dr. william allan kritsonis, dissertation committee, iwundu

8/8/2019 Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee, Iwundu

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Impact of Human Resources¶ Practices on Teacher

Retention

A Dissertation by: La¶Shonte Nechelle Iwundu

Submitted to the Graduate School of

Prairie View A&M University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY



Table of Contents

Introduction

Statement of

the Problem

Purpose of the

Study

Significance of

the Study

Framework

ResearchQuestions

Null

Hypotheses

Role of Human

Resource

Directors

Challenges

Research Design

Instrumentation

Data Collection

& Recording

Subjects of Study

Analysis of Data

RQ 1

RQ 2

RQ 3

RQ 4

Ho1

Ho2

Qualitative Data

Conclusion

Recommend-

ations for

Further

Research

Chapter IIChapter I Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V



Introduction

The Education Commission (2005) states there are costs associated with

high rates of teacher turnover both financially and in terms of creating a

productive learning environment. Superintendents, administrators, and

human resource personnel must be aware of the reasons that teachers are

leaving the profession, if they want to alleviate the problem of teacher shortages and teacher attrition (Pellerin, 2007).



Statement of the Problem

The Texas Center for Educational Research (2000) states the cost for highteacher turnover represents a loss of resources to the education system.Schools, experiencing high turnover rates regularly, have less time andmoney to spend on instructional improvement and curriculum development( NCTAF, 2002). Furthermore, student performance is negatively impacted

by high teacher turnover rates (The Texas Center for Educational Research,2000).



Purpose of the Study

Identify the hygiene factors which contribute to an increase in teacher turnover, as perceived by human resource directors.

Explore the most effective retention practices.

Explore the challenges human resource directors face in an effort toretain teachers.



Significance of this study

The significance of this study was centered on the importance of effective

and ineffective practices used by human resource directors to retain

teachers. The knowledge gained from this study may help educators to

formulate effective retention practices, as well as add to the body of

research to better define the role of the Human Resource Director.



Conceptual Framework

Herzberg¶s (1959) Motivational Hygiene Theory was used as the theory

and lens that guided this study.

Sergiovanni (1966) conducted a replication of Herzberg's study in an

educational setting.



Conceptual Framework (Wright, 2008)

Teacher

Retention

HR

Challenges

HR PracticesHygiene

Factors



Descriptive Research Questions

Which hygiene factors do human resource directors perceive ascontributors to high teacher turnover?

Which practices do human resource directors rely on in an effort to retainteachers?

What challenges do human resource directors face in an effort toimplement effective teacher retention practices?



Quantitative Research Questions

Is there a correlation between the individual hygiene factors (supervision,salary, status, security, relationships, work conditions, company policy and personal life) and socioeconomic status of the school district?

Is there a correlation between the total hygiene factors and the

socioeconomic status of the school district?



Null Hypotheses

Ho1:There is no statistically significant relationship between theindividual hygiene factors (supervision, salary, status, security,relationships, work conditions, company policy and personal life) andthe socioeconomic status of the school district

Ho2:There is no statistically significant relationship between the totalhygiene factors and socioeconomic status of the school district.



Literature ReviewHR Competency Model

Provided by NAPA



HRD Role in Education Sector

According to Rebore (2007), people must be recruited, selected, placed,

evaluated, and compensated whether by personnel in the central human

resources office or administrators within the school district.

Further, Rebore (2007) writes that a human resource director (HRD) has a

variety of roles, focusing on risk management, labor negotiations,compensation, benefit administration, employer-employee relations, staff

training and maintaining central personnel records.

The four basic goals of human resource directors working in school

districts consist of hiring, retaining, developing and motivating employees

( N

orton, 2008). Accomplishing these goals addresses the objectives of theschool district while assisting staff members to cultivate skills useful in

their content area; thus resulting in increasing student achievement

(Rebore, 2007).



Work Challenges

According to Norton (2008), one of the most important issues facing

human resource administrators is teacher and administrator supply and

demand and increasing diversity within the workforce. ³Teacher shortages

consistently rank high in surveys among serious challenges facing HR

administrators´ ( N

orton, 2008, p. 16). The number one challenge for human resources for 2010 is talent retention

and development (³Top 5 HR´, 2009).



