Teachers’ Perceptions of Public Policy and their Impact on Teacher Retention

Fewer issues have received more attention by education researchers than understanding the global teacher shortage, especially in public schools. Concurrent with this issue is the concern that the rate of teacher hires is insufficient to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse body of students. Further, while the research on job satisfaction, specifically in understanding their impact on teacher retention, is multifaceted, causal data underlying these approaches have been limited. This research gains significance in light of policymakers’ increasing calls for restructuring the way schools do business to effectively meet the diverse needs of students, often in spite of already-limited school resources and staff capacity. This research study focuses on understanding the global teacher shortage in public schools and its impact on teacher retention, with particular emphasis on the role of public policy. The study aims to address the gap in research by conducting a quantitative, survey-based research study among K-12 teachers in a large public school district in the Midwest. Through a virtual survey covering teacher demographic characteristics, and their understanding and evaluation of education policies, the comprehensive study seeks to analyze how public policy influences teacher job satisfaction and retention. Recruitment for the survey was conducted through teacher association leadership, with no compensation provided to participants. The findings suggested that while there is no significant relationship between public policy and teacher retention generally, with the clear exception for school accountability policy. The findings offer insights into the factors influencing the retention of teachers within the education workforce. The results, implications for practice, and future research are discussed.