A qualitative study of novice teacher retention in two rural Midwest schools

Abstract

This purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative study using the theoretical framework of organizational trust to determine the factors that novice teachers felt were most important to their retention. This qualitative study utilized data gleaned from 8 novice teachers from two rural secondary schools. The novice teachers were interviewed regarding their perceptions of organizational trust through carefully designed research questions. Data collection methods included: semi-structured interviews, focus groups and document analysis. The data were grouped by themes through the use of inductive, intuitive reasoning to decide which themes fit the research questions. Collectively, the findings revealed the magnitude of the effect of a school's ability to retain novice teachers based on factors that support organizational trust. Factors included the importance of administrative trust: trust through the mentor relationship, and trust from students, parents and faculty.