Why Do They Choose to Teach--And Why Do They Leave? A Study of Middle School and High School Mathematics Teachers.

Background Teacher shortages have existed for many years. Even in today's economy, with teacher lay-offs in abundance, shortages of mathematics and science teachers still exist. In the past 20 years, the overall number of subject-area teachers at the middle and secondary levels has increased by 50%, with the fastest rate of increase in mathematics and science teachers taking place in the 1990s (Ingersoll and Merrill, 2010). During this decade, states increased the mathematics course requirements for high school graduation, and the number of high school students taking courses in mathematics increased by 69%. In the same decade, the number of teachers with mathematics degrees increased by 74%. The new supply of mathematics teachers has more than kept pace with increased retirements and student enrollments (Ingersoll and Perda, 2009). Why then, are there still shortages of mathematics teachers in the nation's schools? Almost a quarter of entering public-school teachers leave teaching within the first 3 years (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). For schools with low academic achievement and high poverty, the attrition rates are even higher. In schools with high teacher attrition, students are likely to have less experienced teachers (National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research, 2007). High teacher turnover in schools creates instability, which hinders student achievement and the implementation of reforms. Additionally, high teacher turnover is costly. The time and effort to recruit and train new teachers has a significant effect on state and district budgets. Nationally, the costs associated with teacher turnover are estimated to be over $7 billion a year (National Commission on and America's Future, 2007). Examining the reasons individuals choose to teach mathematics and the reasons they leave the teaching profession are the focus of this article. Connecting the expectations of teaching with the reality of the job may help educators to form a bridge to improve the retention of mathematics teachers as well as the general population of teachers. What the Research Says Most of the nation's teachers are white and female, and that trend has continued over the past 30 years (Education Commission of the States, 2005). The number of minority teaching candidates has increased over the years, but has not kept pace with minority student enrollments in recent years (Guarino, Santibanez, and Daley, 2006). Studies have also shown that college graduates with the highest intellectual ability are less likely to go into teaching than other college graduates (Shakrani, 2008). Research indicates that a larger percentage of the most intellectually able women now decide to enter careers other than teaching since more career opportunities are now available to them (Education Commission of the States, 2005). The research does show, however, that teaching is still strongly enticing to women because of the opportunity it affords to take time out to raise a family. In studying the critical problem of having a sufficient number of qualified mathematics teachers to serve our student population, it is imperative to understand the characteristics of individuals who choose to enter the teaching profession. According to Manuel and Hughes (2006) Teaching and learning, at its core, is about relationships and connections--between teachers and students: accomplished teachers and new teachers, schools and communities; hopes and their realization; and aspirations and their (p. 22). Characteristics of Potential Teachers Each person who decides to become a teacher has various traits and reasons for doing so. Pre-service teachers were asked what factors influenced their decision to become a teacher (Manuel & Hughes, 2006). Responses were varied, but certain responses were among the most common. Almost 71% responded that they chose to teach for personal fulfillment reasons. …