Date of Award

Fall 2025

Language

English

Embargo Period

11-30-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Educational Theory and Practice

Program

Curriculum and Instruction

First Advisor

Dr. Brett Levy

Committee Members

Dr. Reza Feyzi-Behnagh, Dr. Kathryn S. Schiller

Keywords

Teacher Retention, Teacher Turnover, Positive Deviance, High-Frequency Low-Stakes Check-ins

Subject Categories

Educational Leadership

Abstract

The teacher retention crisis has been extensively studied over the 21st century. Robust survey data from the National Center of Educational Statistics (NCES) has produced volumes on the quantitative characteristics of the teachers, students, and schools associated with low teacher retention (Ingersoll, 2001; Boyd et al., 2011; Ronfeldt, Loeb & Wyckoff, 2013). However, few studies have examined what is going right at high poverty schools which nonetheless maintain exceptionally high teacher retention. This dissertation utilizes a positive deviance lens to examine four schools; two typical schools that had normal teacher retention rates for New York State, and two outlier schools that experienced both high poverty and exceptionally high teacher retention.

This mixed methods study uses statistical analysis to identify positive outlier schools and semi-structured interviews to gather reflections from the principals and teachers who work in those high-retention schools. Similarly, interviews with principals and teachers at the two typical schools provided a normal context for comparison, contrasting the policies and experiences of teachers at the high-retention schools. All interviews were analyzed using Herzberg’s two-factor theory, parsing the different motivational factors and negative factors that may influence employment satisfaction.

Findings from those 23 interviews across four schools indicate teacher retention was higher when teachers reported that the administration protected their time, provided a sufficient working environment, and handled disruptive students. Teachers at the outlier schools described their principals as reliable and reported that they felt successful as teachers. Both outlier school principals used high-frequency, low-stakes check-ins to chat with most of their teachers on a nearly daily basis. The interviews reveal that these short interactions provided multiple opportunities for principals to respond to modest requests from teachers, and that principals built trust when they quickly followed-through on those requests. This research demonstrates the viability of positive deviance for studying teacher retention and offers actionable practice for school leaders hoping to improve teacher retention at their schools.

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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