ERIC Number: ED559835
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 139
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-3033-2864-0
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Retaining Excellent Teachers through Effective Leadership
Le, Connie
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Walden University
School districts continue to face challenges in retaining talented teachers in their schools. There are many factors that contribute to teacher retention, including working conditions, a lack of leadership support, and poor leadership behavior. In a southeastern U.S. state, local school officials were seeking strategies to provide an excellent teacher in every classroom. Guided by the leadership theories of Lewin, Bass and Burns, and Blanchard, this correlative, quantitative study investigated the relationship between a principal's leadership behaviors and teacher perceptions in relation to teacher retention. A snowball sampling of 100 K-5 certified teachers from a southeastern public elementary school was used in this study. The instruments, the Leadership Behavior Descriptive Questionnaire and the adapted Massachusetts Teaching, Learning, and Leading Survey, were distributed to certified participating teachers. The data were collected with SurveyMonkey and were analyzed using Pearson correlation. The null was rejected because of p >0.05. The results indicated no statistically significant correlation between leadership behavior and teacher retention (r = (0.001) n = 40, p >0.05). However, descriptive data showed that 62.5% of the teachers were satisfied and were unlikely to leave, indicating a trend that teachers who were satisfied were willing to stay at their job. As educational communities become more diversified, school officials must reflect on these communities by understanding the reasons of why teachers stay or leave a particular school. The implication of positive social change is to provide school officials and administrators with additional leadership research that may build positive relationships with teachers, provide additional leadership training and improve teacher retention rates in all schools. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Teacher Effectiveness, Teacher Persistence, Instructional Leadership, Correlation, Statistical Analysis, Teacher Attitudes, Public School Teachers, Elementary School Teachers, Measures (Individuals), Questionnaires, Teacher Surveys, Online Surveys, Statistical Significance, Job Satisfaction
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A