Instrument

The content validity, grammar, clarity, and understanding of the surveyinstrument were established in a previous study. The survey instrument wastested with superintendents to assess understandability. The survey wastested with a total of 597 superintendents from rural school districts. Theresponses of these 597 superintendents reflect the retention practices of

rural areas not located near an urban area.



Continued

Retention items were assessed using a 6-point scale ranging from 1 ³ Not atall´ to 6 ³A great deal´ and measured the extent to which specificchallenges to retaining teachers are found and about the district¶sdependence on retention strategies (e.g., instituting formal induction programs for new teachers, offering formal mentoring programs, providing

best possible working conditions) (Hammer, Hughes, McClure, Reeves &Salgado, 2005).



Continued

A number of open-ended questions asked respondents to provide reasonswhy teachers who are newly hired tend to leave their positions within 1-2years or stay in the district. School district information was assessed. Thisincludes the type of locale, the number of schools in the district, thenumber of children served by the district, and the percentages of studentswho qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.



Subjects of Study

A sample of current HRD(s) was targeted from school districts in the Texas

Gulf Coast region. A total of 103 human resource directors were included

in the sample. Participating districts were selected from the Region IV

service area. The selection of the targeted population derived from the

Texas Education Agency website. The data came from the 2007 to 2008economically disadvantaged status reports.



Data Collection & Recording

The participants selected for the study were sent a personalized emailintroducing the project, describing the purpose of the study, providinginstructions for completing the survey online (surveymonkey.com), assuredconfidentiality, and directing them to the site where the instrument could becompleted. The researcher attempted to increase the response rate by a personalized telephone call. A follow-up email was sent exactly one week after the initial contact and additional follow-ups were sent after the secondemail.



Data Analysis

Data analysis was conducted using Excel and Statistical Package for theSocial Sciences (SPSS) computer software. The analysis of data usedPearson¶s correlation and descriptive statistics, which included measures of central tendency and standard deviations (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2003).



Response Rate

103 targeted HR directors

forty-three (or 44.29 percent) participants responded

thirty-six (or 83.7 percent) respondents completed the survey



FIGURE 4.1: Code Describing Respondents¶ Districts¶

Locale

Locale of the District

14%

3%

35%

5%

32%

11%

(1) Large City

(2) Mid-size City

(3) Urban Fringe

(4) Large Town

(5) Small Town

(6) Rural



TABLE 4.1: SES CATEGORIES

CATEGOR

ercent of students who

ualifies for free or reduced

riced lunch

Number of

istricts in Each

Category

Group (1) one to 25 percent 4

Group (2) 26 to 50 percent 13

Group (3) 51 to 5 percent

Group (4) 6 to 100 percent

TOTAL 34



A Cronbach¶s Alpha statistical analysis

A Cronbach¶s Alpha statistical analysis was conducted to establishreliability of the EDVA NTIA: School Districts Recruitment and RetentionPractices survey. The Cronbach¶s Alpha of the factors (supervision, salary,status, security, relationships, work conditions, company policy and personal life) contributing to teacher turnover was .941.



RQ#1

To answer the first research question, respondents were instructed to rateeach hygiene factor, on a scale from 1 to 6, he or she perceived ascontributors to high teacher turnover. The researcher assessed the followingfactors, supervision, salary, status, security, relationships, work conditions,company policy and personal life by rating them based on their values as

ranked by the respondents. Values are listed from highest to lowest.



RSQ #2

To answer the second research question, respondents were instructed torate, on a scale from 1 to 6, the extent to which the district relies on the provided practice or strategy to retain teachers. The provided retention practices included the following: induction programs, mentoring programs,teacher support, incentives, positive school culture, good work conditions,technology, community involvement, leadership development, increasedsalaries, improved benefits, tuition assistance, professional developmentopportunities and evaluation process regarding teacher retention.



TABLE 4.3 RETE NTIO N PRACTICES USED BY DISTRICTS TO RETAI N

TEACHERS

SCORE RA NK RETE NTIO N PRACTICES N EA N

STD.

DEVIATIO N

192 1 Providing Professional development 34 5.64 .543

182 2 Offering other support for teachers 34 5.35 .543

177 3 Offering formal mentoring programs

for new teachers

34 5.20 .913

175 4 Providing the best possible work

conditions

34 5.14 .702

172 5 Creating a positive school culture 34 5.05 .776



RQ#3

To calculate the score for each challenging factor to teacher retention, the

researcher found the sum of each factor based on the value assigned by the

HR directors.



