Factors Related to Teacher Retention in Arctic Alaska, an Integral Part of the Circumpolar North

这是一个为期三年的研究项目，旨在对北极阿拉斯加乡村学校的教师留任进行深入的定量和定性研究。阿拉斯加乡村学校有90%以上的阿拉斯加原住民学生，主要分布在阿拉斯加原住民社区。这些学校系统的关键问题之一是如何留住教师，不仅是在阿拉斯加，在整个北极圈地区也是如此。到目前为止，教师留任研究主要集中在对有多少教师留在农村社区学校和留任多久的统计分析。尽管已经有关于教师留任和学生成绩影响的研究，研究结果表明学生的表现与教师留任直接相关，但还没有进行实质性的科学研究来解释为什么阿拉斯加原住民社区的留校率如此之低。这项研究采用解释性设计，通过观察与教师留任相关的多个定性和定量指标，比较它们，并使用定性证据来阐明定量模式，从而对研究结果进行三角划分。将使用电子和访谈调查方法对该地区的教师进行调查。尝试联系过去两年内离开学区的教师，将进行半结构化电话面试。阿拉斯加原住民研究人员将对教师、学校董事会成员、长老和部落议会成员进行有目的地挑选、加权和分层的样本，进行焦点小组实地访谈。该研究项目的目标是：1.确定影响教师留任的学校和社区融合的程度；2.确定学校工作场所的特征，包括影响教师留任的招聘做法；3.确定影响教师留任的教师准备做法；4.确定关键的未知变量，以了解北极阿拉斯加的教师留任情况。

This is a three-year research project to do indepth quantitative and qualitative research on teacher retention in rural schools in Arctic Alaska. Rural Alaskan schools are populated by over 90% Alaska Native students and are in majority Alaskan Native communities. One of the key issues in these school systems, not just in Alaska but throughout the circumpolar North, is how to retain teachers. Up until now, teacher retention studies focused on the statistical analyses of how many teachers stayed in rural community schools and for how long. And although there has been research on the effects of teacher retention and student achievement, findings showing that student performance is directly connected to teacher retention, no substantive scientific research has been done that explains why retention rates are so low in Alaskan Native communities. Using an explanatory design, the study will triangulate findings by looking at multiple qualitative and quantitative indicators related to teacher retention, comparing them and using qualitative evidence to shed light on the quantitative patterns. Teachers in the region will be surveyed using electronic and interview survey methods. Attempts to contact teachers who left the district within the past 2 years will be made for purposes of semi-structured telephone interviews. Alaskan Native researchers will conduct focus group field interviews of a purposefully selected, weighted, and stratified sample of teachers, school board members, Elders, and Tribal Council members. The goals of the research project are: 1. To identify the degree of school and community integration, which influence teacher retention; 2. To identify school workplace characteristics, including recruitment practices, which influence teacher retention; 3. To identify teacher preparation practices which influence retention; 4. To identify key unknown variables for understanding teacher retention in Arctic Alaska.