A Two-Dimensional Model of Teacher Retention and Mobility: Classroom Teachers and Their University Partners Take a Closer Look at a Vexing Problem

This mixed-methods study is a teacher-initiated, collaborative inquiry involving a professional development school (PDS) and a university. The investigation focused on teachers' perceptions of teacher retention and mobility at their PDS. Participants were 134 teachers at a high-needs elementary school with data sources including surveys, interviews, and open-ended questionnaires. The findings clustered around two primary dimensions: (a) congruency of teachers' beliefs and practices with organizational norms and (b) teachers' relational needs and administrators' willingness and ability to meet such needs. Although this study affirmed many of the findings in the extant literature, it also challenged others—namely, the links between teacher turnover and workplace conditions, student body characteristics, and student achievement. The recursive research design enabled the researchers to make accommodations in methodology in response to teachers' and administrators' concerns. The researchers documented these modifications and make recommendations for conducting inquiry in a PDS.