Teacher Turnover in Hard-to-Staff Schools: A Review of Theory in the Literature

• In Event: 41.083 - Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: 41.083-4 - Exploring Teacher Turnover

Abstract

Teacher turnover is an area of concern due to its documented costs and harmful effects. Hard-to-staff schools with high turnover are often portrayed in the media and research as a stereotype of the inner city, full of chaos and dysfunction. This review analyzed 15 studies that focus on hard-to-staff schools to understand how research epistemologies and theoretical frameworks draw different conclusions on teacher turnover. Three theories, Labor Market, Organizational and Ecological, were identified from the review -- each theory drew different methodology, findings, and conclusions. Future research needs to focus on reflecting the complexity of teacher career decisions and parsing the effects of school working conditions from student demographics to remove the implicit negative bias placed on students.

Authors

• Ashley Anne Grant, Johns Hopkins University

• Lieny Jeon, Johns Hopkins University