Factors Influencing School-Based Agricultural Educator Retention and Attrition Rates

Trevor Queen; Taylor Bird; Eric Rubenstein

doi:10.5032/jae.v66i2.2929

Authors

Trevor P. Queen Haymon Morris Middle School
Taylor D. Bird University of Georgia
Eric D. Rubenstein University of Georgia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.v66i2.2929

Keywords:

agriculture teacher retention, agriculture teacher attrition, agriculture teacher motivations, teacher retention, teacher burnout, agriculture teacher job satisfaction

Abstract

Agriculture educator retention levels remain concerning. A synthesis of research identified overall themes affecting agriculture teacher retention and attrition. Professional relations with students, administration, other teachers, and the community affect rates of agriculture teacher retention. In addition, mental and physical factors such as stress, teacher burnout, motivations, salary, and school systems each influence agriculture teachers’ decisions about the future of themselves remaining in the school-based agricultural education profession. Work-life balance is a difficult situation for many agriculture educators to overcome. Job commitment within this profession varies from teacher to teacher as satisfaction, self-efficacy, and future opportunities affect commitment levels.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

American Psychological Association. (2012). Stress in America: Missing the health care connection. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2012/full-report.pdf

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: the exercise of control. W. H. Freeman and Company.

Baxter, L., Stephens, C., & Thayer-Bacon, B. J. (2011). Perceptions and barriers of four female agriculture educators across generations: a qualitative study. Journal of Agricultural Education, 52(4), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2011.04013

Clark, M. S., Kelsey, K. D., & Brown, N. R. (2014). The thornless rose: A phenomenological look at decisions career teachers make to remain in the profession. Journal of Agricultural Education, 55(3), 43–56. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.03043

Clemons, C., & Lindner, J. (2019). Teacher longevity and career satisfaction in the Secondary Agricultural Education Classroom. Journal of Agricultural Education, 60(1), 186–201. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2019.01186

Dainty, J. D., Sandford, B. A., Su, S.-H., & Belcher, G. G. (2011). Factors influencing the retention of secondary family and Consumer Sciences Teachers. Journal of Career and Technical Education, 26(2). https://doi.org/10.21061/jcte.v26i2.524

DeLay, A., & Washburn, S. (2013). The role of collaboration in secondary agriculture teacher career satisfaction and career retention. Journal of Agricultural Education, 54(4), 104–120. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2013.04104

Eck, C., & Michael, E. (2019). Teacher shortage in school-based, Agricultural Education (SBAE): A historical review. Journal of Agricultural Education, 60(4), 223–239. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2019.04223

Flood, K. C., & Curry, K. (2022). The perceptions of school-based agriculture teachers on extended contracts. Journal of Agricultural Education, 63(3), 183–197. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.03183

Guyett, L. A. (2020). Beyond the 9 to 5: A Study of Family Work-life Balance of Female Agriculture Educators in Georgia (Order No. 29289003). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2714284835). https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/beyond-9-5-study-family-work-life-balance-female/docview/2714284835/se-2

Hancock, C. B., & Scherff, L. (2010). Who will stay and who will leave? Predicting secondary English teacher attrition risk. Journal of Teacher Education, 328–338. https://doi.org/10.1177/022487110372214

Hasselquist, L., & Graves, N. A. (2020). CTE teacher retention: Lessons learned from mid-career teachers. Career and Technical Education Research, 45(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.5328/cter45.1.3

Hasselquist, L., Herndon, K., & Kitchel, T. (2017). School culture’s influence on beginning agriculture teachers’ job satisfaction and teacher self-efficacy. Journal of Agricultural Education, 58(1), 267–279. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2017.01267

Hopkins, N., Sorensen, T. J., Burrows, M., & Lawver, R. G. (2020). Happy spouse, happy greenhouse: Perceptions of the SBAE teacher’s spouse regarding agricultural education as a career. Journal of Agricultural Education, 61(3), 194–213. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.03194

Ismail, N., & Miller, G. (2021). Factors that motivate high school agriculture teachers to teach. Journal of Agricultural Education, 62(1), 331–346. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2021.01331.

Joseph, K. J., Stewart, J., & Gardner, R. (2022). We’re all in this together: Supporting Agriculture teachers in Oregon. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 94(5), 26–29. https://www.naae.org/profdevelopment/magazine/archive_issues/Volume94/2022%2003%20--%20March%20April.pdf

Keigher, A. (2010). Teacher Attrition and Mobility: Results From the 2008–09 Teacher Follow-up Survey (NCES 2010-353). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.

King, D. L., Rucker, K. J., & Duncan, D. W. (2013). Classroom instruction and FFA/SAE responsibilities creating the most stress for female teachers in the southeast. Journal of Agricultural Education, 54(4), 195–205. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2013.04195

Kitchel, T., Smith, A., Henry, A., Robinson, S., Lawver, R., Park, T., & Schell, A. (2012). Teacher job satisfaction and burnout viewed through social comparisons. Journal of Agricultural Education, 53(1), 31–44. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2012.01031

Klassen, R. M., & Chiu, M. M. (2010). Effects on teachers' self-efficacy and job satisfaction: Teacher gender, years of experience, and job stress. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 741–756. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019237

Korte, D. S., & Simonsen, J. C. (2018). Influence of social support on teacher self-efficacy in novice agricultural education teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 59(3), 100–123. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2018.03100

Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, California: SAGE Publications.

