A mixed-methods study of the impact of a teacher education program using professional development schools on teacher persistence

The problem of beginning teacher attrition is costly to school districts and to the teaching profession in many ways. Teacher preparation programs, such as the elementary education program at Worcester State University (WSU), can potentially contribute to lessening the number of beginning teachers who leave the profession. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the various elements of a specific model of teacher preparation, the professional development schools model, employed at WSU to consider their effect on self-efficacy, teacher efficacy, and beginning teacher persistence/retention. A mixed methods design in the form of an outcome evaluation was utilized to explore and compare the perceptions of graduates of the program who have remained in the teaching profession for at least three years (persisters) and graduates of the program who have left the profession or never entered the profession (non-persisters). Survey, focus group, and interview data were analyzed to consider if graduates of the program attributed the various elements of the WSU program to increases in self-efficacy, teacher efficacy, and eventually persistence in the teaching profession. It was found that almost all the graduates of the WSU program have high levels of self-efficacy and teacher efficacy and attribute the program with increases in self-efficacy and teacher efficacy. However, these increases do not predict or guarantee persistence/retention in the teaching profession.