Previous work on teacher attrition in the US has indicated that those who stay in the profession and those who leave are not separate homogenous groups. In this study, the lived experience of former teachers is examined to determine the issues that distinguish leavers from stayers. The sample is from the state of Utah, a state with one of the…

How working conditions, personal characteristics, and school factors influence teacher recruitment and retention is an oft-studied topic in the field of education finance and policy. Through decades of research, it has become increasingly clear that teachers respond to a set of monetary and non-monetary factors when making decisions in the teacher…

This qualitative study explored factors that helped veteran public school health educators sustain enthusiasm in the classroom throughout their careers. Twelve Caucasian participants, seven men and five women with 18 to 28 years of public school teaching experience (mean age = 49 years, mean experience = 24 years), were interviewed. Participants…

Utah's involvement with career ladders grew out of the nationwide educational reform movement. The plan was to improve learning by improving the quality of teachers. This could be done by retaining superior teachers, attracting higher quality recruits, and improving teachers' working conditions. In 1984 the Utah Legislature focused on…