Literature review

TheoreticalFramework.docx

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Theoretical Framework

The problem of teacher retention in the United States is grounded in the Self-Determination Theory. This theory was originally developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan in 1985. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) may help explain the high teacher turnover problem, as well as the difficulty of retaining qualified teachers in schools, especially in the high-needs urban and underserved areas. The researchers introduced this theory to help explain behavior and well-being across multiple domains, for example, education and health care. According to Ryan and Deci (2020), Self-Determination Theory posits that the satisfaction of innate, universal, psychological needs influences motivation and well-being. These psychological needs are autonomy (individuals’ wish to be the source of their own behaviors and decisions), competence (the wish to be successful in their own behaviors), and relatedness (the wish to be and to feel that one belongs to a network of others).

SDT has important ideas which help explain the retention of teachers. Teachers are more likely to be satisfied and to stay in the teaching profession when they feel they have autonomy in teaching and classroom decisions, and when they have a sense of competence as a result of the participation of helpful students and as a result of positive relationships with colleagues, administration, and students (Ryan & Deci, 2020). However, when these psychological needs are thwarted, such as when there is a lack of administrative support, there is a lot of bureaucracy, there are inadequate resources, and employees work in an isolated space, then teachers are more likely to experience emotional exhaustion and an increase in attrition rate (Wang et al., 2024). Tarantul and Berkovich (2025) and de Jong-Kroon et al. (2025) show that in order for the needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness to increase the retention of teachers, and to provide stability to a workforce that is both functional and effective, a positive school culture is warranted.

References

de Jong-Kroon, N., Robbers, S., Vrieling-Teunter, E., & Vermeulen, M. (2025). Predicting teacher attrition in secondary education: A comparison of models that explain teacher behaviour. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 9, 100471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2025.100471

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation from a self-determination Theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and Future Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860

Tarantul, A., & Berkovich, I. (2025). Self-determination theory and teachers’ motivations to perform emotional labor and emotion work: qualitative study of narratives about coping with students’ discipline problems. Social Psychology of Education, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-024-09997-x

Wang, X., Yang, L., Chen, K., & Zheng, Y. (2024). Understanding teacher emotional exhaustion: exploring the role of teaching motivation, perceived autonomy, and teacher–student relationships. Frontiers in Psychology, 14(14). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1342598

AnnotatedBibliography.docx

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Annotated Bibliography

Name

Institution

Course

Instructor

Date

García, E., & Han, E. S. (2022). Teachers’ Base Salary and Districts’ Academic Performance: Evidence From National Data. SAGE Open, 12(1), 215824402210821. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221082138

This research reviewed the national data related to teacher base salary and turnover. The study aimed at looking at the relationship between compensation and retention and student achievement. The theoretical framework adopted by the authors are the efficiency wage theory and education production models. Participants were national K–12 teachers and districts based on the NCES and BLS data. Data were generated from the district salary data, turnover rates, and test scores. In terms of the methods, the study adopted quantitative regression analysis. The findings from the study reveal positive link between higher wages and lower turnover and increased district performance; narrowing the pay gap leads to less turnover, particularly at high-needs schools. In terms of the limitations, the study involved cross-sectional design. The strengths of the study is based on the idea that it is methodologically good with large representative data. The relevance of the study is that it promotes compensation reform as a retention tool for underserved schools.

Ha, C., Pressley, T., & Marshall, D. T. (2025). Teacher voices matter: The role of teacher autonomy in enhancing job satisfaction and mitigating burnout. PLoS ONE, 20(1), e0317471–e0317471. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317471

This research examined teacher burn out and teacher autonomy after COVID. Research aimed at investigating the moderating effects of autonomy between administrative support, job satisfaction and burnout. The author adopted self-determination theory (autonomy, competence, relatedness). The participants included in the study were 824 U.S. K–12 teachers (2021–2022). The measures adopted included online survey (validated scales). The study involved quantitative moderated mediation analysis. The outcome of the study reveal an increased autonomy correlated with increased satisfaction and decreased burnout; administrative support predicted satisfaction; 44% intended to leave in two years or less. In terms of the evaluation, the study involve a sophisticated design and limits causality in cross sections, but the strength of the national sample is good for validity. In terms of the relevance, the study connects administrative support/autonomy to being a retention lever in urban schools.

