The second article in a two-part series
"It is as if we were pouring teachers into a bucket with a fist-sized hole in the bottom," the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future says in its 2003 report, "No Dream Denied." Indeed, the teacher turnover rate is alarming: Data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicate that about a third of new teachers leave the profession during their first three years, and almost half may leave in their first five years.
Who can help stem the tide of exiting teachers? One good candidate is the school principal. Principals are the front-line managers that must have an instinct for navigating pressures from above (administrators) and below (parents and teachers). Precious Werner, an art teacher at an elementary school in Fairfax County, Va., feels that although larger issues are primarily responsible for the teacher retention problem, principals are in a key position to alleviate or exacerbate those issues. "Principals set up an environment that either makes you want to strive to be better at what you do," Werner says, "or makes you want to run from what you do."
How do great principals establish an environment that inspires and nurtures teaching excellence? Last week's column (see "Teachers Stick With Great Principals, Great Schools" in Related Items) discussed several issues that affect retention based on Gallup's Q12 employee engagement hierarchy. Here are a few more:
Make Mission and Vision Real
Given most teachers' strong service orientation, a clear sense of mission is even more important in education than in most private-sector companies. Gallup's Q12 employee engagement survey assesses this variable by asking employees their level of agreement or disagreement that:
- "The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important."
An organization's mission answers the question, "Why are we doing this?" Vision is the description of a future that is worth working toward. Without a shared mission and vision that inspires, the problems of the moment can seem overwhelming.
The best principals are able to inspire others with a description of what the school can become, what the students can achieve, and a future worth the effort. Understanding that teachers are often motivated by an altruistic mission, the best principals feed that inclination, talking to teachers about their impact on children. This altruistic characteristic that so many teachers possess is a great asset, but is often underused because it seems to be a given.
Create Clarity of Standard Expectations
Expectations are clearly communicated and feedback is always present in engaged workgroups, as illustrated by the following Q12 items:
- "I know what is expected of me at work."
- "In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress."
Great teachers feel more secure when they know what is expected of them. But feedback around those expectations, should always be framed constructively, as part of a culture of continual development -- otherwise it can do more harm than good.
As Phillip Schlechty notes in his 2000 book, Shaking Up the Schoolhouse, "In most schools, principals are expected to evaluate teachers, and this fact sometimes clouds the relationship between teachers and principals … One reason for these difficulties is that teaching today is based on a mastery model rather than a continuous improvement model. The result of this view is that experienced teachers become defensive over any negative feedback about their performance, for to accept such feedback as legitimate would be to acknowledge that mastery is not present."
Bottom Line
The teacher turnover problem is not one that can be solved quickly or easily. It must be addressed by changing the workplace culture in each individual school. The best way to start is by finding principals who have the instinct, talent, and energy to generate an atmosphere that is gratifying to good teachers.
The Q12 items are protected by copyright of The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ, 1992-1999. All rights reserved.