Examining Teacher Attrition through the Experiences of Former Teachers before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Schools across the nation are impacted by the influx of teachers leaving the profession. Record-high teacher shortages devastate public schools as classrooms remain unstaffed, and students miss quality instruction. The current study examined the experiences of former teachers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to their exit from the profession. The overall research question was, “What experiences led teachers to exit the profession before and during the COVID-19 pandemic?” Using Maslach’s Burnout Theory as a guiding framework, qualitative data were collected during 10 in-depth interviews with former educators. Ten participants were selected using purposive sampling for interviews. The following criteria were utilized to select participants for interviews: taught in a South Carolina public school for at least eight years, taught during the pandemic, and quit or retired early. Potential limitations that were identified for the study included a limited number of participants, the emotional distress of reliving leaving the teaching profession, and the utilization of a virtual platform to conduct interviews. Data analyses resulted in the following themes contributing to teacher attrition: Lack of support from the administration, lack of professional autonomy, and increased stress. These were the most consistent themes noted before and during the pandemic. This research study provides educational leaders and policy makers with the voices of teachers who have left the profession, thus providing valuable data to make informed decisions in an effort to reverse the current teacher attrition trend. The determinants of teacher shortage identified in the data analysis of this phenomenological study can be addressed immediately within individual schools to help resolve the teacher shortage. Recommendations for future practice include administrators developing trusting relationships with teachers as well as educational leaders providing educators with a voice in decisions that affect their classrooms.

1. Introduction

As the COVID-19 pandemic ended, the number of teachers leaving the profession soared, resulting in a teacher shortage that is crippling schools. Public education is faced with unstaffed classrooms, uncertified teachers, and students missing quality instruction. The teaching profession has long been identified as one of the most stressful occupations with the potential to result in poor health [1]. During the pandemic, teachers endured the social and psychological effects of isolation and fear for their health as well as their families’ health [2]. They persisted in providing quality instruction remotely without appropriate training or resources [3]. Teachers became frontline workers risking their own health by returning to in-person education and continuing to provide instruction to students amidst the criticism from the parents and community [4].

Educational researcher Pressley conducted one of the first empirical studies in 2021 examining the effects of COVID-19 on educators across the United States [5]. Pressley (2021) clearly identified factors contributing to teacher burnout due to COVID-19 as being COVID-19 anxiety, current teaching anxiety, anxiety communicating with parents, and administrative support [5]. Stress was the most common reason given by educators before and during the pandemic as to why they left the teaching profession [6]. These contributing factors, along with a number of persisting issues that have plagued educators for years, have resulted in burned-out teachers quitting the profession at a rate the nation has never experienced before. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 600,000 educators left the teaching profession between January 2020 and January 2022 [4]. As teachers continue to vacate their positions, it has become vital to identify the underlying factors behind this all-time record-high exit of educators from the teaching profession.

Teacher attrition reduces student achievement, according to educational researchers Sorenson and Ladd [7]. A research study conducted by Redding and Henry (2018) highlighted how detrimental losing a teacher during the school year was for students. Their findings indicated that teacher attrition resulted in a heavy loss of instructional time due to the disruption caused for students and school staff [8]. Schools that are difficult to staff or have many teacher vacancies have resorted to using uncertified teachers or combining classes to address the lack of certified teachers, resulting in inequitable education for students [9]. Shortages in math, science, special education, and English as a second language have long presented issues to school districts [9]. However, current data demonstrate that teacher shortages are evident in all fields, with the highest-need districts experiencing the most vacancies [9]. It is apparent that teacher attrition is a pressing policy issue, and it must be addressed for students to receive a quality education.

Vandenberghe and Huberman (1999) identified factors contributing to the burnout of teachers and subsequent teacher shortage, including conflicting expectations, increased pressure at work, impractical innovations, lack of support, and unmotivated or undisciplined students [10]. In addition, Ingersoll and Smith (2003) reported the results of a survey administered to teachers who had left the profession that revealed student discipline problems, lack of support from the school administration, poor student motivation, and lack of teacher influence over school-wide and classroom decision making as the reason teachers quit [11]. Further research indicates that compensation to include benefits is the consistently cited number one reason for educators leaving their jobs [12]. Unrealistic expectations and concerns about personal well-being are additional reasons listed by educators for exiting the profession [12]. Clearly, each teacher’s individual experiences drive the reasoning for leaving the classroom behind.

Research conducted at the University of Florida pointed out that one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of teacher attrition is the workload and how many non-teaching job duties they had [13]. Educators are already overwhelmed with the tasks of serving on committees, fulfilling administrative duties, and other “extras” that they are mandated to do [13]. COVID-19 added a myriad of additional tasks for teachers to have to take on [13]. Two-thirds of district leaders and principals reported increased responsibilities of current employees due to a lack of staff in an EdWeek national survey [14]. This has led to more educators being frustrated with the poor working conditions with minimal benefits, COVID-19 protocols, and health risks associated with working around unvaccinated children [14].

As education leaders and government officials search for ways to curb teacher attrition, it is vital for them to listen to the voices of educators when they express the reasons that they are leaving the teaching profession. United States Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, promised, “It’s not only our responsibility but our commitment at the Department of Education to encourage, vest in and lift up teachers across America. The future of our country and our children’s futures depend on it” [15]. The future of the country and children are dependent on quality education; however, the question is who will provide such an education if efforts are not made to preserve the critical workforce of teachers.

