Predicting Teacher Survival

Abstract

Despite the theoretical desirability of identifying potentially weak teachers prior to their admission to training, research has so far failed to provide valid and reliable predictors which would justify selective admissions practices. This study suggests that survival in the profession may be a useful surrogate for teaching success, and attempts to find predictors of survival. Seventy-eight graduates of a teacher education program were contacted three and one-half years after graduation. It was observed that those subjects who had withdrawn through apparent unsuitability for the profession were distinguished by relatively low scores on preadmission interviews. The conclusion is drawn that, in a period of teacher surplus, the preadmission interview may help guide decisions regarding admission to teacher training.