- Year 2024
- NSF Noyce Award # 2050440
- First Name Dayna
- Last Name Defeo
- Registration Faculty/Administrator/Other
- Role Principal Investigator (PI)
Approach
In the Sufficient Compensation for Retention and Equity (SCORE) project, researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Fairbanks are collaborating to understand how high-need schools succeed in retaining STEM teachers. SCORE applies Bandura’s theory of reciprocal determinism to a mixed-methods research design exploring two overarching research questions: (1) what influences STEM teacher retention in high-need schools, and (2) how does compensation encourage STEM teachers to stay? We have developed datasets including teacher pay scales and benefits negotiated in collective bargaining agreements; individual teacher certification, salary, and employment records over two decades; and district, school, and community characteristics for all teachers and schools in Alaska. We are developing models that use the data we have compiled to predict turnover, and will conduct case studies in schools that realize better-than-expected STEM teacher retention.
