Unmet Expectations: An Investigation of Teachers' Professional Expectations, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intentions

• In Event: Teachers' Motivation and Cognition

Abstract

U.S. schools face unprecedented teacher shortages driven largely by turnover. This paper hypothesized that misalignment between teachers’ actual in-school experiences and what they expected to encounter before starting their first job—that is, their unmet expectations—plays a key role in the turnover process. Based on data from 176 U.S. K-12 teachers, we used SEM to test whether unmet expectations predicted teachers’ satisfaction and turnover intentions. We also examined three potential sources of unmet expectations: teacher training, teacher efficacy, and school goal structure. Findings indicated that greater unmet expectations predicted lower satisfaction, which subsequently predicted higher turnover intentions. Given that mastery school-level goals also predicted lower unmet expectations, this provides direction for future studies aiming to increase satisfaction and retention.

Authors

• Christine Calderon Vriesema, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

• Stefania Draghicchio, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire