Don’t Let Me Down: An Autoethnography of an Urban Teacher

Students in urban schools who are negatively impacted need stability and continuity the most. However, at least half of new teachers leave their profession within five years. In order for this situation to change, support is needed for new teachers and encouragement is needed for experienced teachers. The purpose of the study is to offer a first-hand description of factors that affect the profession of teaching and especially teachers who may be wondering how to stay in teaching for more than five years. Veteran teachers gain the opportunity to reflect, validate, and (probably) celebrate their own journey through this profession. This autoethnography uses my experience of a 29-year veteran teacher, who started with an alternative teaching license, to mirror what researchers have identified as key factors for sustainability and how they affected my continued commitment to teaching in urban schools. The following questions framed the study: 1. Why did I choose teaching as a career? 2. What supportive factors contributed to my decision to continue teaching in an urban school rather than leave the profession? 3. What internal and external struggles have I encountered in teaching and what strategies did I use to overcome them? 4. What beliefs and experiences led to my steadfast commitment to teaching in an urban setting? 5. How do I define success as an urban teacher? 6. What are the implications of my story for urban education? This autoethnography involves data collection and in-depth analysis of documents and artifacts that were generated during my teaching career as an urban educator. These documents and artifacts come from both internal and external sources. The study’s implications reach beyond teachers and include two sub-groups: teacher education programs and school administrators. The implication for teachers is the importance of a two-fold support system in order to thrive: first teachers need spiritual support and second they need to surround themselves with likeminded teachers. The implications for teacher education programs include making pre-service teachers aware of the realities of urban settings and provide them with resources, which could help overcome the attrition rate. Additionally, pre-service teachers need to know how to form credible relationships with their students. This study also reveals the important role that school principals play in the success of their teachers. First, principals are responsible for creating a positive school climate that promotes a professional learning community. Second, they need to establish relational trust in their building. Third, they need to nourish their staff both physically and emotionally. Finally, the implications of autoethnography for teachers and researchers are also discussed.

Early Career Teachers' Efficacy in Working with Families

Partnering effectively with families is an important skill for teachers to have to support student achievement, and one that is especially important for early career teachers in order to protect them from burnout and attrition. However, research has demonstrated that teachers do not feel prepared to work with families, and further research is needed to see what difficulties are specific to early career teachers. The following research questions were addressed in the study: 1) What current situation and prior training factors affect early career teachers’ perceptions of efficacy in working with families? 2) Which family-school partnering topics do teachers report the most experience in their prior preparation programs and in their current daily practice? 3) Is there a relationship between number of years reported teaching and overall efficacy scores? 4) What family-school partnering training do early career teachers believe would have been or would be beneficial to receive in their teacher preparation programs versus during their first five years of practice? A survey was created which included a pre-existing self-efficacy scale adapted to reflect family partnering language. This survey was disseminated to 76 first through fifth year Colorado teachers. Results indicate that age of current school placement had a significant effect on overall self-efficacy scale scores, while several other variables had an effect on subscales of the efficacy scale. Recommendations are presented for future research, teacher preparation programs, and school district mentoring.