A comparative study of instructional efficacy between first and second-career teachers in secondary school math and science courses

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use Dr. James Stronge’s taxonomy of the qualities of effective teachers to determine whether there are significant differences in the instructional efficacy between first- and second-career teachers who teach math and science.;Methodology: A causal-comparative study examined the effects of variables that cannot be manipulated experimentally. The survey instrument was a 50-tem self-identifying questionnaire addressing the 6 research questions used to determine significance between first- and second-career teachers in their classroom efficacy.;Findings: A Mann-Whitney U-test determined there was an overall significant difference [p < 0.01] between first- and second-career teachers in their classroom efficacy, with second-career teachers being more aligned with research-based best practices for efficacy.;Conclusions: The existing construct for hiring teachers should be reconsidered, so that teachers identified as effective by research-based methods are employed from the outset. Adult maturation patterns suggest that early adults serving as instructors are less effective for at least the first 3 to 5 years of the teachers’ career. This could be resolved by amending the criteria for teacher entry into the classroom. Maturity of the teacher plays a significant role in their classroom efficacy. Existing research has provided a construct for identifying effective teachers.;Recommendations: Require teaching graduates to gain at least 5 years of practical experience in the disciplines in which they seek a license to teach before entering the classroom. Increase the age for teachers entering the profession to at least 26 before allowing them into the classroom to allow for adult maturation processes to occur. Increase the rigor for a teaching certification to the point where only high content knowledge instructors could pass. Require all potential teachers to be certified on a regular basis so that they have to keep up with the technology and the most current information of their professions. Develop an assessment to allow the instructor to display knowledge of the research-based best practices for instruction.