Underlying Cause of Teacher Turnover and Agentic Solutions to Tackle Disruptive Behaviors Harming Instruction
By: Iteoluwa Aladesanmi, Oakland Scholar
Many teachers are giving up their careers in education. Myself and other Oakland Energy Convertor Fellows, surveyed a group of their peers, lifting the voice of over 400 scholars. Of those surveyed, 32.9% reported that one or more teachers have left their school this year, and 41.8% were unsure. Although the causes may vary, teacher turnover is frequently brought on by the stress caused by the misbehavior of their students. Teachers who remain are frequently burned-out, leading to a loss of motivation, energy, and enthusiasm, and as a consequence they are less effective in the classroom and less available to support students outside of the classroom. For instance, teachers may hold fewer office hours, and when they do, the quality of those sessions may suffer.
When teachers leave school, it disrupts the learning environment, and students may find it difficult to adjust to a new teacher’s teaching style and expectations. In the survey, students were asked to rate their teachers’ ability to manage behaviors to contain an instructional environment in the classroom. On a scale from 1–5, 63.1% of the 404 students believe that their teachers as a whole lack adequate skills to successfully manage their classes, creating an environment unfit for students to learn. At some point, teachers who are unable to manage their class leave, resulting in the school’s ability to provide students with the necessary resources and support to decline. Schools may be understaffed, contributing to larger class sizes and fewer student resources. Teachers who quit also affect their colleagues by increasing their workload.
Additional disadvantages of teachers leaving include:
(1) Loss of Experience and Knowledge: Replacing the skills and knowledge experienced teachers bring to the classroom takes a lot of work. When they leave, the school loses a vital resource, and it may take time for newer teachers to develop.
(2) Costs to Recruit and Hire: When a teacher leaves, the school must hire a replacement, which can be expensive and time-consuming, particularly if the school is having difficulty finding a qualified applicant.
The loss of a teacher can be detrimental to the school, the teachers, and the students. To make matters worse, students are not informed as to why their teachers left, and this creates a largely unanswered question in their minds, and some begin to question whether or not they played a role in their teachers’ departure. Communication about why their teacher quit is helpful for students, especially if student behavior contributed to their teacher leaving. This feedback would allow students to reflect and adjust their actions, hopefully preventing their next teacher from leaving.
To ensure a healthy and effective learning environment schools must prioritize the well-being of teachers. Schools must take action to retain teachers and provide a stable and supportive learning environment for students. Here are some agentic solutions that teachers, parents, and schools can utilize:
Agentic Solutions for Teachers
(1) Managing a classroom is not easy and takes a commitment to developing the skills necessary to do so. Teachers should utilize available resources, like Youtube videos and tutorials to get “tips and tricks” about classroom management, or seek forms of professional development to improve their craft through organizations that offer those services. Black Teacher Project of Oakland is an organization in Oakland that is dedicated to teacher development and retention.
(2) Develop a strong relationship with the students. By doing so, you shift your focus from trying to ‘fix’ the student to understanding them. Research by Search Institute found that students perform better in school the stronger their relationship is with their teacher.
(3) Teachers should look for common ground, empathize and communicate with their students. Olivia Hanifan provides steps teachers can take in the article — 5 Ways to Establish Effective Communication in the Classroom.
Agentic Solutions for Parents
The Center for parenting education and HigherEdu both provide advice and action steps parents should take to improve the behavior of their children, including -
(1) Frequent communication with teachers: Parents can connect with their child’s teacher regularly to learn about their child’s behavior in class. They could use emails, phone conversations, or parent-teacher conferences.
(2) Examine disciplinary reports: When a child receives a disciplinary report, parents should review it with their child and talk about any behavioral issues that the report might have raised. Parents and teachers can work together to address these issues and devise a plan to help the child behave better.
(3) Check progress reports: Progress reports can be a valuable source of information regarding a child’s mental and behavioral development. It’s useful for parents to read these reports, use the information to identify areas where their child may be struggling, and work with the teacher to create an action plan that will inevitably help the child.
Parents and teachers can work together to ensure that children succeed in the classroom. Parents being actively involved in their children’s education provides them with valuable data to pinpoint areas where their children may need further support and can be used to help parents make decisions that best serve their child.
Solutions for The District
(1) Utilize the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) program: Schools can apply the PBIS structure to encourage good behavior and prevent bad ones. It entails setting out specific expectations for behavior and praising positive behavior regularly.
(2) Involve families: Schools should get in contact with families in order to create a welcoming and encouraging environment for students. School outreach could include encouraging families to participate in school events like open-house or celebratory events, and providing resources to help families. When a student’s family is committed to their success, they are more likely to advocate healthy behavior.
(3) Advocate for physical exercise and movement breaks: Research has shown that physical activity improves student behavior. Throughout the school day, students can be physically active by engaging in recess or physical education classes. In addition, brief exercise breaks throughout the day may help students concentrate and improve their behavior.
(4) Administer counseling and mental health services: Many kids who engage in problematic conduct may deal with mental health difficulties or have a rough home life. Schools should provide children with counseling and mental health services to assist them to address these underlying issues and improve their conduct.
