Empowering Teacher Retention: Informing Leadership Strategies for Educational Leaders Based on Research and Exemplary Practices

Leadership practices that foster teacher commitment remain underexamined in empirical literature, despite their documented influence on educator stability and school performance (Berry et al., 2021; Flores & Shuls, 2024). Guided by Bolman and Deal’s (2017) Four-Frame Model, Herzberg’s (1959) Motivation-Hygiene Theory, and Rock’s (2008) SCARF framework, this mixed-methods study explored how leadership behaviors influence teacher retention in K–12 contexts. The research was framed by four questions: (1) What leadership practices are perceived as contributing to teacher retention? (2) How do educational leaders describe the implementation of these practices? (3) How do K-12 public school leaders implement effective leadership practices to improved teacher retention? and (4) What are the key challenges faced by K-12 public school leaders in implementing retention-focused leadership practices?

Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) approach. Quantitative data, gathered via a leadership perception survey, were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics by a third-party statistician (Speelman & McGann, 2020). The findings revealed five key leadership behaviors perceived to support retention: emotional support, staff recognition, empowerment and autonomy, leader visibility, and access to professional growth opportunities. While teacher survey responses demonstrated favorable perceptions of these practices, they also indicated inconsistencies in execution. Conversely, leader surveys yielded uniformly high scores, suggesting a potential perception gap—a finding aligned with prior studies on leadership self-assessment and social desirability bias (Fisher, 2019).

Structural barriers such as administrative workload, shifting priorities, and lack of systemic support were identified as factors limiting consistent implementation of retention-oriented leadership (Dixon & Francis, 2020; Durnen, 2021). Teachers consistently emphasized that leadership, more than compensation or workload, was the determining factor in their commitment to remain. Based on these findings, the study proposes a Leadership for Retention Framework. Although no formal product was created, this proposed framework outlines key components including data-tracking systems, reflective leadership protocols, and embedded supports—that could inform future development of school-based tools to improve leadership alignment and strengthen teacher retention.