Teacher Attrition And Mobility

The Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) is a one-year follow-up of a sample of approximately 8,400 teachers who were originally selected for the teacher component in the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). This report examines the characteristics of teachers who left the teaching profession between the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 school years (leavers), teachers who continued teaching but changed schools (movers), and teachers who continued teaching in the same school in 2000-01 (stayers).

This report develops a strategy for improving national and state forecasts of future teacher attrition rates. The authors (1) develop a theory of teacher attrition that accounts for the disparate reasons for attrition and explains the patterns of attrition unique to each life cycle and career stage; (2) selectively review existing literature on teacher attrition and present attrition patterns from several states in order to test hypotheses deriving from their theory; (3) review the data available to support improved attrition models and recommend ways to make better use of the data; and (4) identify sampling and data collection strategies that will improve the value of data collected in a future national survey of teachers.

This report presents selected findings from the Current Teacher and Former Teacher Data Files of the 2012-13 Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS). TFS is a nationally representative sample survey of public and private school K-12 teachers who participated in the previous year's Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The 2012-13 TFS was completed by about 4,400 current and former public school teachers. Of these respondents, teachers who were still teaching in the same school were classified as "stayers," teachers who were teaching in a different school were classified as "movers," and teachers who left the profession were classified as "leavers." This First Look introduces new data through the presentation of tables containing descriptive information. Selected findings chosen for this report demonstrate the range of information available on the 2012-13 TFS data files. Tables. This is a print on demand report.

The statistics are familiar: almost 50% of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years in the classroom. The challenge of recruiting and retaining teachers carries high costs for today’s schools and students. This book uncovers some of the reasons behind the elevated attrition rates in the field of education through a long-term study of beginning teachers in one urban school district. Drawing upon research conducted over a seven-year period, this book sheds light upon the role that teachers’ intentions play in shaping their later career paths. It also shares the deeply personal and professional journeys of teachers who stayed, teachers who shifted into education-related positions, and teachers who left the field altogether. Through eight in-depth case studies, this book clarifies the factors influencing teachers’ career paths and depicts the toll that teacher attrition takes on the teachers themselves. Finally, it makes an argument for placing teachers’ voices clearly at their center of their own career development as a way to enhance autonomy, satisfaction, and ultimately career longevity.

This book presents teaching as evolution, teaching as autobiography, teaching as love, and asks the question: What keeps teachers going in spite of everything?