Teacher retention rates have been an issue in education for decades. New teachers continue to leave the field at an alarming rate, despite research and attempts to improve their retention. This study focuses on the population of second-career educators and their reasons for remaining in the field at a higher rate than traditional teachers (those who enter the field directly out of college). The researcher’s focus is to determine which experiences and skills gained by second—career teachers in their previous careers result in them experiencing lower rates of attrition once entering education. A qualitative study will be conducted using semi-structured interviews to attempt to determine reasons and motivations that explain the elevated retention rates of second- career educators. The researcher then hopes to use the findings to adapt existing teacher induction and professional development programs to close the gap in preparedness between first- career and second-career teachers.
","abstract_html":"<p>Teacher retention rates have been an issue in education for decades. New teachers continue to leave the field at an alarming rate, despite research and attempts to improve their retention. This study focuses on the population of second-career educators and their reasons for remaining in the field at a higher rate than traditional teachers (those who enter the field directly out of college). The researcher’s focus is to determine which experiences and skills gained by second—career teachers in their previous careers result in them experiencing lower rates of attrition once entering education. A qualitative study will be conducted using semi-structured interviews to attempt to determine reasons and motivations that explain the elevated retention rates of second- career educators. The researcher then hopes to use the findings to adapt existing teacher induction and professional development programs to close the gap in preparedness between first- career and second-career teachers.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jones, Colton Perry"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Counseling, Foundations & Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Jennifer Lovelace","Dr. Christopher LeMieux","Dr. Adam McGhee"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2026-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:45:25Z","subjects":["Retention","Attrition","Job Satisfaction","Motivation","Education","Teacher Education and Professional Development"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/774","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Jennifer Lovelace","Dr. Christopher LeMieux","Dr. Adam McGhee"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jones, Colton Perry"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Counseling, Foundations & Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Retention","Attrition","Job Satisfaction","Motivation","Education","Teacher Education and Professional Development"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/774"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Teacher retention rates have been an issue in education for decades. New teachers continue to leave the field at an alarming rate, despite research and attempts to improve their retention. This study focuses on the population of second-career educators and their reasons for remaining in the field at a higher rate than traditional teachers (those who enter the field directly out of college). The researcher’s focus is to determine which experiences and skills gained by second—career teachers in their previous careers result in them experiencing lower rates of attrition once entering education. A qualitative study will be conducted using semi-structured interviews to attempt to determine reasons and motivations that explain the elevated retention rates of second- career educators. The researcher then hopes to use the findings to adapt existing teacher induction and professional development programs to close the gap in preparedness between first- career and second-career teachers.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Improving Retention Rates of Teachers Through Analysis of Second-Career Educators"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Jennifer Lovelace","Dr. Christopher LeMieux","Dr. Adam McGhee"],"dc:creator":["Jones, Colton Perry"],"dc:description.abstract":["Teacher retention rates have been an issue in education for decades. New teachers continue to leave the field at an alarming rate, despite research and attempts to improve their retention. This study focuses on the population of second-career educators and their reasons for remaining in the field at a higher rate than traditional teachers (those who enter the field directly out of college). The researcher’s focus is to determine which experiences and skills gained by second—career teachers in their previous careers result in them experiencing lower rates of attrition once entering education. A qualitative study will be conducted using semi-structured interviews to attempt to determine reasons and motivations that explain the elevated retention rates of second- career educators. The researcher then hopes to use the findings to adapt existing teacher induction and professional development programs to close the gap in preparedness between first- career and second-career teachers.
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