"We are in a perfect storm where we don't have enough teachers," said Dayna DeFeo, director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR). DeFeo and ISER director Diane Hirshberg discussed CAEPR's research on teacher turnover issues in rural Alaska with Steve Heimel, of KYUK Bethel.
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New research from ISER’s Trang Tran and Dayna DeFeo examined how relationships influence rural Alaska students’ transitions from home communities to postsecondary institutions. Their analysis identified characteristics of the transition processes that seem particular to rural students—in navigating urban places and cultural norms, seeking institutional supports, advocating for self, and forming new social relationships. In all of these experiences, rural identities and community-oriented values emerged as a guiding force for students’ goal-setting, decision-making, interactions, and adjustment.
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ISER researchers Dayna DeFeo, director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research and Diane Hirshberg, professor of education policy, were featured prominently in Education Week for a recent article on teacher turnover in Alaska.