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Action Research Design Proposal

Students Name

Institutional Affiliations

Instructors Name

Course Name

Date of Submission
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Introduction

Waterford High School is an average performing public institution located at the center

of a cosmopolitan town. The major economic activity of the town revolves around the steel

manufacturing industry with a majority of the workers being low- and middle-income earners.

The student population at Waterford High School comprise of an ethnically diverse group with

Black and Hispanic students making up more than 40%. Other racial groups include Asians,

Native Americans, Mixed Race, and Whites. The total number of students is around 700 with an

average of 80 heads per class. The total number of the school teaching staff is around 24. The

majority of the teachers are low- and middle-income citizens.

The Nature of the Problem

There is a serious organizational problem at the school which is a high turnover of

teaching staff employees over the last three years. The main reason for this emerging problem is

unclear but there are many indications that the problem is set to worsen. Essentially, employee

turnover in an organization refers to the total number of workers who leave an organization

within a certain period of time. It factors in those who leave due to personal consent and those

who get sacked or get retrenched. Over a period of three years, twelve members of the teaching

staff have exited the school with ten of them resigning and two as a result of a sack. In the

resignation letters handed in by the ten, six of them lamented over low pay and high workload,

three cited poor management and complicated working procedures, while two of them cited

stress at being consistently patronized for student’s poor academic performances. The school’s

board of governors approved the termination of employment for two teachers for gross

misconduct and violation of management directives.

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A recent survey was conducted to review satisfaction among the teaching fraternity.

According to the review, the majority of teachers cited poor renumeration and inadequate

medical coverage as the primary source of their demotivation and dissatisfaction. They also cited

a heavy workload as one that compounded their initial frustration. It was revealed that the

teachers usually work for the recommended hours per day but they lamented over the

unproportionable student-teacher ratio aggravates their fatigue levels. The student teacher ratio at

the school is 29:1 which is almost double the national average of 16:1 as of 2022 ("Average

Public School Student: Teacher Ratio", 2022). The teachers further expressed their frustration at

the by school management setting unattainable academic goals for them without considering

their feedback on the same.

Against this backdrop, the chairperson of Waterford High School Board of Governors,

convened an ad-hoc committee to conduct further inquiries into the problem of high teaching

staff turnover. A quality management consultancy firm was also outsourced to spearhead this

task. Mr. Kent, the consultant officer has identified the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) model and an

overall mental model as key to addressing this problem. To win the approval of the committee, a

research design proposal was presented to illustrate how these models will be workable.

Literature Review

There have been various studies conducted into the topic of employee turnover as an

organizational problem. Employee turnover is widely used as an indicator to estimate the level of

job satisfaction and motivation among employees (Geiger & Pivovarova, 2018). Thus, a high

employee turnover indicates the presence of negative working conditions that frustrate

employees whilst a low turnover indicates positive working conditions within the workplace. In
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most cases, dissatisfied employees will seek for opportunities in other organizations where they

feel that the terms are friendlier.

The cost of high employee turnover weighs on heavily on an organization as it translates to

increased training costs and loss of valuable skills and expertise. This affects the prospects of an

organization to realize a stable and consistent growth.

Relevant research has discovered that the need for a better basic pay and other related

benefits such as comprehensive medical covers is the common reason for teachers to quit the

teaching profession. Overcrowded classrooms occasioned by a an unproportionable student-

teacher ratio is also a major cause of low job satisfaction among teachers (Geiger & Pivovarova,

2018). Furthermore, schools located in areas with adverse demographic factors such as high

poverty rates and high crime activity are often characterized by poor academic performance, high

rates of dropouts, and high turnover among teachers. In light of this, various research has

revealed that school management should employ a policy that seeks to provide the recommended

renumeration and bonus packages to motivate teachers (Geiger & Pivovarova, 2018). The

management should also consult teachers before setting parameters used to appraise teachers’

performances. This will be important in building a consensual working relationship between the

management and the teaching staff.

