Empowerment, Leadership, and Teachers' Intentions to Stay in or Leave the Profession or Their Schools in North Carolina Charter Schools

Abstract

Teacher attrition and migration plague many American schools. The situation is even more dire in charter schools across the country. On average, teacher attrition is 15 to 40% higher in charter schools than in traditional schools. This study examined the relationships among teacher empowerment, school leadership, and intentions to stay in or leave the profession within North Carolina charter schools using data from the North Carolina 2006 Teacher Working Conditions survey. Results indicate that leadership is a stronger predictor of teachers' intentions to stay in or leave the profession or to migrate to a different school/district or state.