Much of the current conversation around the strategic management of human capital in education has focused on recruiting high-quality teacher candidates and compensating them as professionals. However, it is equally important to create the conditions necessary for teachers' success and their long-term retention. A new report from the Center for Teaching Quality synthesizes what we know and understand about this important piece in the teacher efficacy and retention puzzle, while also surfacing some of the limitations of the current literature.

While survey research, much of it conducted by CTQ, has suggested strongly that there are connections between working conditions and certain teacher and student outcomes, little is known about the causal links among a range of variables. CTQ, with support from the Ford Foundation, is embarking on a new study to more closely examine the impact of working conditions across four urban districts. Using our successful TeacherSolutions model, we will engage highly accomplished teachers from several districts to infuse their insights into a more refined understanding of the conditions that structure their daily professional lives.