Workforce shortages in the education sector have reached crisis levels, particularly in regional, rural and remote (RRR) communities. While teacher attrition is the subject of much critical research and public debate, understanding the reasons teachers remain in these communities is less frequently explored. Our phenomenological study, based on…

The tyranny of distance is often perceived as the greatest challenge for teacher retention in rural and remote schools in Australia. Perhaps more accurately, it is the tyranny of placelessness. In this paper, we explore the role of place-connectedness and racial literacy in shaping the interactions of 21 primary and secondary teachers with the…

Primary schools are dynamic environments where teachers take on multiple roles, often simultaneously, to help promote high-quality learning and meet the various needs of their students. Within the primary school context both female and male teachers are required to perform multiple roles; however, these roles are often socially constructed based…

Teachers' motivation and the conditions that support their resilience to sustain motivation in the profession impact on their decision-making and outcomes for students. Yet a less commonly explored issue in educational research is the interdependence of the contextual influences on being a teacher and those teachers' thoughts and behaviours. This…

Concerns are mounting about the attraction and retention of teachers in Australian schools. This study draws upon a questionnaire of 2444 Australian primary and secondary school teachers, which revealed that only 41% of respondents intended to remain in the profession. Through a thematic analysis of the qualitative data within the questionnaire,…

Male primary teachers make up a minority of the primary teaching profession in countries such as Australia, England and the United States of America. This minority status can result in male primary teachers feeling socially isolated within their schools, and consequently choosing to leave the profession. This gender-related challenge is known, yet…

Drawing on an existing typology, this study used latent transition profile analysis (LTPA) to examine changes in the striving and wellbeing profiles among teachers from their early until midcareer. Five profiles were identified (Sparing, Good Health, Ambitious, Burnout, and Wornout) among a longitudinal sample of 414 Australian secondary and…

Purpose: Mentor-mentee relationships are important for individual wellbeing, mental health, professional agency and confidence. In the context of an initial teacher education (ITE) programme, these relationships become a key factor. Pre-service teachers' capacity to cope on a professional placement is closely linked to the quality of the mentoring…

There is a critical lack of male teachers moving into primary education. The primary school teacher workforce in Australia currently comprises 92% female teachers and 8% male teachers. This gender imbalance has recently been highlighted by the Australian Council for Educational Research as one of the key factors contributing to the current teacher…

Since the mid-1980s, the working lives of teachers has become an enduring research topic. Much research has focused on early-career teachers and is often reported from deficit positions, i.e. why they leave the profession. However, career trajectory studies have described a small cohort of veteran teachers who remain positive and committed to…

For early-career teachers in particular, teacher attrition and retention has been the focus of international research. We aimed to provide a more holistic view of teacher attrition and retention in an Australian educational context by including the perspectives of a cross-section of current and former teachers with various lengths of teaching…

This paper presents evidence from a nationally representative sample of early career teachers about those likely to miss out on formal support, and the employment conditions associated with this absence of support. It uses survey data from the Staff in Australia's Schools Survey. Consistent with existing research, our results suggest a…

There is well-established evidence that the quality of early childhood education workforce impacts upon children's learning. Attracting qualified teacher graduates to work in early childhood centres is an essential component towards the provision of quality care. Significant investment by the Australian Government has been made to prepare early…

The international literature is clear that a professional school culture and supportive administrative arrangements are essential to the retention and development of quality teachers. In this paper the research and conceptual understandings underpinning this statement are elaborated, with discussions of the nature of quality teaching, teachers'…

This article reports findings from a study of 14 beginning teachers in their first year of teaching in primary schools. By the end of the first year, half were reconsidering their long-term commitment to teaching. The study found they were considering leaving because they were struggling to be the teachers they had envisaged being. One reason for…