Administrative Climate, Early Career Teacher Burnout, and Turnover

Abstract

Teacher burnout and turnover are known to be especially high for early career teachers (ECTs). However, the link between teacher burnout and turnover has received little attention in the current age of accountability. This study investigates how administrative climate is related to ECT burnout and subsequent career decisions using data from Michigan Indiana ECT Study participants ( n = 184). Results from linear regressions show that higher measures of administrative climate are strongly associated with lower levels of burnout. Subsequent logit models reveal that higher burnout, in turn, predicted ECT turnover while administrative climate surprisingly did not. These findings may lead to a better understanding of school leadership’s established role as a top determinant of teacher mobility.