Rural Veteran Teacher Retention Perceptions and Influential Factors: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study

Amid persistent teacher shortages, chronic underfunding, and policy misalignment, rural schools depend on the resilience of their most experienced educators. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined the perceptions, systemic conditions, and adaptive practices of veteran rural teachers who choose to remain in the profession. Grounded in Ecological Systems Theory (EST) and the Phenomenological Variant of EST (PVEST), the study integrated survey responses from 50 teachers in rural South Texas with semi-structured and follow-up interviews from nine participants, document analysis, non-participant observations, and four embedded case studies. Quantitative data revealed patterns in perceived challenges and benefits, while qualitative data provided a deeper understanding of how teachers navigate interactions across ecological systems. Findings revealed enduring challenges, including professional isolation, limited access to professional development, scarce instructional resources, and policy instability. Retention emerged as a function of dynamic system interactions rather than individual resilience alone. The four case studies illustrated adaptive, maladaptive, buffered, and mixed responses to systemic pressures, reflecting how identity negotiation and ecological alignment shape persistence. Overall, the study concludes that resilience in rural education stems from ecological harmony, cultural belonging, and leadership stability, underscoring the need for policies and practices that honor rural teachers’ experiences as vital to sustaining the educator workforce.