March 2020 changed education across the nation. The mask requirements, social distancing rules, and strict quarantine guidelines are now gone; however, the COVID-19 pandemic left a lasting impact on public education [16]. Educators are facing the social-emotional impact of the pandemic on students, academic disparities, increased violence, and staff shortages [16]. The COVID-19 pandemic is a “timely topic” and will continue to be the subject of research. It is proving to have long-lasting effects beyond the contagion itself. Research regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on educators is ongoing as physical, social-emotional, and cognitive effects are still evolving. The conditions in public education are also changing, as politics are now infiltrating teaching methods and curricula.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to illuminate the experiences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic that led educators in South Carolina to exit the profession. The problem that was addressed in the study was the increased teacher shortage in South Carolina due to educators quitting or retiring early since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The narratives of these educators serve as valuable stakeholders’ voices for educational leaders and policymakers as to what went well and what needs to be changed in education in general, as well as during a pandemic. Furthermore, this study offers an opportunity for teacher agency to impact future teaching practices. Teacher agency has been linked to improved teacher retention [17]. As the United States is experiencing an unprecedented teacher shortage, any efforts to promote teacher retention are significant.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic certainly exacerbated the burnout of educators, it did not cause teacher attrition. The pandemic served as a catalyst for intensifying previously existing adverse working conditions for teachers. The conclusions drawn from the phenomenological research study’s collected qualitative data were compared to the theoretical framework of Maslach’s Burnout Theory. Maslach (1982) defined burnout as a psychological syndrome consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment that occurs among various professionals working with others in challenging situations [18]. Herbert Freudenberger first introduced the theory of burnout in the early 1970s in relation to his Free Clinic movement [19]. According to Freudenberger, his first Free Clinic was opened in 1967 in San Francisco to serve the indigent and young population who needed care for general medical problems as well as infections and diseases caused by drug use and unprotected sex [19]. Freudenberger termed experiences working in the clinic as “burnout syndrome”, including himself as someone who faced this syndrome [19]. He explained burnout “as a state of fatigue or frustration that resulted from professional relationships that failed to produce the expected rewards” [20] (p. 896). Freudenberger also divided the signs of burnout syndrome into physical and behavioral [19]. He listed the physical signs of burnout syndrome as “a feeling of exhaustion and fatigue, being unable to shake a lingering cold, suffering from frequent headaches and gastrointestinal disturbances, and sleeplessness and shortness of breath” [19] (p. 6). Freudenberger noted the following signs of behavior changes in individuals experiencing burnout syndrome: difficulty holding in feelings, instantaneous irritation and frustration responses, and quickness to anger, as well as an attitude of suspicion, paranoia, or omnipotence, which can lead to the individual taking unnecessary risks. The person becomes rigid, stubborn, and inflexible, having the feeling that they have gone through everything in the clinic and knows more than anyone else. The person may also act and seem depressed and spend much time in the clinic [19] (p. 7).

In Freudenberger’s book, Women’s Burnout, he provides a definition of burnout that examines the aspect of energy given as well as applies the syndrome to different contexts [19]. Burnout syndrome is portrayed in this book as “it is an exhaustion born of excessive demands which may be self-imposed or externally imposed by families, jobs, friends, lovers, value systems or society, which deplete one’s energy” [21] (p. 9). Symptoms of burnout syndrome in his book are depicted as a 12-stage cycle: “the compulsion to prove, intensity, subtle deprivations, dismissal of conflicts and needs, distortion of values, heightened denial, disengagement, observable behavioral changes, depersonalization, emptiness, depression, and total burnout exhaustion” [19] (p. 12). As Freudenberger further explains his depiction of burnout syndrome, his theory of burnout applies to caregivers, specifically those who are dedicated and committed [19].

Maslach (1982) later provided the definition of burnout as a psychological syndrome consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment that occurred among various professionals who work with other people in challenging situations, notably human service professionals such as teachers, police officers, lawyers, nurses, and others [18]. As Freudenberger presented burnout syndrome as a psychodynamic process, Maslach and Jackson utilized a social psychological approach to burnout syndrome [22]. Their approach placed emphasis on how work overload and stress resulted in burnout [22]. Maslach and Jackson proposed a multidimensional definition of burnout theory: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment [22]. Emotional exhaustion is described as overwhelming feelings of being overextended emotionally and drained by others [22]. Depersonalization is defined as a tendency to become impersonal and detached from clients [22]. A reduced sense of personal accomplishment refers to the individual not feeling that their efforts are achieving their desired outcomes [22]. Based on this definition, Maslach and Jackson (1981) developed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) as a research-based assessment method to determine burnout in an individual [23]. The development of this inventory has been instrumental in providing researchers with a quick and efficient way to identify burnout in various occupations.

The theory of burnout has been applied to educators for decades. Jackson et al. (1986) emphasized in their research study, “Educators today are expected to cure society’s ills, prepare young adults for life in a complex, technological society and accomplish both of these for salaries not commensurate with their education” [24] (p. 14). Belcastro and Gold (1983) utilized Maslach’s burnout inventory (MBI) along with the Teacher Somatic Complaints and Illness Inventory to determine the relationship between teacher stress levels and health issues [25] (p. 404). Their study findings revealed that the teachers identified in the burnout group suffered somatic complaints at either a greater frequency or greater intensity than the teachers not identified with burnout [25] (p. 406). Iwanicki (1983) discussed teacher stress and burnout as a result of the substantial reduction of educational resources, the power of legislators in determining curriculum, standardized testing, and the growing dissatisfaction of the public with the quality of schools [26] (p. 29).

Maddigan and Kim’s (2021) research demonstrated the correlation between burnout and teacher attrition [27]. Using Maslach and Jackson’s identifiers for burnout, these researchers conducted a joint study between York St. John University and York University, which highlighted burnout as one of the strongest predictors of teacher attrition, if not the strongest motivator for teachers to leave. This study consisted of a meta-analysis of previously published studies along with global data from the past 35 years across all levels of education. Maddiagan and Kim’s (2021) research also found that the rate of teachers who leave the profession as a result of burnout has steadily increased in the past 35 years [27]. The conclusion of this study noted that the only way to stop teacher attrition was to address teacher burnout [27]. Determining the factors contributing to the burnout of teachers in South Carolina public schools is imperative in resolving the teacher shortage in the state. The findings of this phenomenological study provide educational leaders and policymakers with the voices of teachers who have left the profession. It is up to them to use these valuable data to make informed decisions to reverse the current teacher attrition trend.

Context

The teacher shortage crisis in South Carolina is growing expediently. Teachers have voiced their unhappiness over a variety of issues, yet their pleas for help remain unnoticed. A worldwide pandemic in which teachers served as frontline workers was not even enough to call attention to the ongoing problems in public education. A new catalyst now exists that may result in a detrimental loss of South Carolina teachers that the state cannot recover from. Parents and community members are demonstrating a complete lack of respect for the professional autonomy of educators and have commandeered a hate group, Moms for Liberty, to lead the way [28]. This group of political activists has taken over school boards across the state by winning the majority of seats on the boards during elections [28]. This has resulted in teachers being questioned about their curriculum, teaching practices, and other instructional resources and subsequently fired [28]. Censorship has spread across the state as books are banned from school libraries and classrooms if a single parent lodges a complaint [28]. Teaching instruction that results in a specific race or religion feeling uncomfortable has recently been outlawed within South Carolina, making teachers afraid to teach [29].

South Carolina’s education system will face catastrophic damage if the growing dissatisfaction and burnout among educators are not resolved. Educators demonstrate a dedication to their students that drives them to continue facing adverse working conditions daily, but this dedication is no longer enough to keep burned-out teachers in the classroom. This five-alarm crisis requires the public to awaken to the harsh realities endured by educators. If the issue of teacher burnout is not addressed, teachers will continue to leave the profession, ultimately resulting in irreversible damage to our society.

