Explaining Teacher Turnover: School Cohesion and Intrinsic Motivation in Los Angeles

Abstract

Acknowledgments. A special thanks to Justo Avila for his steady leadership of the project at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), along with Cynthia Lim, Kathy Hayes, and the district's research committee for helpful guidance along the way. Appreciation goes to Erin Coghlan for her fine research assistance. Over six hundred busy teachers took time to participate in the study. The encouragement and interest of their principals was essential as well. Funding for this effort came from LAUSD and the Spencer Foundation of Chicago. Thank you all.

Designing an Employee Experience Approach to Teacher Retention in Hard-to-Staff Schools

“…Some argue that focusing purely on intrinsic motivators ignores the context and the social relationships necessary for educational work (Fuller et al, 2016). Indeed, the most successful approaches likely emphasize a blend of hygiene and motivating factors, given that addressing hygiene factors only allays dissatisfaction without motivating and addressing motivators only leaves employees dissatisfied.…”

Readiness and Competence of New Teachers for Career as Professional Teachers in Primary Schools

“…However, some studies also reported that increases in teacher salaries have failed to increase the size or quality of teaching staffs (De Ree et al, 2015;Glewwe & Muralidharan, 2016;Goldhaber, 2001;Guarino et al, 2006;Hanushek & Rivkin, 2006;Kusumawardhani, 2017;Loeb & Page, 2000;Muralidharan et al, 2019). During the last decade, it has been strongly proven that the limited effect of performancebased salaries on teacher motivation or their practice highlights the complex relationship between income and teachers' work, lives and effectiveness, and reinforces a need to examine teachers' income satisfaction in relation to factors, such as their values and efficacy beliefs that can influence the relationship in teachers' lives (Firestone, 2014;Fuller et al, 2016;Murnane & Olsen, 1990;Yuan et al, 2013).…”

It’s Who You Know: The Role of Social Networks in a Changing Labor Market

“…In education, there is very little research on the role of social networks in the job search, although a large body of research explores other dimensions of networks in schools, such as teachers’ advice-seeking patterns (Frank, Zhao, & Borman, 2004; Penuel, Riel, Krause, & Frank, 2009; Spillane, Shirrell, & Sweet, 2017), principals’ networks and interpretation of policy (Daly & Finnegan, 2009), how networks sustain educational reform (Cannata, Redding, Rutledge, Joshi, & Brown, 2017; Coburn, Russell, Kaufman, & Stein, 2012; Wilhelm, Chen, Smith, & Frank, 2016), and political and policy networks (Au & Ferrare, 2014; Russell, Meredith, Childs, Stein, & Prine, 2015). Furthermore, prior research has examined the role of social networks on teacher burnout and decisions to leave a school (Fuller et al, 2016; Kim et al, 2017), but little research has explored the relationship between social networks and employment directly.…”

“…Most research on teacher labor markets assumes, either implicitly or explicitly, that teacher applicants are rational actors comparing various school conditions, yet emerging research highlights how teacher job search behavior is shaped by social and cultural contexts (Cannata, 2010). For example, teachers’ decisions about where to work or whether to leave a school, as well as levels of teacher burnout, are shaped by their social networks (Cannata, 2011; Fuller, Waite, & Irribarra, 2016; Kim, Youngs, & Frank, 2017), and some recent studies have found that professional ties, such as those established in teacher preparation programs, can influence where new teachers end up working (Krieg, Theobald, & Goldhaber, 2016; Maier & Youngs, 2009).…”