Pre-service teachers’ intent to leave the profession: A case study in Hong Kong

Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on New Trends in Teaching and Education

Year: 2023

DOI:

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Pre-service teachers’ intent to leave the profession: A case study in Hong Kong

Huixuan Xu

 

 

ABSTRACT:

Researchers have extensively investigated several factors affecting teacher attrition and retention, including personal and organizational characteristics, which have focused on microlevel and meso-level analysis. Little research, however, has examined the macro-level factors that affect individual teachers’ decisions to stay or leave the teaching profession. The present study contributes to teacher attrition and retention dialogue by introducing a case study in Hong Kong. Hong Kong used to be a preferable place for developing a teacher career. Following the Anti-ELAB movement, a high teacher attrition rate has been observed over the past two years. The present study examined 40 pre-service teachers’ narrated experiences in the movement. It unfolded how they explained the effect of such experience on their intentions to stay or leave the teaching profession. Person-environment fit theory was employed to interpret the difference in intentions among the participants.

keywords: teacher attrition, teacher retention, pre-service teachers, Hong Kong, social movement