Evaluating the Perceptions of Success Inventory for Beginning Teachers and its Connection to Teacher Retention.

Abstract

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Perceptions of Success Inventory for Beginning Teachers (PSI-BT). The PSI-BT assessed areas that contribute to beginning teachers' perceptions of success as well as beginning teacher retention. Corbell, Reiman, and Nietfeld constructed the first version of the PSI-BT in 2005. In this study, I revised and evaluated the PSI-BT.

The PSI-BT was designed to assess ten factors associated with beginning teachers' perceptions of success: Mentor Support, Colleague Support, Administration Support, Classroom Management, Student Success, Instructional Resources, Assignment and Workload, Parental Contacts, Satisfaction, and Commitment. Each of the factors was assessed based on two categories: the beginning teacher's current experience and what the beginning teacher perceived to be essential for effective teaching. In addition to these 10 factors, the PSI-BT also assessed a beginning teacher's retention intentions.

Three research questions comprised this study. The first question addressed the psychometric properties of the current experience category of the PSI-BT including construct, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. An extensive literature review, expert opinions, and confirmatory factor analysis established the construct validity of the PSI-BT. Significant correlations between the factors of the PSI-BT with the factors of the Teacher's Sense of Efficacy Scale established convergent validity. Non-significant correlations between the PSI-BT with the e-mail subscale of the Teacher's Attitudes Toward Computers confirmed discriminant validity. Binary logistic regression ascertained the PSI-BT factors that predicted beginning teacher retention. Retention was measured using school system retention and attrition data gathered during the school year following the administration of the PSI-BT.

The second research question used multiple regression analyses to determine the factors that predicted beginning teacher retention intentions, Satisfaction, and Commitment. The third research question addressed the gap between the current experience and essential for effective teaching categories. The final analysis investigated how the gap for each of the factors predicted beginning teacher retention.

The culmination of this research has provided a psychometrically sound instrument that school systems can use to reliably assess beginning teachers' perceptions of success. The gathered data can then be used to make informed decisions for improving induction programs and ultimately to retain beginning teachers