Why Remain Where It Seems to Be Difficult? An Analysis of Teacher Retention at High-Poverty Middle Schools in Eastern North Carolina

This study sought to identify how teachers perceived the effectiveness of administrative support, induction program support, and mentor support. This study addressed the following research questions: (a) Is there a relationship between the perceived effectiveness of their administrative support and teaching in a high-poverty school for beginning middle school teachers in eastern North Carolina? (b) Is there a relationship between the perceived effectiveness of their induction program and teaching in a high-poverty school for beginning middle school teachers in eastern North Carolina? (c) Is there a relationship between the perceived effectiveness of their mentor and teaching in a high-poverty school for beginning middle school teachers in eastern North Carolina? (d) Is there a relationship between the likelihood of remaining in teaching and teaching in a high-poverty school for beginning middle school teachers in eastern North Carolina? This qualitative study included 35 beginning middle school teacher participants who completed the Induction Program Survey for Teachers in Their First Five Years. Despite the lack of statistically significant results, there were several key findings that led to recommendations for the district and future research. This study recommends identifying the causes of significant gaps in perceived effectiveness between low-poverty and high-poverty beginning teachers in the area of the induction program, discovering how much the district’s philosophy is part of the initial training for mentors and during their meetings with the beginning teacher support coordinator, and determining why beginning middle school teachers have varying views between their perceptions of their mentor and their induction program