Article
Teacher Turnover During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Annenberg EdWorkingPapers
(2023)
Abstract
Teachers' levels of stress and burnout have been high throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, raising concerns about a potential increase in teacher turnover and future teacher shortages. We examine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected teacher turnover in Arkansas from 2018-19 to 2022-23 using administrative data. We find no major changes in turnover entering the first two pandemic years, but a large increase of 5.3 percentage points (26%) entering the third year, with variation by teacher and student characteristics. We also find that increases in teacher turnover are related to instructional mode and that this turnover may partially be explained by the use of COVID-19 relief funds. Additionally, we find evidence that more effective teachers became more likely to leave the education sector after the pandemic as compared to before the pandemic. Our results suggest increased strain and reduced diversity and quality in the Arkansas teacher workforce and raise concerns about the long-term impacts that COVID-19 may have on its stability and quality.
Keywords
- Teacher Turnover,
- Teacher Retention,
- COVID-19
Disciplines
Publication Date
April, 2023
Citation Information
Andrew Camp, Gema Zamarro and Josh McGee. "Teacher Turnover During the COVID-19 Pandemic" Annenberg EdWorkingPapers (2023) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/gema_zamarro/66/