TEACHERS’ RETENTION STRATEGIES AND TEACHERS' ATTRITION RATES IN STATE GOVERNMENT-OWNED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOUTH EAST, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between teachers’ retention strategies and teachers’ attrition rates in state government-owned secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study. The correlational research design was adopted for the study. The study was carried out in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The population of the study comprised 41,875 teachers in 1,586 public secondary schools in Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, and Ebonyi States. A sample of 396 teachers was selected using the Taro Yamane formula, while a multistage sampling procedure was employed in selecting the respondents. Two structured questionnaires titled Teachers’ Retention Strategies Questionnaire (TRSQ) and Teachers’ Attrition Rate Questionnaire (TARQ) were used for data collection. The instruments were face-validated by experts, and their reliability coefficients of 0.87 and 0.90 were established using Cronbach Alpha. Out of the 396 copies of the questionnaire distributed, 384 copies were retrieved and used for analysis. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to answer the research questions. The findings of the study revealed that there was a high negative and significant relationship between provision of financial incentives and teachers’ attrition rate in state government-owned secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. The finding also revealed that there was a high negative and significant relationship between opportunities for professional development and teachers’ attrition rate in state government-owned secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. Based on these findings, it was concluded that the provision of financial incentives and opportunities for professional development are effective teacher retention strategies capable of reducing teachers’ attrition rate in state government-owned secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that government in conjunction with administrators of secondary schools should improve teachers’ financial incentives and provide regular opportunities for professional development in order to reduce teachers’ attrition rate.