Human Perspectives on the Resignation of Teachers from the New South Wales Department of School Education: Towards a Model of Teacher Persistence

Stephen Dinham

Abstract

The phenomenon of teacher resignation has not been well understood to date, has negative connotations and appears to be linked to the equally contentious issues of teacher morale, stress, burnout and teacher satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Where research has been carried out into teacher resignation, invariably this has consisted of the forecasting of teacher supply and demand and the statistical analysis of questionnaires administered to teacher trainees, practising teachers and administrators, and resigned teachers. Often, quite simplistic reasons have been given for teacher resignation because of a tendency to equate the destinations of resigned teachers with the reasons for their resignation, a situation where cause and effect have been confused. The major contention of this study was that the phenomenon of teacher resignation could be better understood through the use of more qualitative methods, specifically those associated with the interview and grounded theory techniques. To this end, fifty seven teachers formerly employed with the New South Wales Department of School Education were interviewed. As teacher resignation appears to be costly in economic, social, and human terms, it was hoped that the study would allow the phenomenon to be better understood and able to be dealt with. Thus, rather than concentrating solely on the negative aspects of teacher resignation, the study had a positive, proactive orientation and to this end, a model of teacher persistence was developed. From this, a series of recommendations for the promotion of teacher persistence within the New South Wales Department of School Education were formulated which may well have implications for others involved in education. However, what the study revealed was that the decision of a teacher to resign or persist is the result of the interplay of a complex array of factors, and thus, there are no likely quick fix solutions to the problem of teacher resignation. The study argues for a comprehensive series of measures and strategies that need to be taken and implemented in order to promote greater teacher satisfaction and persistence.