Tales out of School: Examining the Stories of Teachers Who Have Left the Classroom

• In Event: Should I Stay or Should I Go? Perspectives on Staying and Leaving the Teaching Profession

Abstract

Most public school teachers in the United States now leave the classroom before reaching retirement. This study examines the accounts of certified, experienced teachers who left teaching after making significant investments in the career in order to better understand their exit decisions. Anecdotes told by these invested leavers as they described their career are examined through a narrative lens. The analysis indicates a shift in perspective: as the teachers moved through their career, the primary sources of frustration for these former teachers switched from students to adults.

Author

• Jeremy Glazer, Rowan University