National Association of Agricultural Educators. (n.d.). Why teach agriculture? https://www.naae.org/teach-ag/why-teach-ag/overview/

National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Teacher turnover: Percentage of public school teachers who left the profession or moved to a different school. U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/slc/teacher-turnover

McIntosh, B., Morrish, D., & Wakefield, D. (2018). Secondary Agriculture Science Teachers: Factors Affecting Who Will Stay and Who Will Go. NACTA Journal, 62(3), 249–253.

McKim, A. J., & Sorensen, T. J. (2020). Agriculture educators and the pandemic: An evaluation of work and life variables. Journal of Agricultural Education, 61(4), 214–228. http://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.04214

McKim, A. J., & Velez, J. J. (2015). Exploring the relationship between self-efficacy and career commitment among early career agriculture teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 56(1), 127–140. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2015.01127

Mordan, B. R. (2012). Retention and professional mentoring of beginning career and technical education teachers (Order No. 3569237). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1348165665). https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/retention-professional-mentoring-beginning-career/docview/1348165665/se-2

Moser, E. M., & McKim, A. J. (2020). Teacher retention: A relational perspective. Journal of Agricultural Education, 61(2). https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.02263

Murray, K., Flowers, J., Croom, B., & Wilson, B. (2011). The Agricultural teacher’s struggle for balance between career and family. Journal of Agricultural Education, 52(2), 107–117. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2011.02107

Saunders, B., Sim, J., Kingstone, T., Baker, S., Waterfield, J., Bartlam, B., Burroughs, H., & Jinks, C. (2018). Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization. Quality & Quantity, 52(4), 1893–1907.

Shoulders, C. W., Estepp, C. M., & Johnson, D. M. (2021). Teachers’ Stress, Coping Strategies, and Job Satisfaction in COVID-Induced Teaching Environments, 62(4), 67–80.

Schmidt, K. J., Milliken, D. B., González Morales, A. M., Traini, H. Q., & Velez, J. J. (2022). When Teaching Hurts: Exploring the Secondary Traumatic Stress Experiences of Early-Career SBAE Teacher. Journal of Agriculture Education, 63(3), 216–232. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.03216

Smalley, S., & Smith, A. (2017). Professional development needs of mid-career Agriculture Teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 58(4), 282–290. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2017.04283

Smith, A. R., Foster, D. D., & Lawver, R. G. (2022). National Agricultural Education Supply and Demand Study, 2021 Executive Summary. http://aaaeonline.org/Resources/Documents/NSD 2021Summary.pdf

Smith, A. R., & Smalley, S. (2018). Job stress, burnout, and professional development needs of mid-career agricultural education teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 59(2), 305–320. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2018.02305

Solomonson, J., Still, S., Maxwell, L., & Barrowclough, M. (2022). Exploring relationships between career retention factors and personal and professional characteristics of Illinois Agriculture Teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 63(2), 119–130. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02119

Solomonson, J., Thieman, E., Korte, D., & Retallick, M. (2019). Why do they leave and where do they go? A qualitative study of Illinois School-based agriculture teachers who left the profession. Journal of Agricultural Education, 60(4), 115–131. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2019.04115

Solomonson, J. K., & Retallick, M. S. (2018). Over the edge: Factors nudging mid-career, school-based agriculture teachers out of the profession. Journal of Agricultural Education, 59(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2018.04001

Sorensen, T. J., & McKim, A. J. (2014). Perceived work-life balance ability, job satisfaction, and professional commitment among agriculture teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 55(4), 116–132. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.04116

Sorensen, T. J., McKim, A. J., & Velez, J. J. (2017). A national study of work characteristics and work-family conflict among secondary agriculture educators. Journal of Agricultural Education, 58(2), 214–231. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2017.02214

Sorensen, T., McKim, A., & Velez, J. (2016). A national study of work-family balance and job satisfaction among agriculture teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 57(4), 146–159. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2016.04146

Struyen, K., & Vanthournout, G. (2014). Teachers' exit decisions: An investigation into the reasons why newly qualified teachers fail to enter the teaching profession or why those who do enter do not continue teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 43, 37–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.06.002

Su, S., Dainty, J. D., Sandford, B. A., Townsend, D., & Belcher, G. G. (2011). A descriptive study of the retention of secondary trade and industrial teachers in Kansas. Career and Technical Education Research, 36(3), 187–205. https://doi.org/10.5328/cter36.3.187

Swan, B. G., Wolf, C. J., & Cano, J. (2011). Changes in teacher self-efficacy from the student teaching experience through the third year of teaching. Journal of Agricultural Education, 52(2), 128–139. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2011.02128

Tippens, A., Ricketts, J., Morgan, A. C., Navarro, M., & Flanders, F. (2013). Factors related to teachers’ intention to leave the classroom early. Journal of Agricultural Education, 54(4), 58–72. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2013.04058

Traini, H. Q., Claflin, K., Stewart, J., & Velez, J. J. (2019). Success, balance, but never both: Exploring reified forms of success in school-based agricultural education. Journal of Agricultural Education, 60(4), 240–254. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2019.04240

Traini, H. Q., Yopp, A. M., & Roberts, R. (2020). The success trap: A case study of early-career agricultural education teachers’ conceptualizations of work-life balance. Journal of Agricultural Education, 61(4), 175–188. http://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.04175

United States Department of Education. (2016). Teacher shortage areas: Nationwide listing 1990-1991 through 2016-2017. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.pdf