Abstract
Purpose. The first purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the following factors affect the decision of selected elementary Caucasian, Hispanic, and other ethnically diverse teachers to remain in or consider leaving the teaching profession: financial compensation, teaching satisfaction/dissatisfaction, and job opportunities outside the teaching profession. A second purpose was to determine if demographic indicators such as age, number of years in teaching, and socioeconomic status of parents affect the decision of selected elementary Caucasian, Hispanic, and other ethnically diverse teachers to remain in or consider leaving the teaching profession. The third purpose of this study was to identify any other factors, if any, that affect the decision of selected elementary Caucasian, Hispanic, and other ethnically diverse teachers to remain in or consider leaving the teaching profession. Methodology. The research was descriptive. Surveys were sent to 207 Caucasian, Hispanic, and other ethnically diverse teachers in three school districts in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. The return rate was 66 percent (136 respondents). Teachers completed a survey that used a Likert scale and a page for write-in comments. The mean, median, and mode were calculated for each variable. Chi-square was also used to examine relationships between ethnic groups. Six interviews the and the write-in comments were used to probe the findings of the survey data. Findings. The findings from this study suggest that (1) enjoyment of teaching and higher salary affect the decision of a teacher to remain in teaching, and (2) unreasonable workload and the new accountability and standards legislation might influence the decision of a teacher to consider leaving teaching in the future. There was no relationship between ethnic groups based on age, number of years in teaching, or socio-economic status of parents. Conclusions. Two conclusions are suggested from these data: (1) excessive workloads and current state mandates may diminish enjoyment of teaching and result in increased attrition, and (2) if teachers were compensated at higher levels, their dissatisfaction with current working conditions may be reduced and ultimately result in lower attrition in the future.