A dissertation completed at
The Center for Education, Widener University,
One University Place, Chester, PA 19013 		 
PREDICTING THE SUCCESS OF FIRST YEAR TEACHER CANDIDATES BASED UPON INDICATORS DETERMINED PRIOR TO EMPLOYMENT; A STUDY OF ONE DISTRICT'S HIRING PRACTICES AND THE LIKELIHOOD THAT CANDIDATES SELECTED WILL BECOME CONTRACTED TEACHERS
Jeanann Kahley, Ed. D.
Spring 2001

RETURN
edited 9/23/01

 


ABSTRACT

The hiring of teachers is considered to be one of the most important aspects facing the field of education today. The education system in our country is under constant scrutiny for we know that tomorrow's future rests with the students being educated today. Much research has been done on the topic of effective teaching, however a limited amount of research exists on the best practices for hiring effective educators. Therefore, additional investigation is needed to determine what factors should be considered prior to employment in order to optimize the chances of selecting an effective educator.

The purpose of this research was to examine the hiring and contracting practices of one district in order to deterrnine the significance of each criterion used for teacher selection. The qualifications of teacher candidates were analyzed in comparison with the teacher's status of being contracted or not contracted after subsequent review by district personnel. The study sought to identify key variables that schools might consider in predicting the likely success of teacher candidates. These key variables were used to develop recommendations for all districts interested in hiring the best teachers possible for the most important job of educating students.

This study utilized quantitative research methods. An analysis of 141 teachers, hired over the last three years, by a suburban school district in Pennsylvania, served to provide the data for the research. An extensive review of candidate qualifications prior to employment provided the necessary inforniation to examine and compare with the statLIS of the teacher candidates in the contracting process. This research was a study of teachers hired over a three-year period from 1998 to 2001. Research and analysis of key variables were studied for the purpose of detennining if there was any significance VIII among the 105 teachers who were contracted and the 36 teachers who were not contracted. This research was designed to determine if there was a correlation between the factors considered prior to employment and the eventual success or failure of a candidate to obtain a contract for continued employment. Nonparametric statistics were used including, logistic regression and a two-,group discriminant analysis, to determine if factors considered prior to employment have significance in the classroom performance of candidates thereb resulting in their contract status with the district. The discriniinant y ID analysis allowed the researcher to identify the relationship between two qualitative criterion variables and seven quantitative predictor variables. The two qualitative criterion variables were: contracted teacher versus non-contracted teacher. The seven quantitative predictor variables were: Grade Point Average, Praxis Test Scores, Years of Experience, Type of College Attended, Screening Interview Scores, Building Level Interview Scores, and Gender.

The major findings of this study revealed that only one of the quantitative predictor variables showed significance. The type of college attended by the candidate played a role in whether or not the teacher became a contracted teacher. Candidates who attended State Colleges were more likely to become contracted teachers than those candidates who attended Private Colleges. Grade Point Average, Praxis Test Scores, Years of Experience, Gender, and Interview Scores showed no significance in determining the likelihood of a candidate beinc, contracted. The insignificance of these variables was sign1ficant in that much of the teacher hiring process centers around the quantitative data provided by these variables. However, in the final analysis, the variables that are more closely observed for the contracting process and which contribute to a candidate's success in the classroom include less quantitative measures. Teachers are evaluated for contracts based upon the following: Lesson Design and Delivery, Rapport with Students, Rapport with Colleagues, Rapport with Parents, Classroom Management, I and Potential for Growth. These descriptors are more difficult to measure than test scores, grade point averages and/or interview scores. The job of a teacher is both art and science. Scores do not necessarily depict the predicted success of a candidate.

TO TOP