2. Research Design and Methods

A phenomenological research design was employed for the examination of former educators lived experiences that led to their exit from the profession. Phenomenology challenges researchers to put aside judgments and their own experiences in order to understand the phenomenon more deeply through the participants’ experiences [30]. The researchers are then able to identify themes between each participant’s experience and form a new understanding of the phenomenon [31]. This methodology was chosen because it focuses on the feelings and responses of the participants to elicit a true representation of the phenomenon experienced [32]. A phenomenological study is described as “the common meaning for several individuals of their lived experiences of a concept or a phenomenon” [30] (p. 75). Neubauer (2019) defines phenomenology as a form of qualitative research that focuses on the study of an individual’s lived experiences within the world [33] (p. 90). Van Manen (1990) encourages qualitative researchers to identify the phenomenon that the participants being studied experience [34] (p. 163). This qualitative study focuses on the phenomenon of COVID-19 and teacher shortage. The researcher collected data through one-on-one interviews with educators who have experienced this phenomenon to determine “what” they experienced and “how” they experienced it [35]. Parker and Hodgson (2020) also cite the benefits of using this methodology in research to assist in comprehending the variety and difference in thinking and understanding from the perception of the interviewees [36] (p. 248). In a phenomenological study, interviews allow the researcher to get to know the participants first-hand as they share the stories of their lived experiences [32]. In this qualitative study, an in-depth study of teacher attrition was included. The sample size in this study was no more than ten to devote time to lengthy interviews that allowed participants to fully describe their experiences. The focus of this study is to illuminate the experiences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic that led educators in South Carolina to exit the profession. The record-high number of teacher vacancies in the state of South Carolina served as the inspiration for this research study. A phenomenological study allowed their voices to be heard as the researcher delved into the former educators’ firsthand experiences of the phenomenon of teacher attrition.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects were experienced worldwide, this specific study drew conclusions about the population of public school educators (K-12) in the state of South Carolina who left the profession during 2020–2022 due to experiences before or during the pandemic. This population was appropriate for this research study due to the unprecedented nationwide shortage of educators experienced since 2020.

The study received approval from Arkansas State University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to any data collection. Purposive sampling was utilized to select the ten participants that compiled the sample size of this phenomenological study. A larger number of participants was not used due to the time constraints of conducting in-depth interviews with each individual. The 10 individuals selected for participation in the study met the following criteria: (a) have taught in a South Carolina public school a minimum of eight years prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic, (b) quit the profession, or (c) retired early due to working conditions caused by the pandemic. Participants were recruited through a flyer posted on the SCforEd (a South Carolina Educator support and political activist group) Facebook website for educators. The flyer consisted of the criteria mentioned above as well as the purpose of the research study along with email contact information for the researcher.

Potential participants emailed the researcher expressing interest, and the researcher reviewed the criteria to ensure respondents met the qualifications for the qualitative study. Each participant of the study received an informed consent letter prior to interviews being scheduled. This letter was signed and emailed back to the researcher. The researcher also reviewed the contents of the consent letter prior to beginning interviews and reminded the participants that they had the option of stopping the interview at any time and withdrawing from the research study. A minimum of two in-depth interviews were conducted for each of the 10 participants via the virtual media platform Zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions that still existed at the time. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data to address the research question: What experiences led teachers to exit the profession? A semi-structured interview format was chosen to allow for natural conversation to take place. This type of interview maintains a semblance of structure while allowing the researcher to continue to probe the participant for additional detailed information. The researcher created an environment during the interview that was conducive to each participant feeling safe and comfortable enough to talk freely [37].

The goal for the researchers at the completion of each interview was to have a new understanding of the phenomenon of teacher attrition. The researcher should fully understand why each participant quit or retired early, as well as the factors that led to their departure from education. They also should have in-depth knowledge regarding the details of the experiences of each individual that led to them leaving the teaching profession.

Each participant was asked the same interview questions; however, additional questions were added during the duration of each interview for clarification purposes and further probing when necessary. The researcher maintained a research journal to capture thinking and questions that arose after each interview. This journal facilitated subsequent interviews, assisted in coding data from interviews, and supported the researcher in recalling the various emotions observed from the participants.

The current study intended to reveal the imperative aspects of this phenomenon as it is lived and how it is experienced. Descriptions of the lived experiences directly from the individuals who experienced the phenomenon are essential to avoid methods of investigation that are indirect [38]. These depictions were collected through interviews with individuals who have experienced the phenomenon being researched. Ten participants who met the criteria for the research study were interviewed. Each participant was interviewed once using a semi-structured interview format. All interviews were performed using the virtual meeting platform Zoom. Although phenomenological interviews are normally held in person, the continuation of the pandemic and the participants’ locations prevent in-person interviews [30].

After analyzing the data collected during the first interviews, a second interview was conducted to ensure that any missing data or any unfinished, misunderstood, or unstated areas were clarified [37]. Follow-up interview questions were solely based on any missing data or lingering questions. These questions and any new questions that emerged during the interviews were recorded. Interview questions and the development of the interview process were noted in the results section. According to Peoples (2021), “using this data collection method of semi-structured interviews and follow-up interviews allows the lived sense of the participants’ situations to function spontaneously in the initial interview with a more detailed assessment of descriptions utilized later” [37] (p. 55). A phenomenological study is focused on illuminating experiences; therefore, it was important to redirect participants from providing their viewpoints rather than the experience itself.

Each participant’s interview was assigned a pseudonym to ensure that they remained anonymous in the presentation of the study’s findings. This also ensured the confidentiality of the data when the results and transcripts were peer-reviewed. The researcher’s role in a phenomenological study is to “reduce individual experiences with a phenomenon to a description of the universal essence” [30] (p. 75). In doing this, the researcher must acknowledge any biases and issues that may influence the analysis or findings of the research study. The researcher in this study utilized journaling as a method to deliberately confront any biases and prior understandings of the phenomenon being studied. As the data were analyzed, the researcher revised their understanding and noted any additional bias that may have occurred during the process. Journaling provides researchers with a reflection tool that enables them to think about the phenomenon more objectively [37]. By acknowledging each bias before analyzing the data as well as during the experience, the researcher can try to determine the validity of each bias [37]. In this manner, the researcher can “think about the thinking”, allowing them to see the phenomenon for itself rather than subjectively [37]. All interviews were transcribed using a transcription application through the virtual meeting platform Zoom. When the Zoom meeting was opened for each interview, the host of the meeting (researcher) clicked the live transcribe option within the Zoom program. This application began immediately transcribing the interview as it took place over the Zoom meeting platform. These text transcripts were available to download and read immediately after each recorded interview. Transcripts were reviewed by participants prior to the researchers reading them to ensure that their perspectives were accurately relayed. In addition, each interview, including follow-up interviews, was recorded using the record feature on Zoom. The researcher was able to watch the video recordings to ensure the accuracy of the text transcription. Listening to the participant’s voice during the interview is an important part of the process of data analysis [37]. Birdwhistell (1990) estimated that 65% to 70% of communication is conveyed through nonverbal cues [38]. The researcher watching the video recording and reading the transcription of the interview allowed for notations to be made on the transcript if they heard certain things (such as anger) during the spoken word that were not reflected in the written word. This provided the researcher with a better understanding of the lived experience of the participant.

