Robertson-Kraft Claire, Duckworth Angela Lee
University of Pennsylvania.
Teach Coll Rec (1970). 2014;116(3).
BACKGROUND/CONTEXT: Surprisingly little progress has been made in linking teacher effectiveness and retention to factors observable at the time of hire. The rigors of teaching, particularly in low-income school districts, suggest the importance of personal qualities that have so far been difficult to measure objectively.
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE/RESEARCH QUESTION/FOCUS OF STUDY: In this study, we examine the predictive validity of personal qualities not typically collected by school districts during the hiring process. Specifically, we use a psychological framework to explore how biographical data on grit, a disposition toward perseverance and passion for long-term goals, explains variance in novice teachers' effectiveness and retention.
In two prospective, longitudinal samples of novice teachers assigned to schools in low-income districts (N = 154 and N = 307, respectively), raters blind to outcomes followed a 7-point rubric to rate grit from information on college activities and work experience extracted from teachers' résumés. We used independent-samples t-tests and binary logistic regression models to predict teacher effectiveness and retention from these grit ratings as well as from other information (e.g., SAT scores, college GPA, interview ratings of leadership potential) available at the time of hire.
CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS: Grittier teachers outperformed their less gritty colleagues and were less likely to leave their classrooms mid-year. Notably, no other variables in our analysis predicted either effectiveness or retention. These findings contribute to a better understanding of what leads some novice teachers to outperform others and remain committed to the profession. In addition to informing policy decisions surrounding teacher recruitment and development, this investigation highlights the potential of a psychological framework to explain why some individuals are more successful than others in meeting the rigorous demands of teaching.
背景/情境：在将教师效能和留任意愿与招聘时可观察到的因素联系起来方面，令人惊讶的是进展甚微。教学工作的艰苦，尤其是在低收入学区，凸显了一些个人特质的重要性，而这些特质目前难以进行客观衡量。
目的/目标/研究问题/研究重点：在本研究中，我们考察了学区在招聘过程中通常不会收集的个人特质的预测效度。具体而言，我们运用一个心理学框架来探究关于坚毅（一种对毅力的倾向以及对长期目标的热情）的传记式数据如何解释新手教师效能和留任意愿的差异。
在分别分配到低收入学区学校的两个新手教师前瞻性纵向样本中（样本量分别为N = 154和N = 307），对结果不知情的评分者依据一份7分制评分标准，根据从教师简历中提取的大学活动和工作经历信息对坚毅进行评分。我们使用独立样本t检验和二元逻辑回归模型，从这些坚毅评分以及招聘时可得的其他信息（如SAT分数、大学平均绩点、领导潜力面试评分）来预测教师效能和留任意愿。
结论/建议：更具坚毅品质的教师比他们那些坚毅品质较差的同事表现更出色，并且在学年中途离职的可能性更小。值得注意的是，我们分析中的其他变量均无法预测效能或留任意愿。这些发现有助于更好地理解是什么导致一些新手教师比其他教师表现更出色并坚守这一职业。除了为围绕教师招聘和发展的政策决策提供信息外，这项调查还凸显了一个心理学框架在解释为何有些人在满足教学的严格要求方面比其他人更成功的潜力。
