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SPRINGER BRIEFS IN EDUC ATION

Lee Brantley Shields

Carol A. Mullen

Veteran
Teacher
Resilience
Why do they
stay?
123
SpringerBriefs in Education
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Lee Brantley Shields Carol A. Mullen
•

Veteran Teacher Resilience

Why do they stay?

123
Lee Brantley Shields Carol A. Mullen
Campbell County Public Schools School of Education, VTCRC
Rustburg High School Virginia Tech
Rustburg, VA, USA Blacksburg, VA, USA

ISSN 2211-1921 ISSN 2211-193X (electronic)

SpringerBriefs in Education
ISBN 978-3-030-53917-7 ISBN 978-3-030-53918-4 (eBook)
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This book is dedicated to my grandparents
whose work ethic and determination serves as
an inspiration. The foundation for my faith
and perseverance began with them.
—Lee Brantley Shields

To Ms. Thomas of Adelaide Hoodless Public

School in Canada, my Grade 8 teacher who
helped me build resilience by gently steering
leadership challenges my way.
—Carol A. Mullen
Acknowledgments

A special thanks to Natalie Rieborn, associate editor of Springer International

Publishing in the Netherlands who explained Springer’s SpringerBriefs in
Education series. This innovative format combines the elements of journals and
books, and explores timely educational subjects in a concise and impactful way.
We’re pleased to be adding our volume to it! Natalie was enthusiastic, responsive,
and knowledgeable at every turn. Encouraging our book proposal and completion
of Springer’s Book Information form, she oversaw the peer review and other
publishing steps from beginning to end. Supportive in all circumstances, Natalie is
an exceptional guide and coach in the publishing world.
We also appreciate the helpful commentary on an earlier version of the manu-
script provided by three anonymous, expert reviewers. With gratitude, we also
thank the highly accomplished endorsers who took the time to write endorsements.
Both the reviewers and endorsers deserve a shout-out for ensuring that this project
saw the light of day!
Carol’s husband Bill (Dr. William Kealy), always generous, improved the
book’s graphical displays.
Thanks as well to Gowtham Chakravarthy V., project manager at Scientific
Publishing Services, India, who handled the production of our book on behalf of
Springer.
A very special thanks to Virginia Tech and the School of Education for the
support of research projects like ours on the frontlines of education.

Lee Brantley Shields, EdD

Carol A. Mullen, PhD

vii
Praise for Veteran Teacher Resilience

“The focus on resilience is very original and an important aspect of why teachers
might choose to stay. It is understudied and should provide useful knowledge to
policymakers and education leaders. So much ink is spilled extolling why teachers
leave—there is a dearth of research on why they stay, which in my opinion is even
more important than why they leave. This book makes an important contribution to
the literature and will hopefully inspire others to conduct research on the subject.”
—Christopher H. Tienken, Seton Hall University, New Jersey

“The topic is original. It seems there is much literature on new teachers and why
they leave, but little on veteran teachers and why they stay. The topic and the
reporting of the findings with suggestions for practices to be implemented in uni-
versity programs as well as in K–12 schools are very useful. The format this book
follows is actually a strong one for other researchers and students in doctoral
programs.”
—Sandra Harris, Lamar University, Texas

ix
Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 About This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Significance of the Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5 Purposes and Justification of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.6 Conceptual Framework . . . . ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 A Review of Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 Database Search Process and Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3 Synthesis of the Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4 Policy and Governance Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.2 Research Questions and Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.3 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4 Data Analysis and Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.2 Data Analysis Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.3 Veteran Teacher Participant Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.4 Ally: Veteran Teacher #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.5 Amy: Veteran Teacher #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.6 Brandi: Veteran Teacher #3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.7 Brenda: Veteran Teacher #4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.8 Cindy: Veteran Teacher #5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.9 Dana: Veteran Teacher #6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

