Suzanne Whitehead

Why Did They Leave?: Lessons Learned from Departures of K-12 Faculty Members Suzanne Whitehead

For over two decades educational policymakers, analysts, and school systems have been concerned with the ever-increasing size of student populations and the apparent lack of qualified teachers and faculty to teach them. School districts have historically responded by offering sign-on bonuses, higher starting salaries, aggressively recruiting from college/university faculty preparation programs, and offering extremely abbreviated teacher preparation programs. However, by the 3rd year, nearly 30% of new teachers have already chosen to leave the profession; by the 5th year of teaching, almost 50% of new teachers have decided to leave; addressing this problem with the wrong solution (Ingersoll and Smith, 2003). Phenomenological research, conducted from a constructivist perspective through an advocacy/participatory lens, explored fifty former faculty members' and current administrators' experiences suggesting much needed change. The theoretical perspective stemmed from leadership theories and leading management experts. The findings supported the research literature, which cited two major reasons for faculty dissatisfaction: poor administrative leadership and lack of support.