Resources for Teacher Mobility
View the latest findings on teacher mobility in the Midwest, based on a 2002 research study by Neil D. Theobald and Robert S. Michael. This research report is the basis for Policy Issues No. 10, listed below. The study explored the number of teachers who left public school districts in four Midwest states (Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) during their first five years of teaching. It analyzed separately three types of novice teachers: (1) those who taught continuously in the same district all five years ("stayers"), (2) those who transferred to another school district or districts within a state but remained in the same state all five years ("movers"), and (3) those who left public school teaching in a state and did not return ("leavers"). The study also surveyed five-year veteran teachers to investigate the factors that contribute to retaining teachers in the profession.
The interactive data tool allows users to create customized graphs from the data collected in this study.
This edition of Policy Issues presents an overview of the results of a study on teacher mobility in the Midwest. It analyzes separately four types of novice teachers, those who: (1) remained in the same school all five years ("stayers"), (2) transferred to another school district(s) within the state, but remained in the same state all five years ("movers"), (3) left public school teaching in a state and did not return to teaching ("leavers"), and (4) left public school teaching in a state but returned to teaching ("returnees").