xi
xii Contents

4.10 Jake: Veteran Teacher #7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

4.11 Janice: Veteran Teacher #8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4.12 Jill: Veteran Teacher #9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.13 Jim: Veteran Teacher #10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.14 Kim: Veteran Teacher #11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.15 Sarah: Veteran Teacher #12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.16 Sue: Veteran Teacher #13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.17 Tim: Veteran Teacher #14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.18 Tom: Veteran Teacher #15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.19 Thematic Outcomes of Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.20 Contextual Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.21 Individual Factors of Resilience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.22 Strategies Used for Coping with Profound Challenges . . . . . . . . 54
4.22.1 Dealing With Parental Complaints (Theme #1) . . . . . . . 54
4.22.2 Managing Student Behaviors (Theme #2) . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.22.3 Surviving the First Few Years in Teaching
(Theme #3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 56
4.22.4 Maintaining Work–Life Balance (Theme #4) . . ....... 57
4.23 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 57
5 Discussion of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.2 Teacher Resilience Dimensions Found . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.3 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
6 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
6.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
6.2 Implications for Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
6.3 Implications for Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
6.4 Suggestions for Further Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
6.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
6.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6.7 Farewell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Appendix A: Literature Review Table with Select Entries. . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Appendix B: Demographics Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Appendix C: Veteran Teacher Interview Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
About the Authors

Lee Brantley Shields, EdD is an administrator at

Rustburg High School in Virginia, USA. He was a
physical education teacher at two high schools before
moving into administration and serving as a school leader.
His passion for developing teacher resilience has grown
from his experiences in teaching and coaching. His
doctorate is from Virginia Tech. e-mail: lee79@vt.edu

Carol A. Mullen, PhD is a Professor of Educational

Leadership at Virginia Tech, USA. A twice-awarded
Fulbright Scholar, she was honored with the 2016 Jay D.
Scribner Mentoring Award from the University Council
for Educational Administration. She is author of
Revealing Creativity (2020) and Canadian Indigenous
Literature and Art (2020), and editor of Creativity
Under Duress in Education? (2019) and Handbook of
Social Justice Interventions in Education (forthcoming).
Her doctorate is from The University of Toronto, which
recognized her with the 2020 Excellence Award (OISE
Leaders & Legends Awards). e-mail: camullen@vt.edu

xiii
List of Figure

Fig. 4.1 Why 15 veteran teachers stayed in the classroom and a rural
school area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

xv
List of Tables

Table 1.1 Individual and contextual factors influencing teacher

resilience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7
Table 1.2 Individual and contextual factors illustrating dimensions
of resilience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8
Table 2.1 Building Resilience in Teacher Education (BRiTE)
(Mansfield et al., 2016) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 22
Table 3.1 Demographics selection criteria for participation . . . . . . . . . . .. 27
Table 3.2 Veteran Teacher Interview Protocol with literature
alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 31
Table 4.1 Participant information from the completed demographics
survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 36
Table 4.2 Contextual factors of retention supported with veteran
teacher responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 50
Table 4.3 Individual factors of resilience supported with veteran
teacher responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 52
Table 4.4 Strategies for coping with challenges described
by veteran teachers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 54
Table 5.1 Teacher resilience dimensions found, supporting data
and literature, and implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 62
Table 5.2 Factors of veteran teacher resilience from interview
data mapped onto resilience dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 67
Table 6.1 Action-based framework for building a culture
of resilience in schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 78

xvii
Chapter 1
Introduction

Abstract This chapter introduces a different approach to the research on teacher

attrition that examines why teachers depart the classroom and even the profession.
Instead, the topic of interest in this book is the perceptions and experiences of veteran
teachers who have continued. The focus on why veteran teachers decide to stay
addresses a gap in the awareness of this issue within the educational literature. The
main purpose of Veteran Teacher Resilience: Why Do They Stay? is to explain factors
that influence resilience, and the phenomenon of resilience itself, from the lens of
veteran teachers. An additional purpose broadly addresses induction programs and
professional development through a framework for developing resilient teachers and
a resilient school culture. A qualitative design was used for the research involving
the interviewing of veteran teachers from a rural locality in Virginia, USA. Seven
key themes/findings arose from the analysis of interview data collected. Insights
shed light on the experiences of veteran teachers, how they make meaning of their
classrooms and schools, and in particular what can be known about the adversities
they face and their resilience.

