Why do Good Stay in High Poverty Schools?

Abstract

This dissertation contributes to the research and discussion of high rates of teacher attrition and migration from our nation's high poverty schools. This study examines a select group of suburban teachers who work in high poverty schools within one of Kansas’s wealthiest and often rewarded school districts in order to better understand why they stay in high poverty teaching positions. This understanding is acquired by investigating the beliefs and values of teachers who have stayed in high poverty schools for 5 consecutive years or more. Additionally, these teachers have the penalty free option to transfer within their district to schools with low poverty student populations. The school district has been awarded on multiple occasions for organizational and educational functioning yet, their high poverty schools continue to account for over 40% of the transfer requests each year. Qualitatively exploring the beliefs and values of select quality teachers who stay provides insights into their perceptions and reactions to work place conditions and other human affective aspects of their own personal job satisfaction.