Fix it and They Might Stay: School Facility Quality and Teacher Retention in Washington, D.C.

By Jack Buckley, Mark Schneider, Yi Shang. Teachers College Record, 2005

195 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The attrition of both new and experienced teachers is a challenge for schools and school administrators throughout the United States, particularly in large urban districts. Because of the importance of this issue, there is a large empirical literature that investigates why teachers quit and how they might be induced to stay. Here we build upon this literature by suggesting another important factor in the teacher decision to stay or leave: the quality of school facilities. We investigate the importance of facility quality using data from a survey of K–12 public school teachers in Washington, D.C. We find in our sample that facility quality is an important predictor of the decision of teachers to leave their current position, even after controlling for other contributing factors.

Subfields: Education

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/270e59f28f0ac9b53865bff40c718e89dfd3ce1f

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Citations in the corpus

The evaluation of physical learning environments: a critical review of the literature (2014, unknown): “…of both educators and design professionals are becoming aware of the important role that physical space plays in educational settings (Beare 2000; Buckley et al. 2005; Clarke 2001; Cleveland 2011; Edwards and Clarke 2002; Fisher 2004; Hartnell-Young 2006; Heppell et al. 2004; Higgins et al.…”
Careers in Motion: A Longitudinal Retention Study of Role Changing among Early-Career Urban Educators (2008, background): “Attrition is also sometimes associated with poor facility quality ( Buckley, Schneider, & Shang, 2005 ) and ineffective school management or poor social support for teachers in their schools (Stockard & Lehman, 2004).”
An Application of “Broken‐Windows” and Related Theories to the Study of Disorder, Fear, and Collective Efficacy in Schools (2008, background): “When a school environment is characterized by social disorder and physical risk, basic educational goals and processes are jeopardized and likely become secondary concerns of students and educators (Buckley et al. 2005; Henry 2000).”
Teachers' exit decisions: An investigation into the reasons why newly qualified teachers fail to enter the teaching profession or why those who do enter do not continue teaching (2014, background): “Sources of discontent range from simple facilities and conditions, such as air quality in classrooms, heat, lighting, school size (Buckley et al., 2005), to relations with students and/or parents (Macdonald, 1999; Tye & O'Brien, 2002) and support by colleagues and management (Billingsley, 1993;…”
Good Teaching in Difficult Times: Demoralization in the Pursuit of Good Work (2011, background): “Buckley, Schneider, and Shang (2005) suggest that “NCLB itself may be working against improvement of the nation’s stock of quality teachers” due to the narrowing of curriculum, prescripted pedagogy, and the shame of working in schools labeled “in need of improvement” or “failing” (1110–11).”
A Longitudinal Investigation of the Relationship between Teacher Preparation and Teacher Retention. (2016, background): “Buckley, Schneider, and Shang (2005) found that facility quality in Washington, D.C., was an important predictor of teachers’ decisions to leave their positions, even when controlling for other variables.”
The Value of School Facility Investments: Evidence from a Dynamic Regression Discontinuity Design (2010, background): “Improved conditions may also benefit teachers— reducing absenteeism, improving morale, and potentially reducing turnover (Buckley, Schneider, and Shang, 2005)—all of which may in turn impact student achievement (e.g. Clotfelter, Vigdor, and Ladd 2007).”
Why teachers leave: Factors that influence retention and resignation (2007, unknown): “Reasons include a lack of administrative support (Ingersoll, 2000; Liu & Meyer, 2005; Macdonald, 1995; Madsen & Hancock, 2002; Tye & O’Brien, 2002), insufficient mentoring (Kelley, 2004), poor facilities ( Buckley, Schneider, & Shang, 2005 ), and low pay (Ingersoll, 2000; Liu & Meyer, 2005; Macdonal”
Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Working Conditions (2011, methodology): “Using survey data, for example, Buckley, Schneider, and Shang (2005) found a positive, but relatively small, relationship between teachers’ plans to leave the school and their rating (A to F) of the school’s facilities.”