TABLE 4.4 CHALLE NGES ADDRESSED BY DISTRICTS TO RETAI N

TEACHERS

SCORE RA N CHALLE NGES N EA N

STD.

DE IATIO N

L 4 4. 4 .4

C 4 4.4 .

4 L 4 4. .



RSQ #4 & Ho1

To test the first Null Hypothesis, a Pearson Correlation was

conducted to identify whether a relationship exists between the

individual hygiene factors and the socio economic status of the

school district.

Based on these test results, no relationship existed between the

individual hygiene factors and the socio economic status (SES)

of the school districts. The null hypothesis was therefore not

rejected, since the study found no significant correlation

between hygiene factors and SES.



RSQ #4 & Ho1Findings

The findings from the data show that no significant relationship existed between the individual hygiene factors and the socioeconomic status of theschool districts. Based on p < .05, the results of the relationship of eachhygiene factor with the SES of the school district are as follows:

personal life is r = .338 (p = .172) low salary is r = .310 (p = .182)

relationship with supervisor is r = .541 (p = .116)

relationship with peers is r = .637 (p = .088)

company policy is r = .291 (p = .190)

working conditions is r = .148 (p = .258)

security is r = .529 (p = .113)

supervisor is r = .189 (p = .235)

status is r = .150 (p = .256)



RSQ #5 & Ho2

To test the second Null Hypothesis, a Pearson Correlation was conducted

to determine whether a relationship existed between the total hygiene

factors and the socioeconomic status of the school districts.

The results of the relationship of total hygiene factors and the SES of the

school districts is r = .074 where p = .315. Therefore, no relationship exists between the total hygiene factors and the SES of the school districts. The

null hypothesis was therefore not rejected, since the study found no

significant correlation between the total hygiene factors and SES of the

school districts.



Open-ended Question #1 An open-ended question which asked respondents to list three reasons

teachers, who are newly hired, remain in their positions for the first twoyears.

The findings indicate the most cited reason for teachers remaining in their positions as perceived by human resource directors was (a) was personal

life at 34.4%, while the second most cited reason under option (a) was dueto work conditions at 31%. For option (b) the most frequently cited reasonwas personal life at 41.3 % followed by work conditions at 37.9 %. Lastly,HRD¶s indicated that personal life at 31% was the most cited reason under option (c) followed by work conditions at 17.2 %. The overall most citedreason for newly hired teachers to stay in their positions within 1-2 years of being hired was personal life.



Open-ended Question #2

An open-ended question which asked respondents to list three reasons whyteachers, who are newly hired, tend to leave their positions within 1-2years.

The results of this question found that the most cited reason for highteacher turnover as perceived by human resource directors for option (a)was personal life at 67.6 %, while the second most cited reason was lowsalary at 20.5 %. For option (b) the most cited reason was personal life at70.5 % and the second most cited was salary and work conditions both at8.8 %. Finally, HRDs indicated that personal life was the most cited reasonunder option (c) at 55.8 % followed by work conditions at 14.7 %.



Comparison of Data

After doing a comparison of the quantitative and qualitative data, the data

revealed that factors related to ³personal reasons´ account for a greater

percentage for teacher turnover in this study. Alliance for Excellent

Education (2008) supports these findings which states the most-cited

reason for teachers leaving the profession was ³family-related´, rather thanwork conditions.



Summary

HRD¶s were asked through an open ended questions format, to list reasonsas to why newly hired teachers remained in their positions initially. Themost cited reasons indicated by respondents were personal, and satisfactionwith working conditions. HRD¶s were also asked to report reasons thatnew teachers leave their positions within 1-2 years. The most cited reasonsin this category of teachers were personal, low salary, and dissatisfactionwith work conditions.

The results of this study also revealed that no significant relationshipexisted between the hygiene factors and the socio economic status (SES) of the school district.



Recommendations for

Further Research

1. A study could be conducted that explores empirical research on theeffects of mentor programs.

2. A study could be conducted to gain pertinent information to better organize induction programs or trainings for new teachers.

3. A study could be conducted identifying and addressing retention factorsthat are within the administrators¶ control.

4. A study could be conducted in a different geographical region.

5. A study could be conducted during the middle of the academic year,rather than the beginning of the academic year.



Thank you!



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dr. william allan kritsonis, dissertation committee, iwundu

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