Investigating Factors Influencing Engineering and Computer Science Teachers’ Professional Identity, Support Networks, Effectiveness, and Retention

该项目旨在满足国家招聘和留住有效的工程学和计算机科学(CS)教师的需要。由于工程学和计算机科学已成为K-12教育的优先事项，迫切需要增加对工程学和计算机科学教师的经验以及影响他们的留住和有效性的因素的了解。虽然对数学和科学教师的留任有很强的研究基础，但很少有研究考察影响工科或计算机科学教师留任和有效性的因素。本研究的目的是调查工科和计算机科学教师的职业认同和支持网络如何影响他们在高需求学校的留存和有效性。此外，本研究旨在探索学校或学区级特征与教师的职业认同、支持网络、有效性和保留率之间的关系。此外，本研究旨在了解教师教育计划对工程学和CS教师的有效性和留存的影响。最终，这项工作将有助于我们理解如何最好地支持和留住高需求的K-12学校的有效工程学和计算机科学教师。佐治亚理工学院的这个项目包括与佐治亚州教育部、佐治亚州学院和州立大学以及皮德蒙特大学的合作伙伴关系。三个项目目标指导主要调查人员的工作。首先是分析州级工程和计算机科学教师的流动性、流失率和有效性数据。第二是制定和管理一项关于职业认同、自我效能、支持网络、有效性和保留率的全国性调查。第三，也是最后一点，是进行案例研究，以加深对工程学和CS教师经验的情景理解。采用顺序解释性混合方法设计，该项目将调查与这三个研究目标一致的一系列研究问题。研究问题包括：哪些因素影响高需求学校工科和计算机科学教师的坚持性？工科和计算机科学教师的职业认同、自我效能感和留任感之间有什么关系？工科和计算机科学教师的职业认同感、自我效能感、效能感、维持性和坚持性受到哪些经验的影响？这项研究将在国家一级产生更广泛的影响。找出影响工程学和计算机科学教师的有效性和留任力的因素，特别是在高需求学校的教师中，有可能支持教师教育计划在未来培养工程学和计算机科学教师。该项目还有可能通过对教师职业认同、个人网络、支持结构、自我效能、教师有效性和教师留任之间的相互联系产生新的见解，为STEM教育文献做出贡献。这个Track 4：Noyce研究项目是由Robert Noyce教师奖学金计划(Noyce)支持的。Noyce计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人员成为有效的K-12 STEM教师，并支持经验丰富、模范的K-12教师成为高需求学区的STEM硕士教师。它还支持对高需求学区K-12 STEM教师的有效性和留住的研究。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national need for recruiting and retaining effective engineering and computer science (CS) teachers. As engineering and CS have emerged as priorities in K-12 education, there is a pressing need to increase understanding of the experiences of engineering and CS teachers and factors that influence their retention and effectiveness. Although there is a strong research base on the retention of mathematics and science teachers, little research has examined factors impacting the retention and effectiveness of engineering or CS teachers. The purpose of this research is to investigate how engineering and CS teachers’ professional identity and support networks impact their retention and effectiveness in high-need schools. Additionally, the research aims to explore how school or school district-level characteristics might be associated with teachers’ professional identity, support networks, effectiveness, and retention. Further, the research aims to understand the influence of teacher education programs on engineering and CS teachers’ effectiveness and retention. Ultimately, this work will contribute to our understanding of how best to support and retain effective engineering and CS teachers in high-need K-12 schools. This project at the Georgia Institute of Technology includes partnerships with the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia College and State University, and Piedmont University. Three project goals guide the work of the principal investigators. First is to analyze state-level engineering and CS teacher mobility, attrition, and effectiveness data. Second is to develop and administer a national survey around professional identity, self-efficacy, support networks, effectiveness, and retention. Third, and finally, is to conduct case studies to develop deep, contextualized understandings of engineering and CS teachers’ experiences. Employing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the project will investigate an array of research questions aligned with these three study goals. Research questions include: What factors influence engineering and CS teachers’ persistence in high-need schools? What are the relationships among professional identity, self-efficacy, and retention for engineering and CS teachers? And what experiences influence the professional identities, self-efficacy, effectiveness, retention, and persistence of engineering and CS teachers? The broader impacts of this research will be at the national level. Identifying factors that influence engineering and CS teachers’ effectiveness and retention, specifically among teachers in high-need schools, has the potential to support teacher education programs in preparing engineering and CS teachers in the future. The project also has the potential to contribute to STEM education literature by generating new insights about the interconnections among teacher professional identity, personal networks, support structures, self-efficacy, teacher effectiveness, and teacher retention. This Track 4: Noyce Research project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.