Perceived network bridging influences the career commitment decisions of early career teachers

Joshua W. Reid; Samuel J. Polizzi; Yicong Zhu; Siying Jiang; Brandon Ofem; Sara Salisbury; Michael Beeth; Margaret Mohr-Schroeder; Keith Sheppard; Gillian Roehrig; Gregory T. Rushton

doi:10.1186/s40594-023-00408-9

Perceived network bridging influences the career commitment decisions of early career teachers

Joshua W. Reid, Samuel J. Polizzi, Yicong Zhu, Siying Jiang, Brandon Ofem, Sara Salisbury, Michael Beeth, Margaret Mohr-Schroeder, Keith Sheppard, Gillian Roehrig, Gregory T. Rushton

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Retaining highly qualified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers is imperative for meeting demands of the twenty-first century STEM workforce. While multiple studies have revealed several factors that influence teacher retention, little work has examined how these factors interact with one another. This study explored the relationship between two critical factors that relate to teachers’ decisions to remain in the profession: teacher identity and communities of practice (CoP) networks. Results: Drawing upon scholarship on science teacher identity, CoP, and social network theory, we demonstrate a quantitative relationship between perceived network bridging roles and career commitment, which is mediated through teacher identity. Conclusions: The findings from this study have both implications for scholarship in teacher retention and science teacher identity development. Potential solutions for improving novice teachers’ self-image through providing opportunities to grow their professional networks both locally and regionally/nationally are suggested.

Original language	English
Article number	17
Journal	International Journal of STEM Education
Volume	10
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00408-9
State	Published - Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).

Funding

This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation awards DUE-1660665 (MM-S) and DUE-1660736 (GTR). The findings, conclusions, and opinions herein represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the view of personnel affiliated with NSF. The authors would also like to gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Middle Tennessee State University and our colleagues for providing valuable feedback on early drafts of this manuscript.

Funders	Funder number
National Science Foundation (NSF)	DUE-1660665, DUE-1660736
Middle Tennessee State University

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Education

Access to Document

10.1186/s40594-023-00408-9

Cite this

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title = "Perceived network bridging influences the career commitment decisions of early career teachers",

abstract = "Background: Retaining highly qualified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers is imperative for meeting demands of the twenty-first century STEM workforce. While multiple studies have revealed several factors that influence teacher retention, little work has examined how these factors interact with one another. This study explored the relationship between two critical factors that relate to teachers{\textquoteright} decisions to remain in the profession: teacher identity and communities of practice (CoP) networks. Results: Drawing upon scholarship on science teacher identity, CoP, and social network theory, we demonstrate a quantitative relationship between perceived network bridging roles and career commitment, which is mediated through teacher identity. Conclusions: The findings from this study have both implications for scholarship in teacher retention and science teacher identity development. Potential solutions for improving novice teachers{\textquoteright} self-image through providing opportunities to grow their professional networks both locally and regionally/nationally are suggested.",

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AU - Polizzi, Samuel J.

AU - Zhu, Yicong

AU - Jiang, Siying

AU - Ofem, Brandon

AU - Salisbury, Sara

AU - Beeth, Michael

AU - Mohr-Schroeder, Margaret

AU - Sheppard, Keith

AU - Roehrig, Gillian

AU - Rushton, Gregory T.

PY - 2023/12

Y1 - 2023/12

N2 - Background: Retaining highly qualified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers is imperative for meeting demands of the twenty-first century STEM workforce. While multiple studies have revealed several factors that influence teacher retention, little work has examined how these factors interact with one another. This study explored the relationship between two critical factors that relate to teachers’ decisions to remain in the profession: teacher identity and communities of practice (CoP) networks. Results: Drawing upon scholarship on science teacher identity, CoP, and social network theory, we demonstrate a quantitative relationship between perceived network bridging roles and career commitment, which is mediated through teacher identity. Conclusions: The findings from this study have both implications for scholarship in teacher retention and science teacher identity development. Potential solutions for improving novice teachers’ self-image through providing opportunities to grow their professional networks both locally and regionally/nationally are suggested.

AB - Background: Retaining highly qualified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers is imperative for meeting demands of the twenty-first century STEM workforce. While multiple studies have revealed several factors that influence teacher retention, little work has examined how these factors interact with one another. This study explored the relationship between two critical factors that relate to teachers’ decisions to remain in the profession: teacher identity and communities of practice (CoP) networks. Results: Drawing upon scholarship on science teacher identity, CoP, and social network theory, we demonstrate a quantitative relationship between perceived network bridging roles and career commitment, which is mediated through teacher identity. Conclusions: The findings from this study have both implications for scholarship in teacher retention and science teacher identity development. Potential solutions for improving novice teachers’ self-image through providing opportunities to grow their professional networks both locally and regionally/nationally are suggested.

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Perceived network bridging influences the career commitment decisions of early career teachers

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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