MERC co-develops exit survey for local school divisions
Details about the process used to develop the survey, which captures why teachers are leaving the profession, are the subject of a journal article.
A common exit survey to capture why teachers are leaving the profession – developed by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) and local school divisions – is now in active use in the region. Details about the research process used to develop the survey are available for public access in the Journal of Education Human Resources.
MERC, a center affiliated with the VCU School of Education, partners with six local school districts in the Richmond metropolitan area:
- Chesterfield County Public Schools
- Goochland County Public Schools
- Hanover County Public Schools
- Henrico County Public Schools
- Petersburg City Public Schools
- Richmond City Public Schools
The article – titled Teacher exit survey development through a researcher practitioner practice: A collaborative approach – details the community-engaged research process that was used to develop the survey at the end of the 2018-2019 school year. The development occurred with input from school district representatives as well as through ongoing conversations with district human resource directors.
The resulting survey found nine common categories of reasons why teachers are leaving the profession: retirement, personal reasons, teacher preparation, compensation and benefits, career advancement/switch or higher education, community context, district context, school context, and testing and accountability context.
Authors of the study are:
- David Naff, Ph.D., associate director of MERC, assistant professor in the Department of Foundations of Education
- Brooke Good, School of Education doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. in Education, Concentration in Curriculum, Culture and Change Program
- Valerie Robnolt, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning
- Angela Allen, Ph.D., alumna of the Ph.D. in Education, Concentration in Urban Services Leadership
- Meredith Parker, executive director of Human Resources, Hanover County Public Schools
- Jesse Senechal, Ph.D., director of MERC, assistant professor in the Department of Foundations of Education
Citation:
Naff, D., Spotts, B., Robnolt, V., Allen, A., Parker, M., & Senechal, J. (2021) Teacher exit survey development through a researcher practitioner practice: A collaborative approach. Journal of Education Human Resources. e20210037.