The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine how certification status impacts turnover intention, to research provided assistance, and to meet professional learning needs in novice teachers in eastern Kentucky. Understanding differences in needs of teachers, based upon certification type, is critical in reducing the rate of attrition…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine how certification status impacts turnover intention, to research provided assistance, and to meet professional learning needs in novice teachers in eastern Kentucky. Understanding differences in needs of teachers, based upon certification type, is critical in reducing the rate of attrition…

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had drastic effects on K-12 teachers. Researchers partnered with a teacher advisory board to identify factors associated with K-12 teachers' consideration of leaving teaching during Fall 2020. METHODS: A web-based survey focused on teachers' working experiences was emailed to school union membership listservs…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to identify factors that lead to job satisfaction and the specific practices that make a difference in workplace satisfaction among teachers in order to increase educator retention. Understanding these characteristics is critical to determining the impact they have on reducing the rate of teacher…

Background/Context: School districts across the United States face persistent difficulties recruiting and retaining teachers (García & Weiss, 2019; Schmitt & deCourcy, 2022). Over the last decade, every state in the south has faced a growing teacher shortage, with some facing shortages in all grades and subjects (U.S. Department of…

In 2018, Kentucky began the implementation of a new school accountability system. Like other states across the nation, Kentucky's new system was designed to bring state policy into alignment with federal changes brought about by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. In addition to the creation of new school improvement labels, Kentucky's…

For any labor market to function properly, clear information is needed to guide decision making; its absence invariably leads to less than optimal decisions and inefficiencies. While the broader labor market is riddled with imperfect information, the teacher labor market is particularly vulnerable--largely for the lack of the most basic…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the rates of retention, mobility, and attrition for classroom teachers in Kentucky public schools, as well as how those rates might vary by various teacher and school characteristics. The study looks at retention, defined as teachers returning to their same classroom ("stayers");…

In this paper we analyze teacher attrition from Appalachian school districts over nearly twenty years of data. We employ a unique panel of public K-12 teachers active in Kentucky between 1986 and 2005, and discern several patterns of interest to scholars and policymakers. Inter-district mobility is rare in Kentucky, and rarer still among…

Teacher retention has been of interest to educational researchers for over three decades. Various reasons for special education teacher attrition have been cited, including student discipline and motivation problems, working conditions, low salary, and a lack of administrator support. This descriptive survey research sought to determine the…

This study of 98 special education teachers investigated the reasons for the high attrition of special education teachers in Kentucky. The participants were asked to give three reasons (in no more than one phrase) why in their opinion special education teachers leave special education and choose to teach general education. The most common reason…