Journal of K-12 Educational Research 45 Data Analysis and Research Findings The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions to obtain in-depth information about the participants’ perspectives and opinions about the subject matter. The researcher developed an interview protocol that consisted of six open-ended questions that were asked of each participant. These questions were designed to allow the participants to elaborate on their responses (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The interviews were recorded, and the audio recordings were transcribed into a Word document using Otter Live Notes. This software allowed the researcher to perform live transcription and note-taking during each interview. Participants were asked the following questions: 1. You have chosen to stay at your campus for XX years. What makes you want to stay? 2. Why do you think some teachers have left the campus? 3. Describe what the District is doing to support you. 4. Describe what the campus principal is doing to support you. 5. What kinds of qualities and characteristics do you find most helpful from your principal on a day-to-day basis? 6. If you were the principal, what would you do to be sure to support the teachers in your building? Table 1 shows the relationship between the research questions and the interview questions. Two methods were used to improve trustworthiness in the qualitative analysis. The first was to have an expert on qualitative studies review the data. The second was to include data from a key informant who was the District’s assistant superintendent. The key informant was knowledgeable about the expectations of the District for the support that campus principals provided for teachers with 1-5 years in the District. During the data analysis process, six common themes emerged that teachers described as important factors that influenced their decisions to stay or leave their campuses. These themes can be seen in Figure 1. knowledgeable about the expectations of the District for the support that campus principals provided for teachers with 1-5 years in the District. Table 1 Relationship between Research Questions and Interview Questions Research Question Interview Questions 1. What are the perceptions of teachers about factors that influence teacher attrition? 1. You have chosen to stay at your campus for XX years. What makes you want to stay? 2. Why do you think some teachers have left the campus? 2. What are the perceptions of teachers about principal support on teacher attrition in charter schools? 3. Describe what the district is doing to support you. 4. Describe what the campus principal is doing to support you 3. What are the perceptions of teachers about leadership traits and practices that have supported teacher retention? 5. What kinds of qualities and characteristics do you find most helpful from your principal on a day-to-day basis? 6. If you were the principal, what would you be sure to do to support the teachers in your building? During the data analysis process, six common themes emerged that teachers described as important factors that influenced their decisions to stay or leave their campuses. These themes can be seen in Figure 1. Findings from Research Question 1 RQ1 focused on the teachers’ perceptions about factors that influenced teacher attrition. IQ1 and IQ2 were asked to provide insight into teachers’ perceptions about RQ1. Research Question 1 (RQ1) What are the perceptions of teachers about factors that influence teacher attrition? IQ 1: You have chosen to stay at your campus XX years. What makes you want to stay? Table 1 Relationship between Research Questions and Interview Questions
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