Dr. Lautrice Nickson Dissertation Defense Power Pt.

7/28/2019 Dr. Lautrice Nickson Dissertation Defense Power Pt.

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AN ANALYSIS OF

FACTORS

INFLUENCING

SPECIAL EDUCATIONTEACHERS’

RETENTION AND

ATTRITION IN TEXAS

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

A Dissertation Defense

by

LAUTRICEMCCARTY NICKSON

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

Dissertation Committee Member



Purpose of the Study

Add to the body of research that will help identifyreasons for the mass exodus of special education

teachers after three years.

Identify important factors that influence special

education teachers’ decisions to remain in or leave

the field of special education.



Presentation Format

I. Theoretical Framework

II. Research Questions (Quantitative andQualitative)

III. Quantitative Methods

IV. Quantitative Major Findings

V. Qualitative Emergent Themes

VI. Qualitative Major Findings

VII. Integrate Quantitative and Qualitative findingswith literature

VIII. Recommendations



Theoretical Framework

School

ClimateFactors

Parental

SupportFactors

Mentors

and

ColleaguesSupport

Factors

Central

OfficeSupport

Factors

Campus

Administrative

Support

Factors

Teachers’

Retention and

Attrition



Quantitative Research Questions

Are

Campus administrative support

Central office support

Mentors and colleagues support Parental support

School climate

factors associated with special education

teachers’ retention and attrition in the field of

special education.



Null Hypotheses

There is no statistically significant difference in

teachers’ scores of


Central office support Mentors and colleagues support

Parental support

School climate

factors between special education teachers whoremain in special education and those who leave

the field of special education.



Qualitative Research Questions

What do special education teachers who stay or

leave special education describe as the most

important factors that influence their decisions toremain in or leave special education?



Qualitative Research Questions

What specific things are done to enhance the

involvement and commitment of special education

teachers who stay in the field of special education?



Quantitative Methods



Quantitative Method

Descriptive statistics

Comparison of means (Independent t-tests)



Quantitative Method

Independent Variable –

Special education teachers who remain and those

who leave.

Dependent Variables –

Campus administrative support factors

Central office support factors

Mentors and colleagues support factors

Parental support factors

School climate factors



Quantitative Method

Subjects of the Study

All accessible current and former special

education teachers in Texas public schools with

three years or fewer experience

Grades K through 5

Each school district had a total student enrollment

greater than 5,000

10 school districts in Southwest Texas



Quantitative Method

94 current special education teachers respondedout of 200.

38 former special education teachers responded

out of 100



Quantitative MethodInstrumentation

Six point Likert- type instrument

Teachers’ Retention and Attrition Factors Survey

Instrument Measured Support from

1. Campus administrators

2. Central office administrators

3. Mentors and colleagues

4. Parents

5. School climate

Possible Range 10-60



Pilot Study Campus administrative support factors .848

Central office support factors .908

Mentors and colleagues support factors .961

Parental support factors .819

School climate factors .809

Teachers’ Retention and Attrition Factors Survey .959



Major Quantitative

Findings



Major Findings

Research Question 1

Are campus administrative support factors associated with special

education teachers’ retention and attrition in the field of special

education?

Mean score for campus administrative support factors

Current Special Education Teachers= 43.12

Former Special Education Teachers= 38.37

Mean difference of 4.75

p=.032

p<.05*

effect size = .45



Major Findings

Research Question 2

Are central office support factors associated with special education

teachers’ retention and attrition in the field of special education?

Mean score for central office support factors

Current Special Education Teachers= 37.55Former Special Education Teachers= 34.66

Mean difference of 2.89

p=.159

p<.05*



Major Findings

Research Question 3

Are mentors and colleagues support factors associated with special

education teachers’ retention and attrition in the field of special

education?

Mean score for mentors and colleagues support factors



Mean difference= 9.68

p=.001

p<.05*

effect size=.64



Major Findings

Research Question 4

Are parental support factors associated with special education

teachers’ retention and attrition in the field of special education?

Mean Score for Parental Support Factors




p=.048

p<.05*

effect size=.37



Major Findings

Research Question 5

Are school climate factors associated with special education teachers’

retention and attrition in the field of special education?

Mean Score for School Climate Factors

Current Special Education Teachers= 46.39Former Special Education Teachers= 43.87


p=.167

p<.05*



Results of Major Quantitative

Findings

Research question 1 Campus Administrative Support:

Findings were significant

Research question 2 Central Office Support:

Findings were not significant

Research question 3 Mentors and Colleagues Support:


Research question 4 Parental Support:


Research question 5 School Climate Factors:

Findings were inconclusive



Qualitative Findings



Qualitative Subjects

Subjects

10 current special education teachers

10 former special education teachers



Qualitative Research Question 6

What do special education teachers who stay or

leave special education describe as the most

important factors that influence their decision to

remain in or leave special education?



