Public School Teacher Retention and Attrition: A Five-Year Longitudinal Study in One Southeastern State

• In Event: Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: Mentorship, Induction, and Retention of Teachers in Diverse Settings

Abstract

As teacher turnover among beginning teachers and the demands for accountability and increased student achievement persist, the need to hire and retain quality teachers becomes increasingly vital. This study aims to determine the five-year retention rate for beginning teachers in one southeastern state using data from two cohorts of teachers. Of the beginning teachers who were reported with zero experience, over three-quarters were still teaching in their fifth year for both cohorts. Teacher retention was also reported by five demographic variables. One interesting finding is that teachers who began their first teaching job at age 30 or older tended to remain in teaching at a higher rate compared to the teachers that were reported as less than 30 years.

Authors

• Comfort Y. Afolabi, University System of Georgia

• Jihye Kim, Kennesaw State University

• Judith A. Monsaas, University System of Georgia

• Robert O. Michael, University System of Georgia