Job Satisfaction and Teacher Retention: School leaders know they go hand in hand

You’ve got them. Now, how do you keep them? That’s a question that many school administrators ask themselves as they struggle to address the challenge of teacher retention, a problem that K-12 schools across the country are grappling with. Existing research has shown that high teacher turnover negatively impacts the academic success of students. This makes the retention of well-qualified teachers a priority for school leaders. Unfortunately, since the Covid pandemic, many school districts have seen significant numbers of teachers leaving the profession for a variety of reasons. One of these is teachers’ perceptions of inadequate pay and benefits that do not cover increased workloads such as coaching, sponsoring student activities, or other duties that are assigned to them due to school staffing shortages. For example, the results of a recent survey of teachers situated throughout the United States showed that “one in four teachers nationally were not paid for the extra work that they performed for their school or school system.” Survey findings indicated that larger pay increases and benefits could improve teacher retention.

But pay and benefits are not the only factors affecting teacher retention. On-the-job stress plays a significant role in attrition. The previously mentioned national survey of teachers found that “twice as many teachers reported experiencing frequent job-related stress or burnout” compared with working adults in other occupations who fell within a similar age range and had a similar educational background. Along with low salary, teachers cited managing student behavior and performing administrative tasks outside of teaching as being among the top three stressors they experienced in their jobs. Other stressors reported by teachers included supporting students who had lost instructional time because of Covid, feeling like the goals and expectations of their schools were “unattainable,” and experiencing a lack of support from school administrators. Stress factors such as these can contribute to a teacher’s decision to leave the profession. However, the identification of these stressors has also helped to raise the awareness of school leaders and administrators about the importance of improving the well-being and job satisfaction of teachers. As a result, school leaders are adopting innovative strategies aimed at increasing teacher autonomy in the classroom, providing enhanced opportunities for meaningful professional development, and offering greater support of teacher mentorship. Maureen Marshall, assistant professor in the Education Leadership Program within the School of Education at George Mason University, recently shared her perspective on the importance of school leaders doing what they can to retain high-performing teachers.

School leaders can make beneficial reforms in schools using the improvement science framework.

Many school leaders have turned to the concept of improvement science to bring about needed changes in their schools that are aimed at increasing job satisfaction for teachers and optimizing academic outcomes for students. Improvement science is a data-driven framework that sets forth a process for identifying a problem in a school negatively impacting staff or students, determining reforms that could address that problem, implementing those reforms for a limited duration as a trial, assessing the effectiveness of those reforms through the collection of data, and making adjustments as needed. This data-driven process continues until results show that the proposed solution has satisfactorily resolved the problem at hand. Improvement science in the field of education is a collaborative, problem-solving effort that involves teachers, instructional staff, school administrators, and other school personnel who work together toward achieving changes that benefit the school community. An important aspect of the improvement science model is the selection of changes that are manageable, and which can be easily implemented at a school. The motto used by some in the education profession in describing these changes is “small but mighty.”

Creating a collaborative and positive school climate where teachers are part of the decision-making process is key to increasing teacher retention.

A school climate where teachers are heard, respected, and feel they are part of the decision-making process is critical to retaining a qualified teacher workforce. Schools that have low rates of teacher turnover typically have leaders and administrators who engage in frequent, honest, and open communication with teaching staff. These leaders encourage feedback from teachers on school operations and place significant emphasis on collaboration in decision-making that affects the whole school community.

Increasingly, school leaders are devising creative solutions that address some of the more pressing and stressful challenges that teachers face in the classroom every day, such as student mental health and maladaptive behaviors. When teachers are required to attend to the mental health needs of students, as frequently happens in understaffed or under resourced schools, they have less time to do what they love doing the most, teaching. Administrators in one high-needs school district in Northern Virginia are tackling this problem through a partnership that includes George Mason University. Under this partnership, individuals are being trained to serve as school-based mental health service providers in high-need K-12 schools. This unique partnership will increase the number of school counselors who possess expanded clinical training that will enable them to meet the mental health needs of students within that school district. The availability of enhanced mental health programming in schools can help teachers more effectively manage student behavioral issues. Not only will this reduce the stress experienced by teachers in addressing a student’s behavioral or mental health issues, but it will better enable educators to help their students stay more focused on academic learning.

To learn more about degree offerings in the Education Leadership Program within the School of Education at George Mason University, please visit the program website.