The Issue of Teacher Attrition

I recently finished my capstone project for my educational doctorate. My research centered around teacher retention- a topic that is extremely relevant to my everyday life as a teacher in a Mississippi school. Recent data shows that at least 1 in 5 teachers left their job after the 2022-2023 school year, and a third of Mississippi schools are currently rated “F” schools. Through about 1.5 years of research, I took a closer look at teacher attrition at a Mississippi school, and the findings were fascinating.

When people consider grievances that teachers may have about their jobs, they always bring up teacher pay, but only 4 out of the 48 teachers with whom I spoke even mentioned teacher pay. The state of Mississippi has made leaps and bounds regarding teacher pay, so this is less of an issue than it has been, historically.

I founded my research on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: claiming that teachers follow the progression that Maslow outlined when it comes to self-actualization, and if teachers’ foundational needs are not met, they cannot be successful. Teachers must have physiological needs met- like having materials that are necessary for instruction. They must feel safe inside their schools and as though their mental and physical health are prioritized. They need to feel like they are important and like they belong, and they need to be recognized for the good work that they are doing to build self-esteem. Only then can they be as effective as possible.

Moving from theory to practice, I started researching by interviewing teachers. In my research, I found that support from administration was the most prevalent component said to influence teachers into wanting to remain in their positions. There are various forms that this support can assume. Teachers want non-threatening administrative observations that are geared toward recognition and support rather than observations that feel like they exist merely to check boxes or “catch” teachers sitting down (God forbid). They want there to be an open dialogue about their preferences and needs. This means that there is some sort of system in place that allows teachers to influence the operations of the school. A lack of administrative response to teacher needs is one of the leading reasons teachers cite for leaving their jobs. Effective support with discipline and difficulties with parents are elements that are also frequently mentioned in discourse about teaching. Having to appease 100+ students and their families is a daunting task, so if teachers do not feel like administrators are consistently supporting them in their decisions, it is hard to have conviction and to persevere. Fundamentally, whereas teachers should exist to serve students, administrators should exist to serve teachers.

Another important initiative said to reduce teacher retention is more hands-on training. Teacher education can trend toward ideas rather than applications, and this has been proven to lead to unprepared teachers who aren’t ready to be in front of students. Research shows that hands-on training helps teacher candidates succeed once they graduate, and it can help candidates who are not meant to be teachers to have the opportunity to pivot to other careers. Turnover rates are higher in first-year teachers than in any other year, showing that once unprepared teacher candidates get into the classroom, they quickly leave. Training can also take the form of professional development, and when professional development centers around practical, applicable strategies, teachers are more likely to benefit. Whereas teacher training encompasses all aspects of educational preparation, the main focus should be improving the day-to-day success of the classroom teacher.

While there are surely countless ways to improve teacher retention, the bottom line that I discovered throughout this process is that teachers want to be heard, consulted, and supported. They want to be respected as professionals and treated as though they are valuable. If principals and district administrators will take the time to ask themselves, “How does this affect and benefit our teachers,” all stakeholders will benefit.

Some concrete ways that administrators can do this are to 1. Create a school improvement council and 2. Implement administrative office hours. A school improvement council invites all stakeholders to meet and discuss how to improve the school. There are specific frameworks that can be used, and these councils are said to be successful in creating positive morale and a close-knit community- two elements that are tied to teacher retention. Administrative office hours are intentional hours that are set aside and directed toward allowing teachers to meet with administrators. These should be teacher-led and can help with communication and expectation issues that often exist in schools. Both of these strategies are recommendations that I thoroughly support after all of my research.

Teacher retention is a topic that should be at the forefront of everyone’s minds. If we lose our teachers, we stop making progress. The great thing is that through intentional strategizing, teachers can be retained. This is not a lost cause. I am hopeful for the future of education because one thing that I found is that teachers are eager to help their schools improve and administrators are searching for ways to keep their teachers. Nearly everyone is trying their best, and this is something that we should all remember.

If you are interested in reading my entire publication, let me know. :)