Insights for Action Research Summary: Educator Preparation and Future Teachers

Over the past decade, TERA has tackled some of Tennessee’s most pressing educational challenges. We’ve examined teacher retention and pipeline development, investigated principal and leadership effectiveness, explored strategic staffing, supported early-career educators, and analyzed the drivers of student learning and well-being. Our research has illuminated pathways to postsecondary readiness and shaped how educational leaders think about their work.

Over the next few months, we’re recapping our research, the insights that have emerged, and how evidence-driven collaboration continues to reshape educational policy and practice in our state. We’re excited to share this milestone, as we reflect on a decade of rigorous research and why this work matters.

• Key Insight #1: Tennessee can grow and diversify the future teacher pipeline by giving students glimpses into the profession early on and making clear, affordable pathways into teaching.
• Key Insight #2:Who mentors future teachers and how they coach matters. Placing pre-service teachers with effective, trained mentors improves job readiness and early performance.
• Key Insight #3: Residency-style preparation models that combine strong mentoring, aligned coursework, and placements matched to district needs can offer a more coherent preparation experience and support new teachers’ readiness and retention
• Key Insight #4: New teachers’ effectiveness grows in the first few years and varies by the preparation program they attended. Therefore, effective EPP accountability measures reflect multi-year growth and the quality of clinical preparation rather than only first-year outcomes.
• Key Insight #5: Focused pathways into shortage subjects, backed by aligned clinical placements and financial supports, help more teacher candidates enter Tennessee public schools and stay longer.