TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 10
Theme I: Historical Perspectives on Teacher Attrition .............................................. 11
Evolution of Teacher Attrition in the United States ..................................................... 12
Legislative and Policy Impacts on Teacher Retention ................................................. 13
Theoretical Foundations of Teacher Attrition ............................................................. 14
Theme II: Mental Health and Teacher Well-being ..................................................... 15
Stress and Emotional Exhaustion in the Teaching Profession .................................... 16
Building Resilience and Promoting Self-Care ............................................................. 17
Mental Health Support and Access in School Environments ...................................... 18
Theme III: Special Education Context ......................................................................... 19
Overview of Special Education and Legal Mandates .................................................. 20
Teacher Preparation and Challenges in Special Education ........................................ 21
Burnout and Retention Among Special Education Teachers ...................................... 22
Theme IV: Administrative Support and Leadership .................................................... 23
Leadership Styles and Their Influence on Teacher Retention ..................................... 24
Administrative Support and Professional Empowerment ........................................... 25
School Culture, Morale, and Shared Decision-Making ................................................ 26
Theme V: Professional Development and Training ................................................... 27
Effective Professional Development for Teacher Retention ....................................... 28
Mentorship, Coaching, and Collaborative Practices ................................................... 29
Barriers to Continuous Learning and Skill Application ............................................... 30
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 31
Evolution of Teacher Attrition in the United States
How the decline of teachers has developed in the United States The problem of teachers leaving their jobs in education has lasted for over four decades in America. The publication of A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) in the 1980s focused people’s attention on how academic levels were falling. As a result, authorities introduced changes that raised standards for teachers and did not provide any extra resources. With these extra pressures, people are already showing early signs of burnout in the education field.
According to studies, in the early 2000s, like Ingersoll’s (2001) analysis, revealed that the main reason for this issue might not just be not enough trained teachers. On the other hand, it demonstrated that more teachers were quitting their jobs frequently because of the type of work, instead of the reason being their abilities or personnel training. The ‘revolving door’ issue revealed by Ingersoll is that it is difficult for teachers to remain in the profession for a long time. Loss of new educators is still quite common in the field. Between 40% and 50% of new teachers leave their job after being teachers for five years (Borman & Dowling, 2008). It becomes even more difficult in schools located in underprivileged neighborhoods, cities, and rural areas because these places have more limitations and face tougher difficulties in the school system (Pollard, 2024; Papay, Bacher-Hicks, Page, & Marinel
l, 2017).
Special education and STEM fields have experienced constant shortages of staff because the workload is very high and there isn’t enough help and lack of support (Thomas, 2024; Wheaton, 2022). Because of the pandemic, the teacher support rate had become even worse. Having to make quick adjustments to switching to remote work quickly, worries about health, and more duties, more educators decided to retire or quit their jobs because working became stressful and overwhelming. Many teachers pointed out that mental health issues, being overworked, and feeling as if they had no support from administration led them to choose to leave their profession (Doan, Steiner, Pandey, & Woo, 2023; Agyapong, Obuobi-Donkor, Burback, & Wei, 2023). Besides, not having enough teachers and higher needs from students in the pandemic made teachers’ jobs too overwhelming. They make it clear that having people drop out happens over the years due to structural issues in the education system. Measures taken by governments to change laws and policies have an impact on teacher retention.
Legislative and Policy Impacts on Teacher Retention
The development of teachers’ careers has greatly depended on federal and state policies. In 2001, the approval of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) marked a big change toward focusing on accountability and assessment in education. Even though the policy tried to solve achievement gaps, it negatively affected teachers’ feelings and made it harder for them to remain. Using student test results as a main judge of teachers’ performance reduced the number of topics studied and made teaching less creative (Darling-Hammond, 2007). The difficulties of meeting the requirements hit educators in poor schools especially hard since resources and economic differences made it harder to follow certain expectations.
The 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was in action to increase the states’ ability to design accountability systems. Still, much of the past pressures like using data for evaluation and judging teachers by their performance were still present (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). In Mississippi rural areas, different approaches, such as launching alternative certification schemes and increasing better pay, have been put in place to solve the problem of too few teachers, but it appears these methods only offer a short-term fix without really improving the issue (Pollard, 2024; Kalu, 2020). In addition, special education teachers deal with extra guidelines set by policies. Because of the requirements set by IDEA, special educators now have to handle more work, different learning objectives, and more detailed procedures.
