Impact of Human Resources Practices on Teacher

Retention
A Dissertation by: LaShonte Nechelle Iwundu
Submitted to the Graduate School of Prairie View A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Table of Contents
Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V

Introduction Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Study Significance of the Study Framework Research Questions Null Hypotheses

Role of Human Resource Directors Challenges

Research Design Instrumentation Data Collection & Recording Subjects of Study

Analysis of Data RQ 1 RQ 2 RQ 3 RQ 4 Ho1 Ho2 Qualitative Data

Conclusion Recommendations for Further Research

Introduction
The Education Commission (2005) states there are costs associated with high rates of teacher turnover both financially and in terms of creating a productive learning environment. Superintendents, administrators, and human resource personnel must be aware of the reasons that teachers are leaving the profession, if they want to alleviate the problem of teacher shortages and teacher attrition (Pellerin, 2007).

Statement of the Problem

The Texas Center for Educational Research (2000) states the cost for high teacher turnover represents a loss of resources to the education system. Schools, experiencing high turnover rates regularly, have less time and money to spend on instructional improvement and curriculum development (NCTAF, 2002). Furthermore, student performance is negatively impacted by high teacher turnover rates (The Texas Center for Educational Research, 2000).

Purpose of the Study

Identify the hygiene factors which contribute to an increase in teacher turnover, as perceived by human resource directors. Explore the most effective retention practices. Explore the challenges human resource directors face in an effort to retain teachers.

Significance of this study

The significance of this study was centered on the importance of effective and ineffective practices used by human resource directors to retain teachers. The knowledge gained from this study may help educators to formulate effective retention practices, as well as add to the body of research to better define the role of the Human Resource Director.

Conceptual Framework
Herzbergs (1959) Motivational Hygiene Theory was used as the theory and lens that guided this study. Sergiovanni (1966) conducted a replication of Herzberg's study in an educational setting.

Conceptual Framework
(Wright, 2008)

Hygiene Factors Teacher Retention

HR Practices

HR Challenges

Descriptive Research Questions

Which hygiene factors do human resource directors perceive as contributors to high teacher turnover? Which practices do human resource directors rely on in an effort to retain teachers? What challenges do human resource directors face in an effort to implement effective teacher retention practices?

Quantitative Research Questions

Is there a correlation between the individual hygiene factors (supervision, salary, status, security, relationships, work conditions, company policy and personal life) and socioeconomic status of the school district? Is there a correlation between the total hygiene factors and the socioeconomic status of the school district?

Null Hypotheses
Ho1:There is no statistically significant relationship between the individual hygiene factors (supervision, salary, status, security, relationships, work conditions, company policy and personal life) and the socioeconomic status of the school district Ho2:There is no statistically significant relationship between the total hygiene factors and socioeconomic status of the school district.

Literature Review
HR Competency Model Provided by NAPA

HRD Role in Education Sector

According to Rebore (2007), people must be recruited, selected, placed, evaluated, and compensated whether by personnel in the central human resources office or administrators within the school district. Further, Rebore (2007) writes that a human resource director (HRD) has a variety of roles, focusing on risk management, labor negotiations, compensation, benefit administration, employer-employee relations, staff training and maintaining central personnel records. The four basic goals of human resource directors working in school districts consist of hiring, retaining, developing and motivating employees (Norton, 2008). Accomplishing these goals addresses the objectives of the school district while assisting staff members to cultivate skills useful in their content area; thus resulting in increasing student achievement (Rebore, 2007).

Work Challenges
According to Norton (2008), one of the most important issues facing human resource administrators is teacher and administrator supply and demand and increasing diversity within the workforce. Teacher shortages consistently rank high in surveys among serious challenges facing HR administrators (Norton, 2008, p. 16). The number one challenge for human resources for 2010 is talent retention and development (Top 5 HR, 2009).

Instrument
The content validity, grammar, clarity, and understanding of the survey instrument were established in a previous study. The survey instrument was tested with superintendents to assess understandability. The survey was tested with a total of 597 superintendents from rural school districts. The responses of these 597 superintendents reflect the retention practices of rural areas not located near an urban area.

Continued
Retention items were assessed using a 6-point scale ranging from 1 Not at all to 6 A great deal and measured the extent to which specific challenges to retaining teachers are found and about the districts dependence on retention strategies (e.g., instituting formal induction programs for new teachers, offering formal mentoring programs, providing best possible working conditions) (Hammer, Hughes, McClure, Reeves & Salgado, 2005).

Continued
A number of open-ended questions asked respondents to provide reasons why teachers who are newly hired tend to leave their positions within 1-2 years or stay in the district. School district information was assessed. This includes the type of locale, the number of schools in the district, the number of children served by the district, and the percentages of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Subjects of Study
A sample of current HRD(s) was targeted from school districts in the Texas Gulf Coast region. A total of 103 human resource directors were included in the sample. Participating districts were selected from the Region IV service area. The selection of the targeted population derived from the Texas Education Agency website. The data came from the 2007 to 2008 economically disadvantaged status reports.

