Overview

The Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study (BTLS) is an important new study of a cohort of beginning public school teachers initially interviewed as part of the 2007–08 Schools and Staffing Survey. The study will create an unfolding "story" by following this cohort of first-year teachers for 5 years.

Although most teacher surveys provide a momentary "snapshot" of the group they are surveying, this longitudinal survey will follow a cohort of teachers over a longer time period. To accomplish this, interviews will take place over the next several years. Over time, this information will provide an in-depth examination of the career development of teachers in this cohort as they continue with teaching or transition into a different career.

This longitudinal study will permit a better understanding of the impact that different life events have on teachers’ careers (such as getting married, moving to a new location, or starting a family). It will also provide some insight on how school and/or district characteristics and policies affect teacher satisfaction, and how teachers respond to transitions in their lives and careers (such as moving to a different school, changing the grade levels or subject taught, becoming a mentor, transitioning into a K-12 administration position, or exiting the teaching field). This survey will contribute to policymakers’ understanding of teachers and of teachers’ careers as they enter, leave, or re-enter the teaching workforce and make important career and life decisions.

The BTLS data can be used to answer numerous questions, including:

• Are beginning teachers who received formal mentoring from their school or district less likely to leave the profession or change schools in the first few years of their teaching career?
• Do mobility rates of teachers both within and outside of school districts change over time?
• Why do teachers leave the teaching profession and which factors have greater importance at various stages in teachers’ careers and lives?
• What proportion of teachers return to teaching after a break in their teaching career?
• What motivating factors bring former teachers back to the profession?

For More Information

For questions about the BTLS, telephone Freddie Cross at 1-202-502-7489 or e-mail your questions to freddie.cross@ed.gov.