Abstract
Teacher retention is a major issue in many developed countries. According to the 2018 edition of the OECD TALIS survey (OECD, 2018), on average, almost 15% of teachers aged 50 or less want to leave teaching within the next five years. In England, this figure is above the OECD average, at 22%. This survey also shows that England’s teachers are the second most stressed among OECD countries (Carr, 2020). Sorensen and Ladd (2020) show that high rates of teacher turnover create a vicious cycle leading to lower quality teaching and lower student achievement. Teacher attrition and turnover are especially problematic in disadvantaged schools as they have a harder time both recruiting and retaining teachers. Allen et al. (2018) show that there is a positive raw association between the level of school disadvantage and the turnover rate of its teachers in England. Evidence shows that high staff attrition rates are disruptive for schools and have negative impacts on pupils’ achievement. The unequal exposure to this issue further contributes to persistent educational inequalities (Gershenson, 2021).