Data analysis in a phenomenological study should be viewed differently than that of other research methods. Analysis refers to the data being broken apart; however, in a phenomenological study, the goal is to understand the phenomenon as a whole [37] (p. 57). Hycner (1985) describes the inquiry process of phenomenology using the term explication, “investigation of the constituents of a phenomenon while keeping the context of the whole” [39] (p. 300). Keen (1975) stated, “…unlike other methodologies, phenomenology cannot be reduced to a ‘cookbook’ set of instructions. It is more an approach, an attitude, an investigative posture with a certain set of goals” [40] (p. 41). The researcher must immerse themselves in the lived experiences provided by the participants to convey the essence of the phenomenon, which is the goal of the research.

The researchers read each individual interview transcript in its entirety multiple times to understand the participant’s story and delete any irrelevant information or repetitive statements. Features of the phenomenon being investigated based on the research topic were coded. After each participant’s interview and follow-up interviews were reread and deeper understandings evolved, information was coded into assigned themes. Situated narratives were written based on each participant’s interview to organize specifics and themes. Direct quotes from participants were highlighted, and the associated theme was assigned. From the situated narratives, a general narrative was written to capture the essence of the phenomenon. Participants’ accounts were unified under each theme and organized by how much their narrative supported the theme. A general description was then obtained as analysis of the data moved away from the perspectives of each individual participant to focus on the themes that were implicit in all or most participants’ experiences.

The research question that is the focus of this phenomenological study was, “What were the experiences that led teachers to exit the profession before and during the COVID-19 pandemic?” To answer this research question, the researchers engaged themselves with the data provided by the interview transcripts. Qualitative data analyzing software was not utilized in the data analysis due to the fact that it separates the researcher from the data, thus preventing the researcher from making logical inferences [37].

3. Results

3.1. Participants

The initial interview began with participants providing background information on themselves as educators. They shared how long they have been in education, their most advanced degree, and the last position held as an educator. The depictions of each participant are chronicled below.

It is noteworthy that within the sample size, all participants are female, and 80% are Caucasian. The South Carolina Center for Excellence in Teacher Education Research published the Profile of the South Carolina Teacher Workforce for 2020–2021, determining that 80% of educators in South Carolina are female, as compared to 76% of educators in the United States are female [41]. The same report provided demographics, noting that 78% of teachers in South Carolina are Caucasian, whereas 79% of teachers in the United States are Caucasian [41]. The sample size for this research study satisfies the criterion while accurately representing educators in South Carolina and the United States.

• Sarah

This participant is a Caucasian female educator between the ages of 50–55. Sarah has a Master’s degree in philosophy and education. She served as a teacher at a suburban elementary school of 300–500 students. Sarah left the field of public education after 23 years.

• Kristy

This participant is a Caucasian female educator between the ages of 50–55. Kristy has a Master’s degree in special education. She served as a teacher at a suburban middle school of more than 1000 students. Kristy left the field of public education after 10 years.

• Julia

This participant is a Caucasian female educator between the ages of 30–35. Julia has a Bachelor of Science degree in science and social studies. She taught at a suburban middle school with more than 1000 students. Julia left the field of public education after eight years.

• Taylor

This participant is a Caucasian female educator between the ages of 40–45. Taylor has an educational specialist degree and is currently finishing her doctorate degree. Her undergraduate degree focused on science. She served as a teacher at a suburban middle school of 500–800 students. Taylor left the field of public education after 19 years.

• Darling

This participant is a Caucasian female educator between the ages of 35–40. She has a master’s degree in art education. She served as a teacher at a suburban elementary school of 500–800 students. Darling left the field of public education after 14 years.

• Poppy

This participant is a Caucasian female educator between the ages of 30–35. She has a Master’s degree in K-12 music education and educational administration. She served as a teacher at a suburban elementary school of more than 1000 students. Poppy left the field of public education after eight years.

• Allison

This participant is an African American female educator between the ages of 50–55. She has an educational specialist degree in educational leadership and principalship. She served as a teacher at a rural elementary school of 500–800 students. Allison left the field of public education after 19 years.

• Gabbie

This participant is a Caucasian female educator between the ages of 35–40. She has a doctorate degree in counselor education and supervision. She served in a suburban middle school with more than 1000 students. Gabbie left the field of public education after 10 years.

• Lily

This participant is a Caucasian female educator between the ages of 50–55. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and English. She served as a teacher in a suburban elementary school with 300–500 students. Lily left the field of public education after 14 years.

• Jenn

This participant is an African American female educator between the ages of 35 and 40. She has a Master’s degree in elementary education and educational leadership. She served in a suburban elementary school of 500–800 students. Jenn left the field of public education after 14 years.

3.2. Qualitative Data

The qualitative data collected were organized into two subheadings based on the educators’ experiences leading to exiting the profession prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic.

3.2.1. Before the Pandemic: Factors Leading to Teacher Attrition

After establishing rapport with each of the participants during each of the individual interviews, the question was asked, “What experiences led you to leave the profession?” Even though time was spent establishing a comfortable atmosphere between the researcher and the respondent, the fear was still present that this question could be overwhelming. However, during each interview, the participants eagerly answered the questions as if they had been waiting for someone to ask them to share their stories. One participant relayed after the interviews that this was the first time she had shared her story with anyone. Several participants expressed gratitude prior to the beginning of the interview for allowing them the opportunity to share their experiences.

The consensus of the participants conveyed the same view that being a public educator was becoming more difficult even prior to the pandemic. For example, Sarah referred to public education as a “pressure cooker”. The experiences that made the participants feel like Sarah are relayed into the most common themes: not feeling valued, financial stress, and disappearing support from administrators.

“I Don’t Feel Valued”

The most recurring theme throughout the interviews was the lack of appreciation and value educators felt, beginning prior to the pandemic. Two of the participants voiced feelings of not being appreciated, which was caused by the parents and the community. Lily explained it felt like “being under a microscope teachers are expected to live under constantly”. Since Lily worked in a Fortune 500 company prior to beginning her career as an educator, she was able to compare her previous experience with how she is appreciated now. Lily emphasized:

“In any other job, you hear about empowering your employees and how to make them feel more empowered. Teachers are not empowered. They are discouraged from trying to be empowered. It is surprising to me how many teachers who have only taught and never done anything else feel trapped. It is almost an abusive environment.”

Other participants experienced not being valued by the administration and other teachers. Darling served as a passionate art teacher to preschool and elementary students. This was evident in her interview by the descriptions she provided of the art projects she continued to do with children using a variety of mediums despite not having enough school-funded materials or support. Darling shared that as an elective teacher, the general education teachers and administrators often viewed her role as fulfilling the duty of providing a break for the teachers. No respect was shown for her expertise and passion for art with the students. Likewise, her efforts to collaborate with the general education teachers were disregarded.

