COVID-19 AND THE RISK OF TEACHER ATTRITION IN THE UNITED STATES
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SARAH BOWLIN DUGGER. Covid-19 and the Risk of Teacher Attrition in the United States (under the direction of DR. JOHN R. McCONNELL, III).
A secondary analysis of data from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 and the COVID Response Survey (CRS) 2020 was completed to evaluate the implications of COVID-19 on teacher risk of attrition. This study involved two stages. In stage one, data from the TALIS 2018 was analyzed using a hierarchical regression to specify a model predicting teacher risk of attrition, the criterion variable. Predictor variables for model one included teacher-related factors of total years in the profession, ICT preparedness, teacher age, job satisfaction, and regret and disappointment with the profession. For model two, the predictor variable of job-related stress was added. Data analysis indicated a statistically significant correlation between the predictor variables and the correlation variable, with model two accounting for 36.1% of the variance in teacher risk of attrition. Considering the rate of teacher attrition in the United States was 8% prior to COVID-19, it is incumbent upon educational governing bodies to understand the potential impact of natural disasters such as a pandemic upon this rate so they may institute measures to help reduce it. While much research has been done about teacher attrition, scant research exists about the relationship between COVID-19 and the rate of teacher attrition. Extrapolation using data from the CRS 2020 was completed by using mean values for similar survey items inserted into model two, the model which accounted for more variance in the criterion variable. The results of this extrapolation indicated that COVID-19 has an impact on the rate of teacher attrition.
Keywords: teacher attrition, COVID-19