Keywords Demographics survey · Qualitative design · Teacher interviews ·

Teacher resilience · Veteran teacher resilience

1.1 Overview

Here we introduce a different approach to the research on teacher attrition that exam-
ines why teachers depart the classroom and even the profession. Instead, the topic of
interest in this book is the perceptions and experiences of veteran teachers who have
continued. The focus on why veteran teachers decide to stay addresses a gap in the
awareness of this issue within the educational literature. The main purpose of Veteran
Teacher Resilience: Why Do They Stay? is to explain factors that influence resilience,
and the phenomenon of resilience itself, from the lens of veteran teachers. An addi-
tional purpose broadly addresses induction programs and professional development
(PD) through a framework for developing resilient teachers and a resilient school
culture. A qualitative design was used for the research involving the interviewing of

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license 1
to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. B. Shields and C. A. Mullen, Veteran Teacher Resilience , SpringerBriefs
in Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53918-4_1
2 1 Introduction

veteran teachers from a rural locality in Virginia, USA. Seven key themes/findings
arose from the analysis of interview data collected: (1) purpose in teaching, (2)
positive relationships in the milieu, (3) passion for teaching, (4) supportive school
culture, (5) passion for curricular content, (6) accommodating work schedule, and
(7) no other opportunities available. Insights shed light on the experiences of veteran
teachers, how they make meaning of their classrooms and schools, and in particular
what can be known about the adversities they face and their resilience.

1.2 About This Book

Why aren’t we talking more about teachers who stay in the classroom and teaching
profession? A veteran elementary teacher found herself musing over this very ques-
tion. Michelle Usher decided to stay in the classroom where she teaches at Brentfield
Elementary School in Dallas, Texas. Contemplating the statistics on teacher attrition,
she wondered, “‘Why aren’t we also talking about the people like me who stay?’”
(Alvarez & Leigh, 2019).
Exactly! We applaud Michelle for her forthrightness and share her curiosity. Over
the past 3 years, we have studied this question, and with this book, offer something
new to the field. Little is known about why veteran teachers choose to remain in
the classroom, making teaching their life’s career. So, we felt compelled to inter-
view veteran teachers to learn about their experiences, how they make meaning
of their teaching and profession, and what can be known about the adversities they
face and their resilience. Factors (individual and contextual) are uncovered that influ-
ence veteran teachers’ capacity to adapt and thrive. Induction programs, professional
development, and mentoring are also examined for their importance to education.
Understanding that teacher resilience is vital to improving teacher retention, we
conducted interviews with 15 teachers in central Virginia, USA, within a rural school
area or “division.” (In Virginia, the word division is used instead of district because
“unlike school districts in most states, a Virginia school division is not a separate local
government” due to its dependency on local government(s) for budget approvals;
thus, “legally, it is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia” (“School
Division,” 2020). Through this qualitative study, we have been able to identify reasons
veteran teachers have remained in the classroom; factors of resilience; significant
challenges the teachers have encountered; and strategies the teachers used for dealing
with those challenging situations.
Data analysis occurred through deductive coding of the transcribed interviews
using qualitative data analysis software. The findings identified seven factors that
veteran teachers indicated were important in their decision to remain in the class-
room. The study also identified 22 individual factors of resilience and 10 contextual
factors revealed by the veteran teachers. These long-term educators described four
challenges that they have faced in their school division and the strategies they used to
overcome those challenges. A goal was to offer a framework for developing resilient
teachers and a resilient school culture.
1.2 About This Book 3

