Modelling the relationships between teacher working conditions, job satisfaction and desire to move schools

Teacher shortages are a recurring problem in publicly funded schools, in part because of low retention rates. Poor working conditions are one important reason that teachers leave their schools.

This research derives a set of working conditions measures from the Teaching and Learning International Survey and uses them to model teacher job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Results show associations with leadership practices, whether teachers have been prepared for their specific class assignments and scope for career progression. These findings are robust to checks for common source bias. School leaders can use this research can help inform efforts to improve teacher retention.