Special education teachers of color are underrepresented in research about attrition and retention, despite evidence of their role in the academic, social, and emotional success of students of color. We used critical quantitative methods and structural equation modeling to investigate the attrition and retention variability between special education teachers (SETs) of color and White SETs. We sampled 778 SETs and found SETs of color reported higher rates of intent to remain in the profession than White SETs. SETs of color in urban schools also rated supports higher than White SETs, based on school geographical location, suggesting higher retention of SETs of color in urban schools. We offer implications for ensuring SETs of color are reflected in research, and policy and practice recommendations to move the discussion of race and teacher shortage forward in the field.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AchinsteinB.OgawaR. T. (2011). Chang(ed) agents new teachers of color in urban schools. Teachers College Press.
2.
AndersonL. M.StillmanJ. A. (2013). Student teaching’s contribution to preservice teacher development: A review of research focused on the preparation of teachers for urban and high-needs contexts. Review of Educational Research, 83(1), 3–69. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654312468619
3.
BellN. S. (2022). Critical investigation of overrepresentation in special education: Innovative research to inform policy and practice. (Publication No. 29211467) [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Delaware]. School of Education, University of Delaware.
4.
BerryA. B. (2012). The relationship of perceived support to satisfaction and commitment for special education teachers in rural areas. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 31(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F875687051203100102
5.
BettiniE.CormierC. J.RagunathanM.StarkK. (2021). Navigating the double bind: A systematic literature review of the experiences of novice teachers of color in K-12 schools. Review of Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543211060873
6.
BillingsleyB.BettiniE. (2019). Special education teacher attrition and retention: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, Advanced online publication. 89(5), 697–744. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0034654319862495
7.
BillingsleyB.McLeskeyJ.CrockettJ. B. (2017). Principal leadership: Moving toward inclusive and high-achieving schools for students with disabilities (Document No. IC-8). University of Florida.
8.
BillingsleyB. S. (1993). Teacher retention and attrition-in special and general education: A critical review of the literature. The Journal of Special Education, 27(2), 137–174. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F002246699302700202
9.
BillingsleyB. S.BettiniE. (2017). Improving special education teacher quality and effectiveness. In J. M. Kauffman, D. P. Hallahan, & P. C. Pullen (Eds), Handbook of special education (pp. 501–520). Routledge.
10.
BillingsleyB. S.BettiniE. A.WilliamsT. O. (2019). Teacher racial/ethnic diversity: Distribution of special and general educators of color across schools. Remedial and Special Education, 40(4), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932517733047
11.
BollenK. (2014). Structural equations with latent variables. John Wiley & Sons.
12.
BovedaM.WeinbergA. E. (2022). Centering racialized educators in collaborative teacher education: The development of the intersectionally conscious collaboration protocol. Teacher Education and Special Education, 45(1), 8–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/08884064211062874
13.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954). 347 U.S. 483.
14.
ChiOlivia L. (2021). A classroom observer like me: The effects of race-congruence and gender-congruence between teachers and raters on observation scores. (EdWorkingPaper: 21–470). https://doi.org/10.26300/g8bz-zs40
15.
ConleyS.YouS. (2017). Key influences on special education teachers’ intentions to leave: The effects of administrative support and teacher team efficacy in a mediational model. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45(3), 521–540. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1741143215608859
16.
ConnellyV.GrahamS. (2009). Student teaching and teacher attrition in special education. Teacher Education and Special Education, 32(3), 257–269. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0888406409339472
17.
CormierC. J.BovedaM.AladejebiF.GathoniA. (2021). Black teachers’ affirmations on the social–emotional and mental health needs of learners: A transnational examination. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 57(1), 30–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/00228958.2021.1851584
18.
CormierC. J.ScottL. A. (2021). Castaways on Gilligan’s Island: Minoritized special education teachers of color advocating for equity. Teaching Exceptional Children, 53(3), 234–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059920974701
FergusE. (2016). Social reproduction ideologies. In DisCrit: Disability studies and critical race theory in education, (pp. 117–130). Teacher College Press
21.
GershensonS.HansenM.LindsayC. A. (2021). Teacher diversity and student success: Why racial representation matters in the classroom. Harvard Education Press.
22.
GershensonS.HoltS. B.PapageorgeN. W. (2016). Who believes in me? The effect of student–teacher demographic match on teacher expectations. Economics of Education Review, 52, 209–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.03.002
23.
GillbornD.WarmingtonP.DemackS. (2018). Quantcrit: Education, policy, ‘big data’ and principles for a critical race theory of statistics. Race Ethnicity and Education, 21(2), 158–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2017.1377417
24.
GroomsA. A.MahatmyaD.JohnsonE. T. (2021). The retention of educators of color amidst institutionalized racism. Educational Policy, 35(2), 180–212. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904820986765
25.
HagamanJ. L.CaseyK. J. (2018). Teacher attrition in special education: Perspectives from the field. Teacher Education and Special Education, 41(4), 277–291. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0888406417725797
26.
