Teacher Attrition and Mobility in Public Schools in Rural America: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Study

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of teachers who had previously taught at a rural public school in Northern New York State and had left those teaching positions. The problem communicated in this study was the high attrition, turnover, and mobility rates of teachers in rural public schools in the United States. The theory guiding this research is Ehrenberg and Smith’s economic labor market of supply and demand as it relates to the phenomenon of teacher attrition. The central research question of understanding the lived experiences of teachers who have left rural school districts in America is addressed. A purposive sampling approach was used to recruit 10 certified teachers who had previously been employed in Northern New York rural public schools. Data for this research was collected through individual semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and journal writing. Information from the methods of data collection was labeled and analyzed. Open coding was used to identify patterns and themes based on relationships between words and phrases from each interview to code for similarities and differences of participant’s answers. Codes were used to analyze these themes where three themes emerged (1) closer to home, (2) insufficient support, and (3) toxic work environment. The findings provided information on teacher attrition and mobility, affirming the need to understand what is lacking or needed in a district to increase teacher retention.