A former middle school science educator, Julia echoed the feelings of being unappreciated by team members and the administration. She served as head of the science department, led district-wide science professional development, designed science curriculum units for her team, and participated in several after-school activities. During her interview, Julia recalled never being recognized or appreciated for any of the extra effort and hard work she put forth, yet other teachers who did not even do the minimum required were recognized by the administration all the time.

One participant voiced that she felt unappreciated by parents, other teachers, and the administration. Kristy, a former middle school special education teacher, had tears in her eyes as she described the experiences that led her to leave the profession. She chose to have her spouse sit next to her for emotional support throughout the interview. Kristy explained:

“We didn’t make the communication. We didn’t accommodate the students enough. We didn’t write the lessons well enough. We didn’t put enough effort into making the lesson engaging. Everything fell back on us and there was no responsibility or blame placed on the students, the parents, or even the administration. We literally became the scapegoats for everything.”

The feeling of not being valued or appreciated due to a variety of experiences, such as the ones shared by the participants, began prior to the pandemic. These former educators then faced an unprecedented pandemic that changed public education, already feeling that their work did not matter.

“Financial Stress”

The starting salary for a teacher in South Carolina is $38,929, earning the state a top-10 ranking in states with the lowest starting salaries [42]. It was not surprising that multiple participants conveyed that financial stress contributed to their decision to leave the teaching profession. Whereas some of the participants felt their salary did not reflect their experience and education level, others shared more personal stories about how their inadequate salaries were preventing them from starting a family or buying a house. Julia’s new baby could be occasionally heard making cooing sounds during the interview. She shared that she used to cry daily when she was still employed as a teacher because she and her husband wanted to start a family, but there was no way they could afford it financially. Her life would be on hold if she remained an educator because her salary was not increasing, nor was it reflecting the rate of inflation. Julia said the only way she could start a family was to find a new job that paid her what she was worth.

Jenn did not want to leave the profession and interviewed multiple places within her district for higher-paying positions. However, due to the substantial number of educators interviewing for the same positions, she was unable to remain in the profession. Jenn and her husband had two small children and had outgrown their home. They desperately wanted to buy a new house, but it was not a reality without a higher-paying job for Jenn. Jenn said she had to choose her family’s needs over being a teacher. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster announced a goal of increasing all educator’s starting pay to $50,000 by 2026. This announcement came after the unprecedented teacher shortage in South Carolina following the pandemic.

“Support from the Administration Had All but Disappeared”

The disappointment felt by former educators due to the lack of support from their administration was evident not only in their words but also in their tone and facial expressions. Most of the participants expressed resignation and appeared sad that they were not able to depend on their school leadership. Kristy justified her administration’s actions while acknowledging they were not there for the teachers, “It seems like our admins are overrun with just trying to manage parent expectations. They’re not there to be able to support the teachers in the way that they need to be”. However, as the interview progressed, Kristy commented, “I have to say, over the last two years, I have felt more attacked, micromanaged, and undermined than I have in my entire career”.

Other participants were visibly angry about the lack of support from the administration. Taylor voiced her frustration about the lack of support from the educational leaders in her building, especially in relation to student discipline, “If you call for help, they don’t come, and if they happen to come, they do not enforce the policies and procedures that are written”. Taylor also shared during her interview that she had received her educational leadership degree and was certified as an administrator. She explained how once the administration in her building found out that she had leadership credentials, they began calling her classroom to ask her to manage discipline issues in her hallway while she was teaching.

Lack of support from the administration was also one of the major factors leading to Sarah leaving the profession. Her face became red, and her voice was raised when she talked about her experiences with the leaders in her school. Sarah stated:

“Administrators and district-level people all but disappeared. It was not unusual to have multiple room-clearing incidents with student behavior each day, furniture throwing, and things like that. And it became abundantly clear that no one cared. The administration would come the first few times, and then they didn’t want to be bothered. They expected you to deal with it. They had no solutions on how to deal with it, but they wanted not to be bothered with it.”

As the lead teacher in a special needs classroom, Sarah faced many challenging students, one of whom had such severe behavior problems that she pleaded with school administration for assistance with the child after the student had injured multiple children and staff. In tears, Sarah told her story about still not receiving help for the child even after the child severely injured her, leaving her with a concussion.

During the interviews, several participants commented that they may have remained in the profession if they had been shown support by the administration instead of feeling like they were all alone.

3.2.2. During the Pandemic: Factors Leading to Teacher Attrition

Common themes regarding experiences during the pandemic were shared by all participants. The following themes emerged from the data collected: entitled parents and no professional autonomy.

“Parents Are Entitled”

According to participants during the interviews, parent entitlement grew exponentially during the pandemic. Although parents were grateful for teachers when the pandemic began in March 2020, and students were at home, their attitudes towards teachers changed as the pandemic wore on. Poppy, a former music teacher, provided an explanation of how this shift in parents’ attitude felt, she explained:

“I think the part that surprised me the most was the mental shift in our society from spring 2020 to fall 2020. It started with teachers, who are our superheroes, and we will give you anything you want: bottles of wine, gift cards, homes, vacations, you name it, and we will give it to you. How can you possibly deal with our kids seven and a half hours a day? Then, that fall, the attitude became you need to go back to the classroom regardless of the death tolls, regardless of the teachers dying. They did not care anymore.”

It was a reoccurring theme amongst all participants that parents were not supportive of teachers beginning in the fall of 2020. Kristy identified experiences in which parents would question the book selections in the classroom, how math lessons were instructed, and what vocabulary was being taught. She echoed feelings prior to the pandemic of lack of administrative support during this time as administrators were more concerned about meeting parent expectations than supporting teachers. Sarah, also a former special education teacher, shared feelings similar to Kristy’s. She described a parent meeting that the administration had scheduled in which she had already resolved the parent’s issue. However, Sarah said the administrator was so worried about pleasing parents that they did not even ask her before setting up a meeting. When asked how the administration managed the meeting when they found out the issue had already been addressed, Sarah explained that the meeting went on an hour and a half before the administrator realized the issue had been previously resolved, yet they never admitted to any fault.

Other participants described the general feeling of negativity from the community if their school was not back to in-person learning or if the schedule allowed for any virtual days. Lily spoke of a feeling of mistrust within the community and with parents. This sentiment currently continues to plague educators in South Carolina as the newly elected Superintendent of Education, Ellen Weaver, ran on a platform of allowing parents more autonomy in the classroom and “exercising their God-given rights”.

