Working to maximise the effectiveness of a staffing mix: what holds more and less effective teachers in a school, and what drives them away?

Abstract

There is a significant body of research supporting the notion that teachers are the single most important school-based resource schools have to lift student achievement, and many principals and policymakers are aware of the need to retain good staff. This study used a large sample of Australian teachers in primary and secondary government and non-government schools to examine differences in the importance given by more and less effective teachers to particular factors that might hold them in a school or cause them to leave. More effective teachers placed greater emphasis on factors such as promotion opportunities and improved professional learning options as means to retain them in a school, while less effective teachers valued a more selective intake of students. More effective teachers gave greater emphasis to poor support from the principal as a reason for leaving a school, while less effective teachers gave greater emphasis to poor student behaviour. Implications for school leaders and policymakers are discussed.