The COVID-19 pandemic has been a trying period for teachers. Teachers had to adapt to unexpected conditions, teaching in unprecedented ways. As a result, teachers' levels of stress and burnout have been high throughout the pandemic, raising concerns about a potential increase in teacher turnover and future teacher shortages. We use administrative data for the state of Arkansas to document the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers’ mobility and attrition during the years 2018-19 to 2021-2022. We find stable turnover rates during the first year of the pandemic (2020-2021) but an increase in teacher mobility and attrition in the second year (2021-2022). Teacher mobility and attrition increased by 2 percentage points (10% relative increase) this second year but with heterogeneous effects across regions and depending on the teacher and school characteristics. Our results raise concerns about increased strain in areas already experiencing teacher shortages and a potential reduction in the diversity of the Arkansas teacher labor force.
Changes in Teachers’ Mobility and Attrition in Arkansas During the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Keywords
Teacher turnover, teacher retention, COVID-19
Education level
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/khrg-kf39
EdWorkingPaper suggested citation:
Camp, Andrew, Gema Zamarro, and Josh B. McGee. (). Changes in Teachers’ Mobility and Attrition in Arkansas During the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic. (EdWorkingPaper:
-589). Retrieved from
Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/khrg-kf39Related Resources from the EdExchange
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