| The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive capacity of specific demographic and organizational variables upon teacher attrition from the profession. The study examined the possibility of predicting attrition of teachers based upon these variables. Furthermore, the study attempted to create a profile of the most likely teachers to remain in the profession as well as a profile of the most likely teachers to exit the profession. By identifying teachers most likely to attrit, administrators can intensify support to those teachers to increase their likelihood to remain in education. This study sought to answer the following research questions: (1) To what extent do various demographic variables (childhood socioeconomic income level, current categorical income level, marital status, number of dependents within the household, sole provider in the home, gender, level of education, years of experience, and race), as measured by the Teacher Attrition Survey, predict teacher attrition? (2) To what extent do organizational variables (teaching placement, teaching assignment location, current class size, and percent free and reduced lunch populations), as measured by the Teacher Attrition Survey, predict teacher attrition? (3) What patterns become observable with regard to demographic and organizational variables and teacher attrition? The results of the study included a limited number of respondents indicating intent to attrit from the profession. Due to the limited numbers confirming intent to attrit, statistical analysis in the form of logistic regression could not be used to analyze the results. Therefore, two of the three research questions were not able to be statistically analyzed. Descriptive statistics and a discussion of the findings were used to report the findings of the survey. While those questions may not be answered, information gained from the survey was organized and is presented to allow discussion of patterns and trends identified during the research process. |
