School Influence and Classroom Control: A Comparison of Career and Technical Education, Science, and Mathematics Teachers

Abstract

Teacher retention in the STEM fields is of national interest. Several factors, such as job satisfaction, classroom control, and school influence have been linked to teachers leaving the profession. By statistically analyzing various questions from the Schools and Staffing Survey Teacher Questionnaire, this study evaluated the current state of how early career mathematics, science, and career and technical education (CTE) teachers perceive their classroom control and influence over school policy. The results show that CTE teachers perceive they have significantly more influence over school policy than mathematics teachers. CTE teachers also reported having significantly more classroom control than both mathematics and science teachers. By understanding the current state of how CTE perceive school influence and classroom control compared to their mathematics and science teacher counterparts, further research can be conducted to address job satisfaction and teacher retention in the CTE fields.