Teacher Experiences in Various Geographic, Socioeconomic, and Racially Diverse School Districts

Becoming a teacher is marketed as one of the most rewarding and demanding career paths an individual can choose. Teachers are on the front lines of student success, working tirelessly throughout the school year to positively impact their students’ lives and educational journeys. Although teachers have a shared objective to lay the foundation for student success, a teacher's experience within the profession will differ greatly based on geographic, social, and economic factors. Whether teachers work in a city or suburban location, have positive collegiate and administrative relationships, are given autonomy in their classroom, and have meaningful relationships with students will all affect their satisfaction within the profession. In addition to these factors, this study also highlights differences when working in racially matched and racially mismatched classrooms (teachers sharing or not sharing the race of the majority of the students in their classroom). The results utilize a combination of data collected from in-depth interviews with six teachers and survey data from the 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). All of the interviews were conducted with current teachers who have an array of experience both geographically and socially, encompassing those who have worked in racially matched classrooms, racially mismatched classrooms, and those who have experience in both settings. Common themes that surfaced throughout the interviews were then discussed in connection with current literature and quantitative results from the NTPS. Overall, this study highlights the individualized experiences of teachers within the profession, giving a better understanding of why teachers stay or switch the school district they are working in and what keeps them engaged in the profession.