Working conditions, especially accountability pressures and administrative support, shape teachers' decisions to leave or stay¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2021: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Approximately 25% of public school teachers who left in 2012 rated dissatisfaction with school assessment and accountability measures as extremely or very important in their decision to leave. → Podolsky 2016 q2 i? Administrative support is often the top reason teachers identify for leaving or staying, outweighing even salary considerations for some teachers. → Podolsky 2016 (2)

Evidence¶

Podolsky 2016¶

Podolsky, A., Kini, T., Bishop, J., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2016). Solving the Teacher Shortage: How to Attract and Retain Excellent Educators. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/solving-teacher-shortage doi:10.54300/262.960

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Analysis of the nationally representative Teacher Follow-up Survey reported in the report's working-conditions section. The report states "approximately 25%" of voluntary leavers rated assessment and accountability dissatisfaction as extremely or very important; no effect size is printed.

"Approximately 25% of public school teachers who left the profession in 2012 reported that dissatisfaction with the influence of school assessment and accountability measures on their teaching or curriculum was extremely or very important in their decision to leave."

Podolsky 2016 (2)¶

Podolsky, A., Kini, T., Bishop, J., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2016). Solving the Teacher Shortage: How to Attract and Retain Excellent Educators. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/solving-teacher-shortage. doi:10.54300/262.960

q2 · i? · review · r2

The report's school-leadership subsection synthesizes survey research on why teachers stay or leave, stating administrative support is "often the top reason teachers identify", and notes the report identifies four consistently cited working-condition factors.

"Administrative support is often the top reason teachers identify for leaving or staying in the profession, or in a given school, outweighing even salary considerations for some teachers."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Teachers who find their administrators unsupportive are more than twice as likely to leave as those who feel well-supported — related
• Dissatisfaction is the most-cited reason for leaving, cited by 55% of profession-leavers and 66% of school-movers — related
• Mentoring strongly influences new teachers' decisions to stay in or leave teaching (review attribution) — related
• Teachers are more likely to stay in schools where they perceive colleagues as collaborators, feel influence over their work environment, and trust their principal as an instructional leader — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Working conditions shape educator retention and also influence recruitment decisions and the effectiveness of collaborative evaluation and induction — a broader claim this one bears on
• Dissatisfaction with leadership and staff cohesion predicts staying only in high-poverty schools — related
• Louisiana teachers of color report working conditions, not salary, as primary reasons for leaving high-need schools — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Minority teachers who depart rarely cite retirement; dissatisfaction, pursuit of better jobs, and personal reasons dominate their reported turnover reasons — related
• Teachers cite principal support as one of the most important factors in their decision to stay in a school or the profession — related
• Effective, supportive principals retain teachers, with the largest effects in high-need schools — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Accountability pressures overshadowed the survey's improvement potential without reducing its predictive power — related
• Teachers who strongly disagree that their administration is supportive are more than twice as likely to leave as those who strongly agree — related
• Teacher salaries influence entry, supply, and retention in teaching — related