Ingersoll, R. M., & Tran, H. (2023). Teacher shortages and turnover in rural schools in the US: An organizational analysis. Educational Administration Quarterly, 59(2), 0013161X2311599. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161x231159922

This research examined the issue of teacher shortage from an organizational perspective. The method of the study involve a regression analysis that was conducted and included a log of the number of teachers and a log of the number of students teaching each teacher to determine whether working conditions or teacher supply predicted turnover. Organizational theory of schooling is used as the theoretical framework. The participants included representative sample of the nation (SASS/TFS surveys). The authors utilized secondary analysis of teacher working conditions, intentions to turn over, and principal support. The methods used were quantitative descriptive and multivariate regression. Based on the results, the organizational factors (poor admin support, limited resources, lack of influence) were more predictive of turnover than individual factors; the rate of turnover in rural schools was 50% higher than in other schools. In terms of assessment, the intensive and nationally representative; wide-ranging assessment may not focus on rural subtypes. In terms of relevance, the organizational framework is very relevant in high poverty urban areas, as leadership and conditions are a key factor in retention.

Lochmiller, C. R., Perrone, F., & Finley, C. (2024). Understanding School Leadership’s Influence on Teacher Retention in High-Poverty Settings: An Exploratory Study in the U.S. Education Sciences, 14(5), 545–545. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14050545

This study explored the types of principal behaviors that keep teachers in high-poverty schools. The focus was to develop a qualitative understanding of particular leadership actions. This book looks into the approaches of strengthening key retention factors at the school level that include administrative support, collegial relationships, and mission alignment based on the framework developed by Simon and Johnson. The participants include teachers and administrators from one high poverty elementary school with high retention (2022-2023). The authors applied semi structured interviews and document analysis. The method used was a qualitative case study, in which deductive thematic coding was applied. The study findings reveal that principals who stayed on were reaffirming mission and acknowledging teachers, creating trust, supporting families, and managing discipline well. In terms of evaluation, the deep contextual knowledge; one site does not generalize, but does provide guidance as to action. In terms of the relevance, the study recognizes explicit leadership behaviors in the field that would help keep teachers in high-poverty schools, which would directly impact proposed research on leadership.

Martin, E. M., & Benedetti, C. (2025). Teacher Retention in High-Poverty Urban Schools: The Role of Empowerment, Leadership, and Collaboration. Education and Urban Society, 57(5). https://doi.org/10.1177/00131245251318318

This study focuses on school-level mechanisms of retention in high poverty urban schools. Theories used in the study include teacher empowerment theory and distributed leadership theory. The participants were teachers in the highest poverty schools in the large northeastern U.S. district. The measures included survey measures of empowerment, perceptions of leadership, collaboration, and intention to stay. The methods include quantitative structural equation modeling (SEM). The outcome of the study reveal that empowerment and collaboration are significant predictors of retention intentions while instructional leadership had indirect effects via empowerment, and trusted teachers were more likely to remain. The assessment of the article shows that a combination of rigorous SEM methods; limits generalizability of single district sample, but increases direct relevance. The relevance of the study is that it identifies organizational factors associated with teacher retention in urban, high poverty schools that both reinforce empowerment and foster a collaborative culture.

Nguyen, D., See, B. H., Brown, C., & Kokotsaki, D. (2024). Leadership for teacher retention: exploring the evidence base on why and how to support teacher autonomy, development, and voice. Oxford Review of Education, 52(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2024.2432635

The purpose of this systematic review was to integrate the evidence of leadership behaviors that keep teachers. The focus is to explore the support of school leadership for retention through autonomy, development and teacher voice. Theories used are self-determination theory and distributed leadership theory. The study involve empirical studies published in peer-reviewed journal articles in public schools from January 2000 to May 2023. Systematic review with defined inclusion/exclusion criteria in various databases, five-step iterative process were used. Methods employed included qualitative synthesis of empirical studies, which is defined as screening and extraction of the data. In terms of evaluation, the study extensive, clearly explained, substantial evidence, may obscure variation around context. The study is important as it offers strong synthesis to connect proposed research to the field, the theoretical framing of principal behavior and teacher career choices in urban, high-poverty schools.

