Evidence From a Systematic Review of Research Reviews on Teacher Retention

• In Event: Supporting, Sustaining, and Retaining Teachers in the Profession

Abstract

Teacher retention remains a pressing challenge for many education systems worldwide despite much policy and research effort to resolve this ‘problem’. This paper provides a systematic review of research reviews about why teachers stay in teaching and establish a nuanced conceptual account of how school systems improve teacher retention. Using systematic review methodology, we identified and analysed 17 review papers (2013-2023) that synthesised empirical studies over the last 40 years. Analysis reveals a knowledge base that is broad in focus but shallow in depth. The paper concludes with a conceptual framework for future research on teacher retention highlighting how the diverse range of factors connect to influence teachers’ retention decisions individually and in combination.

Authors

• Qing Gu, University College London

• Sofia Eleftheriadou, University College London - IOE

• Kenneth A. Leithwood, University of Toronto - OISE