Retention of Beginning/Novice Teachers Who Sign Out-of-field Waivers

Authors

Heather Dawn Tyler, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Major/Program

Educational Leadership

First Advisor's Name

Ethan Kolek

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Benjamin Baez

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

Laura Dinehart

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Daniel Saunders

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

teachers, retention, out of field

Date of Defense

3-29-2022

Abstract

Research investigating teacher shortage and teacher retention is well known. There is little research focusing on the retention outcomes of beginning/novice teachers who sign Out-of-Field Waivers. This nonexperimental, quantitative research study was conducted to describe the retention outcomes of beginning/novice teachers in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), the fourth largest school district in the U.S. The project focused on three academic school years/cohorts (1,037 beginning/novice teachers). Of the 1,037 new teachers, 128 of them signed Out-of-Field Waivers. The results indicated that signing an Out-of-Field Waiver was not associated with leaving the school district, and beginning/novice teachers hired in schools with higher Accountability Grades were more likely to be retained. Because the majority of schools in M-DCPS are Title I Funded Schools, teachers who sign Out-of-Field waivers were more likely to be placed in Title 1 Funded Schools. However, Non-Title I Funded Schools outperformed Title I Funded Schools in the retention rates of beginning/novice teachers who signed Out-of-Field Waivers (retention rates for Non-Title I Funded Schools = 75.0%; retention rates for Title I Funded Schools = 66.1%). Teachers who signed Out-of-Field Waivers were more likely to be placed in schools with Accountability Grade of D or F and less likely to be hired in schools with a grade of C than teachers who did not sign Out-of-Field Waivers. Teachers who signed Out-of-Field Waivers and were traditionally prepared were more likely to remain in the profession/school district than those who were alternatively prepared. Women who signed Out-of-Field Waivers were more likely than men to remain in school district/profession. Different from other studies, teachers’ race/ethnicity was not associated with retention. Implications for policy, practices, and research are discussed in this study.

Identifier

FIDC010686

Recommended Citation

Tyler, Heather Dawn, "Retention of Beginning/Novice Teachers Who Sign Out-of-field Waivers" (2022). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4975.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4975