Date of Conferral

9-1-2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Binh Ngo

Abstract

Lagos State, Nigeria, faces male teacher retention challenges in public high schools, including destabilizing the educational environment, reducing the availability of experienced mentors, and negatively impacting student performance and outcomes. School leaders need to understand the challenges leading to male teacher turnover. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Lagos State male public high school teachers who left the profession, focusing particularly on their perceptions of onboarding and reasons for leaving the profession. This study was grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, Bauer and Erdogan’s onboarding theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and Bandura’s social cognitive theory. The participants comprised 10 former male public high school teachers in Lagos State. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and field notes. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis: (a) structural and systemic shortcomings in onboarding programs, (b) social and emotional dimensions of the onboarding experience, (c) professional practice and classroom realities, and (d) coping mechanisms, resilience, and exit decisions. Participants reported that the onboarding process was largely informal and inconsistent, leaving them unprepared for classroom realities and institutional expectations, contributing to early career disillusionment and a diminished sense of professional identity due to the absence of structured support. The implications for positive social change include the potential for school leaders to use these findings to develop more effective onboarding and a gender-responsive induction framework for Lagos State public schools while enhancing workforce stability in the education sector.

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