Date of Conferral

8-2-2025

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Robert  Voelkel

Abstract

The problem addressed in this study was the high annual teacher turnover rate of 30% in a Swedish compulsory school, which significantly exceeded national averages. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between the quality of collegial relationships, as measured by emotional support, task-related support, and feedback from colleagues which are subscales of the workplace social support (WSS) scale, and Swedish teachers’ commitment to stay in their current teaching positions in a Swedish compulsory school, measured on a continuous scale, using a 5 point Likert scale. The study was grounded in Blau’s social exchange theory, which highlights how psychological transactions, both positive and negative, shape relationships within work environments. Using a correlational design, data were collected from 75 teachers and leaders via the WSS scale. The results of the multiple regression show non-significant relationships with task-related support having a very small positive, feedback from colleagues having a negative, and emotional support showing a positive predictive relationship. Only 1.1% of the variance in teachers’ commitment to stay was explained by the combined influence of the three predictors. With task-related support, levels of feedback from colleagues, and emotional support not significantly relating to teachers’ commitment to stay, a different approach was used to secure teachers’ commitment by developing a professional culture audit tool which offers the school a sustainable framework that helps identify and address other factors that may influence teacher retention in the hope to identify significant factors.

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