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Minority teacher recruitment and retention in the Omaha Public School District
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine minority teachers' perceptions of the teacher recruitment and retention process in the Omaha Public Schools. Teacher recruitment is the process of securing teachers to teach in a school district. Teacher retention is the process of retaining teachers in the school district. This study was conducted in the Omaha School District. The qualitative research approach was used to gain insight into how minority teachers viewed their recruitment experience with the Omaha Public Schools. Data were collected through telephone recorded structured interviews of fifteen minority teachers who have participated in the recruitment process with the Omaha Public Schools. The minority groups included in the study were African American, Chinese, and Hispanic. However, the diversity of the participants was reflected not only through their race and cultural backgrounds but also geographically from the south, east, and Midwest regions. The data were organized around three major themes: recruitment, retention and non-retention of minority teachers in the Omaha Public Schools. Within each of these themes are specific characteristics which influenced participants' decisions regarding the fate of their careers in the Omaha Public Schools. The minority teachers in this study had many options of where to begin their teaching career. The data indicated that the recruitment process was a major factor where teachers chose to accept teaching positions. Several factors within the teacher recruitment process impacted candidates' decisions to accept a teaching position with one school district rather than another. Participants in this study made the decision to begin their teaching careers in the Omaha Public School District based on four factors: (a) the recruiter with whom they had their initial contact, (b) the follow-up that took place, (c) the information that was provided for them, and (d) the school district's reputation. The data reveal that the retention of teachers hired to teach in the Omaha Public Schools has been a result of the importance that teachers place on: (a) teaching in a good school district, (b) the support that they receive, and (c) the degree to which they like the city of Omaha. Five of the participants in the study who were hired but chose not to continue teaching in Omaha, made their decisions as a result of salary and the distance from Omaha to their home town.
Subject Area
School administration
Recommended Citation
Hodges, Sandra Jean Pinkard, "Minority teacher recruitment and retention in the Omaha Public School District" (1997). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9819699.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9819699