Why are Teachers Leaving the Profession?: Assessing Quality of Life for Leaving Teachers
摘要
This quantitative correlational study investigates professional quality of life for teachers who have left, teachers who are interested in leaving, but have no plans to leave, and teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific aim of the study is to assess how well the ProQOL5, a measure of professional quality of life, fits as an accurate measure for teachers who have left (i.e., leavers) or are interested in leaving the profession. It also aims to assess how well the subfactors of the ProQOL5 (secondary trauma stress and compassion satisfaction) predict burnout and if this is moderated by group (i.e., teachers during COVID, interested in leaving but no concrete plans, and leavers). The online survey was sent to the extended network of a program focused on helping teachers find new careers after leaving the teaching profession. The survey received 1429 responses from across the United States from teachers in P-12 schools who were currently teaching or had left teaching. These data were compared to data from a past study of teachers who were teaching during the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Confirmatory factor analysis found the data had acceptable fit of the ProQOL5 model. Moderation analysis found those who are interested in leaving have the highest secondary stress, with teachers during COVID having the next highest, and leavers having the lowest.