This article analyzes sensemaking about faculty departure among administrators, faculty colleagues, and faculty leavers in one research university. A mixed methods database was analyzed to reveal four dominant explanations for faculty departure and two influences on sensemaking. Dominant explanations included better opportunities, the likelihood…

A mixed methods analysis of women faculty departure at one research institution was conducted using Hagedorn's model of faculty job satisfaction. Findings from an institution-wide survey and interviews with women faculty who had left the institution resulted in several themes: (a) a lack of resources to support faculty work, (b) a lack of…

Teacher attrition is a cost to the community and, often, to the teachers concerned. One ready potential source of teachers is those having left the profession, particularly recently, and who may be willing to return. For this article, 22 former teachers were interviewed about their journey into and out of teaching. Understanding what made teachers…

New teachers are faced with many challenges during the first few years of teaching. They have to adjust to a new work environment, interact with parents, resolve a variety of conflicts, and design stimulating lessons for their students--often with few resources at hand. The large and varied workload that teachers carry during their first few years…

Considerable research has been conducted into teacher retention and attrition (Huberman, 1989; Dinham, 1995; Ewing & Smith, 2002). Little is known, though, of the circumstances of ex-teachers, in terms of factors such as salary, workload, working conditions and "job prestige". For this paper, telephone interviews were conducted with 22…

Recent data on teacher attrition indicate that approximately 15 percent of teachers either leave the profession or move from one school to another each year. The attrition rate is highest for teachers new to the profession with 30-50 percent leaving within five years. High rates of attrition are a contributing cause of various educational problems…

In an effort to understand how higher education institutions can retain women faculty members, this study examined the attitudes of eight tenured women faculty who chose to leave one research university. Some went to other tenured academic positions, others to research agencies. Interviews included open-ended questions as well as focused probes…