E-Mentoring and Teacher Retention in the Mississippi Delta
| dc.contributor.advisor | Anderson, Annette | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Mayes, Eric | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Ronau, Robert | |
| dc.creator | Blackburn, Sarah-SoonLing | |
| dc.creator.orcid | 0000-0002-4540-8806 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-06-21T20:05:10Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-06-21T20:05:10Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2020-05 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-02-04 | |
| dc.date.submitted | May 2020 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2020-06-21T20:05:10Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | The majority of Teach For America (TFA) teachers in the rural Mississippi Delta leave the region at the conclusion of their two-year teaching commitment with the TFA program. Though retaining teachers beyond two years is not an explicit goal of TFA, schools and districts in Mississippi often turn to TFA as a solution for filling teacher vacancies in Delta classrooms. The mismatch between TFA goals and district hiring of TFA teachers to fill vacancies means that the program is not currently a long-term solution for the region’s teacher shortage. A needs assessment found that TFA teacher attrition in the Delta is driven by a variety of factors, including working conditions, administrative and collegial relationships, and feelings of isolation. In the broader research literature, mentoring has been shown to positively influence teacher retention. Additionally, teachers with strong informal relationships in and out of school are more likely to feel satisfied in their work and remain in the profession. The rural geography and cultural context of the Mississippi Delta contribute to teachers’ challenges with building formal and informal relationships, as appropriate mentors and support networks are not always in near proximity. This dissertation explores the use of technology to overcome such challenges. A virtual intervention that connected ten TFA teachers with an e-mentor was conducted to examine whether e-mentoring holds promise for promoting higher rates of retention in rural communities. Through a qualitative analysis of participant survey responses prior to and after the conclusion of e-mentoring, key findings included that teachers valued and were able to develop meaningful relationships within a virtual mentoring context and that e-mentoring could encourage teachers wavering about staying in the region to remain for another year of teaching in the Delta. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://jhir.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/62489 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Johns Hopkins University | |
| dc.publisher.country | USA | |
| dc.subject | teacher attrition, teacher retention, rural education, Mississippi Delta, Teach For America (TFA), mentoring, e-mentoring | |
| dc.title | E-Mentoring and Teacher Retention in the Mississippi Delta | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | text | |
| thesis.degree.department | not listed | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | not listed | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Johns Hopkins University | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | School of Education | |
| thesis.degree.level | Doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Ed.D. |