Date of Award

12-11-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Soala Dede

Abstract

The problem was teacher attrition was a pressing problem in the United States. The National Center for Education Statistics (2023) reported that 40% to 50% of teachers exited the profession within 5 years of commencing their careers which influenced the quality and consistency of education provided to rural students. The purpose was to explore how teachers felt about remaining on the job in rural classrooms in Southern Middle Tennessee. There was little research that investigated these teachers’ experiences regarding remaining in the profession. The study was guided by a basic qualitative design (Quick, 2024). The sample was six teachers selected using purposeful and snowball sampling procedures. Teachers taught in rural schools in Southern Middle Tennessee and had at least 10 years of classroom experiences. Teachers completed a Likert-scale survey organized in three areas: a) personal motivation and teaching commitment, (b) resilience and coping strategies, and (c) support and professional growth opportunities. Additionally, teachers participated in individual Zoom semi-structured interviews responding to 13 interview questions. Quantitative data analysis occurred using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software to compute frequencies and percentages, while qualitative data analysis occurred by following the Ravitch and Carl (2021) thematic data analysis model. The guiding research question was as follows: What were teachers’ perspectives of remaining in rural schools in Southern Middle Tennessee? Findings revealed six themes and 18 subthemes showing teachers remained because they valued student growth, community roots, respect, and autonomy from leadership.

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