There Has to be a Better Way

Lessons from Former Urban Teachers

Lynnette Mawhinney, Carol R. Rinke

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780813595276
• eBook ISBN: 9780813595290
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Teacher attrition has long been a significant challenge within the field of education. It is a commonly-cited statistic that almost fifty percent of beginning teachers leave the field within their first five years, to the detriment of schools, students, and their own career development. There Has to be a Better Way offers an essential voice in understanding the dynamics of teacher attrition from the perspective of the teachers themselves. Drawing upon in-depth qualitative research with former teachers from urban schools in multiple regions of the United States, Lynnette Mawhinney and Carol R. Rinke identify several themes that uncover the rarely-spoken reasons why teachers so often willingly leave the classroom. The authors go further to provide concrete recommendations for how school administrators can better support their practicing teachers, as well as how teacher educators might enhance preparation for the next generation of educators. Complete with suggested readings and discussion questions, this book serves as an indispensable resource in understanding and building an effective and productive educational workforce for our nation's students.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword by Christopher Day
• Introduction: Walking in through the Out Door: Professional Trajectories of Urban Teachers
• Part I. The Dynamics of Teacher Attrition
• Part II. Structural Factors in Teacher Attrition
• Part III. The Personal and the Professional in Teacher Attrition
• Part IV. Addressing Teacher Attrition
• Acknowledgments
• References
• Index
• About the Authors