What does it take to stay?: A discrete choice experiment on teacher’s preferences to stay in the profession and how they align with national reforms

Research problem and specific questionsTeacher retention is a problem for many schools. In some municipalities 15-25% of teachers quit every year. While some turnover is necessary, too much instability is harmful for both students’ results and teachers’ health. There is therefore an urgent need to minimize teacher turnover.

Limitations of studies examining work-characteristics associated with teacher turnover are that they have mainly been cross-sectional register studies.

Knowledge is lacking on the relative importance of these work-characteristics in teachers’ retention decision, and whether teachers are willing to make trade-offs between these characteristics.

This project aims to investigate which work-related factors teachers consider in their decision to remain in the profession (aim 1); to examine the preferences of teachers and the trade-offs they are willing to make to stay in their profession (aim 2); to assess how national reforms align with teacher’s work-characteristic preferences (aim 3).Data and methodThe project applies a discrete-choice experiment (DCE), consisting of three parts: a Delphi-survey (n=30 teachers; Aim 1), a DCE-survey (n=1500 teachers; Aim 2), and four focus-group interviews (Aim 3).

The Delphi-survey and DCE-survey allow for the quantification of the relative importance of teachers´ work characteristics and the trade-offs they are willing to make to remain in their profession. The interviews allow for situational context to be explored and influential ‘hidden’ variables to be elucidated.

The interviews provide a more nuanced understanding of the preferences identified in the DCE-survey and of whether national reforms match teacher’s preferences.Societal relevance and utilisationDespite national reforms to attract and retain teachers, a shortage of ~12 000 teachers in Sweden is prognosed by 2035.

This project will inform policymakers and schools on how to facilitate a work-environment that ensures teacher’s motivation to remain in their profession.Plan for project realisationPlan for realisation includes recruitment of participants, data-collections, statistical analysis, reporting and communicating results.

The multidisciplinary group has extensive experience with the proposed methodology, including DCEs, and with conducting research in schools. Costs are mainly related to salaries.