Commitment, Preparation, and Early Career Frustrations: Examining Future Attrition of Middle School Teachers

Abstract

Teacher attrition has been a concern to the teaching field for many years. The revolving door from which a great number of teachers leave teaching early in their careers, has been researched and found to be a result of many factors including: a) low pay (Hall, Pearson & Carroll, 1992; Imazeki, 2005; Jackson & Birkeland, 2003; Thompson, 2012), b) lack of administrative support and poor induction (Darling-Hammond et al., 2009; Littrell et al., 1994), and c) frustrations with classroom behaviors (Thompson, 2012; Rieg et al., 2007). Attrition of teachers in urban areas and for teachers of science and mathematics has been especially high (Ingersoll & Merrill, 2010). Ingersoll (2003) reported that between 40% and 50% of teachers were leaving within the first 5 years of entering the profession. This 5-year mark has become the commonly accepted benchmark for defining early leavers.Although much is known about teacher attrition across all grade levels, the research specific to middle school teacher attrition is scant. This study focused on a group of ten first-year middle school teachers who had made a specific commitment to the middle grades and who had recently graduated from a middle school teacher preparation program at a nationally recognized (NCATE certified) college of education.Rationale for the StudyAccording to the Association of Middle Level Education's (AMLE) position paper This We Believe: Key to Educating Young Adolescents (2010), a key characteristic of successful middle schools is having made the choice to work with that age group accompanied by an understanding of the unique developmental characteristics of young adolescent students. We framed this study within the perspective that middle school teachers have a unique commitment to the young adolescent learner and that middle-grades-specific teacher preparation is the avenue that best prepares these teachers.Although there is a shortage of literature that looks at why middle school teachers choose to teach this age group, there are a few studies that explain why individuals are drawn to middle school teaching. Radcliffe and Mandeville (2007), for example, found that middle school teachers enjoyed working with the age group, liked the of the content, and perceived more favorable employment options for middle school teachers. Similarly, Mee, Haverback, and Passe (2012) found that candidates enrolled in the Middle School major at their university chose to teach middle school because they had a special affinity for the age group and could connect well with middle school students.In recent years, calls for specialized middle grades teacher preparation and licensure have slowly been heard, but specialized training is still not the norm for middle school teachers. Many middle teachers are trained in elementary or secondary preparation programs and teach in the middle school classrooms for only part, or even none, of their teaching internship. In fact, the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform (2002) said that in 2002, nationally, only 20% of teachers are formally prepared to teach at the middle level (p. 4).The National Forum is one of many organizations, along with the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE) that supports specialized preparation for middle school teachers. Jackson and Davis (2000) further maintained that our nation's middle school classrooms should have highly qualified middle school teachers who are prepared to work with the unique social, emotional, and developmental needs of the young adolescent. McEwin, Dickinson, & Anfara (2005) said that teachers without this specialization are not properly prepared to teach young adolescent students.Currently, there is a lack of research that focuses specifically on middle teacher preparation programs and attrition, but one could argue that with specialized training, middle school teachers are more likely to stay in the middle school classroom in contrast to those teachers trained in programs designed for elementary school or high school. …