This study examines the relationship between teacher agency, autonomy, and teacher attrition and shortage challenges in U.S. K-12 education. Utilizing a quantitative approach, a survey was carried out to 200 teachers in Iowa, achieving a 52% response rate. Findings indicate a positive correlation between teacher empowerment and reduced attrition…

We use 35 years of data on public school teachers in Washington to calculate several different measures of teacher attrition and mobility. We explore how these rates vary over time and their relationship with the state unemployment rate. Annual rates of teacher attrition from the workforce have been between 5% and 8% for each of the past 35 years,…

Research has shown that there is a national problem involving teaching shortages and retention, specifically with novice teachers who have taught for 5 years or less. The problem is that teacher attrition is rising across the United States, which impacts the outcomes of students within affected school districts. The purpose of this basic…

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had drastic effects on K-12 teachers. Researchers partnered with a teacher advisory board to identify factors associated with K-12 teachers' consideration of leaving teaching during Fall 2020. METHODS: A web-based survey focused on teachers' working experiences was emailed to school union membership listservs…

In the US, teacher attrition is a widespread issue. Attrition rates in the United States are quite high, hovering around 8% over the last 10 years, and they are significantly higher for new teachers and teachers in high-poverty schools and districts (compared to high-achieving jurisdictions like Finland, Singapore, and Ontario, Canada, where only…

The purpose of this study was to understand recruitment and retainment challenges districts faced pre-COVID-19 and changes or additional challenges faced post-COVID-19. Through this study, human resources administrators and teaching and learning administrators were interviewed in pairs and discussed challenges their district has faced related to…

Mapleton Public Schools serves 7,100 students on the northern edge of Denver. In terms of student demographics, Mapleton is similar to many urban districts in Colorado, with 66% of students eligible for free and reduced-priced lunch and 79% of students identifying as Hispanic (Colorado Department of Education, 2023). Like many districts across the…

K-12 educational systems are currently facing the issue of special education teachers leaving their positions prematurely and the struggle to retain highly qualified special education teachers. The attrition rate of special education teachers continues to rise due to the demands placed on this group of teachers, such as behavior and discipline…

We use statewide data from Massachusetts to investigate teacher performance evaluations as a measure of teaching effectiveness. Schools tend to classify most of their teachers as proficient, but we document substantial variation across schools in the extent to which ratings differentiate teachers. Using event study and teacher fixed effects…

Non-teaching staff comprise over half of all school employees and their turnover may be consequential for school operation, culture, and student success, yet we lack evidence documenting their attrition. We use 11 years of administrative data from Oregon to examine mobility and exit among teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other…

Effective teaching contributes to student growth. Quality teaching requires experienced teachers. Yet teachers continue to leave the profession at an increasing rate. This study presents moderate to large differences in 22 reasons for attrition among five levels of teacher experience. Data from the 2011-12 School and Staffing Survey and the…

The purpose of this qualitative case study aimed to identify and describe the use of succession planning found in an educational environment, and the perceptions of administrators and teachers regarding its use. Succession planning was said to be a systematic process to identify, develop, and grow individuals for greater responsibility in the…

A recent study conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) on school violence observed an emerging trend of in-school violence committed by students on school faculty and staff (McMahon et al., 2022). As a result, educators have increasingly factored student-related violence on adult stakeholders in their decisions regarding teacher…

We contextualize the magnitude of teacher attrition during the pandemic, including from the 2020-2021 school year to the 2021-2022 school year, using longitudinal data on teachers in Washington since the 1984-1985 school year. The teacher attrition rate after the 2020-2021 school year (7.3%) increased by almost one percentage point from the…

Situated against teacher demand problems worldwide, rising teacher turnover and declining teacher education enrollment have rendered the state of South Carolina a region commonly described as facing a "teacher shortage crisis." This paper reports results from an evaluation of the Rural Recruitment Initiative (RRI), a state-level teacher…