Attrition and Turn Over: Exploring the Multifaceted Factors Influences Teachers’ Career Decisions

This study investigated multifaceted factors contributing to teacher attrition in the Division of Iligan City. It focused on four major factors influencing teacher attrition: personal, professional, organizational, and socio-economic, employing qualitative inquiry through a phenomenological research method. The study involved ten former teachers from Division of Iligan City, who left their positions for other opportunities. Data were collected through interviews using open-ended questionnaire, allowing respondents to articulate their experiences and perspectives. The analysis utilized specialized qualitative data software, including NVivo, MAXQDA, Atlas.ti,  QDA Miner, and Dedoose, to process the narratives and identify significant themes. Findings revealed that personal factors such as workload, work-life balance, burnout, family responsibilities, and financial security heavily influenced teacher attrition, highlighting the need for reduced workloads and support for personal stability. Professional factors emerged as critical contributors, with themes of perceived inequities in promotion, inconsistent recognition, lack of support, and limited professional development opportunities driving teachers' decisions to leave public school positions. Organizational factors, including heavy workloads, administrative burdens, and inadequate resources and infrastructure, were significant challenges that led to exhaustion and frustration among educators. Socio-economic factors, such as salary issues, insufficient benefits, and financial insecurity, underscored the need for competitive compensation and support for financial stability. Efforts to curb attrition and enhance teacher retention were expected to be in place with programs, such as competitive salaries, benefit packages, and workload management, performance-based incentives, and professional development.