Teacher Retention: A Phenomenological Investigation Into the Lived Experiences of Three Elementary Teacher Stayers

• In Event: Issues in Teacher Retention

Abstract

Exploring the lived experiences of teacher stayers holds significant potential in decreasing the 14% annual teacher turnover rate (Liu, 2007). Using Bronfenbrenner’s (1976) ecological model as a theoretical framework, and Moustakas’s (1994) method of phenomenological data analysis, three experienced teachers each participated in four in-depth interviews over four months to understand why teachers stay rather than leave the profession. The findings revealed teacher retention for each narrator involved a unique constellation of personal factors focused within Bronfenbrenner’s micro- and meso-systems that overshadowed the perceived frustrations and pressures exerted on her by the exosystem. The findings indicated that these three teachers stayed, despite district, state, and federal policies, because of personal factors situated within their classrooms and schools.

Author

• Corey Ranshaw Sell, George Mason University