“No Professional Autonomy”

Participants voiced the feeling of not being valued even louder when discussing experiences during the pandemic. As participants shared their feelings about events that occurred during the pandemic, comments such as “no professional autonomy” and “just wanted to be treated like a human” were common. Both Lily and Karen spoke about their experiences teaching during the pandemic and having several children of their own. Lily voiced her frustration of having to go to her school in person for virtual meetings to sit in her empty classroom while her children were made to stay at her home by themselves. She commented:

“It just blew my mind that a district that is dedicated to children does not see that it is not in the best interest of any child or any teacher for my children to stay home alone. I kept saying, if you keep asking me to choose between my kids and my job, I will choose my children. And ultimately, that’s what happened.”

Kristy explained how difficult it was when her own children were still receiving remote instruction, yet her school was back in-person. “There was no compromise as to how I could make sure my children were properly supervised during that time. The part that upset me the most was the district office staff were all still working from home during that time”.

One of the participants, Poppy, had a new baby at home during the Fall of 2020; she was also immune compromised. After sharing her concerns about her health and the health of her baby with the district and suggesting multiple ideas of how she could remain employed as a teacher, she ultimately chose her family. She had asked to work in the virtual school and offered to do a research sabbatical and multiple other viable options, yet they demanded she return in person.

These participants felt that they were not being regarded as professionals, nor were they treated as if they mattered as individuals. When each participant was asked what educational leaders could change that would make them return to the profession, every participant responded with a variation of “treat me like a human”.

3.2.3. The Effect of Burnout on Teacher Attrition

During the interview, participants were asked to share their definition of burnout and whether they felt they had experienced burnout. Each participant wholeheartedly agreed that they had experienced burnout and shared experiences related to the stress of the occupation. They felt that the pandemic was the final motivation they needed to leave the classroom, as the increased stress had become too much to handle.

Sarah realized she had to quit teaching when she was crying every day on the way to work. She stated:

“I didn’t realize how distrustful, how exhausted, and frankly traumatized I was because I got to a point where I expected to be chastised. I expected an administrator to want to speak to me about something. It was like I was going to be in trouble constantly. I was underappreciated, overworked, and verbally abused by the parents.”

Sarah also shared that the increased stress and anxiety her job was causing had resulted in her being put on medications for high blood pressure and anxiety. Her blood pressure had continued to increase in the past few years, and doctors were concerned about the amount of stress she was under.

Kristy’s story was similar as she explained that she went into teaching to make an impact, and she no longer felt like she was making an impact. She said she realized it was time for her to leave the profession when “I went into the classroom for the first time this past year, and I did not want to be there. This was the first time I could ever say that I sat in a classroom thinking I don’t like these kids and I realized it wasn’t the kids. It was me”. Kristy also had experienced health issues due to the stress and anxiety of her job. She suffered from debilitating migraines that left her unable to care for her own children.

Darling’s story was especially emotional for her as well as the researcher. She explained that she did not sign her contract to return to her school because she no longer trusted herself after experiencing a panic attack in a room full of three to five-year-olds. She said, “I can’t be in a room full of 3–5-year-olds again and not be in control. I’m responsible for their safety, and I can’t even control myself. I wrestled about that situation and in burning out, I fully acknowledged that I had burned out”. Darling described feeling so guilty that she was putting her husband and her family in danger by doing this job. She said she also felt she was not serving her students the way they needed because she was not able to teach them the way she wanted and provide the experiences that she always had, and, as she said, “the very reason I got into teaching”. Darling further explained feeling like she was failing people everywhere she looked and not being able to meet all these people’s expectations, “I just got to the end of my rope”. She expressed that she had “nothing left to give” and that she would come home crying every day and immediately wanted to take a nap. She had nothing left for her own children. Darling described being still wracked with guilt and feeling like she was abandoning her students by not returning, “I went to my doctor, and she started talking to me about if I’d had any suicidal thoughts or anything, and I was like, no, I don’t want to die. But I don’t want to live like this. Like sometimes I was just so stressed that, like, I would think about driving to work and just driving off the road like just didn’t want to deal with any of it”. Darling ended up going on FMLA for the rest of that school year after her doctor recommended it.

Poppy expressed not feeling valued for being an instructor and helping kids. She felt like she was just fulfilling a time allotment and attendance. Poppy commented that she no longer saw any value in the educational services her school was providing through the pandemic, and it made her feel useless and awful at her job. She could no longer see the point in continuing to teach when she was not educating or facilitating learning because it was no longer rewarding.

Allison’s view was a little different as she expressed experiencing burnout when “you don’t have enough hands to do your job”. She shared that she was responsible for the entire caseload of special education students for her school. She described having to follow three models with her students to ensure all their needs were met, and it became too much. Gabbie explained burnout was having a lack of energy to be consistently productive because you are constantly going, going, going, and at some point, you are going to lose that energy. She described daily “having something thrown on her that was not within her role, or she had never done before”. Gabbie said this series of events led to burnout for her because she was trying to do her job and was constantly having increasingly added on top of her each day to “help out the team”.

Lily shared a new perspective on burnout: burnout as a result of educators never leaving the job behind and working all the time. She thought the teachers who can leave their jobs at school probably escape burnout and are able to survive. Lily defined burnout as “when you don’t feel like you are treated as an individual or like your contribution matters, you very much definitely start to burnout”. Jenn shared the term “quiet quitting” as being a term birthed during the pandemic due to the extra duties assigned and people not feeling their voices were heard. Jenn described the moment she realized she was burned out as when she felt guilty for leaving her students during standardized testing because her baby was sick. Jenn said she realized then that she should not feel guilty for staying home with her own sick children.

3.2.4. Evaluation of Findings

The findings of this phenomenological study determined that experiences prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, led to educators quitting the profession. These results are supported by research indicating that teacher attrition rates were on the rise nationwide, as demonstrated in the 2017–2018 surveys completed by the National Center for Longitudinal Data in Education Research. Data provided by this center showed teacher shortages in almost every state in major subject areas [43]. By 2022, teacher shortages had exploded across the nation, resulting in 389,300 fewer public school educators in January 2022 than in February 2020 [44]. A nationally representative online survey of teachers also supported the idea that the additional stressors for teachers during the pandemic had ignited the teacher shortage, showing that out of the 3621 educators who responded to the survey, more than half blamed the pandemic as the reason they were more likely to leave or retire from education sooner than planned [42]. This number has almost doubled since the same survey was distributed in July 2020 as the pandemic began [42].

