Date of Award
Winter 11-29-2022
Document Type
Dissertation (799 registration)
Degree Name
Master of Science in Educational Leadership
Department
Graduate Studies
Committee Chair
Ximena Suarez-Sousa
Keywords
school climate, working conditions, administrative support, leadership practices; teacher self-efficacy, COVID-19, pandemic, teacher retention, factors, indicators
Abstract
This post-positivist confirmatory correlational study examined four contributing factors found in the literature to influence teacher retention. The four factors were working conditions and school climate; administrative support and leadership practices; teacher self-efficacy; and the COVID-19 pandemic. The researcher developed two questionnaires (i.e., Teacher Retention Questionnaire for Teachers and Teacher Retention Questionnaire for Administrators) to gather the data for the study. A total of 324 teachers (30.39% return rate) and 26 administrators (50% return rate) from an urban Midwest P-12+ public school district participated in this study and anonymity was assured. Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Efficacy Theory were used to frame this study. Findings indicated working conditions and school climate, along with administrative support and leadership practices were shown as most correlated to teacher retention. No correlation with retention was obtained when teacher self-efficacy or COVID-19 pandemic issues were explored. Recommendations for school administrators resulting from this study relate to enhancing school climate to increase job satisfaction and implementing leadership practices that value a personal connection (i.e., trust, respect) with teachers. School leaders should assist teachers with increasing parent involvement, addressing disruptive behaviors, and aiding students with low academic interest to boost the school climate. Recommendations for future research focuses on understanding self-efficacy results (i.e., not correlated to retention) and to continue exploring other factors that prevent teacher retention phenomenon.
Keywords: school climate, working conditions, administrative support, leadership practices; teacher self-efficacy, COVID-19, pandemic, teacher retention, factors, indicators
Recommended Citation
Pederson Rage, Karrie, "Reducing Teacher Turnover: Factors of Teacher Retention Success" (2022). Dissertations, Theses, and Projects. 754.
https://red.mnstate.edu/thesis/754