A qualitative design was used for the research, enabling us, the two researchers,
to learn about the experiences of veteran teachers, how they make meaning of their
classrooms and schools, and in particular what can be known about the adversi-
ties they face and their resilience. Like qualitative researchers Merriam and Tisdell
(2016), we pursued our interest in “(1) how people interpret their experiences, (2) how
they construct their worlds, and (3) what meaning they attribute to their experiences”
(p. 24). The data we collected from practicing teachers (N = 15) were a demographics
survey and individual interviews. Data analysis was conducted through deductive
coding using our research questions and concepts from the literature reviewed. The
technique of in vivo coding (as per Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2020) helped us
track participants’ actual statements, attend to context and nuance by coding words
and phrases surrounding keywords, and draw out themes.
Features of this book that contribute to its uniqueness are:
• Focus on veteran teacher resilience and why veteran teachers choose to remain in
the classroom and teaching profession
• Use of an interview method involving veteran teachers that illuminates issues of
resilience and retention from their experiential viewpoint
• Highlighting of 15 narrative accounts of veteran teachers tailored to their
perceptions, experiences, and strategies for navigating barriers and overcoming
challenge
• Combination of conceptual frameworks, research results, interventions, and
strategies
• Connection of research, policy, implications of the study, and suggestions for
future study to practice.
At present, there is a need for research that addresses why veteran teachers stay in
the classroom and teaching profession. Individual and contextual factors that influ-
ence the development of resilience and adaptation by veteran teachers have yet to
be fully explored as well as deeply understood. This is the premise of our study.
This practice-minded, research-supported book is for school leaders and other prac-
titioners seeking to support both teachers’ resilience and a resilient school culture.
It is also for researchers interested in teacher resilience, particularly veteran teacher
resilience and the study and development of it. Anyone interested in resilience, partic-
ularly within demanding professions, stressful situations, and changing cultures,
should find value.
We (Brantley and Carol) personally know school and divisional leaders, teacher
leaders, teacher education and educational leadership faculty, and master’s and
doctoral students with interest in this topic. Some are even keen on conducting a
similar study by using our teacher resilience framework and building on our thematic
outcomes. We invite you to also consider our seven major themes/findings from inter-
views with rurally-located veteran teachers that can serve as an advanced organizer
for reading this book and following the study. To reiterate, these thematic outcomes
are: (1) purpose in teaching, (2) positive relationships in the milieu, (3) passion
for teaching, (4) supportive school culture, (5) passion for curricular content, (6)
accommodating work schedule, and (7) no other opportunities available.
4 1 Introduction

Many of the books available that speak to teacher resilience have a strong self-
help orientation (some are marketed as self-help), unlike ours, which is academic
and field oriented. However, we do offer practical steps for building resilience within
humans and organizations, and we also describe implications of our study and offer
suggestions for school leaders, policymakers, university faculty, researchers, and
other education stakeholders. Our book follows the path of research translated into
evidence-informed practice. This is the kind of topical treatment of a subject that fits
with books in the social sciences and education.
This book is organized into six chapters. This chapter contains an overview of
the study, statement of the problem, significance of the research, purpose and justifi-
cation of the study, and the conceptual framework. Chapter 2 examines recent liter-
ature related to the research questions. Chapter 3 describes the methodology used
to conduct the study and analyze the data. Chapter 4 provides an overview of the
findings from the demographics survey and teacher interviews. Chapter 5 addresses
our discussion of the findings, and Chap. 6 covers implications, concluding remarks,
and suggestions.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Teachers are the backbone of our communities. In school districts across the United
States, they guide and instruct our children every day. They have a tremendous
personal impact on young people during the most formative years of their life.
However, the current reality of the profession is bleak. Young teachers are leaving in
droves, and teacher education programs cannot produce enough graduates to replace
them (Qarni & Pianta, 2018). We are amid an ongoing teacher retention crisis, and
our schools and communities are suffering because of it (Boyd et al., 2011; Harris
& Sass, 2011).
The current research on teacher retention indicates a major problem. In the
Commonwealth of Virginia, 22% of teachers do not return to their school after year
one and 50% do not return after year four (Qarni & Pianta, 2018). In low-income,
low-performing schools, these numbers can be even greater (Katz, 2018).
Retaining teachers continues to be challenging, particularly in rural communities
with low socioeconomic status and schools serving a disproportionate representation
of underserved groups (Ingersoll, 2003; Inman & Marlow, 2004; Perrachione, Rosser,
& Petersen, 2008; Waddell, 2010). Waddell (2010) and Perrachione et al. (2008)
indicated that these demographic factors have a significant impact on a teacher’s
decision to remain in the classroom. To improve teacher retention in the face of these
hurdles, schools have increased salaries, created induction programs, incorporated
PD, and added performance incentives (Garcia, Slate, & Delgado, 2009; Waterman
& He, 2011).
2.3 Synthesis of the Literature 17

