ERIC Number: EJ1467590
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jun
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1245
EISSN: EISSN-1552-3535
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Teacher Retention in High-Poverty Urban Schools: The Role of Empowerment, Leadership, and Collaboration
Erin Mooney Martin1; Christopher Benedetti2
Education and Urban Society, v57 n5 p423-443 2025
Teacher attrition remains a significant challenge in high-poverty urban schools, contributing to educational inequities and disrupting student learning. This study explores how teacher empowerment, encompassing systemic flexibility, supportive leadership, autonomy, and peer collaboration, influences teacher retention in these settings. Utilizing a qualitative case study design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers from two high-poverty urban schools to examine their experiences with empowerment and its role in their decision to remain in their positions. Findings suggest that empowerment fosters a sense of value, agency, and professional growth, all of which enhance teacher retention. The study underscores the importance of creating empowering school cultures through flexible systems, authentic leadership, and collaborative environments. By addressing these factors, high-poverty urban schools can reduce teacher attrition, improve student outcomes, and promote educational equity. These findings offer actionable strategies for educators and policymakers to build resilient, sustainable educational systems in urban contexts.
Descriptors: Teacher Persistence, Poverty, Urban Schools, Leadership, Teacher Empowerment, Teacher Collaboration, Professional Autonomy, Faculty Development, Teacher Attitudes, Teachers
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Massachusetts
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Adjunct Faculty of Educational Leadership, University of Dayton, OH, USA; 2Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, USA