Addressing Teacher Burnout, Attrition, & Retention - A Scoping Review

Abstract

Teacher burnout, attrition, and retention is a growing concern for education leaders today. With impacts reaching from student learning to school culture, school leaders find this concern racing to the top of priorities. This paper reports findings from a scoping review to provide education leaders with a better understanding of how to impact teacher burnout, attrition, and retention. The inclusion criteria narrowed this study to secondary, public-school educators in America. After appropriately screening searched articles, 48 studies were included. Using a thematic analysis process to analyze, organize, and synthesize the data from these studies, three themes emerged: 1) reasons for teacher burnout and attrition, 2) strategies to combat teacher burnout and attrition, and 3) strategies to impact teacher retention. This scoping review uses a thematic analysis to discuss how education leaders are able to impact teacher burnout, attrition, and retention by creating structures that forge authentic, productive relationships, as well as invest in transformative and distributive leadership styles.