependent variable on intention (leave/stay) to answer Question 3. In addition, three subject area dummy variables will be included in the regression model (social studies teachers coded as reference group) compared to the core disciplines.
Step 4. A full model of binary logistical regression will be conducted separately within social studies, science, math and English teachers with explanatory variables in five major areas and a dichotomized dependent variable on intention (leave/stay) to answer Question 4.
Step5. Full-model ordinal logistic regressions will be conducted exclusively for social studies teachers with explanatory variables from the five major factors and multi-level dependent variables (definitely leave, probably leave, teaching until retirement, and teaching as long as possible) to answer Question 5.

"Data"
The data analyzed in this study was provided from the 2003-2004 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The survey is conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics  (NCES) at the request of the Department of Education in order to develop a comprehensive database of teacher and school-wide characteristics in both private and public settings (NCES, 2007).  It is the largest and most comprehensive survey and corresponding data set in the nation.  Schools are randomly selected and nationally representative. For purposes of this study, 8989 secondary teachers (math, science, English, and social studies) were extrapolated from the dataset.

"Results"
Analysis indicated that salary satisfaction was the most effective predictor of teacher turnover among secondary educators. However, while salary satisfaction increase the odds of staying by approximately 53% for math practitioners, it was less effective for social studies teachers (30%).  Moreover, results indicated that a one-unit increase in student discipline satisfaction increased the odds of staying by approximately 15%.  Collegiality, resource availability, and leadership perception significantly contributed to social studies teachers’ increased intention to stay.  Demographic indicators significantly impacted social studies teachers’ professional intentions.  Being male increased the odds of staying by approximately 32% compared to being female.  Black and Hispanic minorities decreased the odds of staying (51% and 53% respectively) compared to Whites.  Among census regions, teaching in the South decrease the odds of commitment to social studies teaching compared to other regions (North, Midwest, and West).  Teaching credentials indicate that National Board certification increased the odds of intending to stay by 45%.  Having a Masters degree in a social studies discipline increased the odds of staying by approximately 200%. Conversely, having a Masters in Education/Teaching decreased the odds of staying by approximately 19%.

"Conclusions"
These results indicate that previous efforts by the North Carolina Department of Instruction to increase salary might not serve as a blanket panacea to teacher turnover.  Instead, the state should investigate the individual perceptions and demographic activity among subject areas. Within social studies, increased salary benefits have less of an effect on retention levels. In order to retain teachers in this field, North Carolina education leaders should focus their efforts on promotion of advanced degree programs, National Board certification, and faculty/administration relations.  The increased attrition among Black social studies teachers is a disturbing trend that should be further analyzed. State policy makers should determine whether this phenomenon is indicative of the North Carolina teacher pool. If so, measures should be addressed to determine if Black teachers feel alienated by the predominately Euro-centric curriculum or if other sociological factors contribute. Moreover, the “stepping stone” mentality of young, male teachers toward the social studies suggests that they do not view the profession as a lifetime career choice. In order to insure greater retention, North Carolina policy makers need to enact measures to increase workplace efficacy among social studies educators. Consequently, by working to maintain a consistent workforce of social studies educators, North Carolina will help improve the civic literacy among the state’s young learners.

References (in the proposal)
Bliss, D. & Banks, D. (1994). Characteristics of Secondary Social Studies Teachers: An Update of Ochoa’s 1981 Report (Report No. NCRTL-SO027272). Oneonta, NY: SUNY College at Oneonta. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 409240.

Boardman, A., Darling-Hammond, L., & Mullins, S. (1982). A framework for analysis of teachers’ demand and supply.  Economics of Education Review, 2(2), 127-155.

Bogler, R. (2001). The influence of leadership style on teacher job satisfaction. Educational Administration Quarterly, 37(5), 662-683.

Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2005). Explaining the short careers of high achieving teachers in schools with low performing students. American Economic Review, 95(2), 166-171.

Ingersoll, R. M. (2001). Teacher Turnover and Teacher Shortages: An Organizational Analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 499-534.

Kincheloe, J. L. (2001) Getting Beyond the Facts: Teaching Socials Studies/Social Sciences in the Twenty-first Century. New York, NY: Peter Lange.

King, S. H. (1993). The Limited Presence of African-American Teachers. Review of Educational Research. 63(2), 115-149.

Leming, J. S. (1991). Teacher characteristics and social studies education. In J.P. Shaver (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Social Studies Education, (pp. 222-236). New York: MacMillan.

Ochoa, A. S. (1981). A profile of social studies. Social Education, 45(6), 401-404.

National Center for Educational Statistics (2007). Documentation for the 2003-2004 Schools and Staffing Survey (NCES 2007-337). Washington, DC: US Department of Education.

Public Schools of North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2005). System level teacher turnover report 2004-2005. Raleigh, NC: Division of Human Resources Management.