Teacher retention and classroom management: A program theory evaluation of one district’s approach to keeping new and novice teachers in the classroom

Abstract

Schools and districts across the United States are facing an unprecedented exodus of teachers from the classroom, which has created an urgent need to fill vacant teaching positions.  As a result, many states are expanding the routes of alternative certification pathways for adults with little to no college experience or educational training to gain full-time teaching positions. This unduly need has thrust our least prepared teachers into classroom experiences with little to no content knowledge, and even less knowledge about pedagogy, specifically, classroom management. The purpose of this evaluation was to examine the theory and processes utilized to establish the CMS program. The Classroom Management Specialist (CMS) provided dialogical coaching through observation, feedback loops, and goal setting for two years. Coaching was also supported by weekly or monthly whole-group professional development that targeted specific classroom management strategies. Program evaluation used Stufflebeam’s CIPP Model. Context findings highlighted hiring practices that brought more teachers to the classroom, and that those teachers lacked relational capacity and needed support. Input findings included CMSs to offer the needed support. Process findings indicated that some new teachers never enrolled in the required alternative certification programs. They also indicated that there was not a common district commitment to the role of the CMSs, so different campuses used the CMS in different ways. Product findings showed difficulty in tracking 1) new teacher retention due to varied campus hiring practices, 2) discipline data because it was tracked differently among campuses, and 3) improvement of building campus culture due to campus administrators viewing the CMS role in varied ways.