Research reveals why teachers are leaving 'the best profession in the world'. Here’s what could bring them back

More than 80 per cent of teachers who have left the profession have retained their teaching registration, giving hope that they may not be permanently lost to education, a new study shows.

However, this and other key findings from the Australian-first study, led by Professor Robyn Brandenburg and recently published in the journal The Australian Educational Researcher, show that more needs to be done to attract, support and nurture teachers.

The study examined teacher attrition from the perspective of former classroom teachers and school leaders.

While there is extensive global research related to teacher shortages and intentions to leave the teaching profession, Professor Brandenburg says minimal research has sought insights from those who have left the profession in Australia and what they were doing after they had left.

Using an online survey, data were collected from 256 former teachers from all states and territories, sectors and career stages who had left the profession between 2016 and 2022.

Professor Brandenburg says their reasons for leaving were often multifaceted, and the process was often protracted. Many former teachers have maintained links to the education profession in various positions.

Participants cited different reasons for leaving their positions, including the intensification of workload, a general lack of respect for their roles, and not acknowledging a teacher's skill and expertise.

"It's a very sophisticated level of skill that a teacher needs to educate every child in their care," Professor Brandenburg said.

The study shows that 40 per cent of teachers who left the profession had resigned from positions in regional and rural schools, which created an untenable situation for many schools, teachers and the profession, Professor Brandenburg says.

"Education is facing a crisis as many teachers are leaving teaching positions that just can't be filled," Professor Brandenburg said.

"A large group of teachers have left their positions as classroom teachers and have maintained their teacher registration but have yet to decide if they will come back.

"They have indicated that if the conditions and system they worked in changed or were more appropriate, they may consider returning. Some have called it the ‘best profession in the world’ but they're continuing to move out of classroom teaching, and that's where the crisis is." Professor Robyn Brandenburg

Many teachers who had left the classroom were still involved in education, working in positions that included writing policy and curriculum development. But their absence from the classroom meant more responsibilities fell to other teachers at the school, as well as to principals and vice principals who had to step in to teach.

Professor Brandenburg says the impact of teachers leaving was especially felt at schools in regional or rural areas which often struggled to fill positions.

The study also revealed that 20 per cent of those who had left teaching had between 7-10 years' experience in schools, and Professor Brandenburg says the loss of teachers with this amount of experience risked creating a leadership vacuum.

"These are our next leaders, and losing many people from this demographic is an important consideration," Professor Brandenburg said.

"The narrative, typically, is that up to 50 per cent of teachers will leave in the first five years — and this survey challenges that as there are teachers with many years' experience who are also leaving, and that is a critical issue for schools, students, the education system, and for communities.

"There is no one approach that will resolve the teacher shortage and overall loss to the profession because we know, for example, that a school in the Northern Territory and one in Tasmania will have different students and different needs.

"We need to look at different approaches for different schools — with appropriate support. This could be educational, economic, or social, but an array of support options can be put in place for teachers, schools, and their communities.

"We need to continue preparing our graduates for their varying contexts, and one key skill we need in our graduates is adaptability.

"We are in a critical time of change. This is not only for the teachers we are preparing for the profession but also for the society and the cultures they are entering as graduate teachers. More than ever, they need to be critical thinkers, flexible, and have the skills to adapt and bring their new knowledge.

"And once they are in schools, we must continue to mentor, nurture and support them.”

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