Interventions to Address Teacher Retention by a Rural School District in the Southeast

Date of Conferral

10-12-2023

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Robert Flanders

Abstract

The problem in this study is low teacher retention at a rural school district in a southeastern state despite school officials’ interventions. Despite the use of strategies and practices to reduce teacher attrition, teachers within this district still choose not to return for the next school term. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore challenges that administrators from this district face concerning teacher retention and views regarding what is needed to increase retention. The conceptual framework to ground this study was Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory, which indicates that employee satisfaction has two dimensions: hygiene and motivation. Hygiene issues, such as climate and poor leadership, increase employees’ dissatisfaction with the work environment. A basic qualitative methodology was used, and 15 K-12 administrators who had three or more years of experience with retention were interviewed in the rural southeastern school district via semi-structured interviews with questions developed using Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory. This basic quality research study relied on thematic coding to analyze the data. The results showed administrator leadership style, teachers’ ability to have a voice, and support given to teachers impacted teachers’ retention. Furthermore, this study may assist school districts in terms of developing professional development next steps in order to support administrators in improving teacher retention.

This item is not available through Walden resources

Share

 
COinS