Shifting Gears: Why Mid-Career Teachers Decide It's Time to Take an Exit

Teacher attrition in public education in the United States is a critical issue. While much attention has been given to new professionals, mid-career teachers -- those with five to fifteen years of experience -- often get overlooked and are now beginning to veer off their chosen career paths at increasing rates. One area greatly impacted by the teacher shortage is South Carolina. Our exploratory qualitative research study explored the factors that contribute to mid-career teacher attrition from rural schools in the state and how they explained their decisions to exit the profession. Utilizing in-depth interviews with six former South Carolina teachers, we conducted a thematic analysis of their responses and found that their decisions were complex. Examining our findings through the lenses of self-determination theory, self-efficacy, and teacher craft conscience, eight factors emerged from the data: work-life balance, compensation, autonomy, leadership, peer relationships, safety, the current political climate, and COVID-19. From our analysis, we concluded that the teacher workload and the lack of compensation for the time needed to do their jobs with integrity combined with the demands of their personal lives at this stage created a perfect storm in which our participants asked themselves: Is this worth it? Work-life balance as well as the other factors listed ultimately influenced them to shift gears and leave education. The findings of our study contribute to existing research pertaining to mid-career teacher attrition and inform public school stakeholders as they work toward finding solutions to the teacher attrition phenomenon. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]