DETERMINANTS OF ATTRITION (DROP-OUT) IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION AND NOVICE TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

One of the key factors affecting the quality of primary education is the shortage of teachers. This is partly due to the declining interest in the profession among young people, and partly due to the increasing attrition of qualified teachers, either leaving the profession or transferring to other schools—commonly referred to as drop-out. The professional group most affected by this issue are novice teachers. In this paper, we present the results of research aimed at collecting and analyzing the experiences of novice teachers as they enter the primary education profession. Another goal of this research is to stimulate professional discussion and further inquiry into the issue of drop-out among novice teachers in our country. The questionnaire, which was created by modifying a graphics card, uses a method that gathers responses from novice teachers in the monitored categories on a 5-point scale. The categories represent the roles teachers assume in various educational situations. The findings reveal differences in teachers' perceptions and experiences related to the monitored categories. The category that received the most negative evaluation is 'Broader Social Context'. Novice teachers give positive feedback to the categories within the interactive level of socialization. The research is part of the VEGA project 1/0415/22 focused on research into subjectively perceived difficulty of teachers' professional activities in relation to their life satisfaction.