Journal Article

What Teachers Want: School Factors Predicting Teachers’ Decisions to Work in Low-Performing Schools

Henry, Gary T., Zimmer, Ron, Viano, Samantha, Kho, Adam, Pham, Lam D.

2021

Overview

Attracting and retaining teachers can be an important ingredient in improving low-performing schools. In this study, we estimate the expressed preferences for teachers who have worked in low-performing schools in Tennessee. Using adaptive conjoint analysis survey design, we examine three types of school attributes that may influence teachers’ employment decisions: fixed school characteristics, structural features of employment, and malleable school processes. We find that teachers express a strong preference for two malleable school processes, administrative support and discipline enforcement, along with a higher salary, a structural feature. Estimates indicate these attributes are 2 to 3 times more important to teachers than fixed school characteristics like prior achievement. We validate our results using administrative data on teachers’ revealed preferences.

• Publisher: SAGE Publications,American Educational Research Association
• Subject: Academic Achievement / Attributes / Conjoint analysis / Decision Making / Design / Discipline Policy / Education reform / Employment / Enforcement / Faculty Mobility / Institutional Characteristics / Low Achievement / Poverty / Predictor Variables / Preferences / Public Schools / Revealed preferences / School District Reorganization / School Safety / School Turnaround / Schools / Small Classes / Statewide Planning / Teacher Administrator Relationship / Teacher Attitudes / Teacher Characteristics / Teacher Employment / Teacher Persistence / Teacher retention / Teacher Salaries / Teacher Selection / Teachers / Teaching Conditions / Teaching Experience