KEEP Illinois Update: Deepening Our Understanding of the Teaching Profession and Educator Engagement
Work continues in earnest on a review of research about educator retention and engagement. This is part of a larger project to understand the field and provide districts and policymakers with guidance on how to help teachers and administrators thrive. At the March Forum, a group of educators from across the state came together to discuss a 2022 study from Matthew Kraft and Melissa Lyon entitled, “The Rise and Fall of the Teaching Profession: Prestige, Interest, Preparation, and Satisfaction over the Last Half Century.” Participants noted that the teaching profession has had cycles of high or low interest depending on a variety of forces, with today’s levels being at historic lows. Those forces create a complex problem that can’t be solved easily, but the group has started to identify some local and broader changes that could result in greater job satisfaction and elevate the profession.
Studies like this are being added to a growing database of research that will culminate in a series of reports and resources educators and leaders can use to enact policies that will result in greater retention and more positive school cultures for educators across Illinois.
If you want to learn more about KEEP Illinois, contact Tim Dohrer (tdohrer@niu.edu).
