Exploring the predictors of teacher retention among beginning teachers in Ethiopia

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.7236

Keywords:

beginning teachers, retention, teacher education, tracer design, Ethiopia

Abstract

There is a global challenge to retain qualified beginning teachers across the school system. In the first 10 years of entering the profession, a large number of beginning teachers exit altogether. While high-income countries have been designing policies and discussing effective ways to retain beginning teachers, the African share of such deliberation is scanty. Using Mason and Matas’ (2015) four-capital teacher retention model (structural, social, psychological and human capital) as a conceptual framework, we studied the predictors of retention of beginning teachers in Ethiopia. A questionnaire designed on the basis of the tenets of the conceptual framework was used for the data collection. In total, 204 beginning teachers who had graduated from elite teacher training institutions were recruited for this study. The data were analysed using t-tests, analysis of variance and structural equation modelling to estimate the strengths of the relationships and direct logistical and linear regressions. The results show a positive relationship between the four indicators and the demographic variables, such as gender, pre-service training, access to professional development, level of teaching and living with family in the community, which provided additional insight into teacher retention. We discuss the need for a multifaceted approach to retaining beginning teachers in Ethiopia as well as other implications.

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Author Biographies

William Nketsia, Western Sydney University

Dr. William Nketsia joined Western Sydney University (WSU) as a lecturer in inclusive education in January 2018. He completed his doctoral and masters’ degrees in education in 2016 and 2011 respectively, from University of Jyvaskyla, Finland.

Ali Sani Side, Dilla University

Dr. Ali Sani Side is a PhD fellow in special needs and inclusive education at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He has a master’s degree in special needs education from same university. He has been serving as a senior lecture in special needs and inclusive education and researcher in Dilla University, Ethiopia, for 10 years.

Maxwell Peprah Opoku, United Arab Emirates University

Dr. Maxwell Peprah Opoku is an assistant professor in special education in the College of Education at United Arab Emirates University. He holds PhD in education from University of Tasmania, Australia.

Fekede Tuli Gemeda, Kotebe Metropolitan University

Dr. Fekede Tuli Gemeda is currently an associate professor of teacher education at the Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies in the College of Education and Behavioral Studies at Kotebe Metropolitan University, Ethiopia.

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Published

2022-07-26

How to Cite

Nketsia, W., Side, A. S., Opoku, M. P., & Gemeda, F. T. (2022). Exploring the predictors of teacher retention among beginning teachers in Ethiopia. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 30, (108). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.7236

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