An investigation into teacher turnover in international schools

Abstract

This study explored expatriate teacher turnover in international schools. Two hundred and eighty-one international teachers completed a questionnaire identifying which variables influenced their decision to leave at the end of their first contract. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, this study revealed that three causal factors were viewed as influential by the respondents; administrative leadership, compensation and personal circumstances. Qualitative data revealed that proprietary schools also suffer from the perception of operational decisions being driven by a profit incentive.