Introduction
One challenge that many nations have struggled with for years is finding and keeping skilled teachers. Initial teacher recruiting patterns are frequently correlated with the state of the national labor market and the relative attractiveness of other professions. There are greater shortages in some courses, particularly math and physics, where there is a great need for graduates in these sectors. Perhaps the reforms aimed at restructuring teacher workload may tackle the ongoing issue. Human resource managers should focus on the differentiation of basic working conditions to ensure better employee retention.
Discussion
In some countries such as England, demand for teachers has constantly surpassed supply. According to numerous reports, the number of teachers quitting their jobs is rising globally (See, 2020). After five years, just 60% of instructors were still employed by state institutions, and for prioritized courses like physics and math, this retention rate fell to 50% (See, 2020). Shortages and turnover often translate into schools needing to hire more alternatively certified teachers and fewer qualified and experienced teachers. Generally, such teachers are rarely retained and provide mixed-quality education. Thus, the dangers of such high teacher attrition could be attributed to costs met by the government and education systems, diminishing students’ performance, which later may transform into the problem of a poor labor force due to the low quality of education. Consequently, numerous incentives are created by the government to increase instructor retention.
Among popular incentives, it is possible to highlight financial support. Although regional policies in the US vary in detail, these incentives may take the shape of subsidized loans, housing or childcare benefits, or even an increase in teacher wages (Goodale, 2019). Teachers often cite salary as the primary factor in quitting the profession (Goodale, 2019). However, modest pay increases would not be sufficient to increase the chance of retention. A study by Brill & McCartney indicates that a 2 percent reduction in attrition rates would need a 50 percent compensation increase (Goodale, 2019). The limited resources of public schools would be unable to maintain such salaries.
Consequently, the focus of the studies in the field shifted to other issues that led to employee shortages. According to the research by Nguyen et al. (2019), school organizational characteristics are primary areas for improvement to reduce attrition risks. These characteristics include “student disciplinary problems, administrative support, teacher collaborations, and professional development” (Nguyen et al., 2019, p. 33). These findings suggest that the teacher’s job is fundamentally highly demanding and lacks numerous essential structural components for employee satisfaction.
In addition, some authors emphasize that teacher evaluation could be one of the leverages leading to high employee turnover. However, a comprehensive synthesis of substantial literature done by Nguyen et al. (2019) disproves this theory. According to the authors, the evaluation does not fundamentally lead to increased teacher turnover (Nguyen et al., 2019). The data suggest that attrition is moderately lower for instructors who receive evaluations than those who do not (Nguyen et al., 2019). Therefore, new approaches to attribute teacher retention are necessary.
Closely examining teachers’ comments on their work might reveal new ways to improve retention. Perryman & Calvert (2019) attempted to implement this approach to uncover the primary reason for employee turnover. The results of an interview revealed that teachers perceived their workload as incredible’, ‘unmanageable and unsustainable,’ ‘insane,’ ‘unrealistic,’ and ‘extreme’ (Perryman & Calvert, 2019, p. 15). People reported working 11-hour days, 60–70 hours per week, and not having weekends or evenings open for the pursuit of personal hobbies while classes were in session (Perryman & Calvert, 2019). They said that the job never stopped, they could never feel it coming to completion for the day or week, they always brought work home, and they could never turn it off (Perryman & Calvert, 2019). Many gave specifics about their workload, such as getting up at 5 a.m. every day, commuting to school until 5 p.m., working from home until 10 p.m., and at least 4 hours each weekend (Perryman & Calvert, 2019). Therefore, it is necessary to restructure the responsibilities of each teacher and diminish the actual workload.
The restructuring could be done by increasing provisional personnel or creating job positions that will be able to assist teachers in the reduction of the workload such as teacher assistants in universities. Simultaneously, the workload could be reduced by including ready instruction materials automatizing schedule creation, and test checking to diminish the number of menial tasks performed. The reiteration of governmental support to promote such changes would be required along with the existing incentives. Human resources could contribute to the liquidation of certain tasks from the job position and increase the retention rate.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is possible to identify a number of reasons that lead to the high attrition of teachers in the market. The first could be considered the demanding nature of the teachers’ labor. Employees are dissatisfied with the quantity of work that does not allow them to maintain a sustainable life outside of the classroom. The second reason is the school’s organizational characteristics that further the difficulty of working as an instructor. Contrary to the common belief, employee evaluation does not lead to high attrition but instead contributes to retainment as workers find areas for professional improvement. Financial incentives provide some level of retention, but this approach mostly contributes to the alleviation of symptoms, not solving the issue at hand. Moreover, to get a 2% decrease in the attrition levels, a 50% increase in the salary is necessary, which is not viable for governmentally supported schools. The focus should fall on the reduction of the workload and job restructuring.
References
Goodale, T. (2019). Pennsylvania teacher shortage areas: Supply, demand and retainment. [Master’s thesis, The Pennsylvania State University].
Nguyen, T. D., Pham, L., Springer, M. G., & Crouch, M. (2019). The factors of teacher attrition and retention: An updated and expanded meta-analysis of the literature. Annenberg Institute at Brown University, 19-149.
Perryman, J., & Calvert, G. (2019). What motivates people to teach, and why do they leave? accountability, performativity and teacher retention.British Journal of Educational Studies, 68(1), 3–23. Web.
See, B. H., Morris, R., Gorard, S., Kokotsaki, D., & Abdi, S. (2020). Teacher recruitment and retention: A critical review of international evidence of most promising interventions.Education Sciences, 10(10), 262. Web.