TR
EN
Teacher Attrition: Insights from School Administrators
Abstract
Teacher attrition has emerged as a critical issue globally, with numerous teachers leaving the profession voluntarily before retirement, negatively affecting educational quality and school climate. School administrators play a central role in shaping school environments that may influence teachers’ decision to stay or leave. This basic qualitative study investigates public school administrators’ perspectives on the influences contributing to teacher attrition in Türkiye. Data were collected from 10 administrators through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using inductive content analysis. Findings revealed two main themes: (1) work life experiences, including challenges related to classroom management, organizational climate, workload, and obligatory service requirements, and (2) career dissatisfaction, including the perceived status of the teaching profession, low salaries, and alternative job opportunities. The findings indicate that administrators’ interpretations of their roles shape how attrition is understood and addressed within schools. Based on the results strengthening mentoring programs particularly for early career teachers, enhancing leadership development for administrators, improving workload management practices, reconsidering sociocultural factors of obligatory service, and improving financial conditions of teachers are recommended.
Keywords
- organizational climate
- school administrators
- school leadership
- teacher attrition
- teaching profession
Ethical Statement
This research study was conducted with Research Ethics Committee approval of Middle East Technical University, dated 06.08.2021 and issue number 338-ODTU-2021.
References
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- Çakır, A., Er, E., & Korumaz, M. (2024). Why teachers leave teaching: The case of private schools in Turkey. International Anatolian Journal of Social Sciences, 8(4), 830-851. https://doi.org/10.47525/ulasbid.1525191
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Education Management, Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators
Journal Section
Research Article
Publication Date
June 24, 2026
Submission Date
February 19, 2025
Acceptance Date
May 16, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 16 Number: 2
APA
Gökten Bayrak, Ö., & Ok, A. (2026). Teacher Attrition: Insights from School Administrators. Anadolu Journal of Educational Sciences International, 16(2), 740-756. https://doi.org/10.18039/ajesi.1642906
AMA
1.Gökten Bayrak Ö, Ok A. Teacher Attrition: Insights from School Administrators. AJESI. 2026;16(2):740-756. doi:10.18039/ajesi.1642906
Chicago
Gökten Bayrak, Özge, and Ahmet Ok. 2026. “Teacher Attrition: Insights from School Administrators”. Anadolu Journal of Educational Sciences International 16 (2): 740-56. https://doi.org/10.18039/ajesi.1642906.
EndNote
Gökten Bayrak Ö, Ok A (June 1, 2026) Teacher Attrition: Insights from School Administrators. Anadolu Journal of Educational Sciences International 16 2 740–756.
IEEE
[1]Ö. Gökten Bayrak and A. Ok, “Teacher Attrition: Insights from School Administrators”, AJESI, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 740–756, June 2026, doi: 10.18039/ajesi.1642906.
ISNAD
Gökten Bayrak, Özge - Ok, Ahmet. “Teacher Attrition: Insights from School Administrators”. Anadolu Journal of Educational Sciences International 16/2 (June 1, 2026): 740-756. https://doi.org/10.18039/ajesi.1642906.
JAMA
1.Gökten Bayrak Ö, Ok A. Teacher Attrition: Insights from School Administrators. AJESI. 2026;16:740–756.
MLA
Gökten Bayrak, Özge, and Ahmet Ok. “Teacher Attrition: Insights from School Administrators”. Anadolu Journal of Educational Sciences International, vol. 16, no. 2, June 2026, pp. 740-56, doi:10.18039/ajesi.1642906.
Vancouver
1.Özge Gökten Bayrak, Ahmet Ok. Teacher Attrition: Insights from School Administrators. AJESI. 2026 Jun. 1;16(2):740-56. doi:10.18039/ajesi.1642906
