Radow College History Education and English Education Graduates Exceed National Norms for Teacher Retention
KENNESAW, Ga. | Aug 21, 2026
KENNESAW, Ga, August 21, 2026 - Low teacher retention trends are an issue for classrooms and school districts across the nation. However, Kennesaw State University students who graduate from the university’s English Education and History Education programs are defying the odds in their classrooms.
According to the Center for American Progress, roughly 44 percent of early career teachers across the United States choose to leave within their first five years in the classroom. Educator field retention data provided by the Bagwell College of Education shows that from 2015-2024, graduates of the History Education program, housed within the Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences Department of History and Philosophy, averaged a five-year retention rate of 78 percent. The most recent field retention data available for graduates of the university’s English Education program, housed within the Department of English in Radow College, shows similarly encouraging numbers. In 2022, 71.1 percent of English Education program graduates reported they were still teaching five years after their 2017 graduation.
Tom Okie, Ph.D., professor of History Education and History and chair of the Department of History and Philosophy, believes that the History Education program’s location within the department sets the student experience apart from similar programs at other USG institutions. He estimates that the program graduates approximately 30 to 40 students each year and said that cohort size lends itself to a supportive, tightly knit community of students and faculty within the university’s much larger ecosystem.
“We shouldn’t underestimate camaraderie, and that goes for faculty who genuinely enjoy working together as well as for the students,” Okie said. “I also think the yearlong clinical experience is critical, because it gives student teachers a clear picture of what it’s like to be a teacher. They are in the classroom for 20 hours a week in the fall and 40 hours a week in the spring, so they graduate very well-prepared."
The combination of camaraderie, clinical experience, and rich disciplinary training are also front and center in the college's English Education program. Michelle Devereaux, Ph.D., professor of English and English Education and director of English Education, said partnerships with three area high schools and three area middle schools allow Radow College students to construct a solid foundation for success in the classroom. A core component of that foundation is the opportunity to develop professional relationships with their future peers, which offers support during the highs and lows of a teaching career.
“Through these partnerships, our students work closely with experienced teachers in the field,” Devereaux said. “These mentors provide the guidance, support, and real-world experience our students need to become successful early career teachers.”
Radow College Dean Catherine Kaukinen, who established a scholarship for History Education students in memory of her father in 2022, takes great pride in the college’s rigorous and effective training for future History and English educators.
“Our English Education and History Education programs are incredibly important to me. My father was a 30-year high school teacher back in Canada, and he would be proud to see the commitment and dedication our graduates show to their classrooms,” Kaukinen said.
Kennesaw State University is a substantial producer of English and History teachers within the University System of Georgia. Both the English Education program and the History Education program prepare students to teach their respective subjects from the sixth-grade to the twelfth-grade level.
-Story and photo by Noelle Lashley
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