CEHD News Stories

Faculty in the CEHD Teacher Preparation Programs are Co-directing a Collaborative Research Effort to Improve Teacher Retention

June 1, 2026

---

As the national teacher shortage continues to impact PreK-12 public schools in Virginia, faculty in the Secondary Education and Elementary Education Programs at George Mason University are leading an initiative that highlights the importance of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) and other Virginia university-based teacher preparation programs in building teacher capacity to address those shortages. Kristien Zenkov, professor of Secondary Education, and Audra Parker, professor of Elementary Education, are co-directing a 2-year collaborative research project known as the “Inquiry Initiative” which is focused on the critical issue of teacher retention in Virginia. This endeavor is sponsored by the Virginia Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (VACTE), where Zenkov and Parker represent George Mason on the organization’s Executive Board serving as president and secretary, respectively.

VACTE is an affiliate of two major national organizations—the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) and the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE). (ATE is also providing grant support to VACTE for the implementation of the Inquiry Initiative). In addition, VACTE is a member of the Virginia Public Education Coalition which is composed of 12 statewide Virginia public education organizations including the Virginia Education Association, the Virginia Parent Teacher Association, and the Virginia Association of School Superintendents. This affiliation gives VACTE a unified, cross-sector voice in advocating for and improving PreK-12 education in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

CEHD Dean Ingrid Guerra-López commented on George Mason faculty and VACTE’s efforts in advancing the Inquiry Initiative that is centered on improvements to teacher retention. She stated, “Teacher retention is not simply a workforce issue. It is deeply connected to student learning, school stability, and the long-term health of our communities. When experienced educators remain in the profession, students benefit from stronger relationships, greater instructional expertise, and more stable learning environments. Supporting teachers throughout their professional journey is one of the most important investments we can make in the future of education.”

In additional remarks, Guerra-López expressed CEHD’s commitment to strengthening teacher retention through sustained partnerships with K–12 school divisions across the region. Through the Educational Research Alliance of Northern Virginia (ERA-NOVA), George Mason and more than twenty participating school systems are collaboratively examining the conditions, challenges, and opportunities shaping the educator workforce. Together, partners are working to define and address complex problems of practice related to teacher preparation, professional growth, educator well-being, leadership, and the broader conditions that influence whether teachers thrive and remain in the profession. This work reflects a shared commitment to developing practical, evidence-informed approaches that support educators, strengthen schools, and improve outcomes for students and communities. Guerra-López noted, “Teacher retention is not something universities or school divisions can solve independently. It requires sustained partnership, shared responsibility, and a willingness to work together to better understand the realities educators face and the conditions they need to succeed over the long term. Through partnerships like ERA-NOVA, we have an opportunity to move beyond isolated efforts and build more connected, responsive, and sustainable systems of support for educators across the Commonwealth.”

The VACTE Inquiry Initiative is designed to provide a scholarly structure to address the issue of teacher retention by promoting long-term research relationships across institutions in Virginia. Participants in this endeavor include university faculty, classroom teachers, and administrators who engage in dialogue, collaborative research, pedagogical tool development, presentations, policy creation, and publications over the initiative's lifespan. “This kind of structured, cross-institutional research collaboration,” Zenkov emphasized, “is rare and valuable.”

Zenkov recently shared his thoughts on how teacher retention is just as important as teacher recruitment when it comes to building teacher capacity in schools. He explained, “When conversations about the education workforce begin, we usually focus on one question: How do we hire more teachers? That question matters. But if we focus only on recruitment, we will continue to lose ground.” His observations are borne out by estimates showing that across the country, one out of every six teachers are likely to leave their job. This can cause a significant disruption in the school and classroom environment and negatively impact student outcomes. Education experts warn that these same pressures are being experienced in Virginia classrooms.

Recognizing that strengthening the educator workforce requires attention not only to recruitment, but also to long-term support and retention, CEHD recently launched its Future Ready Teachers initiative. The initiative is designed to help reimagine educator preparation and early-career teacher support for today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape. Through partnerships with school divisions and other stakeholders, Future Ready Teachers seeks to reduce barriers into the profession, strengthen preparation for technology-enabled and data-rich learning environments, and better support educators during the critical transition from preparation into professional practice. The initiative also emphasizes stronger alignment between university preparation, school-based mentoring, and ongoing professional learning so that educators are supported through more connected and sustainable systems. Guerra-López stated, “The future of education will depend not only on our ability to recruit talented individuals into teaching, but on our ability to build systems that help educators adapt, grow, and thrive over time. Teaching is increasingly complex work taking place within a rapidly changing social and technological landscape. That reality requires stronger partnerships among universities, school divisions, policymakers, and communities to rethink how we prepare, support, and sustain the educator workforce. Future Ready Teachers reflects our commitment to helping build those conditions collaboratively and responsibly for the future.”

A common thread connecting the activities conducted under the Future Ready Teachers program and the VACTE Inquiry Initiative is the understanding that more needs to be done in schools to increase teacher retention and curb attrition. When experienced educators resign from their positions to teach at another school or leave the profession altogether, a void is left at their previous schools. The expertise, institutional knowledge, and mentorship that experienced teachers once provided are no longer available to support former colleagues who may be new to the teaching profession or who are early in their careers. Moreover, when an experienced educator leaves a school, their former students no longer enjoy the consistency, stability, and structure the teacher previously brought to the classroom. This can negatively impact student outcomes. Taken together, these factors can adversely impact the school community. Zenkov pointed out, “Teaching is a profession where experience matters. Educators grow significantly in effectiveness during their early years as they refine instruction, classroom management, and assessment strategies.”

High-quality university-based teacher preparation programs, Zenkov says, can play a key role in preparing new teachers through coursework and clinical experiences. But he cautions that the work should not stop there. Equally important is for these teacher preparation programs to support new educators once they are in the classroom—an approach that, as described above, is integrated into the CEHD Future Ready Teachers initiative. Zenkov stated, “That means establishing strong clinical partnerships with school divisions. It means supporting induction and mentoring programs. It also means ensuring that early-career teachers are not navigating one of the most complex professions in our society on their own.”

Zenkov noted that through its ongoing partnerships with Virginia school divisions, state education leaders, and professional organizations like VACTE, CEHD is well-positioned to produce and implement evidence-based practices and interventions that will build teacher capacity. He is confident this will enhance teacher retention, improve workplace conditions for educators, and optimize student outcomes: “One of the opportunities—and obligations—we have as teacher educators, education scholars, and education leaders is to dare to consider novel structures that might simultaneously serve all of those endgames. The Inquiry Initiative, Future Ready Teachers, and ERA-NOVA represent the sorts of research and practice risks we must be willing to take.”