Teachers' Retirement Phase: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 1:45 pm
  In Poster Session: Research Exploring Contextual Influences across the Lifespan: Grounded in Theories of Human Development

Abstract

This longitudinal qualitative study explores teachers' perceptions of retirement through interviews with 13 educators (aged 48-73) conducted six months before and after retirement. Using Consensual Qualitative Research methodology, we identified three central themes: liminal exploration before retirement, reconstruction of the retirement phase, and identity-based coping mechanisms. Findings challenge traditional decline narratives and the framing of retirement as disengagement, revealing instead an active process of identity negotiation and continued development. Pre-retirement perceptions strongly predicted post-retirement experiences, with those viewing retirement as a "beginning" experiencing renewal, while those seeing it as an "end" struggled with meaning loss. The study introduces "liminal exploration" as a conceptual framework and offers practical implications for retirement counseling and educational policy, recognizing retirees as valuable resources.

Authors

• Meirav Hauben, Tel Aviv University

• Rachel Cinamon Gali, Tel-Aviv University