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ERIC Number: ED660368
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 159
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3836-9740-5
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Attrition Rates and Elementary School Teachers' Perceptions of Autonomy, Belonging, and Administrative Support in Maryland
Carolyn A. White
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Marymount University
Teacher attrition is increasing (Torpey, 2018), and approximately 100,000 teachers will leave this field annually from 2016 to 2026. Addressing wellbeing constructs retain more employees and decrease presenteeism (Hemp, 2014). Teachers cite a lack of job satisfaction and burnout as their main reasons for attrition (Brasfield et al., 2019; Fisher, 2011; Madigan & Kim, 2021; O'Brennan et al., 2017). Autonomy, a sense of belonging, and support from leadership are all constructs that can improve workplace wellbeing (Clausen et al., 2021; Ray, 2021; Sandilya & Shahnawaz, 2018). This quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study aimed to examine the public elementary school teachers' perceptions of autonomy, sense of belonging, and administrative support, which were the dependent variables. Participants were grouped by low and high attrition rate districts. 88 full time, certified elementary school teachers within four districts in the state of Maryland completed the Likert style Teacher Perception Survey, which was created using statements from the Teacher Autonomy Scale (Pearson & Hall, 1993), the Sense of Community in Schools Scale (Admiraal & Lockhorst, 2012), and the Special Education Teachers' Sense of Administrative Support Scale (Weiss, 2001). The participant selection was a purposive and convenience sampling. The electronic survey completed by the participants provided was analyzed using Whitney Mann U test and a one way ANOVA. Type 1 and type 2 participants agreed about sense of belonging and administrative support. There was not enough variance between the two to indicate a relationship. Autonomy indicated that it could be related to attrition and that the two participant groups did not agree. The data sets lacked significant outliers, and there were statements within the Teacher Perception Survey with standard deviations greater than one, indicating more diverse and varied responses. The results indicate that school districts should find ways to provide more autonomy for their teachers and also continue to focus on maintaining a sense of belonging and administrative support. This study can be narrowed down to focus more on how these perceptions link to burnout. Future research can also consider asking their participants about their intention to leave education rather than rely on state-reported data. [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.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Maryland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A