Quality Education Starts with Who You Hire

Dr. Jon Pedersen Professor Science Education The University of Oklahoma

Dr. Ron Bonnstettter Professor Science Education The University of Nebraska - Lincoln

There is a national crisis in education today.  Evidence shows that with current trends we will need between 800,000 and 2 million new teachers (NCES 1997; NCTAF 1997).  And although many would believe it is a crisis around performance and No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the truth of the matter is, keeping teachers in schools (i.e. teacher retention) is the real crisis of our nations schools.  It does not take long to define the level of and urgency of this crisis.  Turn to any local, regional or national newspaper and you are likely to see headlines and stories that focus on the large number of teachers leaving the profession.  Nationally, over 25-30% of all teachers leave the profession within three to five years of their first job (Georgia Retention Teachers Study).  In some disciplines (special education, science, and mathematics) the number leaving the profession can be much higher.  For example, in Chicago school officials are using a variety of recruitment strategies to fill expected 1500 teacher vacancies next year. The toughest jobs to fill are in math, science and special education, officials say.

"We're pulling out all the stops," said Schools CEO Arne Duncan. "The caliber of people we recruit and keep over the next five years will literally shape the face of public education in Chicago for the next 25 years..."As well, different areas of the country are experiencing different levels of attrition.  For example, the Texas Public Policy Foundation (Sep. 2002) stated, "The most crucial problem in teacher employment, however, pertains to teacher retention.  After five years in a classroom, nearly 60 percent of teachers quit the profession.  Today, school districts are able to ignore the problem by hiring replacements; almost 80 percent of the demand for teachers represents the need to replace experienced teachers, not to fill new classroom positions."These numbers are frightening not only in the sheer number of individuals that are passing through our schools but also regarding the costs associated with recruiting, hiring and "training" teachers new to a system each year.  The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, a group that helped make teacher quality a major national issue stated in their report "What Matters Most," Most states could solve their public school teacher shortages if they simply did a better job of holding on to their classroom teachers.So what can we do?  Are there remedies to assist in retaining teachers?  Many programs across the nation have attempted to put into practice mentoring, coaching, incentives as well as other aspects to retain teachers.  But it is not working. 

From our perspective we have, for decades, been looking at hiring or filling teacher positions from the wrong perspective.  That is, we educate teachers so they have the knowledge and skills necessary to go out in the schools and teach.   Schools examine these knowledge and skills through interviews to make sure that the teachers are competent.  Then, in many cases, teachers are haphazardly placed in schools.   Sometimes, teachers donÕt even get an opportunity to choose or be interviewed by the school that they will eventually teach in.  They are simply placed there.  Yet we all know that each district, school, and classroom is different, serving different students, with different colleagues and leaders within these schools.  With different contexts come different expectations and accountabilities.  In the process of hiring and educating teachers we never consider the personal attributes (or dispositions) of the teachers and what attributes (or dispositions) are necessary for the position itself.  What we propose is a new paradigm for educating, hiring and developing teachers.  Briefly it encompasses a focus on the JOB not the teacher.  We want the job to talk to us about what it needs.  Our process involves benchmarking a job (getting at the key accountabilities of the job and then what personal attributes or dispositions are needed to accomplish this).  Key personal attributes include:

Realistic Goal Setting For Others   Correcting Others Freedom From Prejudices Realistic Expectations Evaluating Others Developing Others Understanding Prospect's Motivations   Understanding Motivational Needs Sensitivity To Others Using Common Sense Seeing Potential Problems Attitude Toward Others Problem And Situation Analysis Problem Solving Human Awareness Relating To Others People Reading Understanding Attitude Empathetic Outlook Monitoring Others Personal Relationships Leading Others Following Directions Concrete Organization Conceptual Thinking Attention To Detail Results Orientation

Quality Orientation Self Improvement Self Assessment Internal Self Control Respect For Policies Accurate Listening Evaluating What Is Said Respect For Property Systems Judgment Status And Recognition Sense Of Belonging Practical Thinking Theoretical Problem Solving Accountability For Others Integrative Ability Persuading Others Sense Of Timing Consistency And Reliability Problem Management Proactive Thinking Attitude Toward Honesty Self Starting Ability Project Scheduling  Material Possessions Role Awareness Intuitive Decision Making Surrendering Control

Personal Drive Emotional Control Initiative Creativity Balanced Decision Making Job Ethic   Persistence Goal Directedness Focus Project And Goal Focus Personal Accountability Taking Responsibility Long Range Planning Personal Commitment Commitment To The Job Gaining Commitment Meeting Standards  Conveying Role Value Handling Rejection Role Confidence Enjoyment Of The Job Self Confidence Self Discipline And Sense Of Duty Self Direction Sense Of Mission Self Management Handling Stress Realistic Personal Goal Setting Self Esteen

Once we know what the JOB is saying vis-a-vis personal attributes, then we can measure or assess each candidates personal attributes and do a much better job of matching individuals with the knowledge and skills to positions that they can and will be successful in.  This process increases job satisfaction and hence decreases attrition rates.   As well, through the benchmarking process and assessment of the teacher we can develop solid development programs to address those attributes (also behaviors and values) that the teacher is less proficient at (the curriculum is developed and tested).  If we can change the attrition rate of a school district that hires 400-500 teachers by 5%, we will be able to save the district thousands of dollars.  As well, with No Child Left Behind, we know that putting highly qualified teachers in classrooms we will increase test scores.  Finally, we all know that alternative certified teachers are a reality.  This will also provide an opportunity to better match these teachers to positions and provide the needed development (not knowledge, but dispositions or personal attributes) to assist them in being highly qualified teachers.  In a number of studies done on teacher attrition, we know that most teachers don't leave because of money.  Rather, they leave because of low job satisfaction related to colleagues, students, contexts of the classroom, etc.   This is exactly what we address with our process.