Great attention is paid to research into the factors that influence teachers’ retention in the teaching profession. Getting quality professionals for the teaching profession and keeping them in the profession is a priority for all European countries. Research shows that teachers’ motivation to stay in the profession is influenced by a variety of diverse interrelated factors, which are categorised in different ways by different researchers. Researchers have discussed the importance of the remuneration, working conditions, workload, career opportunities, job prestige, and instructional support (e.g. Kemmerer 1990, McDonald 1999, Borman and Darling 2008, Buchanan 2010, Saalvik and Skaalvik 2015). Norwegian research showed that a teacher’s motivation to leave the teaching profession is related to school context variables such as supervisory support, relations with colleagues, relations with parents, time pressure, and discipline problems (Skaalvik and Skaalvik 2011). Bogler (2001) addressed the impact of management style on teachers’ satisfaction, which determines their willingness to remain in the teaching profession. He showed that principals’ leadership styles and principals’ decision-making strategies affected teachers’ satisfaction both directly and indirectly through their occupation perceptions. Loef et al. (2005) examined a range of school conditions, as well as demographic factors, and found that high levels of staff turnover in schools are strongly affected by poor working conditions and low salaries, as well as by student characteristics. The importance of the composition of the student body was also emphasised by Borman and Darling (2008), as were the personal characteristics of the teachers.  

This study aims to supplement the international experience with findings from the Czech Republic. It builds on a study that followed the TALIS (OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey) study administered in 2018 and collected data in the same schools in 2021. It aims to answer the question of how the motivation of primary and secondary teachers to leave the teaching profession is affected by different school characteristics, namely the school climate, leadership style, school innovation, and composition of the student body.

In 2021, a teacher questionnaire was administered to teachers in 173 basic schools (combining primary and lower secondary levels). The questionnaire contained questions concerning the educational and professional history of teachers and their attitudes towards the teaching profession and their intention to remain in it. The participating schools also participated in the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey in 2018 and represented basic schools in the Czech Republic well. Detailed information on school characteristics is available from the TALIS database. Information about the characteristics of the school three years before the teacher questionnaire survey makes it possible to find out in what context the decisions of teachers to leave the profession were formed and what characteristics influenced this important decision. The data was collected electronically through the system of the Czech School Inspectorate, which also ensures the administration of international surveys. Administration by the Czech School Inspectorate guaranteed high response rates. The data was collected from 4921 teachers. Only teachers younger than 58 years were included in the analysis – 4066 cases. The answer to the research question was sought using logistic regression. The dependent variable was the intention to leave the teaching profession. The independent variables at the teacher (individual) level were age and satisfaction with one’s own salary. The independent variables at the school level characterised the school climate (cooperation between teachers, relationships between teachers and students, overall job satisfaction, overall level of stress), school leadership and decision-making strategies (the level of teacher autonomy, distributed leadership, transactional leadership), the innovativeness of the school, and the composition of the student body (frequency of behavioural problems).

The analysis showed that the intention to leave the teaching profession is related to both individual characteristics. Older teachers are more reluctant to leave the profession, as were teachers who were satisfied with their salaries. At the school level, the characteristic that prevented the motivation to leave was the cooperation between teachers. The characteristics that strengthened the decision to leave were a stressful environment and an abundance of behavioural problems. These results correspond to the findings from existing research (e.g. Kemmerer 1990, McDonald 1999, Borman and Darling 2008, Buchanan 2010, Saalvik and Skaalvik 2011, 2015). However, contrary to previous research (e.g. Bogler 2001), the intention to leave the teaching profession has not proved to be related to the leadership style. None of the leadership indicators used in the analysis had a statistically significant link to the decision to leave the profession. The analysis showed a positive correlation between the degree of innovation in the school and teachers’ decision to leave the profession. This finding is somewhat surprising and will require further investigation. It is possible that innovation places high demands on teachers, which leads to a feeling of overload which has a proven connection with the decision to leave the profession. Although the study did not show a direct link between leadership style and motivation to leave the profession, many of the characteristics that favorably influence teachers' motivation to stay are in the hands of principals.

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