Emergent Themes: Important

Factors

Current Teachers

Relationships with

colleagues Support of campus

administrators

Vested interest in

students

Former Teachers

The need for campus

administrative support The desire for

collaboration with

colleagues

The lack of assistancefrom central office




What specific things are done to enhance the

involvement and commitment of special education

teachers who stay in the profession?




Campus administration support

“My decision to remain in special education is based on the

support of my principal.”

Mentor and colleague support

“Without my colleagues I would have quit after my first

year.”

Student interest

“Each year I am able to see the growth that my students

make and I like being a part of that.”



Integration of Quantitative Findings,

Qualitative Findingsand Review of

Literature



Research Question 1

Campus Administrative Support

Review of LiteratureQuantitative and Qualitative Findings in this study were

consistent with the findings in the literature.

Marsal (2001) The absence of administrative support is

considered a cause for leaving the profession.

Gersten (2001) Principal or administrative support plays a

very important role in the retention of teachers. Understanding specific ways that principals can support teachers help reduce

the frustrations teachers experience.



Research Question 2

Central Office Support

Review of LiteratureQuantitative findings were not consistent with the literature.

Qualitative findings were consistent with the literature.

Gersten, et al. (2001) found that central office administrators

exerted an indirect influence on attrition via professional

development opportunities and stress related role design.

Billingsley, et al.(1995) Conducted a study that found that 25%of those who left teaching were influenced to leave due

to their dissatisfaction with central administration support.



Research Question 3

Mentors and Colleagues Support

Review of LiteratureQuantitative and Qualitative findings were consistent

with the literature.

Cohen (2005) New teachers are more likely to continueteaching in their schools of origin, when they receive

support from mentors and colleagues.

Darling-Hammond (2003) Young teachers not only stay in

the profession at higher rates due to mentors and colleaguessupport but they also become competent more quickly than

those who must learn by trial and error.



Research Question 4

Parental Support

Review of LiteratureQuantitative findings in this study were consistent with the

literature.

Qualitative findings in this study were not consistent with theliterature.

George, et al. (1992) 23% of teachers who intended to stay

indicated receiving adequate support from parents,

compared to a mere 3% of those who intended to leave.

Platt and Olson (1990) 53% of educators surveyed

indicated that "lack of support" from parents was a reason for

attrition.



Research Question 5

School Climate Factors

Review of LiteratureQuantitative findings were inconclusive.

Qualitative findings were not consistent with the literature.

Cotton (2004) Positive, safe, secure learning environments

and nurturing school climates are critical to reducing teacher

attrition.

Billingsley (2004) Teachers who view school climate positively are more likely to stay or indicate intent to stay than

those who have less positive views.



A Review of the

Quantitative andQualitative Findings



Findings

Quantitative Findings

Significant Factors

Campus administrative

support

Mentors and Colleaguessupport

Parental Support

Factor that was not

Significant Central office support

Inconclusive Factor

School Climate

Qual itat ive Finding s

Significant Factors


Mentors and colleagues

support Central office support

Factors that were not Significant

Parental support

School climate



Recommendations



Recommendations

Campus Administration Support

(1) Campus administrators should have an open door policy.

(2) Recognition should be given to teachers by campus

administrators.

(3) Campus administrators should assist teachers in solving

problems.

(4) Campus administrators should assist teachers in the

decision making process.(5) Campus administrators should provide teacher assistants

who can help with certain task.



Recommendations

Central Office Administrators Support

(1) Central office administrators should provide guidance in

teachers’ professional growth.

(2) Central office administrators should reduce the large

amounts of paperwork that special education teachers

are required by the district to complete.

(3) Central office administrators should implement effective

mentor programs for new teachers.



Recommendations

Mentors and Colleagues Support

(1) Mentors and colleagues should provide assistance withclassroom management.

(2) Mentors and colleagues should allow teachers toexpress their feelings and ideas.

(3) Mentors and colleagues should assist teachers insolving problems.

(4) Mentors and colleagues should provide teachers with

ideas for lesson plans.



Recommendations

Parental Support

(1) Parents should support teachers.

(2) Parents should respect teachers.

(3) Parents should treat teachers as professionals.

(4) Parents should have realistic expectations of teachers.

(5) Parents should feel responsible for the way their children

perform in school.



Recommendations for Further

Studies

To make this study more representative of special educationteachers who have remained in or left the field of specialeducation, future studies should include special educationteachers who teach students in 6th-12th grade.

Given that school climate factors were inconclusive in

this study, but have proven to be significant in other studies,school climate factors should be explored further.

Interviewing campus administrators, central officeadministrators and parents may provide a deeper understanding of how they contribute to the retention andattrition of special education teachers.



Recommendations for Further

Studies

Explore “other” factors that teachers listed as

reasons for their decisions to either remain in or

leave the field of special education.

Student interest

Personal factors

Job satisfaction



Theoretical Framework

SchoolClimate

Factors

Parental

Support

Factors

Mentors

and

Colleagues

Support

Factors

Central

OfficeSupport

Factors

Campus

Administrative

Support

Factors

Teachers’

Retention and

Attrition

Dr. Lautrice Nickson Dissertation Defense Power Pt.

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