Retention and Attrition in Early‐Career Foreign Language Teachers in Austria and the United Kingdom

Abstract

The issue of early‐career teacher attrition is a pressing concern across a variety of educational settings. Research in predominantly anglophone contexts has shown that rates of foreign language teachers leaving the profession are particularly high. Noting the important role that well‐being plays in fostering teacher retention, this study examines factors affecting the well‐being of early‐career foreign language teachers in the United Kingdom and Austria, and the subsequent possible consequences for their decision to leave or remain in the profession, drawing a comparison across the 2 settings. In‐depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 early‐career foreign language teachers at secondary schools in Austria (n = 6) and the United Kingdom (n = 8). Inductive data analysis revealed an interplay among intrapersonal, societal, and contextual factors in relation to well‐being, which might contribute to shaping participants’ decision to remain or leave the profession across the 2 settings. These factors include perfectionism, self‐efficacy, work–life spillover, self‐regulation, relationships within the school, and foreign language teacher status. Our findings suggest the need for systematic approaches toward improving teacher well‐being, not only for surviving in the profession but also for flourishing and thriving in the long term.

Language Teacher Resilience: Antecedents and Experiences

“…However, the ultimate outcome of a teacher implementing an innovation may be a positive transformation of their resilience system. This may result from improvements in the teacher's sense of efficacy and vocation (Sulis et al, 2022). It may also result from improvements in their sense of agency (however, that may be contingent on multiple factors related to the context and the innovation).…”

“…Teacher stress has been shown to be negatively correlated with teacher efficacy, and teacher stress and teacher efficacy correlate in domain-specific ways (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2017). General education research has shown that a teacher's sense of agency, sense of efficacy, and sense of vocation play a part in determining how resilient the teacher may be (Sulis et al, 2022). Teacher agency is most commonly conceptualized as a capacity or as "something that is achieved through engagement with very specific contextual conditions (…) [it] is not to be understood as something that people can have; it is something that people do" (Priestley et al, 2013, p. 189).…”

Indonesian Mid-Career EFL Teachers’ Depersonalization and its Impact on Their Well-Being: A Narrative Inquiry

“…Mairitsch et al(2021) and Sulis et al, (2021) reported that both individual (e.g., motivation, workload) and contextual (e.g., relationship, ELT teacher status) dynamics are important aspects that contribute to the wellbeing of pre-service EFL teachers. On the note of early-career EFL teachers, Sulis et al (Sulis et al, 2022) revealed that social relationship in the school will influence whether pre-service EFL teacher to stay in the profession. Zooming on the mid-career teachers, Shin et al (2023) found that mid-career EFL teachers tend to find well-being when they have more access to continuing professional development (CPD).…”

“…This means that EFL teachers exposed to other teachers who are emitting burnout can be affected or even developed a sense of burnout within themselves as well. According to a recent study, prolonged burnout may erode EFL teachers' motivation to teach and then lead to attrition, a practice where EFL teachers are intentionally quitting their profession (Sulis et al, 2022).…”