The relationship between efficacy and teacher turnover intent

Author

Bradley J. Kolwyck, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

5-1-2020

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Educational Administration

First Advisor

Green, Judith

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between efficacy and teacher turnover intent in small, poor, rural schools. The researcher focuses on small, poor, rural schools in a Midwest state in the United States due to the state’s annual teacher turnover rate (16.4%) which mirrors the national rate. A sample of 730 teachers was solicited to participate in the study through their building principal with a final response of N = 220 participating. This non-experimental study explores the relationship between efficacy (independent variable) and turnover intent (dependent variable) by collecting data utilizing the online platform of Survey Monkey. The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) measured the level of self-efficacy for participants in the study. Additionally, the Collective Teacher Efficacy Scale (CTES) (Tschannen-Moran & Barr, 2004) measured the level of participants’ sense of collective efficacy. The Turnover Intent Scale (TIS) (Tiplic, Brandmo, & Elstad, 2015) measured the level of turnover intent for each participant. The research questions and hypotheses were used to explore the relationship between self-efficacy and turnover intent as well as collective efficacy and turnover intent. In addition, three research questions focused the investigation on the relationship between the variables by exploring the subscales of self-efficacy: student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. The mean scores for each scale show that generally participants displayed a moderately high level of efficacy and were not searching for a new job. Additionally, the results show a statistically significant relationship between participants’ sense of collective efficacy and turnover intent. The significant relationship suggests that school leaders should focus on increasing teachers’ sense of collective efficacy to help with teacher turnover.