Date of Award

3-26-2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Sheri Tucker

Abstract

This purpose of this study was to investigate whether workload, school climate, and attitude influenced the attrition of early career reading and language arts (literacy) teachers. The research was grounded in the theory of teacher self-efficacy and its influence on teachers' beliefs about themselves and their abilities within the field. To address the exploratory and confirmatory nature of the phenomenon, a sequential mixed methods design was used. In determining the influences of workload, school climate, and teacher attitude on teacher attrition, a logistic regression constituted the first phase of the study (Creswell, 2009). Teacher attitude (feelings) (Hosmer and Lemeshow (Fit (8) = 7.98, p = .435, R² = .04, N = 284, (B = .96, p < .05) was the significant predictor of attrition. For the second phase of the sequential design, qualitative confirmatory surveys were conducted to provide further description of the findings from phase one. Qualitative data also revealed that teacher attitude (feelings) significantly influenced attrition. Results from the qualitative data also supported the quantitative finding that workloads marginally influenced attrition. A better understanding of early career literacy teacher attrition will assist educators and other concerned citizens in identifying more effective strategies to increase the retention of quality teachers within the field.

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