Remote Teacher Retention: A Phenomenological Study Applying the Jobs Demands-Resource

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of current and former United States (U.S.) K-12 remote instructors. The problem is that educator retention is at a crisis point in the U.S. To help combat the severe and persistent teacher shortages plaguing America, leaders must capture the genuine perceptions of the virtual teaching experience. The guiding theory for this investigation is the Jobs-Demand Resource (JD-R) Model and the influence of job characteristics on teacher well-being, motivation, and retention. The central research question driving this study is, “What are the lived experiences of remote instructors?” A qualitative transcendental research design was administered because it is flexible, process-oriented, and captures genuine remote teacher perceptions and motivations. The setting for the research was the U.S. Criterion and snowball sampling were used to identify K-12 teachers who taught online core courses for one or more years. Participant data was collected through writing prompts, one-on-one interviews, and a focus group to facilitate data triangulation. Content and narrative coding and thematic analysis were used because of its theoretical pliability to various data sources. Participants identified the most demanding aspects of teaching online as overcoming technological challenges, maintaining work-life balance and student engagement. Job support included training, technology, student families, teacher adaptability, and communication skills.