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A Review of the Research Literature on Teacher Recruitment and Retention
In the face of a growing school-age population, U.S. schools and school districts are struggling to maintain teaching standards while recruiting bright new teachers and retaining their most-effective ones. This literature review represents a comprehensive and critical examination of research published since 1980 on the topic of teacher recruitment and retention in the United States. It is designed to provide a broad understanding of the patterns governing the entry and exit of individuals into and from teaching and the evidence regarding the types of policies that affect teacher recruitment and retention. The authors grouped the research studies into several categories — those that examined the characteristics of individuals who enter teaching and who remain in teaching, those that investigated the external characteristics of districts and schools, those that examined compensation policies, and those that examined pre-service and in-service policies.
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Contents
Chapter One:
Introduction
Chapter Two:
A Conceptual Framework for Synthesizing the Literature on Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Chapter Three:
Methodology
Chapter Four:
The Characteristics of Individuals Who Enter and Leave Teaching
Chapter Five:
The External Characteristics of Districts and Schools That Successfully Recruit and Retain Teachers
Chapter Six:
Policies to Promote Recruitment and Retention
Chapter Seven:
Summary, Conclusions, and Suggestions for Future Research
Appendix A:
Summaries of Reviewed Research Studies
The research described in this report was prepared for the Education Commission of the States by RAND Education.
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