HairJ. F.HultG. T. M.RingleC. M.SarstedtM.DanksN. P.RayS. (2021). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (pls-sem) using r. Springer.
27.
HuL.BentlerP. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
28.
HuberL.VélezV.SolórzanoD. (2018). More than ‘papelitos:’ A quantcrit counterstory to critique latina/o degree value and occupational prestige. Race Ethnicity and Education, 21(2), 208–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2017.1377416
29.
IannelliL.GigliettoF.RossiL.ZurovacE. (2020). Facebook digital traces for survey research: Assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of a Facebook ad–based procedure for recruiting online survey respondents in niche and difficult-to-reach populations. Social Science Computer Review, 38(4), 462–476. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439318816638
30.
JohnsonS. M.BirkelandS. E. (2003). Pursuing a “sense of success”: New teachers explain their career decisions. American Educational Research Journal, 40(1), 581–617. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F00028312040003581
31.
JonesN. D.YoungsP.FrankK. A. (2013). The role of school-based colleagues in shaping the commitment of novice special and general education teachers. Exceptional Children, 79(3), 365–383. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440291307900303
32.
KennyD.McCoachD. B. (2003). Effect of the number of variables on measures of fit in structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling, 10(3), 333–351. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM1003_1
33.
KimG. M.CoocN. (2020). Teaching for social justice: A research synthesis on Asian American and Pacific Islander teachers in US schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 94(8), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103104
34.
KohliR. (2019). Lessons for teacher education: The role of critical professional development in teacher of color retention. Journal of Teacher Education, 70(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487118767645
LaiK.GreenS. (2016). The problem with having two watches: Assessment of fit when RMSEA and CFI disagree. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 51(2–3), 220–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2015.1134306
37.
LindsayC. A.HartC. M. (2017). Exposure to same-race teachers and student disciplinary outcomes for Black students in North Carolina. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 39(3), 485–510. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373717693109
38.
LiouD. D.RojasL. (2016). Teaching for empowerment and excellence: The transformative potential of teacher expectations in an urban Latina/o classroom. The Urban Review, 48(3), 380–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-016-0359-8
39.
López-EstradaV.KoyamaM. (2010). Retaining Mexican American special education teachers in Texas. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 9(1), 82–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192709357032
40.
McDonaldR.HoM. (2002). Principles and practice in reporting structural equation analyses. Psychological Methods, 7(1), 64–82. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.64
41.
Milner IVH. R. (2008). Critical race theory and interest convergence as analytic tools in teacher education policies and practices. Journal of Teacher Education, 59(4), 332–346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487108321884
MorganS. (2013). Handbook of causal analysis for social research (Handbooks of sociology and social research). Springer.
44.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Characteristics of public school teachers. U.S. Department of Education, Digest of Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/clr.
45.
NguyenT. D.BettiniE.ReddingC.GilmourA. F. (2022). Comparing turnover intentions and actual turnover in the public sector workforce: Evidence from public school teachers. EdWorkingPaper, 22-537. Annenberg Institute at Brown University. https://doi.org/10.26300/3aq0-pv52.
46.
RaykovT. (2011). Evaluation of convergent and discriminant validity with multitrait–multimethod correlations. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 64(1), 38–52. https://doi.org/10.1348/000711009X478616
47.
ReddingC. (2019). A teacher like me: A review of the effect of student–teacher racial/ethnic matching on teacher perceptions of students and student academic and behavioral outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 89(4), 499–535. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319853545
48.
ReynoldsR.MayweatherD. (2017). Recounting racism, resistance, and repression: Examining the experiences and# hashtag activism of college students with critical race theory and counternarratives. The Journal of Negro Education, 86(3), 283–304. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.86.3.0283
49.
SablanJ. (2019). Can you really measure that? Combining critical race theory and quantitative methods. American Educational Research Journal, 56(1), 178–203. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831218798325
50.
ScottL. A. (2018). Recruiting and retaining Black students for special education teacher preparation inclusion programs. Inclusion, 6(2), 143–157. https://doi.org/10.1352/2326-6988-6.2.143
51.
ScottL. A.BrownA.WallaceW.PowellC.CormierC. (2021). If we’re not doing it, then who? A qualitative study of Black special educators’ persistence. Exceptionality, 29(3), 182–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2020.1850453
52.
ScottL. A.PowellC.OyefugaO. E.CormierC.PadhyeI. (2021). Complementary review of the literature on special education teachers of color attrition and retention: What we know and how do we move forward. Multiple Voices: Disability, Race, and Language Intersections in Special Education, 21(1), 3–39. https://doi.org/10.5555/2158-396X-21.1.3
SutcherL.Darling-HammondL.Carver-ThomasD. (2019). Understanding teacher shortages: An analysis of teacher supply and demand in the United States. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 27(35), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.27.3696.
56.
Tate IVW. F. (1997). Chapter 4: Critical race theory and education: History, theory, and implications. Review of Research in Education, 22(1), 195–247. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X022001195
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