4. Discussion

Research participants in this qualitative study named not feeling valued, financial stress, and disappearing support from administrators as determinants prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as contributing to teacher attrition. Not feeling valued was indicated as a major contributor to the epidemic of teacher attrition by Santoro (2018) in her book Demoralized: Why Teachers Leave the Profession They Love and How They Can Stay [45]. Santoro, an associate professor of education at Bowdoin College, named stripping of teacher autonomy as a factor that challenges the moral values of teachers [45]. Low salaries have plagued the teaching profession for years as they are vastly underpaid compared to occupations requiring the same amount of education [46]. The Economic Policy Institute states that, on average, teachers are paid almost 20% less than other college graduates [47]. Garcia and Weiss (2020) reinforced that school climate (unsupportive administration) is a contributing factor to teacher attrition [46]. Harris et al. (2019) provide further evidence to validate emotional, environmental, and instructional support as being vital in reducing teacher shortage [48]. Research conducted prior to the phenomenological study reported teachers being afraid at school due to the increase in school violence as influencing teacher attrition [47,49,50,51]. However, this specific research study did not indicate that school violence furthers the teacher shortage.

Entitled parents and lack of professional autonomy were illuminated as additional stressors the participants in this phenomenological research study faced during the pandemic. Parent dissatisfaction with curriculum, instructional resources, and methods of teaching emerged during the pandemic [1]. Natanson (2022) points to the lack of respect for the teaching profession by politicians, parents, and even school board members as among the convergence of factors that created the teacher shortage. Lack of professional autonomy aligns with not feeling valued, furthering teacher shortage before the pandemic [52]. Research in corresponding literature supports lack of professional autonomy as an element increasing teacher shortage. During the pandemic, teachers were burdened with additional work that removed their focus from teaching and learning as they enforced COVID-19 mitigation strategies, filled in for sick coworkers, and taught new social-emotional skills [14,53]. Research conducted at the University of Florida’s Warrington School of Business pointed out that one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of teacher attrition is how many non-teaching job duties they had, negating their professional autonomy [13]. This study did not indicate concerns regarding virtual instruction or health risks as major contributors influencing teachers to quit the profession. However, research on teacher attrition during the pandemic indicated health concerns and frustrations with virtual teaching as determinants of teacher attrition [54,55].

Increased stress was a theme observed throughout the analysis of the data with each of the 10 participants. Participants reported feeling stress before the pandemic, and levels of stress increased during the pandemic. Lack of administrator support and lack of professional respect and autonomy were also themes that participants voiced that became worse during the pandemic. These three experiences, increased stress, lack of administrator support, and lack of professional respect and autonomy, can be identified as burnout, according to Maslach’s burnout theory.

Maslach’s burnout theory lists emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment as core aspects of burnout [23]. Jackson et al. (1986) describe emotional exhaustion in teachers as feeling “drained or used-up”, they are “at the end of their rope”, and “physically fatigued [24] (pp. 14–15). These phrases are often used to describe increased stress as well. Teachers experience a lack of personal accomplishment as a result of unrealistic high expectations from the administration, along with a lack of support and feedback [24]. Iwanicki (1983) correlated increased stress and burnout with the power of legislators in determining curriculum along with standardized testing [26] (p. 29). These factors result in a lack of professional autonomy for teachers as teachers are not trusted as professionals to instruct and assess their students; instead, they have to follow the curriculum selected by legislators and assess using tests standardized by the state.

Three major overall themes remained consistent in the participants’ experiences before and during the pandemic. These themes were lack of administrator support, lack of professional respect and autonomy, and increased levels of stress. Financial strain was designated as a factor leading to teacher attrition during the pandemic in this study. However, the results did not indicate financial strain as a resounding theme prior to the pandemic. This finding was considered significant since salary is consistently listed as a top reason teachers want to leave the profession [12]. President Sherry East of the South Carolina Education Association (SCEA), a professional association for South Carolina educators, stated, “The things that we’re telling people are wrong have not been fixed. It’s not so much the money, it’s what you’re asking them to do for that amount of money” [56].

Lack of support from administrators was an experience that the former educators in this study described before and during the pandemic. Participants provided the following examples of lack of support from educational leadership in their schools: telling them to handle dangerous student behaviors, being more concerned about parents’ perceptions than teacher well-being, and not providing the resources needed. Kristy summarized these feelings during her interview, “If you don’t feel like you have administrative support and can trust them (administrators), then you can’t do what you need to in the classroom”. Findings from a 2001 research study conducted by Ingersoll indicated that inadequate support from school administration, student discipline, and limited teacher input and autonomy were all related to high teacher attrition [57]. Hughes et al. (2015) support Ingersoll’s (2001) study, reinforcing the fact that educators have repeatedly indicated student and parent issues as being an area of support they need from the administration [57,58]. The results of this qualitative study correlate with related literature regarding teacher attrition, implying that teacher attrition will continue to be detrimental to student success unless educational leaders become cognizant of their teachers’ needs.

Another premise that emerged from participants as the reason for exiting the teaching profession both prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic was the lack of professional autonomy. This included feeling not valued and not respected, which was amplified by the pandemic. Sarah’s experience further explains how desperately teachers wanted to be respected, “I was close to retirement. I had a pension and I walked away from all of that after 29 years because that level of respect and professional freedom was more important to me”. Rebecca Pringle, National Education Association president, voiced her professional opinion about the treatment of teachers during a 2022 interview with ABC News:

“One of the things that I’ve learned from educators is that I traveled all over the country, from Kentucky to California to Maine to Wisconsin to Illinois, and they all said the same thing. This is what they need to come into the profession and stay in the profession. They need professional respect” [59] (paragraph 1).

Lily commented in her interview that in her previous employment at a Fortune 500 company, they taught to empower employees, yet teachers were discouraged from being empowered. Santoro supports this overall premise. Santaro (2018) addressed the epidemic of teacher dissatisfaction in her book Demoralized: Why Teachers Leave the Profession They Love and How They Can Stay [45]. Based on 10 years of research and interviews with educators, this educational philosopher points out the demoralization of teachers as a key element of the teacher shortage [45]. To demonstrate more professional respect to teachers, South Carolina passed a law in May 2022 requiring all elementary and special education teachers to receive a minimum of thirty minutes of unencumbered time daily. Staffing allowances were provided for the schools that needed them to ensure this time was provided daily for each teacher. The question remains: Who is going to fill these positions in South Carolina?

One participant described the lack of professional respect from parents when her district eliminated the virtual Wednesdays established during the pandemic to help teachers plan. Lily explained that five-day work weeks were reinstated after parents complained because they felt teachers were not really working on those days. She expressed how the virtual Wednesdays gave the teachers professional autonomy, “it made us feel human. It made us feel seen”. By continuing to disregard teachers as professionals, educational leaders have created an atmosphere in which educators can no longer thrive.

