Minority teachers who depart rarely cite retirement; dissatisfaction, pursuit of better jobs, and personal reasons dominate their reported turnover reasons¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2022: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Retirement was reported by only 17% of departing minority public school teachers, and school staffing actions by 25%. → Ingersoll 2017 q2 i? Over half of departing minority teachers cited job dissatisfaction, desire for a better job, or improved career opportunities; among the dissatisfied, 81% cited school administration and 57% cited lack of influence and autonomy. → Ingersoll 2017 (2)

Evidence¶

Ingersoll 2017¶

Ingersoll, R., May, H., & Collins, G. (2017). Minority teacher recruitment, employment, and retention: 1987 to 2013. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/minority-teacher-recruitment

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Self-report analysis of 2012–13 TFS data from departing minority public school teachers (Figures 5 and 6), who rated reasons on a five-point importance scale. "Retirement is not an especially prominent factor," reported by only 17%; staffing cutbacks accounted for 25% and family or personal reasons 46%.

"Retirement is not an especially prominent factor (see Figure 5). The latter was reported by only 17% of those who departed."

Ingersoll 2017 (2)¶

Ingersoll, R., May, H., & Collins, G. (2017). Minority teacher recruitment, employment, and retention: 1987 to 2013. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/minority-teacher-recruitment

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Same TFS self-report data (Figure 5): dissatisfaction and job/career pursuits together are "the most prominent source of turnover." Among dissatisfied departers (Figure 6), the top cited reasons were dissatisfaction with administration (81%), accountability/testing (65%), and student discipline (61%).

"Over half of all those who depart report as a reason either job dissatisfaction, the desire to pursue a better job or another career, or to improve career opportunities in or out of education."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Nearly three quarters (74%) of teacher turnover between 2020–21 and 2021–22 was voluntary and preretirement — related
• Dissatisfaction is the most-cited reason for leaving, cited by 55% of profession-leavers and 66% of school-movers — a broader claim this one bears on
• Working conditions, especially accountability pressures and administrative support, shape teachers' decisions to leave or stay — related
• Louisiana teachers of color report working conditions, not salary, as primary reasons for leaving high-need schools — related
• Retirement accounts for only a small portion of total teacher turnover — related
• Teachers with high job and workplace satisfaction have less than half the predicted turnover of teachers with low satisfaction (8.0% vs. 22.0%) — related
• Teachers' job satisfaction is negatively associated with turnover intentions (pooled r = −0.46) — related