In this chapter, I explore the state of teacher attrition—the known attrition factors and reported attrition rates, highlighted by reported early career teacher (teachers in the first 5 years of teaching) attrition rates of up to 50% (Arnup & Bowles. Australian Journal of Education, 60(3), 229–244, 2016; Goddard & Goddard. Educational Researcher, 33(2), 61–75, 2006; Gu. Teachers and Teaching, 20(5), 502–529, 2014; Hong. Teachers and Teaching, 18(4), 417–440, 2012; OECD. Teachers matter: Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers. OECD Publishing, 2005). I question why the key factors that have been known for over 30 years of workload and time (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. Spotlight. What do we know about early career teacher attrition rates in Australia? 2016; Buchanan et al. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(3), 2013; Fluckiger et al. Mentoring teacher’s stories: Caring mentors help novice teachers stick with teaching and develop expertise. Teacher Education Faculty Publications. Paper 7, 2006; French, NASSP Bulletin, 81(585), 38–44, 1997; Gallant & Riley. Teacher Development, 18(4), 562–580, 2014; Ingersoll. American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 499–534, 2001; Kyriacou. Educational Review, 53(1), 27–35, 2001; Robinson. Student-centered leadership. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.), workplace conditions and stress (Arnup & Bowles. Australian Journal of Education, 60(3), 229–244, 2016; Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. Spotlight. What do we know about early career teacher attrition rates in Australia? 2016; Buchanan et al. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(3), 2013; Gallant & Riley. Teacher Development, 18(4), 562–580, 2014; Gu & Day. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(8), 1302–1316, 2007; Hong. Teachers and Teaching, 18(4), 417–440, 2012; Kyriacou. Educational Review, 53(1), 27–35, 2001; Robinson. Student-centered leadership. John Wiley & Sons, 2011; Weiss. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15(8), 861–879, 1999; You & Conley. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 43(4), 561–558, 2014), and increasing workplace demands (Mockler. No wonder no one wants to be a teacher: World-class study looks at 65,000 news articles about Australian teachers. The Conversation, 2022) and work-life balance have not been successfully addressed and are worsening. I question why attrition rates have not been alleviated over the past 30 years (Allotta. Journal of Education, 48(6), 58–78, 2023) and how more teachers can be retained in the profession. I consider the question what can be learnt about continuing teachers’ experiences in the workplace that can better support early career and continuing teachers and lead to reduced attrition rates. An awareness and understanding of the challenges that teachers encounter may provide insights to better support teachers, especially early career teachers, and inform policy and decision-makers and school leaders whose decisions directly impact on the practice and well-being of teachers.

Exploring Teacher Attrition and Teachers’ Experiences

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发表日期：

2025年

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Elizabeth Allotta

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In this chapter, I explore the state of teacher attrition—the known attrition factors and reported attrition rates, highlighted by reported early career teacher (teachers in the first 5 years of teaching) attrition rates of up to 50% (Arnup & Bowles. Australian Journal of Education, 60(3), 229–244, 2016; Goddard & Goddard. Educational Researcher, 33(2), 61–75, 2006; Gu. Teachers and Teaching, 20(5), 502–529, 2014; Hong. Teachers and Teaching, 18(4), 417–440, 2012; OECD. Teachers matter: Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers. OECD Publishing, 2005). I question why the key factors that have been known for over 30 years of workload and time (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. Spotlight. What do we know about early career teacher attrition rates in Australia? 2016; Buchanan et al. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(3), 2013; Fluckiger et al. Mentoring teacher’s stories: Caring mentors help novice teachers stick with teaching and develop expertise. Teacher Education Faculty Publications. Paper 7, 2006; French, NASSP Bulletin, 81(585), 38–44, 1997; Gallant & Riley. Teacher Development, 18(4), 562–580, 2014; Ingersoll. American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 499–534, 2001; Kyriacou. Educational Review, 53(1), 27–35, 2001; Robinson. Student-centered leadership. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.), workplace conditions and stress (Arnup & Bowles. Australian Journal of Education, 60(3), 229–244, 2016; Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. Spotlight. What do we know about early career teacher attrition rates in Australia? 2016; Buchanan et al. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(3), 2013; Gallant & Riley. Teacher Development, 18(4), 562–580, 2014; Gu & Day. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(8), 1302–1316, 2007; Hong. Teachers and Teaching, 18(4), 417–440, 2012; Kyriacou. Educational Review, 53(1), 27–35, 2001; Robinson. Student-centered leadership. John Wiley & Sons, 2011; Weiss. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15(8), 861–879, 1999; You & Conley. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 43(4), 561–558, 2014), and increasing workplace demands (Mockler. No wonder no one wants to be a teacher: World-class study looks at 65,000 news articles about Australian teachers. The Conversation, 2022) and work-life balance have not been successfully addressed and are worsening. I question why attrition rates have not been alleviated over the past 30 years (Allotta. Journal of Education, 48(6), 58–78, 2023) and how more teachers can be retained in the profession. I consider the question what can be learnt about continuing teachers’ experiences in the workplace that can better support early career and continuing teachers and lead to reduced attrition rates. An awareness and understanding of the challenges that teachers encounter may provide insights to better support teachers, especially early career teachers, and inform policy and decision-makers and school leaders whose decisions directly impact on the practice and well-being of teachers.