Volume 3 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal for K-12 Educational Research - Page 61

Journal of K-12 Educational Research 59 interviewing teachers who are leaving their districts. A total of 10 participants were interviewed. Two participants came from the same school district. Each participant was asked the same six questions centering on teacher attrition and retention, and a series of follow-up questions to expand upon their answers. Interview data was categorized into major themes and used to address each of the research questions. Phase 3 of the current study involved a mini-Delphi study. Participant interview data was formulated into a list of the 10 most common answers and then given back to the participants to rank in order of significance to their district. Three separate lists were shared with the participants. The first asked participants to rank the most common reasons teachers leave their districts. Participants ranked family reasons, such as staying home with children, as the top reason teachers leave. The second list asked participants to rank the best strategies for recruiting and attracting teacher applicants. The highest ranked strategy was the reputation of the district. The third list asked participants to rank the best strategies for retaining teachers in their districts. The highest ranked strategy to emerge was the school and district culture. Research questions were addressed based on interview data and the participant rankings in the mini-Delphi study. Table 1 summarizes the research question findings. Implications The current study revealed human resource professionals in the NTRC perceive the largest impact of teacher attrition was the loss of the professional development investment the district made in the leaving teachers and the cost of training the new teachers to get them up to speed. The finding was consistent with the research study by Brown and Schainker (2008), who said that when school districts lose new teachers, they often lose the chance to recoup their investment in recruitment and professional development. In addition, participants perceived there were large financial costs involved with recruiting and training new teachers. A research brief by Podolsky et al. (2016) stated the cost of replacing a veteran teacher may cost large urban school districts as much as $20,000. The money used to recruit and train new teachers must be diverted from other areas, such as Research Questions were addressed based on interview data and the participant rankings in the mini-Delphi study. Table 1 summarizes the research question findings. Table 1 Summary of Research Questions and Major Findings Research Question Findings RQ1: Perceptions of the most common factors influencing attrition RQ2: Perceptions of the most common factors influencing retention RQ3: The impact of membership in the NTRC upon teacher attrition, recruitment, and retention RQ4: Best practices implemented to attract and keep highly qualified teachers Family or personal reasons, opportunities for career advancement, lack of strong campus leadership, inadequate salary and benefits, and retirement The school and district culture, supportive leadership, supportive community, relationships with people, reputation and success of the district, and opportunities for growth and advancement The principles of the Visioning Institute influence hiring practices. There are benefits to membership including collaboration, healthy competition, and sharing ideas. Participants differ on the impact on attrition, recruitment, and retention. The reputation of the district, an attractive community to live in, internal recruiting programs, targeted recruiting, effective mentor and induction programs, stipends for difficult to staff areas, and on-going professional development Implicatio s The current study revealed human resource professionals in the NTRC perceive the largest impact of teacher attrition was the loss of the professional development investment the district made in the leaving teach and he cost of training the new teacher to catch them up to speed. Table 1 Summary of Research Questions and Major Findings