Teacher Attrition

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There is a growing teacher retention and attrition crisis in rural Mississippi. Several factors are believed to be contributing to this increasingly bad situation. The lack of teacher preparedness, through teacher education programs, is thought to be the most important aspect of increasing teacher retention and decreasing attrition in rural Mississippi. Lack of management skills such as organization and time management, a non-supportive work environment such as lack of mentors and professional developments, and accountability factor such as high stakes testing and No Child Left Behind are also believed to be contributing factors to teacher retention and attrition respectfully (Troen & Boles, 2003).

In the next decade, we will need to hire 2.2 million new teachers, and nobody knows where we are going to find them (Troen & Boles, 2003). Currently teachers are being recruited from a pool of under qualified candidates that are underprepared. These candidates are then thrust into a situation with no mentoring support or incentives for success. This may be one of the reasons why half of the new teacher population quit after the first five years of teaching. When teaching becomes a real profession, more academically able people will be drawn into it, colleges will be forced to improve the quality of their education, and better prepared teachers will enter the classroom and improve the profession (Troen & Boles, 2003). Until this happens, the quality of teachers will continue to decline and our children will continue to be left behind.

The supply of teachers has usually been in excess to the demand. This time is long gone. Statisticians predicted the teacher shortage and researchers well before the shortage actually occurre...

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...& Smith, M. B. (1997). Beginning teachers: Are they still leaving the profession? The Clearing House, 70(4), 211. Retrieved from ProQuest.

McHenry, A. (2009). Dissertations and Theses. Retrieved March 28, 2011, from ProQuest: http://proquest.com

McLauren, S., Smith, W. and Smillie, A. (2009). Teacher Retention: Problems and Solutions. Retrieved from ERIC.

Nichols, J. (2004). Recruiting and Interviewing Teachers in Rural School Districts: Protocol or Potluck. The Rural Educator, 26(1), 40. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Podsen, I. (2002). Teacher retention: What is your weakest link? Eye on Education.

Troen, V., & Boles, K. (2003). Who's teaching your children? Why the teacher crisis is worse than you think and what can be done about it. Yale University Press.

Tye, B. B., & O'Brian, L. (2002, September). Why are experienced teachers leaving the profession?

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