Engaging second-stage teachers in their work

Educational researchers acknowledge that teachers make a difference in the educational outcomes of youth (Boyd, Lankford, Loeb, Rockoff, & Wyckoff, 2008; Darling-Hammond, 2000; Hanushek, 1992; Hanushek & Rivkin, 2007; Johnson, 2006; Sanders & Rivers, 1996; Sanders & Horn, 1998). However, staffing schools with qualified teachers has proven challenging for some schools, and especially urban schools (Ingersoll, 2002; Jacob, 2007; Louis, 1995). Retaining and sustaining a qualified teaching force may be improved by learning how to better engage teachers in their work. Work engagement, or the enthusiasm and investment with which an employee approaches his or her work, has been associated with many positive outcomes for teachers, schools and students (Bryk & Thum, 1989; Louis, 1995; Wehlage, 1989). Encouraging work engagement may be especially important among second-stage teachers, or those with 4-10 years of experience, given their continued high attrition (Marvel et al., 2007) and the potential benefits they bring to schools (Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2004; Johnson, Berg, & Donaldson, 2005; Kane, Rockoff, & Staiger, 2006; Murnane & Phillips, 1981; Rockoff, 2004). This study, an investigation of work engagement among 85 second-stage teachers from 14 schools in 3 urban districts, is part of a larger study of second-stage teachers conducted by members of the Project on the Next Generation of Teachers. The purpose of this study is to examine work engagement among second-stage teachers both within and across school and district contexts in an effort to learn more about what influences the work engagement of these teachers. I find that second-stage teachers' descriptions of their work engagement are varied, both within and across contexts. Due to their career stage, these teachers tended to have much more freedom to engage in their work, but they sometimes lacked the motivation to engage. Schools' professional cultures seemed to play an important role in encouraging or discouraging teachers to engage in their work. These findings help build theory that might guide future research on teacher work engagement.