Maslach’s theory of burnout was compared to the major themes that emerged from the participants’ interviews. The components of emotional exhaustion and feelings of low or lack of personal accomplishment correlated to the analyzed qualitative data [23]. Emotional exhaustion is described as overwhelming feelings of being overextended emotionally and drained by others [22]. Schwab et al. (1986) define emotional exhaustion as being described by teachers as feeling “drained or used-up”; they are “at the end of their rope” and “physically fatigued” [60] (pp. 14–15). When asked about burnout, participants shared emotional stories of crying every day on the way to work, feeling traumatized, having exacerbated health issues, being too tired to spend time with their families, and having panic attacks. Clearly, emotional exhaustion was a component of burnout experienced by these former educators. Maslach and Leiter (2022) further describe burnout as follows:

Burnout is an apt term, suggesting a once-hot fire that has been reduced to ashes: those ashes are the feelings of exhaustion and a lack of engagement left after an initial internal flame of dedication and passion is extinguished. The accelerants are the workplace conditions that create too-hot environments and leave behind this trifecta with its scorching effects on people’s lives [61] (p. 4).

The emotional exhaustion component of Maslach’s model considers the personal relationships that educators develop as well as the emotional devotion of these educators to their occupations. Including this component when examining burnout in educators is vital to fully understanding this condition and why it is leading to teachers quitting the profession they once loved.

The qualitative data also identified the lack of personal accomplishment component of burnout. A reduced sense of personal accomplishment refers to the individual not feeling that their efforts are achieving their desired result [22]. Teachers experience this as a result of unrealistic high expectations from the administration, constraints placed by policies and procedures, inadequate resources, and lack of feedback regarding performance [24].

Sarah felt like she was going to be in trouble with an administrator constantly. Kristy started feeling like she was no longer making an impact on her students. Allison used the terms “gaslighting” and “disposable” when discussing how administrators had made her feel as a teacher. Julia said she never felt recognized by leadership at her school, regardless of how hard she worked.

The findings of this qualitative study concluded that the experiences that led teachers to exit the profession were the result of Maslach’s model of burnout, specifically the components of lack of personal accomplishment and emotional exhaustion. Therefore, in order to stop teacher attrition, we must address the factors that result in teacher burnout.

Based on their 2021 research study, Maddigan and Kim concluded that the only way to stop teacher attrition was to address teacher burnout [27]. However, the factors contributing to South Carolina educators’ burnout must be identified first. This phenomenological study provided in-depth data about a group of South Carolina educators. Administrators and educational leaders at the South Carolina Department of Education will need to take the next steps to stop the number of school vacancies from rising.

Burkhauser (2017) used longitudinal teacher survey data to estimate the impact of principals on how teachers view working conditions [62]. This study revealed that teachers felt that effective principals were the ones who gave them the time necessary to do their work, gave them access to physical resources, and encouraged professional development opportunities [62]. Administrators must develop relationships with their teachers to provide time, resources, and professional development opportunities effectively. Goleman (2006) describes effective leaders as trustworthy, empathetic, and connected [63]. According to Miller et al. (2008), the most effective leaders are those who are trustworthy, empathetic, and connected [64]. Trust is the key to any successful school relationship; however, it is critical in the teacher–administrator relationship [64]. When a significant trusting relationship is built between the educator and the educational leader, respect follows [64]. An educator who trusts and respects their administrator will be invested in the leader and their educational vision [64]. When a leader is trusted, teachers will not only respect the leader, but they will also make an emotional investment in him and his educational vision.

Miller et al. (2008) reinforce this image of effective leaders, adding that this type of leader inspires teachers and makes them feel appreciated [64]. Leaders “… can promote trust by demonstrating consideration and sensitivity for teachers’ needs and interests, listening intently to communicate, respect for the person, and engaging in coaching and problem solving if that is what is needed” [64] (p. 57). Having conversations beyond the administrator’s office in which the school leader truly listens to the teachers’ needs and interests will build trust and respect in the relationship. Establishing this relationship with educators allows the administrator to meet their teachers’ needs. Tschannen-Moran (2004) tells leaders, “Because of the hierarchical nature of the relationship within schools, it is the responsibility of the person with greater power to take the initiative to build and sustain trusting relationships” [65] (p. 35). In order to curb teacher attrition, administrators must establish trust with their teachers, build relationships, and determine how they can best support their needs.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster included Proviso 1.114 in the General Appropriations Act for the fiscal year of 2022–2023 to establish an Educator Recruitment and Retention Task Force to combat the growing teacher shortage in South Carolina (South Carolina Department of Education) [66]. The task force gathered data from stakeholders using surveys as well as three community listening sessions [66]. The listening sessions provided the consensus that “teachers may often feel overworked, under-supported, underpaid, and not respected in the community” [66] (p. 3).

The major trends documented in analyzed data by the task force from both the listening sessions and surveys included compensation (including salary and paid family leave), planning time (including caseloads and extra duties), respect for the teaching profession, and student behavior (including parent engagement and accountability) [66] (p. 5). It is significant to note that the dominant themes from the results of this qualitative study align with the major trends data collected by the task force. However, the recommendations made by the task force to improve teacher recruitment and retention did not address the data gathered from stakeholders.

Out of the 23 recommendations made, only 4 addressed issues identified by stakeholders as needing improvement. Sorenson and Ladd (2020) conducted a research study assessing teacher turnover’s organizational and human capital effects using two decades of data from middle school teachers in North Carolina [7]. Conclusions drawn from their study included the need for shared decision-making in order for experienced teachers to remain in the profession. Garcia and Weiss (2020) agree that teacher autonomy and voice is key in addressing the United States teacher shortage:

Top-down policies that ignore teacher expertise, misguided accountability policies that make teachers feel disrespected, and lack of attention to what teachers have to say about the policies in their schools and classrooms are critical obstacles in the way of the professionalism of the teaching profession [46] (p. 15).

The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) and, subsequently, the Educator Retention and Recruitment task force must listen to the voices of teachers who know what must be changed to prevent them from becoming another statistic in the teacher shortage crisis. SCDE needs to seek out teachers who have left the profession recently and spend time listening to their stories. South Carolina public school teachers are essential stakeholders in this crucial time when immediate changes are required to preserve public education in this state. The task force has a duty to listen to South Carolina educators and make the required recommendations to the SCDE and government officials that address the issues presented to them by teachers. A coordinated effort by SCDE and government officials should then respond to the recommendations proposed in a timely manner to retain quality educators in South Carolina.

Data analysis in accordance with Maslach’s burnout theory and subsequent literature review indicated that teachers are burned out. They do not feel like they are treated as professionals. These teachers felt disrespected and dehumanized. Recent literature reinforces the idea that educators are emotionally and physically exhausted and literally cannot do it anymore, regardless of their love for the students [44]. Due to the nature of phenomenological studies using smaller sample sizes, the findings of this qualitative study are limited. Additional qualitative and quantitative studies regarding teacher attrition in South Carolina would be of value. Educational policies are currently changing in South Carolina to reflect a more conservative approach to education and provide parents with a stronger voice in the educational process. Future research studies examining the effect of these policies on teacher attrition in South Carolina would provide beneficial information in the effort to address teacher shortages.