“I knew I had to leave”: A Bourdieusian analysis of why Teach For America teachers quit early

Abstract

Educational stakeholders have long been concerned about teacher attrition's negative effects. Teach For America (TFA), in particular, has garnered attention for this reason, yet many of its teachers quit even before the program's two-year commitment ends. Drawing on Bourdieu, this longitudinal qualitative study explores heretofore neglected insights from TFA teachers (n = 5) who leave early. We find that while quitters are motivated to teach, their forms of cultural and social capital within the educational field lead many to quit. The paper argues that some of these limitations are attributable to TFA's programmatic design, raising critical questions about its continued approach.