In recent years, the number of teachers leaving the profession permanently has increased significantly. Teacher shortages have thus become a pressing policy concern in most Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Among the 19 OECD countries and economies with available data, the average attrition rate among fully qualified teachers, from pre-primary to upper secondary education, was 6.5% in the 2022/23 academic year, including resignations and retirements. This trend has attracted the attention of the media, policymakers, and researchers due to its implications for teacher shortages and the sustainability of educational quality and systems.

The decision to leave the teaching profession is based on various factors. Several meta-studies (e.g. Borman & Dowling, 2008; Nguyen et al., 2020) have grouped the various reasons into three main categories: personal or individual factors; school-specific factors; and system-related external factors (e.g. the teaching profession, the school system and the political framework). Recently, there has been a growing focus on external factors, with the aim of identifying professional and systemic approaches to retaining teachers and preventing resignations. However, answering the question of teacher turnover is difficult; personal factors interact with systemic and school-specific factors. The specific interplay varies considerably as professional and individual school and societal conditions affect teachers differently (cf. Keller-Schneider, 2019; Rinke, 2014).

While determinants such as occupational stress, burnout, and systemic inadequacies are extensively documented (Madigan & Kum, 2021; Nguyen et al., 2020; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011; Borman & Dowling 2008) less attention has been paid to the individual biographies and personal dispositions and orientations that underpin teachers’ decision-making during attrition trajectories (Kelchtermans, 2017; Keller-Schneider, 2019; Schmid-Kühn & Fuchs, 2024). The research question is not only who drops out. It is also how the development and professionalization processes unfold.

This study addresses a significant research gap by offering qualitative insights into the decision-making processes of former teachers in Germany who voluntarily left the profession at various points in their careers.

Drawing on in-depth, semi-structured biographical interviews with fifteen former teachers from various educational backgrounds, including primary, secondary and vocational education, this research explores the multifaceted interplay of biographical factors, habitual knowledge schemas and the perceptions of requierements that influence teachers' departure trajectories. The sample was based on a questionnaire survey of 145 former teachers.

Within the framework of this article and building on the ongoing discourse surrounding the formation of teacher habitus (Kramer & Pallesen, 2019; Helsper, 2018), our aim is to explore the significance of societal demands for action and transformation in teacher departures. Teacher habitus is understood here as a practical sense (Bourdieu, 1987) that enables routine action within the school setting and acts as an effective implicit guide to action. In this context, 'habitus' refers to the internalised habits, attitudes and perceptions that influence teachers' everyday actions in their professional field.The school setting is characterised by specific demands that teachers must address and relate to. In other words, the logics of the school setting and the teaching profession are interrelated. This paper focuses on the extent to which teachers' practical judgement can be effective within the institutional and organisational context of the school, i.e. how well their habitus aligns with the demands of the field.

The professionalisation processes of six former teachers are presented, documenting their exit from the teaching profession as an interplay of field-specific requirement logics and norms at the level of the school, the teaching profession, the individual and habitual, biographically based orientations.

Part of the data collection involved conducting 15 qualitative, semi-structured online interviews with former teachers from different school types. The sampling aimed to include teachers at various career stages and from diverse educational backgrounds, ensuring a broad perspective. The interview guide incorporated narrative biographical components, enabling an in-depth understanding of individual career trajectories and reasons for leaving. This study employs the Documentary Method, a qualitative reconstructive approach rooted in the sociology of knowledge. Using the Documentary Method allows us to reconstruct implicit orientations—subtle, often unconscious patterns—informed by shared socialization and experiences. This approach is particularly well-suited for exploring the tacit knowledge that influences teachers' decisions to leave the profession. The Documentary Method was originally developed by Bohnsack in German-speaking contexts. Guided by the theories of Bourdieu (1978) and Garfinkel (1961/1967), it aims to reconstruct the implicit, taken-for-granted orientations that guide social action rather than focusing solely on actors’ explicit statements or intentions. Building on Karl Mannheim’s (1952) distinction between communicative (explicit) and conjunctive (implicit/tacit) knowledge, the Documentary Method assumes that social practices are primarily structured by implicit, experiential knowledge that actors share through common socialization and participation in similar social contexts. This form of knowledge is not directly accessible to people but becomes visible/reconstructed in how actors speak, interact, and organize their practices. Analytically, the method therefore shifts the focus from the question of what is said to how something is produced/said. (Bohnsack, 2010) Empirically, the Documentary Method proceeds in several interpretive steps. First, a formulating interpretation summarizes the topical content of the data. Second, a reflecting interpretation reconstructs the underlying patterns of orientation by analyzing the mode of interaction, argumentation, and narration. Central to this process is systematic comparison within and across cases, which allows for the identification of shared and contrasting orientation patterns. These comparisons form the basis for case descriptions and, where appropriate, typification, resulting in theoretically grounded, empirically saturated findings. (Bohnsack, 2010) The Data was interpreted collaboratively within a research team. Team-based interpretation served as a strategy of methodological reflexivity, allowing for the systematic questioning of individual readings and the control of researcher positionality. Through joint analysis and comparative discussion, implicit orientation patterns could be reconstructed more robustly, thereby enhancing the intersubjective plausibility and analytical rigor of the findings.

Leaving a chosen career path is often a complex and uncertain process. It involves significant changes to social networks and professional identity. In Germany, it can also lead to the loss of civil servant status and associated job security, resulting in economic disadvantages. Our findings reveal that the decision to leave teaching is influenced by biographical factors, habitual knowledge, and how teachers interpret societal norms and structural demands. This extended, intricate process underscores the importance of dispositions rooted in personal biography. Clearly, teacher attrition cannot be attributed solely to overload or burnout. Rather, it is a multifaceted phenomenon involving personal, institutional, and systemic factors. For instance, we observed a "job enrichment" process in which teachers developed new skills outside the formal system, leading them toward other educational professions. Conversely, the reasons for an unsuccessful fit, where teachers remain in a mismatch, are varied and complex. These reasons include both explicit, reflexive decision-making and implicit mechanisms that are not yet fully understood. In our case studies, we observe a conflict with organizational expectations; the school is viewed as a constraint. The teachers in question have a strong focus on their own self-worth and a desire for recognition, which they can only fulfil by leaving the profession. Conversely, we have teachers who demonstrate a strong drive for autonomy and innovation. However, a lack of opportunities to shape their work environment leads them to leave despite numerous attempts to the contrary. Other teachers, who are oriented towards structure, repetition and support, are unable to fulfil the fundamental developmental tasks of the teaching profession and therefore leave. The findings suggest that policies aimed at improving teacher retention should take into account individual backgrounds and perceptions by offering more personalized support and development opportunities.

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