Findings of a study that determined factors of beginning teachers' work and career choice commitment and retention are presented in this paper. The data consisted of a nationally representative sample of first-year K-12 public and private, full- and part-time teachers derived from the 1987-88 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The final subsample consisted of 561 first-year teachers. Regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between several independent variables and three dependent variables--work and career-choice commitment and planned retention. Overall, findings support the hypothesis that teachers' perceived and actual workplace conditions are strongly related to their work commitment, career-choice commitment, and planned retention. This is especially true with respect to perceived school/leadership culture and perceived teacher autonomy/discretion. To help retain beginning teachers, it is recommended that school systems provide collaborative and supportive school leadership, increase teacher participation in decision making, and provide opportunities for new teachers to participate in professional development schools. (LMI)
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Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Atlanta, GA, April 12-16, 1993).
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