Degree Name
EdD (Doctor of Education)
Program
Educational Leadership
Date of Award
5-2014
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Eric Glover
Committee Members
Pamela Scott. Virginia Foley, Cecil Blankenship
Abstract
Much research has been conducted on what can be done to retain teachers in education. This study is an examination of what keeps teachers in high-poverty middle schools. The purpose of the study was to examine why teachers choose to stay in high poverty schools. According to Ed. Gov.(1999) high poverty schools are defined as schools that have 75% to 100% of students on free or reduced lunch.
Eight teachers were interviewed from 2 high poverty schools located in the southeastern region of the United States. These teachers had been employed by their school for at least 5 years. Data were gathered and analyzed to reveal why teachers stay in high poverty schools even though the work can be extremely difficult.
This study showed that the teachers interviewed feel working in a high poverty school can be more difficulty due to issues such as behavior and lack of parental involvement. However, rewards such as student growth and the love they develop for the students are worth the extra labor they put into their jobs. The good they find in their jobs seemed to outweigh the bad.
Document Type
Dissertation - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Marston, Tracy, "Factors That Contribute to Teacher Retention in High-Poverty Middle Schools" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2374. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2374
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.