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

Abstract

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.

Key Findings

1. Teachers express a strong preference for two malleable school processes, administrative support and discipline enforcement, along with a higher salary, a structural feature.
2. Estimates indicate these attributes are 2 to 3 times more important to teachers than fixed school characteristics like prior achievement.

Suggested Citation