Analyzes why teachers leave urban schools and their subsequent employment, using the questionnaire responses of 50 of the 124 teachers who left the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) public schools in 1988. Finds that 90 percent of the "leavers" find teaching jobs in other schools. Suggests how the problems cited by the leavers could be ameliorated.…

This article draws from research conducted with poor and working-class youth in California attending schools that suffer from structural disrepair, high rates of unqualified teachers, high teacher turnover rates, and inadequate books and instructional materials. Arguing that such schools accomplish more than simple reproduction of class and…

Relatively high rates of teacher attrition have been consistently identified as a major issue for the teaching profession over several decades. As a result, there has been a growing interest in the wellbeing of teachers across the entire education sector. Recent research by Noble, Goddard and O'Brien (2003) has found that early childhood teachers,…

In 2007, the state of Mississippi conducted a web-based survey of all school-based licensed educators in which they were asked to share their perceptions of the state of teacher working conditions in Mississippi. This report of the Mississippi Teacher Working Conditions Survey, Project CLEAR Voice (Cultivate Learning Environments to Accelerate…

In 2004, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released evidence that points to arts and music teachers possibly being greatest at risk for leaving their current teaching positions. In classifying teachers as stayers, movers, or leavers, the NCES found arts and music teachers to be the highest of all assignment areas of teachers who…

Over the last two decades, researchers have presented convincing evidence that teachers are an important key to school improvement and to closing the student achievement gap. However, ensuring that all students are taught by quality teachers--those with the right talent, skills, and experience--is not enough. Teachers--even the best of them--must…

Richard Murnane and Jennifer Steele argue that if the United States is to equip its young people with the skills essential in the new economy, high-quality teachers are more important than ever. In recent years, the demand for effective teachers has increased as enrollments have risen, class sizes have fallen, and a large share of the teacher…

In 1970 many Australian students, teachers, and schools participated in the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Science Project. The aim of the project was to measure the science achievement of students in Australia and 18 other countries, and to examine relationships between this achievement and various…

Nearly half of all new teachers leave the job within five years. What is killing their spirit? How can they be convinced to stay? This article attempts to answer such questions in presenting one person's account of why she left the teaching profession. Statistical data relating to teacher employment and turnover; reasons for leaving among…

Describes a survey of 900 community college faculty in 11 southern states regarding the effects of role ambiguity, role conflict, and 10 job satisfaction factors on their propensity to leave their jobs. Indicates that turnover intent increased as satisfaction with growth opportunities, salary, work, policy, administration, and supervision…

This study examined teachers' perceptions of their jobs and teacher turnover through an analysis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics Schools and Staffing Survey and Teacher Follow-Up Survey. Our analysis suggests that student discipline problems were a major reason for teachers' dissatisfaction with their jobs, second only to…

Most of the phases of teacher personnel have been thoroughly studied and investigated. Turnover, however, is an exception. Only a few studies bearing directly on this question have been made. None of these has given consideration to it over a period of years. Furthermore, no study of any extent has been made in Illinois. Purpose of the…

In this chapter, the authors examine developments in the teacher workforce and in the occupation of teaching across recent generations. They take their point of departure from the perspective of prevailing policy discourse on enduring problems of educational equity, asking not only how teaching has evolved in recent decades but more specifically…

The authors present the results of a study of the effects of racial integration on faculty stability, pointing out that schools with low teacher turnover provide the highest educational quality. They propose the development of a Faculty Stability Index to measure other factors. (DS)

Classifies teachers who leave teaching as the "honest departers," the "overworked group," and the "confused and unhappy." Cites principal reasons for teacher attrition as insufficient social and economic rewards, isolation in the classroom, unrealistic training, society's unrealistic expectations, and teacher vulnerability to criticism. (CJM)