Math and Science Teachers Dropping out of Public Schools: A Nationwide Look at Their Lack of Retention Using Structural Equation Modeling

This study examined the relationships of various teacher factors, such as their satisfaction with salary, self-efficacy, and years of experience, and various school factors, like administrative support, socioeconomic impact of student families, and student truancy, with the intention of math and science teachers to remain in the profession. The model of teacher retention in this study bolstered prior understanding by offering five novel advancements: (1) this study differentiated between teachers\u27 salaries and teachers\u27 satisfaction with their salaries, as the latter may have had a distinct impact in the retention of math and science teachers, (2) this study differentiated between job satisfaction and an intention to remain in the profession, as this intention may be a better indicator of retention, (3) this study incorporated a more comprehensive and recent data set to improve generalization of findings to the population of math and science teachers in the United States, (4) this study extended the use of a sufficiently sophisticated methodology with these data, and (5) this study focused these concerns on math and science teachers in secondary public schools, a population of teachers which has not been a central focus of study before but is of rising interest to policymakers at all levels of education. Data came from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey, and structural equation modeling constituted the primary method of analysis. Findings from this study indicate that the socioeconomic impact of student families, student truancy, and teacher experience all influence teacher self-efficacy, while administrative support, teacher self-efficacy, and satisfaction with salary all influence the intention of math and science teachers to remain in the profession. Their satisfaction with salary, in fact, wielded the greatest impact on their intention to remain in the profession. Results from this study offer practical guidance for educational policymakers and practitioners alike in helping them make decisions concerning the retention of math and science teachers in secondary public schools, on whom the fields in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are so dependent