A Descriptive Study of the Retention of Secondary Trade and Industrial Teachers in Kansas

Teacher retention is an important issue which can influence the delivery of quality education. However, only a few factors have been identified in the area of career and technical education that may influence teacher retention. The purpose of this study was to identify specific factors that may influence the retention of trade and industrial teachers in the state of Kansas. The major findings were as follows: (a) these teachers felt their educational preparation was good except in the area of student organizations, (b) trade and industrial teachers indicated a strong commitment to improving student performance, the reputation of the school, and student engagement, (c) gaining student respect was rated as an extremely important part of social integration into the school, (d) for their first year teaching experience, the respondents agreed with most items except that they were undecided about managing student behaviors effectively and confidence in curriculum development, and (e) teachers mostly agreed with the items that indicated they possessed the needed skills and abilities in their current teaching position.