TY - JOUR TI - Who teaches where? DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3PG1QNQ PY - 2012 AB - Researchers have demonstrated that schools with low-income and predominantly minority students, especially those in urban districts, have the most difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers. In this study, surveys were collected to describe 697 New Jersey teacher candidates’ perceptions, processes, experiences, and characteristics, and to assess which factors influence teacher candidates’ preferences for teaching in urban districts. A case study of the Newark Public Schools further explored the processes and challenges districts face in their new teacher recruitment and hiring effort. Findings indicate teacher candidates’ perceptions of school working conditions strongly influence where they most prefer to teach. Specifically, results indicated that teacher candidates with less preference for schools with poor, low achieving, and many racially and ethnically diverse students were not likely to prefer teaching in urban districts. These teacher candidates’ desires for resources and convenient conditions were also predictive of their preference for non-urban settings. Instead, these candidates were more likely to want to teach in school settings that were similar to them racially, socioeconomically, and similar to their own K-12 school setting. They were also more likely to be influenced by family and friends. These findings are corroborated by stakeholders in the NPS case study, where convenient and safe working conditions, along with family influence, were the most cited reasons for deterring new teacher recruitment. Conversely, teacher candidates with experiences in various urban settings are likely to prefer teaching in urban schools, particularly candidates with field experiences in urban districts. Additionally, teacher candidates between the age of 25 and 29 are also more likely to prefer teaching in an urban district. Principals in the NPS study explained how influential a teacher candidate’s experience in various urban settings is on their district’s search for an urban educator with the 3 C’s: content knowledge, commitment, and cultural understanding. These findings have implications for policies at the teacher preparation level, city level, and state level: there is a need to emphasize urban field experiences; it is critical to improve conditions in and around schools, and the data suggests a Grow-Your-Own program will benefit urban districts in addressing their staffing challenges. KW - Urban Systems KW - Teachers--Recruiting--New Jersey--Newark--Case studies KW - Teachers--Attitudes KW - Urban schools--New Jersey LA - eng ER -