A low employee turnover rate has been associated with a working framework that

considers employee feedback in the process of formulating plans of action. In the teaching

profession, providing a supportive work environment for employees has been associated with

high retention rates of employees. Investing in social capital has also been proved as a corrective

measure in creating a positive work environment for teachers than setting performance measures

(Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2019). Essentially, teachers feel like it is a moral

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obligation to deliver the best when they enjoy a healthy and cohesive relationship with the

students and their parents.

Against this backdrop, every analysis of the problem at Waterford High School should be

focused on devising countermeasures that can reduce employee turnover. In order to establish the

extent of the problem, a gap analysis will be essential in identifying where intervention is

needed. A gap analysis forms the first and second steps of the PDSA model as it needed to

diagnose the problem at an organization.

Gap and Data Analysis

In the education sector, staff turnover is considered a crucial metric to measure the

quality of the learning program. In this regard, it is important that a comprehensive collection

and analysis of data involving the number of employees, the nature of the working conditions,

and the reasons for employee turnover to be explored. A gap analysis is an efficient tool used to

establish discrepancies between the ideal situation and the real situation surrounding an

organization’s performance by narrowing on a particular element and exhaustively examining all

related procedures and tasks (Alexander, 2019). The issue at hand here is a high number of

teachers who leave their teaching jobs at Waterford High school.

Process or Expected Current Performance Effects of Gap on

Activity Title Outcome (A) Performance Gap Organization

(B) A minus B

Formulation of A consensual Annual Teachers feel Mediocre quality of

academic goals framework academic goals undervalued by output by teachers since

and objectives between teachers and programs the school their only motivation is
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and school are formulated management and to meet appraisal targets

management be without under pressure to so as to keep their jobs.

used to including meet minimum High staff turnover.

formulate annual teachers’ appraisal

academic goals feedback standards.

and programs

Renumeration Teachers to be Teachers are Low motivation High staff turnover to

paid a paid the standard among staff and seek greener pastures.

reasonable basic basic salary but lack of Poor quality of output

salary and enrolled on poor commitment to by teachers due the loss

medical medical their work. of highly skilled and

coverage coverage experiences teachers.

benefits schemes.

Teacher The ratio of The ratio of Poor academic High stress and fatigue

Workload student-teacher student to morale and levels among teachers

population to be teacher performance and low job satisfaction.

proportional. population is among students

The national 29:1. Teachers due to missing a

average is 16:1 are overworked student teacher

and frustrated. relationship.

Figure 1: School Staff Turnover Gap Analysis Worksheet

Gap Data Analysis

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The analysis of data generated through the gap analysis provides a clearer understanding

of the nature of the problem. Generally, a gap analysis is a three stepped process. The first step is

concerned with identifying the issue. It is worth noting that there is distinction between a

“problem” and “need”.

A problem is a wrong paradigm which is measurable (Alexander, 2019). i.e. the average

number of students per class is higher than the recommended. The second step involves

assessing the impact of the problem on the organization. i.e. an unproportionable representation

of teachers’ vis a vis the student population is most likely to affect the quality of overall

academic performance. At this stage, a graphical analysis comes in handy in conducting an in-

depth investigation of the problem’s related variables. Lastly, an improvement strategy is

formulated by basing it on the findings of the first step (Alexander, 2019). To ensure the

efficiency of the improvement strategy, decisions about which adjustments ought to be made,

which resources are needed, and the type of people most suited are made.

Roles of Gap Analysis in the Development of Applied Improvement Project

A gap analysis is vital for any organization that intends to evaluate the efficacy of its

systems and uncover areas of weakness. In the case of educational institutions such as Waterford

High School, a gap assessment can be employed to enhance its human resource policies. The end

goal being to enhance job satisfaction among teaching staff consequently improving quality of

service and employee retention. However, there are various drawbacks which may affect the

efficiency of the gap analysis.