Pressley, T., Marshall, D. T., & Moore, T. (2022). Understanding Teacher Burnout Following COVID-19. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/6adtb

This study determine the predictors of teacher burnout after the pandemic. The study aimed at using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model to explain burnout at the end of 2021–2022. The framework used is the JD-R model (to illustrate the imbalance between demands and resources). The participants include 779 K–12 teachers from the United States. The instruments used for data collection included online survey of job demands (workload, COVID-19 demands), job resources (admin support, autonomy) and burnout. A quantitative hierarchical regression was used in this study. The results reveal that administrative support, autonomy, and mental health were significant predictors of burnout, while learning management system use was a predictor of burnout, and these were the factors that were related to intent to leave. In terms of evaluation, the study is theoretical basis, timely, and methodologically sound. The study is important as it draws on administrative support and autonomy as buffers to burnout and directly informs proposed research on what organizational changes in urban schools might do to promote retention.

Schmit, C. K., Lehmann, E., Swank, D., Alborn-Yilek, S., & Dannenbring, T. (2023). Teacher Retention: Retaining Teachers in High-Needs, Urban Secondary Schools in a Midwest State Post-Pandemic. Deleted Journal, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.62608/2164-1102.1139

This study explored the factors that influence retention following the pandemic in high-needs urban secondary schools. The study employed a correlational method with two types of data: qualitative and quantitative. The study found that certain factors predicted teacher satisfaction and intention to stay. In terms of the framework, none of the specified frameworks were given as an explicit name; however, it was aligned with organizational satisfaction theories. The participants utilized in the study were 385 teachers in secondary schools in high-poverty urban schools in a Midwest state. The researchers used Likert survey on satisfaction, leadership perception and retention intention. Quantitative descriptive statistics and frequency analysis (SPSS). The findings reveals 61% of the participants with intention to stay; 59% were satisfied with current school; positive perceptions about principal, peer, school culture, and administration support were related to intent to stay. The study employs simple exploratory methodology, with no theoretical framework or multiple states' data for generalizability but the timing is important as it follows the pandemic. The study is critical since it can be directly used to the recommended research. The study documents particular conditions in high needs urban learning institutions supporting or undermining the decision for the retention of the educators after COVID-19 pandemic.

Scott, L. A., Bell, N., Dayton, M., Bowman, R. W., Evans, I., Grillo, M., Spence, C., & Layden, S. J. (2022). Special education teachers of color retention decisions: Findings from a national study. Exceptional Children, 89(3), 001440292211098. https://doi.org/10.1177/00144029221109850

This study explored the retention outcomes for special education teachers of color. Objectives: Determine the factors for national data that predict retention. Theories used include the critical race theory (CRT) and social capital theory. The participants include the nationally representative sample of special education teachers of color from SASS and Special Education Teacher Workforce. The instruments used were secondary analysis of national survey data on admin support, collegial climate, workload and fulfillment. Quantitative logistic regression is one of the methods adopted. The findings reveal that administrative support, collegial relationships, and professional development were most significant in predicting positive retention, while isolation, leadership that was not culturally responsive, and inequitable workloads predicted negative retention. In terms of assessment, the study reveals good inter-disciplinary analysis of an under-researched population; national data provides rigor, but is less nuanced in terms of qualitative analysis. In terms of rigor, the study is critical for proposed research's focus on diversity, highlighting what districts need to do to keep teachers of color in higher need schools.

Steiner, E. D., Woo, A., & Doan, S. (2023, September 12). All Work and No Pay — Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Pay and Hours Worked: Findings from the 2023 State of the American Teacher Survey. Www.rand.org. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-9.html

Teacher perceptions of pay and workload are explored in this study. Objective is to explore the relationship between these perceptions and well-being and retention intentions across the country. The overall approach to the framework is not specified explicitly, but based on the principles of organizational behavior and occupational health studies. The participants utilized in the study are a national sample of K-12 educators from the spring 2023 State of the American Teacher survey (N ≈ 1,400). Instruments used are national representative survey of instruments that took place once a year, and that included perceptions of compensation, work hours, well-being, and intent to stay. The methods include quantitative descriptive and correlational analysis, year by year (2021-2023) comparisons, and racial/ethnic comparisons. The study outcome is that teachers reported they worked unpaid 15 hours per week, with dissatisfaction with salary and workload being significantly related to poor well-being and intentions to leave, especially for Black teachers who saw leaving as being strongly related to poor salary conditions. In terms of assessment, the study is sound method, large, nationally representative sample; may not be able to show cause but is able to show important trends. The study is important as it offers timely research on compensation and workload in the context of the retention system in high poverty urban schools.