ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Teacher Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1571711
Persistence Patterns Among Secondary STEM Teachers: A Comparative Study of Noyce Scholar Cohorts in Face-to-Face and Blended Learning Environments Amid the Pandemic
Provisionally accepted
- 1Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
- 2Nation Consulting, Tempe, United States
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Noyce scholars were provided funding to compete teaching certification in STEM and earn a master's degree. Then, they were required to teach for two years in a Title I school setting. All cohorts were impacted by the pandemic (e.g. university coursework, student teaching and/or teaching was converted to blended learning). This study highlights the differences in teaching persistence across the three cohorts of scholars (n = 24) regarding continuance in earning their degrees and completing their two-year teaching obligation. Descriptive case study methodology was used in this comparative study across three cohorts. The primary research question explored how different modalities of initial teaching experiences impact early persistence among secondary STEM teachers. The supplemental research question explored scholars' intention to remain in the teaching profession. Results indicated that the cohort with blended first year teaching experiences had the lowest persistence rate. Generally, scholars intend on persisting in the profession for six years or more. Recommendations for practice include the need for more traditional, face-to-face initial teaching experiences and a cohort model for new teachers. Recommendations for research include continued evaluation of Noyce projects, longitudinal studies to track STEM teachers' persistence, and a comprehensive analysis of teacher preparation programs' effectiveness in promoting teacher retention.
Keywords: Noyce scholars, teaching persistence, blended learning, STEM secondary teachers, pandemic (COVID19)
Received: 05 Feb 2025; Accepted: 01 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kurz, Ganesh, Covert and Nation. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Terri L Kurz, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
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