According to Nydoye, Imig, and Parker (2010), support from school leaders is
an important factor that influences teachers. They examined the relationships among
teacher empowerment, school leadership, and intentions to stay or leave the profes-
sion within North Carolina Charter Schools. Their research indicated that school
leadership is a strong predictor of teachers’ intentions to stay in or leave their current
school. Teachers need to feel that a support system is in place so they can solve
problems with a collective approach using identifiable steps. Nydoye et al. (2010)
also demonstrated that empowerment is a critical component in the administrative
support of teachers and plays a role in whether a teacher remains in the classroom.
Boyd et al. (2011) found that empowering teachers and implementing a collective
approach is significant in developing a culture that is conducive to retaining teachers.
The researchers found that teachers who felt they had influence over school policy,
effectiveness of school administration, staff relations, student behavior, facilities, and
safety were less likely to leave. Boyd et al. sought to identify the types of teachers that
are more likely to leave the profession, the demographic characteristics of student
bodies that may lead to high teacher turnover, and contextual factors that may lead
to teachers leaving the profession. Teachers that felt they had a direct impact were
much more likely to remain in the classroom.
Glazer (2018) declared similar findings in the study of certified, experienced
teachers who left teaching after making significant contributions throughout their
career. Teachers who had little control over curriculum and test results, and whose
agency as change agents was circumvented, were more likely to leave the classroom
(Glazer, 2018; Mullen, 2017; Tienken & Mullen, 2016). When teachers feel they have
no voice in their school, they tend to exit (Sedivy-Benton & Boden-McGill, 2012).
Teacher autonomy and influence within their school is important to the development
of a supportive culture and resiliency (Boyd et al., 2011; Brezicha, Ikoma, Park,
& LeTendre, 2019; Glazer, 2018; Nydoye et al., 2010). Sedivy-Benton and Boden-
McGill (2012) found that teachers who perceived themselves as having influence
and some degree of control in their schools were more likely to remain in them. The
factors that could not be controlled by the teachers were found to be statistically
significant, indicating that working conditions and administrative support do affect
teacher retention.
Teacher compensation has been shown to have a significant impact on working
conditions and teacher morale. Compensation is also a significant indicator of
whether a teacher will stay or leave the classroom. Eighty percent of the teachers in
Sedivy-Benton and Boden-McGill’s (2012) study responded that they would stay in
the profession until either retirement or inability to do the job. The more the teachers
were paid, the more likely they were to remain in the field.
Compensation plays an important role in the decision-making process of teachers
that chose to leave the classroom or transfer to another school district (Garcia et al.,
2009; Sedivy-Benton & Boden-McGill, 2012; Steele, Murnane, & Willett, 2010).
Research from Garcia et al. and Steele et al. both indicated that salary and financial
incentives have an impact on retaining teachers. Garcia et al. established a connection
between teacher turnover and salaries in their study in Texas. The more a school
division paid its teachers, the lower the teacher turnover rate was for that school
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