Working with individual education plans, following the law, and managing teams from various fields is a big source of stress and burnout for special educators (Bettini, Gilmour, & Jacobson, 2024b). Even though having legal procedures in place is necessary for students’ rights, their complicated nature has made it difficult for teachers in special education. In recent years, new initiatives have appeared, like teacher residency, loan forgiveness, and support from mentors. On the other hand, some strategies mainly center on bringing people instead of helping them have lasting careers. No matter how much teachers work on other issues, the results have been few because there is no change in the culture and climate at school, management from administrators, or control over their workload (Sutcher, Darling-Hammond, & Carver-Thomas, 2019; Vandegriffe et al., 2024). Successful policy design should take care of the entrance and continued involvement of teachers’ so it can lower attrition rates
.
Theoretical Foundations of Teacher Attrition
The main ideas behind teacher turnover Using theoretical models explains the many reasons teachers are unsatisfied and decide to quit their jobs. Herzberg’s strategy was most applicable to the teaching field when introduced in 1959. It points out that pay, the environment, and work guidelines are known as hygiene factors, whereas autonomy, recognition from management, and job growth are called motivators. If poor hygiene exists, people become less likely to feel satisfied with their job, although more care for hygiene isn’t enough to motivate or engage employees. Limited help from administrators, small pay, and hard testing standards are important reasons why teachers leave (Thomas, 2024; Perie & Baker, 1997). Maslach and Leiter add to Herzberg’s research by stating that burnout happens when people feel tired, are emotionally detached, and notice a decrease in their own success. Frequently, those workers who spend time in high-pressure environments, such as special education or classrooms with a lot of needs, experience burnout symptoms (Walker, 2021; Agyapong et al., 2023). Feeling tired emotionally, facing many work demands, and receiving little institutional backing causes people to get less effective and eventually leave. Big class sizes, the absence of behavioral supports, and pressure from important tests usually add to students’ stress (Wheaton, 2022; Clarà et al., 2022). Ingersoll found (2001) that decisions and support at the school level such as leadership style, independence, and teamwork are important in affecting a teacher’s decision to stay or go. When schools listen to teachers, organize group collaboration, and allow independence, the staff tend to stay for longer periods. In those institutions where leaders have authority over decision-making, planning is difficult, and there is little clarity, the staff tends to leave more often (Johnson & Birkeland, 2003; Papay et al., 2017). Often, policy makers overlook these dynamics when making reforms; they mostly concentrate on outcomes that can be measured.
All things considered, the theories covered valid points that one person’s dissatisfaction is not the only reason teachers leave a job. Also, teacher turnover is caused by a combination of factors, such as schools’ structures, teachers’ working environment, and the policies set in place. Herzberg’s theory points out that routine needs like pay and working environment are not the same as motivators such as advancing one’s career or getting praised. This point is made by noting that negative workplace conditions can frustrate employees, no matter how motivated they are. The theory by Maslach and Leiter focuses on emotional exhaustion, not being able to relate to others, and low confidence in the job as important results for workers dealing with adverse conditions at work. Too much pressure and very little help at work, along with little independence, often make teachers so exhausted that they choose to leave the teaching profession for good. Ingersoll’s theory backs up this understanding by pointing out that school climate and the actions of leadership are important in helping teachers remain in their jobs. The theory says that organizational elements including direction from administration, bad leadership, and a lack of teamwork cause teachers to quit, unlike schools where teachers have more responsibility, work as teams, feel heard, and feel supported. The experts say that using these approaches by themselves is not enough to achieve effective performances.
For this reason, supporting teachers well and making necessary changes at the educational level should both be a part of improving teacher retention. They should be aware that both education systems and teachers influence each other and therefore adopt rules and regulations that strengthen classroom results and increase happiness and job satisfaction. Some examples are inclusion in schools, lessening teachers’ non-teaching responsibilities, more independence, and also training and workshops for growth. Helping educators remain in the profession cannot be achieved only by boosting their wages or creating tempting but temporary incentives. One should fully grasp the problems education professionals have and make efforts to improve the educational system that addresses and responds to their demands. As stated by past studies, managing both the school’s challenges and Personal factors helps to prevent too much teacher turnover.
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