Exploring Early Career Teacher Attrition and Career Switching in Higher Education: A Narrative Study

Citation: Md. Saiful Alam, Adelina Asmawi, "Exploring Early Career Teacher Attrition and Career Switching in Higher Education: A Narrative Study", Universal Library of Languages and Literatures, Volume 01, Issue 01.

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Teacher attrition and career switching from teaching to non-teaching professions are global phenomena in the field of education. Empirical evidence shows that almost 50% of early career school teachers voluntarily leave teaching within five years. This qualitative study examines the narratives of two former Bangladeshi private university lecturers who reluctantly left teaching after five (lecturer A) and four years (lecturer B) respectively of full-time university teaching. Using Smith and Ulvik’s conceptual framework, which thematizes the case of leaving teaching in a four-stage process (i.e., pre-teaching career thought, entry, primary experience, and exit), this study employs a pathogenic perspective of teacher attrition and collects teaching leavers’ narratives. The data analysis utilizes Connelly and Clandinin’s three tools of narrative analysis: broadening, burrowing, and re-storing. The findings and implications are discussed.

Keywords: Private University, University Teacher, Teacher Attrition, Bangladesh, Leaving Teaching, Narrative Inquiry

https://doi.org/10.70315/uloap.ullli.2024.0101002