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Journal Critique: Teacher Turnover
The retention of teachers in elementary and secondary schools is a serious problem facing
the United States. It has been argued that the high turnover rate of teachers is connected to poor
performance by students in academics. As the lack of teachers increases, more responsibilities
have been placed on the instructors still in the field, and this creates an unreasonable atmosphere
that encourages more teachers to leave the profession (Pendola et al., 2023). The lack of teachers
in education has only gotten worse since the Covid-19 pandemic, as changes to education that
occurred during the pandemic altered the very definition of education and made teaching much
more difficult than it had been before (Pendola et al., 2023).
The article mentions that stress, pay, and politics are often used as reasons why teachers
leave the profession. Nevertheless, it is also argued that there are underlying reasons why
teachers are leaving. Over a three-year period, the authors spoke with over 40 teachers and
surveyed 550 teachers in Alabama to discover the primary reasons why teachers were choosing
to leave academia (Pendola et al., 2023). In doing their research, the authors of the article
discovered that the top reason teachers became dissatisfied with their profession was a conflict in
values. It is argued that addressing teacher turnover does not need to focus on limitations in
resources but, instead, on motivational factors. Teachers should be able to devote their time to
teaching and supporting their students. This is the environment that will help provide the best
atmosphere for student success (Pendola et al., 2023).
Analysis
The argument placed by the authors is important in that it focused on what teachers
needed to keep them in the profession rather than what would make them leave the profession. It
is important that the teachers were asked to clarify the factors that kept them in the classroom
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instead of speaking to those who left teaching and questioning why they left. Those who left
stated problem students, lack of time for planning, and not enough resources. Helping their
pupils and feeling that they were making a difference were the key things that kept teachers in
the classroom. A very interesting point was made regarding teacher turnover, as those surveyed
answering that the teachers who appeared to particularly care about their students’ success and
development were also the ones who were the most distraught when they felt they were not able
to do their job properly (Pendola et al., 2023). This argument is supported by the survey results
in graph form and an extensive list of references.
Personal Response
On a personal basis, it is easy to understand the arguments presented in this analysis. The
first thing that every educator wants to do is help their students succeed. When one is not given
the time or resources for that to happen because of budget restraints or having multiple tasks
added to their job requirements, it is rather disheartening. As the authors argued, the concern is
that the education system is broken, and there are different parts of it that need to be fixed.
However, the human component of education, the educators, does not need to be repaired.
Education needs to be reformed where teachers have the support and resources that they need to
effectively reach the students without having to complete unnecessary tasks that are not related
to their subject-matter. “It is time we let them do their jobs” (Pendola et al., 2023, p. 55).
The above quote can be related to personal experiences that one has witnessed by
teachers in the field. An English and humanities instructor had to take early retirement because
she was working over 60 hours a week helping students and performing functions not related to
teaching her classes. This had a detrimental impact on her health and led to a medical reason for
retirement. In addition, a librarian completely left the field of academia and moved into a
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different role due to the toxic work environment that was created with the number of additional
tasks and unrealistic expectations that were placed upon her. If either of these employees had
received the support from administration that they needed, both would have continued his or her
career in academia. Thus, in agreement with the article, teaching staff simply need recognition
and support for the dedication to their profession.
