Faculty of Education - Theses
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Item"I had tried everything, but there was nothing left in teaching for me": a small scale study of teacher resignation in Victoria: 1992-1995( 1995)The investigation set out to determine reasons for teacher resignation from the Directorate of School Education in the State of Victoria, Australia between 1992 and 1994. Specifically the study examined why 20 teachers resigned from a single secondary college in the outer western region of Melbourne. The teachers selected were highly competent as judged using criteria recently developed by the Standards Council of the Teaching Profession. Participants were interviewed and the data presented as individual causal maps. These were then analysed across the cases to discover generalisations. Of greatest concern to Victorian policy makers and administrators is the quality of the exit staff and the implications for Victorian education of the loss of such a talented and able group. Lack of mobility emerged as the most prominent factor influencing the resignation decision of the exit teachers. The second most important factor was found to be unmet expectations in teaching. Lack of career structure/opportunities was the third most important factor and lack of professional development the fourth most important factor. Peripheral factors which emerged from the research included changes following the change of government, lack of collegiality, school culture and individual achievement and unsupported post graduate study. It was found that the new career structure for Victorian teachers, the Professional Recognition Program provides some solutions for the factors affecting resignation among the group of exit teachers.