The influence of school socioeconomic status on first-year teachers’ emotions 69 The influence of school socioeconomic status on first-year teachers’ emotions Alexa Darby Department of Psychology, Elon University Richard Mihans School of Education, Elon University Kirsten Gonzalez Elon University Alumni Mary Lyons Elon University Alumni Julie Goldstein Elon University Alumni Kelly Anderson Elon University Alumni Introduction Teacher preparation programs face the challenge of providing teachers with the skills they need to be effective in their jobs and overcome the challenges of the profession. Since the 1970s, researchers have argued that teaching involves not only knowledge of one’s content area, but also satisfying class- room engagement through emotional connections with students. Teachers who are satisfied are likely to continue teaching, as they have a strong com- mitment to the profession and the students they teach (Lortie, 2002; Smethem, 2007). A teacher’s first three years are highly influential, as one in five teachers leaves the profession during this time (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). New teach- ers leave the profession due to high levels of stress caused by large amounts of work, student misbehavior, negative relationships with co-workers, and pressure from high-stakes testing (Smethem, 2007). In addition, a number of new teachers leave the profession because they don’t feel they are treated as professionals (Inman & Marlow, 2004). Conversely, research has indi- cated that new teachers tend to stay in the profession when they are content with student interactions, school administrations, and opportunities for professional development (Liu, 2007; Liu & Ramsey, 2007). Retaining new teachers requires understanding the challenges they con- front in the first three years. First-year teachers (FYTs) typically identify inadequate support from administration, colleagues, and parents as key issues they face in their new profession (Fry, 2007; Veenman, 1984). FYTs tend to become fatigued from the endless hours spent working, and are distressed when relationships with colleagues, students, parents, or admin- istrators go awry (Fry, 2007; Kyriacou & Kunc, 2007). When FYTs feel a lack of support they are more likely to have trouble managing student behavior, which may negatively impact students’ performance on high- stakes testing—a common concern of beginning teachers (Killeavy, 2001; Rieg, Paquette, & Chen, 2007; Tillman, 2005).