Institutional Churn? A Longitudinal Examination of Teacher, Administrator, and Staff Turnover in a Western State

• In Event: Disruption, Burn, and Churn: Examining and Understanding Teacher Turnover

Abstract

Teachers, principals, and support personnel create the organizational conditions intended to support students in schools. However, regular occupational instability among any of these groups may disrupt learning environments. While teacher turnover is well-studied, we know less about principal and staff turnover. The present study uses an organizational perspective to examine turnover patterns for teachers, principals, and school support staff using ten years of administrative data in a Western state. Our results show relatively stable attrition and mobility over time. However, there is notable variation among these groups and across schools, and teachers have the lowest mobility. Preliminary analyses also reveal significant associations across staff groups within schools, suggesting conditions of high churn in some schools.

Authors

• Emily K. Penner, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Yujia Liu, Kansas State University
  Presenting Author

• Aaron J. Ainsworth, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author