A Phenomenological Study to Investigate Teacher Turnover and Retention in an Urban Public School in an Eastern State

The problem addressed by this study was high teacher turnover in urban schools. Many researchers have questioned the plight of education as teachers are coping with more and more challenges, leaving teachers believing their only hope is to abandon the profession. Research has shown that the most effective teachers left at a rate of 46% for the 2016 calendar year. The problems with teacher retention are not specifically germane to current teachers; teacher turnover has adversely impacted student achievement and caused delays in the ability to recruit new teachers. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to investigate factors of teacher retention and turnover in an urban school district in an eastern state. Purposeful sampling was used on the target population, yielding 13 urban teachers from the northeastern part of the United States. The results of the study revealed many teachers believed that working in urban schools are very stressful and very challenging. There was also a lack of resources and materials at some urban schools. The high school teachers also revealed that are rewarded by helping students to succeed with their academics in urban schools and they like the idea of helping some students to overcome challenges in school. Further, the urban teachers noted that there is a lack of parent involvement with their child in the school system. The urban teachers revealed that there is a lack of support by the administration at some urban schools. Some teachers believed that the working conditions are bad while others indicated that the working conditions are good in urban schools. Several of the teachers stated that administrative support is very important and the administration is very helpful with the teachers in most urban schools. Further, the urban teachers revealed those students’ attitudes at urban schools are very challenging and it impacts their learning in the classroom. The teachers also noted that some students’ attitudes lead to behavioral problems in the school. The findings from the study may provide information that school districts can use to help them reduce teacher turnover in urban schools. Recommendations are that schools in urban areas should develop ways to support teachers. Schools throughout the study site state may also benefit from the study findings whereas it concerns their districts’ teacher retention issues in urban schools