This case describes the atypically high churn rate of superintendents in Ellington City School District from 2011 to 2022. The case explores the tenures and controversies of four superintendents: Norris, Larkin, Martinez, and Hall (all pseudonyms). Detailing allegations of employee mistreatment, racism, sexism, and school board secrecy, this case…

The retention of student affairs professionals remains a significant challenge for academic institutions, as these professionals play a critical role in supporting student retention and ensuring completion rates. A misalignment between employees' preferred work environments and current institutional policies and traditions hinders the transition…

The Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund is a promising initiative for increasing the wages of early childhood educators in the District of Columbia (DC) to achieve pay parity between early childhood educators and their counterparts in K-12 schools. Since October 2023, DC's Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has distributed…

Teachers face many challenges throughout their careers, including initial difficulties in obtaining the necessary credentials, securing employment, and high turnover rates. This report focuses on exploring these challenges by addressing the requirements outlined in Chapter 394 of Public Law 2021 (P.L. 2021, c.394). Heldrich Center researchers…

The Chinese government has implemented several policies to promote the development of childcare services. However, Chinese childcare services are facing a dilemma rather than flourishing. Against this background, this study intends to reveal the development process of the Chinese childcare service from prosperity to stagnation, the dilemmas that…

Turnover and employee burnout are problems the Cooperative Extension system is facing nationwide, and the Clemson system is no exception. Research within Extension has identified factors contributing to turnover and burnout; however, both remain an issue. To further investigate factors contributing to burnout, this pilot study was conducted with…

Addressing working conditions in higher education is crucial to retaining student affairs professionals. This study explores the current state of working conditions in the field and the influence working conditions have on professionals' turnover intentions. Perceptions of psychological contract fulfillment is a factor that can interact with…

Retaining an employee's knowledge becomes a significant challenge when skilled and experienced employees leave an organization. Human resources (HR) professionals/leaders at public and private universities are particularly concerned about the detrimental impact of knowledge loss in such cases. Grounded in the knowledge management cycle (KMC)…

Purpose: The purpose of this two-part study is to systematically review, analyze and critically synthesize the current state of empirical research on knowledge loss induced by organizational member turnover (KLT). Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was conducted based on 91 empirical studies on KLT. Findings: Part I of the…

The global teacher shortage is reaching critical levels, with many educators leaving the field early and schools struggling to fill vacancies. Key aspects of teacher attrition include inadequate compensation, poor working conditions, and barriers facing potential educators, along with impacts on student achievement and school operations.…

Purpose: This paper aims to answer report how mentors who onboard newcomers to a high-stress social work organization can learn about their onboarding practice by treating onboarding as a wicked problem that escapes definitive formulation and final solutions. Design/methodology/approach: The authors follow an action research approach with three…

This study explored strategies and practices that seek to increase the retention of provisional special education teachers (PSETs). Urban school divisions have challenges with hiring and/or retaining high-quality special education teachers (SETs). The cyclical practice of hiring and losing PSETs creates an equity imbalance as marginalized school…

Teacher attrition is a major challenge for public school districts across the country, especially in poor, urban and/or high needs schools. Sixty-one percent of school district superintendents identified teacher retention as a top concern. The majority of the teachers who leave are the new, well-prepared, successful teachers and the mid-career…

Principal turnover contributes to many factors and effects that school districts encounter. It is important to ensure that schools have leaders employed for a significant amount of time to bring about positive changes. Schools need stability to maintain progress, whether it is to foster a positive school environment, improve student achievement,…

Teachers, administrators, and staff in schools are leaving the profession at unprecedented rates. The principal pipeline has significantly decreased in the past years and our public school system is at a breaking point. Now more than ever, we need to focus on sustainable leadership during turbulent times and helping the organization, students,…