Data Collection & Recording

The participants selected for the study were sent a personalized email introducing the project, describing the purpose of the study, providing instructions for completing the survey online (surveymonkey.com), assured confidentiality, and directing them to the site where the instrument could be completed. The researcher attempted to increase the response rate by a personalized telephone call. A follow-up email was sent exactly one week after the initial contact and additional follow-ups were sent after the second email.

Data Analysis
Data analysis was conducted using Excel and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software. The analysis of data used Pearsons correlation and descriptive statistics, which included measures of central tendency and standard deviations (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2003).

Response Rate
103 targeted HR directors forty-three (or 44.29 percent) participants responded thirty-six (or 83.7 percent) respondents completed the survey

FIGURE 4.1: Code Describing Respondents Districts Locale

Locale of the District

11%

14% 3%

(1) Large City (2) Mid-size City

32%

(3) Urban Fringe (4) Large Town (5) Small Town

35%

(6) Rural

5%

TABLE 4.1: SES CATEGORIES

CATEGORY Percent of students who qualifies for free or reduced priced lunch Group (1) one to 25 percent Group (2) 26 to 50 percent Group (3) 51 to 75 percent Group (4) 76 to 100 percent TOTAL Number of Districts in Each Category 4 13 9 8 34

A Cronbachs Alpha statistical analysis

A Cronbachs Alpha statistical analysis was conducted to establish reliability of the EDVANTIA: School Districts Recruitment and Retention Practices survey. The Cronbachs Alpha of the factors (supervision, salary, status, security, relationships, work conditions, company policy and personal life) contributing to teacher turnover was .941.

RQ#1
To answer the first research question, respondents were instructed to rate each hygiene factor, on a scale from 1 to 6, he or she perceived as contributors to high teacher turnover. The researcher assessed the following factors, supervision, salary, status, security, relationships, work conditions, company policy and personal life by rating them based on their values as ranked by the respondents. Values are listed from highest to lowest.

TABLE 4.2 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF HYGIENE FACTORS

STD. SCORE 168 143 135 RANK 1 2 3 HYGIENE FACTORS PERSONAL LIFE LOW SALARY RELATIONSHIP WITH SUPERVISOR 121 4 RELATIONSHIP WITH PEERS 117 115 112 101 92 5 6 7 8 9 COMPANY POLICY WORK CONDITIONS SECURITY SUPERVISION STATUS 34 34 32 34 31 3.44 3.38 3.50 2.97 2.96 1.90 1.65 1.86 1.67 1.37 34 3.55 1.35 N 34 34 34 MEAN 4.94 4.20 3.97 DEVIATION 1.49 2.01 1.40

RSQ #2
To answer the second research question, respondents were instructed to rate, on a scale from 1 to 6, the extent to which the district relies on the provided practice or strategy to retain teachers. The provided retention practices included the following: induction programs, mentoring programs, teacher support, incentives, positive school culture, good work conditions, technology, community involvement, leadership development, increased salaries, improved benefits, tuition assistance, professional development opportunities and evaluation process regarding teacher retention.

TABLE 4.3 RETENTION PRACTICES USED BY DISTRICTS TO RETAIN TEACHERS

STD. SCORE RANK RETENTION PRACTICES 192 182 177 1 2 3 Providing Professional development Offering other support for teachers Offering formal mentoring programs for new teachers 175 4 Providing the best possible work conditions 172 5 Creating a positive school culture 34 5.05 .776 34 5.14 .702 N 34 34 34 MEAN 5.64 5.35 5.20 DEVIATION .543 .543 .913

RQ#3
To calculate the score for each challenging factor to teacher retention, the researcher found the sum of each factor based on the value assigned by the HR directors.

TABLE 4.4 CHALLENGES ADDRESSED BY DISTRICTS TO RETAIN TEACHERS

STD. SCORE 168 150 RANK 1 2 CHALLENGES Personal Life Close proximity to higher paying districts 143 3 Low salary 34 4.20 2.01 N 34 34 MEAN 4.94 4.41 DEVIATION 1.49 1.63

RSQ #4 & Ho1

To test the first Null Hypothesis, a Pearson Correlation was conducted to identify whether a relationship exists between the individual hygiene factors and the socio economic status of the school district. Based on these test results, no relationship existed between the individual hygiene factors and the socio economic status (SES) of the school districts. The null hypothesis was therefore not rejected, since the study found no significant correlation between hygiene factors and SES.