Arrange the problems in order of priority. Not every problem needs to be prioritized, only

the most critical ones. This is because an organization often encounters challenges when
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deciding the most impactful measures and which ones have a long-term influence (Pascoe et al.,

2019)

Employ a visual analysis to identify outstanding issues. One of the most efficient

methods to propose changes is by using a matrix. A matrix can be effective in identifying factors

such as operational constraints, organizational needs, and human resources.

Accompany every adjustment with an effect statement (Pascoe et al., 2019). This is an

efficient method that ranks changes in order of priorities and determines their influence on the

feasibility of a process. for instance, in order to improve teacher’s morale, employ more teachers

to distribute the workload evenly, or reduce the enrolling of new students.

Research Findings

The situation at Waterford High school is typical one for the majority of public high

schools located in low income areas. The problem of overcrowding is an institutional one which

affects virtually every public high school. So is the issue of lack of a motivating factor among

teachers due to poor medical coverage benefits. High employee turnover causes a negative

influence to the prospects of any organization’s productivity and overall growth. Instead of

investing time and other resources on other programs, such organizations are caught in a cycle of

hiring new staff and retraining them (Kurniawaty et al., 2019). An organization may also be

caught in a series of labor disputes with its employees which taints its reputation. Adverse

working conditions such as poor renumeration, being overworked, and being ignored by

management in formulation of policies are some of the reasons why an employee would quit an

organization. To assuage this problem, analysis tools have been employed to explore viable
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solutions. The organization leadership is primarily responsible for putting in place policies and

structures that provide a satisfactory working environment for employees (Lyons & Bandura,

2020).

Conclusion and Recommendation

High employee turnover is a problem that may face virtually every organization. This has

necessitated organizations to adopt measures aimed at investigating the underlying causes of the

problem. One of the most prominent tools is the Gap Analysis which is an effective yet simple

way of dissecting an organization’s problem areas. This tool enables an organization to

understand the causes of employee turnover and prioritize them in order of criticality. The main

improvement approach to reduce employee turnover has to be focused on increasing job

satisfaction levels among staff. A motivated workforce would naturally offer more than the

minimum required of them which translates to higher productivity and growth.

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References

Alexander, M. (2019). What is gap analysis? Uncovering the missing links to successful

performance. CIO. Retrieved 17 May 2022, from

https://www.cio.com/article/220377/what-is-gap-analysis-uncovering-the-missing-links-

to-successful-performance.html.

Average Public School Student: Teacher Ratio. Public School Review. (2022). Retrieved 17 May

2022, from https://www.publicschoolreview.com/average-student-teacher-ratio-

stats/national-data.

Carver-Thomas, D., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2019). The Trouble with Teacher Turnover: How

Teacher Attrition Affects Students and Schools. Eric.Gov. Retrieved 17 May 2022, from

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1213629.

Geiger, T., & Pivovarova, M. (2018). The effects of working conditions on teacher retention.

Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 17 May 2022, from

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13540602.2018.1457524.

Kurniawaty, K., Ramly, M., & Ramlawati, R. (2019). The effect of work environment, stress,

and job satisfaction on employee turnover intention. Growingscience.com. Retrieved 17

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May 2022, from http://growingscience.com/beta/msl/3122-the-effect-of-work-

environment-stress-and-job-satisfaction-on-employee-turnover-intention.html.

Lyons, P., & Bandura, R. (2020). Employee turnover: features and perspectives | Emerald

Insight. Emerald.com. Retrieved 17 May 2022, from

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DLO-02-2019-0048/full/html.

Pascoe, K. M., Petrescu-Prahova, M., Steinman, L., Bacci, J., Mahorter, S., Belza, B., & Weiner,

B. (2021). Exploring the impact of workforce turnover on the sustainability of evidence-

based programs: A scoping review. Implementation Research and Practice, 2,

26334895211034581.
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Appendix

Figure 1: School staff turnover gap analysis worksheet