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，对阿拉斯加北极地区农村学校教师留任问题进行深入的定量和定性研究。阿拉斯加农村的学校有超过90%的阿拉斯加土著学生，并且大多数是在阿拉斯加土著社区。这些学校系统的一个关键问题是如何留住教师，这不仅适用于阿拉斯加，也适用于整个北极地区。到目前为止，关于教师留任的研究主要集中在统计分析有多少教师留在农村社区学校以及留任时间。虽然已经有关于教师留任率和学生成绩影响的研究，结果表明学生的表现与教师留任率直接相关，但没有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任率如此之低。采用解释性设计，该研究将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测量。该地区的教师将采用电子和访谈调查方法进行调查。在过去两年内离开该学区的教师将尝试进行半结构化的电话访谈。阿拉斯加土著研究人员将对教师、学校董事会成员、长老和部落委员会成员进行有目的地选择、加权和分层的样本进行焦点小组实地访谈。研究项目的目标是：1。确定影响教师留任的学校与社区融合程度；2. 确定影响教师留任的学校工作场所特征，包括招聘做法；3. 找出影响记忆的教师备课方法；4. 确定了解阿拉斯加北极地区教师留任的关键未知变量。

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.