Reasons to Be Cheerful: Why Teachers Stay Despite the Challenges

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Teachers' Experiences With Belonging, Remaining, and Leaving the Profession (Table 5)

Abstract

This paper reports findings of a two-year mixed methods project with primary and secondary school teachers serving a range of socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged communities across one region of England. Research internationally continues to highlight deteriorating conditions of service, and problems of the physical recruitment and retention of teachers. This research presents a counter narrative by focusing on teacher’s ‘quality’ retention by investigating i) why early, mid- and later career teachers stay, and strive to teach to their best and well despite workload, policy press, and increases in the complexity of emotional and academic demands; ii)whether reasons for retention vary between sectors, schools serving different communities, and teachers in different career phases; and iii) associations between retention and perceived effectiveness.

Authors

• Christopher W. Day, University of Nottingham

• Wanyue Chen, University of Nottingham