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.

Headshots of David Naff, Val Robnolt, Angela Allen and Jesse Senechal. — Authors of the journal article detailing the process used to develop the exit survey include David Naff, Ph.D.; Valerie Robnolt, Ph.D.; Angela Allen, Ph.D.; and Jesse Senechal, Ph.D. Not pictured are Brooke Good and Meredith Parker, Ph.D.

Authors of the journal article detailing the process used to develop the exit survey include David Naff, Ph.D.; Valerie Robnolt, Ph.D.; Angela Allen, Ph.D.; and Jesse Senechal, Ph.D. Not pictured are Brooke Good and Meredith Parker, Ph.D.

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:

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.