Push or Pull: School-Level Factors That Influence Teacher Mobility in Turnaround Schools

Abstract

Recruiting and retaining teachers can be challenging for many schools, especially in low-performing urban schools in which teachers turn over at higher rates. In this study, we examine three types of school-level attributes that may influence teachers’ decisions to enter or transfer schools: malleable school processes, structural features of employment, and school characteristics. Using adaptive conjoint analysis survey design with a sample of teachers from low-performing urban, turnaround schools in Tennessee, we find that five of the seven most highly valued features of schools are malleable processes: consistent administrative support, consistent enforcement of discipline, school safety, small class sizes, and availability of high-quality professional development. In particular, teachers rated as effective are more likely to prefer performance-based pay than teachers rated ineffective. We validate our results using administrative data from Tennessee on teachers’ actual mobility patterns.

Suggested Citation

Viano, S., Pham, L., Henry, G., Kho, A., & Zimmer, R. (2018). Push or Pull: School-Level Factors That Influence Teacher Mobility in Turnaround Schools. (Tennessee Education Research Alliance Working Paper No. 2018-01).