Abstract:
Despite extensive research on teachers’ intentions to leave, the voices of former teachers—why they left, where they went, and if they plan to return, remain largely unheard when understanding teacher attrition and retention. This presentation reports on Phase Two of the “I Left Teaching…and what am I doing now?” national project. It sought to understand former teachers’ experiences that led to their departure, exploring positive aspects of their teaching careers, identifying the necessary changes at individual, school and systemic levels that would encourage a return to teaching, and highlighting the advantages of their new careers.
Phase Two consisted of 25 interviews with former teachers across Australia. Drawing on practice architectures, we aimed to elucidate the interconnected cultural-discursive, material-economic, and socio-political factors that influence teacher attrition and how these arrangements both enabled and constrained the former teachers.
The findings suggest that escalating expectations and cultures of micromanagement come at a significant cost to both teachers and their students, prompting many to leave for better autonomy, flexibility, and work-life balance in other careers. These findings explain why teachers leave and the diverse factors involved which carry significant implications for informing school, system and national policy, and strategies aimed at enhancing retention.
Phase Two consisted of 25 interviews with former teachers across Australia. Drawing on practice architectures, we aimed to elucidate the interconnected cultural-discursive, material-economic, and socio-political factors that influence teacher attrition and how these arrangements both enabled and constrained the former teachers.
The findings suggest that escalating expectations and cultures of micromanagement come at a significant cost to both teachers and their students, prompting many to leave for better autonomy, flexibility, and work-life balance in other careers. These findings explain why teachers leave and the diverse factors involved which carry significant implications for informing school, system and national policy, and strategies aimed at enhancing retention.