RSQ #4 & Ho1Findings

The findings from the data show that no significant relationship existed between the individual hygiene factors and the socioeconomic status of the school districts. Based on p < .05, the results of the relationship of each hygiene factor with the SES of the school district are as follows: personal life is low salary is relationship with supervisor is relationship with peers is company policy is working conditions is security is supervisor is status is r = .338 (p = .172) r = .310 (p = .182) r = .541 (p = .116) r = .637 (p = .088) r = .291 (p = .190) r = .148 (p = .258) r = .529 (p = .113) r = .189 (p = .235) r = .150 (p = .256)

RSQ #5 & Ho2

To test the second Null Hypothesis, a Pearson Correlation was conducted to determine whether a relationship existed between the total hygiene factors and the socioeconomic status of the school districts. The results of the relationship of total hygiene factors and the SES of the school districts is r = .074 where p = .315. Therefore, no relationship exists between the total hygiene factors and the SES of the school districts. The null hypothesis was therefore not rejected, since the study found no significant correlation between the total hygiene factors and SES of the school districts.

Open-ended Question #1
An open-ended question which asked respondents to list three reasons teachers, who are newly hired, remain in their positions for the first two years. The findings indicate the most cited reason for teachers remaining in their positions as perceived by human resource directors was (a) was personal life at 34.4%, while the second most cited reason under option (a) was due to work conditions at 31%. For option (b) the most frequently cited reason was personal life at 41.3 % followed by work conditions at 37.9 %. Lastly, HRDs indicated that personal life at 31% was the most cited reason under option (c) followed by work conditions at 17.2 %. The overall most cited reason for newly hired teachers to stay in their positions within 1-2 years of being hired was personal life.

Open-ended Question #2
An open-ended question which asked respondents to list three reasons why teachers, who are newly hired, tend to leave their positions within 1-2 years. The results of this question found that the most cited reason for high teacher turnover as perceived by human resource directors for option (a) was personal life at 67.6 %, while the second most cited reason was low salary at 20.5 %. For option (b) the most cited reason was personal life at 70.5 % and the second most cited was salary and work conditions both at 8.8 %. Finally, HRDs indicated that personal life was the most cited reason under option (c) at 55.8 % followed by work conditions at 14.7 %.

Comparison of Data
After doing a comparison of the quantitative and qualitative data, the data revealed that factors related to personal reasons account for a greater percentage for teacher turnover in this study. Alliance for Excellent Education (2008) supports these findings which states the most-cited reason for teachers leaving the profession was family-related, rather than work conditions.

Summary
HRDs were asked through an open ended questions format, to list reasons as to why newly hired teachers remained in their positions initially. The most cited reasons indicated by respondents were personal, and satisfaction with working conditions. HRDs were also asked to report reasons that new teachers leave their positions within 1-2 years. The most cited reasons in this category of teachers were personal, low salary, and dissatisfaction with work conditions. The results of this study also revealed that no significant relationship existed between the hygiene factors and the socio economic status (SES) of the school district.

Recommendations for Further Research

1. 2. 3. A study could be conducted that explores empirical research on the effects of mentor programs. A study could be conducted to gain pertinent information to better organize induction programs or trainings for new teachers. A study could be conducted identifying and addressing retention factors that are within the administrators control. A study could be conducted in a different geographical region. A study could be conducted during the middle of the academic year, rather than the beginning of the academic year.

4. 5.

Thank you!

References
Education Commission of the States, (2005, September). ECS Teaching Quality Research Reports. Retrieved March 13, 2009, from Eight Questions on Teacher Recruitment and Retention: What does the Research Say? Web site: http://www.ecs.org/html/educationIssues/TeachingQuality/TRRreport/chapters/01/quickanswer.asp?qn=1 Fraenkel, J. & Wallen, N. (2003). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education (5th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., and Snyderman, B. (1959). The Motivation to Work (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley and Sons. (2009, December 31). Top 5 hr challenges for 2010. Retrieved from http://www.hrmasia.com/new/features/top-5-hr-challenges-for-2010/39421 Lebert, M. (2009). Teacher turnover in Malcon county higher than state's. The Franklin Press, Retrieved from http://www.thefranklinpress.com/articles/2009/09/09/news/02news.txt NAPA. (n.d.). Competency model for hr professionals. Retrieved from http://main.opm.gov/studies/transapp.pdf NCTAF State Partners, (2002).Unraveling the teacher shortage problem: teacher retention is the key. A Symposium of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future and. 3-15. Norton, M. S. (2008). Human Resources administration for educational leaders. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publication, Inc.. Pellerin, Peter Philip (2007). A case study of a former special education teacher: The teaching experiences that influenced the decision to leave the classroom. Ph.D. dissertation, Capella University, United States -- Minnesota. Retrieved March 9, 2009, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text database. (Publication No. AAT 3278290). Rebore, R. W. (2007). Human resources administration in education: A Management Approach (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. p. 13, 16.

Sergiovanni, T. J. (1966). Investigation of factors which affect job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction of teachers. Dissertation Abstracts, 28, 2966A Texas Center for Educational Research. (2000). The cost of teacher turnover, 1-17. Austin, TX. Texas Education Agency, 2007-2008 students economically disadvantaged regional totals by district name. Retrieved January 23, 2009, from Texas Education Agency Web site: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ Wright, P. (2008, October). Human resource strategy. Retrieved November 24, 2008, from http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/cahrs/news/102008Wright_HRStrategyEPG.html