This discussion group is designed to offer a comprehensive, multifaceted examination of the ongoing preparation, support and retention of mathematics teachers based on the results of research studies and contributions of the participants. It is hoped that discussions will enrich the dialogue relating the “support gap” and the work and retention of teachers of mathematics. It is also expected that this discussion group will propose areas ripe for further research by first identifying the gaps in the research on mathematics teacher retention in order to move forward in tackling this complex international issue.
At ICME 10, a Thematic Afternoon focused on Mathematics Teachers helped identify several questions that needed to be addressed to ensure adequate support of Mathematics Teachers’ growth and development. The themes highlighted included retention and recruitment, professional development, and mathematics teacher identity. In our experience, the overarching issue of mathematics teacher retention is often overlooked under the assumption that effective professional development would in essence lead to increased retention. However a closer look at what type of support helps teachers stay in their school, let alone their profession is necessary.
Although countries around the world face mathematics teacher shortages, there is little evidence in the literature that this global issue has received the attention it deserves from researchers. Within many countries national reports argue for the need to increase the pool of highly qualified mathematics teachers as a way to improve mathematics education and maintain economic competitiveness (e.g., National Academy of Sciences (2007) and Glenn Commission (2000) in the US; Brown (2009) in Australia; OECD, 2008 in South Africa; OECD, 2005 in the UK, Japan, Korea, France, others). Providing high quality mathematics education for all students goes beyond the recruitment of mathematically knowledgeable teachers to encompass issues of teacher support, professional development, and retention. Recent publications (e.g., Ingersoll (2011) in the U.S., Harris & Jensz (2006) in Australia) that claim retention as a key aspect of schools’ staffing problems challenge the common beliefs that producing enough newly qualified teachers should sufficiently supply classrooms with qualified Math and Science educators.
Motivated by findings of attrition exceeding 50% of the mathematics teachers in the first five years of teaching, research on Mathematics Teacher Retention has received increased attention in the USA in recent years. Of urgent concern are the consistent research findings across studies that attrition and transfer most severely affect schools located in low income urban and rural communities. Recent research attempting to relate teacher effectiveness with retention found that some teacher attrition, especially if occurring in the first two years of teaching, might contribute to greater student learning outcomes, while cautioning that measures of teacher effectiveness can be difficult to establish (Boyd et. Al., 2009). In many countries these concerns are exasperated by the limited supply of Mathematics and Science teachers—in comparison to other disciplines and the relative ease that Mathematics teachers have to transfer to non-educational professions.
Reasons for the lack of retention of new teachers and teachers in high-poverty schools are often related to “working conditions” and lack of support (Ingersoll, 2001; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004; Johnson et al., 2004; OECD, 2008), though pay also plays a role (Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2001). This support includes professional and collegial support such as working collaboratively with colleagues, coherent, job-embedded assistance, professional development, having input on key issues and progressively expanding influence and increasing opportunities (Johnson 2006). Preparation, support, and working conditions are important, because they are essential to teachers’ effectiveness on the job and their ability to realize the intrinsic rewards that attract many to teaching and keep them in the profession despite the relatively low pay (Johnson & Birkeland, 2003; Liu, Johnson, & Peske, 2004). US data gathered by the National Center for Education Statistics with the School and Staffing Survey and the Teacher Follow-up Survey that examines mathematics teacher retention through the lenses of Magnitude, Destinations, and Determinants, claim that the provision of useful Professional Development is one of the organizational factors influencing Mathematics teachers decision to leave or remain in their positions. Another factor is the degree of individual classroom autonomy (Ingersoll & May, 2010).
Globally, efforts to support the learning and development of newly qualified teachers have seen a growth of targeted support and mentoring programs. Building on a range of research studies there is consensus that induction comprises an array of aligned and integrated components which include: carefully selected and trained mentors; a curriculum of intensive and structured support and professional development opportunities; regular meetings with mentors; opportunities to observe experienced teachers; formative assessment tools that permit evaluation of practice; and outreach to wider educational support. Moreover, there is now an increasing array of studies that evaluate the effectiveness of professional development in terms of teacher practice and student outcomes (Sztajn, 2011). How such interventions impact on teacher retention is less clear. Specifically for the beginning teacher, we know that even with mandated induction programs, access and quality of support vary by school (Anthony, Haigh, & Kane, 2011). Beyond the rates of participation and availability of support, there is the question of what is effective support. Schools need to be innovative in their approaches to induction, taking care to adapt policy guidelines to match individual teachers’ levels of experience and preparedness, and to suit their situationally relevant context in terms of individual needs. For example, the increasing number of change-of-career teachers in some countries (Anthony & Ord, 2008) exemplifies the diversity of experiences and expectations that need to be addressed in terms of support.
The discussion will enable us to share current studies that are looking at such issues. For example, in a status report on teacher development focusing on Professional Development and support of teachers, Darling Hammond cites a large-scale research project which aims to measure the impact in terms of classroom practices, student achievement and teacher mobility (Darling-Hammond et al, 2009). Initial results seem to reflect the difficulty in identifying the impact of support. Establishing further controlled research is necessary to defend any conclusive results. Another study presently in its fourth year, Supporting Teachers to Increase Retention (STIR) is studying the relationship between retention and support of mathematics teachers across the state of California. This five-year study is looking through the lens of 10 sites with different support models to relate retention to content knowledge, classroom practices, professional communities of support, leadership and needed support. Initial results are complex but are showing relationships between sustained professional development and support and teacher retention. Data collected to establish a base line for retention across a five-year period 2002-2006 preceding STIR shows that yearly attrition averaged 20% across all 10 sites. For the five-year period the attrition average was 54% with sites reporting an attrition of mathematics teachers as high as 73%. With intensive support, the yearly attrition showed a consistent yearly reduction from 20% to 14% to 6%across the 10 different professional development and support efforts. Case study research in South Africa similarly points to the importance of increasing teacher support in relation to retention. Graven (2004; 2005) indicates retention of mathematics teachers intending to exit the profession through the strengthening of mathematical professional teacher identities enabled through participation in a supportive ‘community of practice’. At University of Agder (UiA), Norway, two substantial research projects (Learning Communities in Mathematics, LCM, and Teaching Better Mathematics, TBM) aimed at investigating how to enhance pupils’ performance in mathematics by developing “communities of inquiry” including teachers from different schools (from primary to upper secondary) and researchers at UiA. Conducting these two developmental research projects helped establish and develop collaborative cooperation together with teachers and provided insights on the kind of challenges they met, in relation to their school’s systemic aspects, while trying to implement “new ideas” in their current teaching practice.
We anticipate that the initial questions generated by the organizing team will stimulate the formation of a community that will collaboratively address the question of mathematics teacher retention and support. The product of the group will be two fold. First, there will be the establishment of a foundation for research including a set of guiding questions organized by dimensions that speaks across international situations, building of research agendas that address identified question and finally sharing of results, findings and challenges. Second, there will be the development of a community through which future attempts to tackle the serious and complex issues emerging through research efforts can be interpreted in light of accrued knowledge through collaboration. In preparation for beneficial discussions, the organizers will make extensive use of the ICME-12 website in order to provide participants with background information and research findings aimed at supporting the work of the group. Relevant contributions by interested participants will be invited and included in the program as well. In particular, the organizers will encourage contributions from researchers who can provide insights on mathematics teacher retention in Asian countries so as to help the group attain a more global perspective: if it is a problem there as well, how is it tackled in different cultures, and if retention is not a problem everywhere, then why not.
A final report that summarizes the main activities and principal findings of the group will be ubmitted for the conference proceedings.