Mobility-Related Teacher Turnover and the Unequal Distribution of Experienced Teachers in Turkey

Abstract

This study investigates the issue of mobility-related teacher turnover in Turkey through both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative findings derived from descriptive and correlational analyses of countrywide teacher-assignment and transfer data indicate that a high rate of mobility-related turnover is observed in the lessdeveloped, eastern provinces of Turkey. The qualitative findings derived from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with school principals suggest that the factors contributing to the issue of mobility-related teacher turnover experienced in eastern Turkey are largely related to the socio-economic and geographic conditions of the region. The qualitative findings further suggest that this turnover issue may have far-reaching negative consequences across school-wide performances and processes. Participants consistently reported that the issue of teacher turnover had negative impacts on student performance, teacher motivation and commitment, instructional planning, administrative processes, and school climate. The study concludes by exploring possible policy implications for alleviating the issue of mobility-related teacher turnover as experienced in the less-developed, eastern regions of Turkey.

When did today's teachers decide to work as teachers?

“…The teaching profession appeared to be a particularly sought-after profession in Algeria, Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Guangdong (China) (hereafter "B-S-J-G [China]") Ireland, Korea, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Thailand, Tunisia and Viet Nam. In many countries, recent international migration flows have led to large increases in the number of foreign-born students and of children of foreign-born parents (Donlevy, Meierkord and Rajania, 2016 [5]; OECD, 2010 [32]). However, the teaching workforce has remained relatively homogeneous in most countries.…”

“…This report uses teachers' responses to questions about their background, qualifications, and professional knowledge, as well as school-level aggregates of teachers' responses to questions about the leadership style of principals and about school resources.Source: OECD, 2017[32]; Mostafa and Pál, 2018[33].…”

Current situation and influencing factors of each turnover of kindergarten teachers – a questionnaire survey

“…Accordingly, increasing the kindergarten teachers’ stability is a key to solving the vacancies for kindergarten teachers ( Griffin et al, 2014 ). Teachers’ stability is affected by teacher development, kindergarten administrative processes, and organizational culture ( Zoglu, 2015 ). Solving the instability of teachers’ careers is crucial for children’s development and kindergarten teachers’ vacancies ( Kim and Park, 2018 ).…”

How Distributed Leadership and Teachers’ Psychological Capital Influence Turnover Intention? Understanding The Mediating Role of Trust in Principal and Work Engagement

“…In addition to the growing number of teachers in Türkiye, rapid and continuous changes in the education system, increasing and diversifying roles of teachers, and growing opportunity gaps between schools mean new heavy burdens for Turkish teachers (Gür, 2014;Özoğlu et al, 2013;Yurdakul et al, 2016). All these circumstances can be asserted to impel teachers to search for new schools where they might find an easy-to-work environment and relieve this growing burden, which causes teacher turnover to be a common phenomenon, especially in particular regions and provinces (Özoğlu, 2015;Turhan & Memduhoglu, 2022). As a result, teacher circulation at the schools, particularly in hard-to-staff regions and provinces, is one of the most critical subjects of complaint for families, school administration, and the general public (Kiziltaş, 2021;Özoğlu et al, 2013;Yapar, 2019).…”