Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine if job satisfaction or dissatisfaction, ethnicity, socioeconomic status of the teacher's parent(s), gender, level of educational attainment, level of educational assignment, or the teacher's perceived support from the principal were related to a teacher's decision to stay or leave the profession. Methodology. A descriptive study using purposive sampling was conducted in six California school districts that employed 25 percent or more minority teachers in their first five years of teaching. A questionnaire was sent to 591 teachers; 360 (61 percent) responded. A Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Findings. The major findings were: 70 percent of Caucasian and 50 percent of minority teachers reported that their parent(s) were managers or professionals; principals' lack of support was a primary reason for teachers to leave the profession; one-fifth of the teachers were undecided about teaching as a career; and one-third of the Caucasian and one-third of the minority teachers were undecided or planning to leave teaching. Conclusions. Teachers still enter the profession for altruistic reasons; teachers need intrinsic support to compensate for increasing dissatisfaction with their working conditions; teachers who have support from their peers are less likely to have their intrinsic needs met if their parents are managers or professionals. Recommendations. It is recommended that studies be conducted to: (1) replicate this study in other districts that employ a substantial number of minority teachers; (2) increase the knowledge base about how experienced teachers influence a beginning teacher's decision to stay in the teaching profession.