Date of Award
2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Department
Learning, Leadership and Change
First Advisor
Rod Githens
First Committee Member
Robert Brodnick
Second Committee Member
Larry Boese
Third Committee Member
Robert Calvert
Abstract
California is experiencing a massive teacher shortage, and urban schools are disproportionately affected by it negatively. Retention efforts to date have not included strategies to address Compassion Fatigue (burnout and secondary trauma) teachers experience when working with traumatized students at urban schools. This dissertation explores whether Compassion Fatigue is an unaddressed reason for teacher attrition at urban schools. A mixed method practical action research approach using the Professional Quality of Life Scale Version Five (ProQOL 5) and qualitative interviews, portions of which were turned into illustrative vignettes drove the exploration. Approximately 114 teachers completed the ProQOL 5. Statistical analysis of the ProQOL 5 results showed that female teachers experience more compassion fatigue than male teachers; compassion fatigue is more acute with beginning teachers than with veteran teachers; and that teachers working at high-poverty schools experience statistically significant differences in compassion satisfaction and fatigue than teachers at low poverty schools. Correlation tests revealed statistically significant relationships between compassion fatigue and the school’s racial demographics even when controlling for the socioeconomically disadvantaged status of the school and teacher ethnicity. Linear regression models showed that the percentage of African American students in the school is a statistically significant predictor of compassion fatigue. Qualitative interview analysis showed that secondary trauma from students is not the only trauma teachers are experiencing, and that school climate and conditions matter when attempting to retain teachers. In the final phase of the action research, a policy brief was developed through a collaborative and iterative process, based both on the findings and engagement with stakeholders. If California is serious about producing and retaining high-quality teachers at all urban schools,’ efforts to mitigate compassion fatigue should be undertaken immediately.
Pages
243
Recommended Citation
Ollison, Jacquelyn. (2019). Improving Teacher Retention by Addressing Teachers' Compassion Fatigue. University of the Pacific, Dissertation. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/3602
Included in
Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Leadership Commons
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