TY - JOUR
T1 - Teacher attrition and retention
T2 - A meta-analytic and narrative review of the research
AU - Borman, Geoffrey D.
AU - Maritza Dowling, N.
PY - 2008/9
Y1 - 2008/9
N2 - This comprehensive meta-analysis on teacher career trajectories, consisting of 34 studies of 63 attrition moderators, seeks to understand why teaching attrition occurs, or what factors moderate attrition outcomes. Personal characteristics of teachers are important predictors of turnover. Attributes of teachers' schools, including organizational characteristics, student body composition, and resources (instructional spending and teacher salaries), are also key moderators. The evidence suggests that attrition from teaching is (a) not necessarily "healthy" turnover, (b) influenced by various personal and professional factors that change across teachers' career paths, (c) more strongly moderated by characteristics of teachers' work conditions than previously noted in the literature, and (d) a problem that can be addressed through policies and initiatives. Though researchers have utilized a number of national and state databases and have applied economic labor theory to questions related to teacher attrition, the authors argue that better longitudinal data on teacher career paths and more nuanced theories are needed.
AB - This comprehensive meta-analysis on teacher career trajectories, consisting of 34 studies of 63 attrition moderators, seeks to understand why teaching attrition occurs, or what factors moderate attrition outcomes. Personal characteristics of teachers are important predictors of turnover. Attributes of teachers' schools, including organizational characteristics, student body composition, and resources (instructional spending and teacher salaries), are also key moderators. The evidence suggests that attrition from teaching is (a) not necessarily "healthy" turnover, (b) influenced by various personal and professional factors that change across teachers' career paths, (c) more strongly moderated by characteristics of teachers' work conditions than previously noted in the literature, and (d) a problem that can be addressed through policies and initiatives. Though researchers have utilized a number of national and state databases and have applied economic labor theory to questions related to teacher attrition, the authors argue that better longitudinal data on teacher career paths and more nuanced theories are needed.
KW - Educational policy
KW - Faculty careers
KW - Meta-analysis
KW - Teacher research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67650989965&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=67650989965&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3102/0034654308321455
DO - 10.3102/0034654308321455
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:67650989965
SN - 0034-6543
VL - 78
SP - 367
EP - 409
JO - Review of Educational Research
JF - Review of Educational Research
IS - 3
ER -