Teacher Turnover and Teacher Shortages: An Organizational Analysis

Abstract

Contemporary educational theory holds that one of the pivotal causes of inadequate school performance is the inability of schools to adequately staff classrooms with qualified teachers. This theory also holds that these school staffing problems are primarily due to shortages of teachers, which, in turn, are primarily due to recent increases in teacher retirements and student enrollments. This analysis investigates the possibility that there are other factors-those tied to the organizational characteristics and conditions of schools-that are driving teacher turnover and, in turn, school staffing problems. The data utilized in this investigation are from the Schools and Staffing Survey and its supplement, the Teacher Followup Survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. The results of the analysis indicate that school staffing problems are not primarily due to teacher shortages, in the technical sense of an insufficient supply of qualified teachers. Rather, the data indicate that school staffing problems are primarily due to excess demand resulting from a "revolving door"-where large numbers of qualified teachers depart their jobs for reasons other than retirement. Moreover, the data show that the amount of turnover accounted for by retirement is relatively minor when compared to that associated with other factors, such as teacher job dissatisfaction and teachers pursuing other jobs. The article concludes that popular education initiatives, such as teacher recruitment programs, will not solve the staffing problems of such schools if they do not also address the organizational sources of low teacher retention. Disciplines

The role of relational resilience in teachers’ career-long commitment and effectiveness

“…This has meant that, unfortunately, children in countries needing teachers the most, tend to be taught by the least qualified personnel (UNESCO, 2006). In contrast, in the developed world, such as the USA, the UK and many European countries, shortage of teacher supply tends to be a particularly pressing problem for core subject areas such as maths, modern foreign languages and science (European Commission, 2012) and for schools serving socioeconomically deprived communities (Ingersoll, 2001;Guarino et al, 2006;Boyd et al, 2008). Grissom's (2011) study found that higher teacher turnover rates in disadvantaged schools result in part from the ineffectiveness of the principal.…”

Les enseignants canadiens à risque de décrochage : portrait général et comparaison entre les régions

“…Le rapport au métier au cours des dernières années, une abondante littérature a été consacrée au malaise enseignant (Bourdoncle & demailly, 1998 ;Maroy, 2006) et à l'abandon volontaire (ingersoll, 2001 ;Johnson, Berg, & donaldson, 2005 ;ocde, 2005). Plusieurs auteurs s'accordent sur le fait que le stress et l'épuisement professionnel des enseignants (Maslach & Jackson, 1986), la violence verbale et physique des élèves, les classes difficiles (Barrère, 2002) comme le fait remarquer hargreaves (1998,2000), au coeur de l'exercice du métier d'enseignant se trouvent les émotions qui, selon qu'elles sont positives ou négatives, augmentent ou réduisent le moral professionnel (collie, shapka, & Perry, 2011 ;lison & de Ketele, 2007).…”

“…la dimension extrinsèque correspond aux réactions de l'individu face aux caractéristiques de l'éta-blissement ou de son organisation reliées aux aspects suivants : le leadership de la direction, la qualité et la quantité des ressources matérielles disponibles, la réputation de l'établissement scolaire, le comportement et la performance scolaire des élèves, le climat de sécurité au sein de l'école et de la classe, la taille de la classe, la qualité des locaux, le volume des tâches ainsi que les activités de développement professionnel (collie et al, 2012 ;dinham & scott, 1998Fresko, 1997 ;rieg, Paquette, & chen, 2007). aussi, certains auteurs étasuniens ont évoqué l'insuffisance de soutien de la part des autorités et des collègues comme facteur principal du sentiment d'inefficacité (Betoret, 2007 ;ingersoll, 2001 ;sass et al, 2011 ;shachar, 1997). la satisfaction extrinsèque inclut en outre le salaire, la rente de retraite, les primes, les vacances, la reconnaissance publique et la valorisation sociale de la profession, ainsi que certaines conditions spéci-fiques de travail telles qu'une classe bien éclairée et aérée ou un stationnement sécuritaire (Johnson et al, 2005).…”

An examination of individual teacher engagement and school climate characteristics that influence highly effective veteran teachers to remain teaching in low-performing schools.

“…Attempts by states and districts to retain these new teachers have only achieved pockets of success as novice teachers generally leave the profession within three to five years. These teachers often leave jobs in low performing schools seeking jobs in higher-performing schools or leaving the profession altogether (Ingersoll, 2001(Ingersoll, , 2011Ingersoll & Merrill, 2013). The most vulnerable schools continue to lose teachers as the majority of teachers seek assignments in schools where students are easy to teach (Clotfelter, Ladd, Vigdor, & Aliago-Diaz, 2004;Ingersoll, 2011).…”

“…Although the rate of teacher turnover is comparable to that of police officers it is higher than the turnover rate in other highly regarded professions such as nursing, law, architecture, engineering, and academia (Ingersoll & Perda, 2012). While adequate numbers of teachers are being produced and hired, an even larger number vacate the profession every year for reasons other than retirement (Ingersoll, 2001(Ingersoll, , 2003.…”