Turnover of teachers in compulsory schools in Iceland from 1998 to 2020

Abstract

Turnover of teachers is an issue of concern in many countries, and Iceland is no exception (Amalía Björnsdóttir et al., 2019; Amalía Björnsdóttir & Þuríður Jóna Jóhannsdóttir, 2020; Eiríkur Eyjólfsson & Stefán Hrafn Jónsson, 2017; Federičová, 2021). Interest in studying teacher turnover is mainly based on research findings that demonstrate the importance of retaining teachers for sustaining good practices and student learning (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2019; Ronfeldt et al., 2013; Sorensen & Ladd, 2020). According to Grissom et al. (2015) and Nguygen et al. (2020), the main concepts used in these studies are ‘stayers’, ‘movers’, ‘mobility’, and ‘stability’. Generally, studies of turnover compare staff in a given year to the following year, calculating the ratio of stayers or movers, demonstrating mobility or stability during a given time period.

Based on the general survey SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe) in 19 European countries, teacher turnover is high but varies considerably between countries (Federičová, 2021). The turnover rate trends higher in northern Europe, (e.g., Sweden, Switzerland, and Bulgaria), and lower in southern lands (e.g., Greece, Portugal, and Italy). According to Federičová (2021), the variation between countries is due to different conditions in schooling and labour markets. Carver-Thomas and Darling-Hammond (2019) state that teacher turnover in the United States has been around five per cent for some periods but has been increasing during the past few years and is now around eight per cent. They also say there is considerable variability in teacher turnover between areas, amongst teachers who teach different subjects, and within school characteristics.

The shortage of teachers in compulsory schools has been an issue in Iceland for some time now. Eiríkur Eyjólfsson and Stefán Hrafn Jónsson (2017) have noted that this shortage is based on too few university students graduating with teaching certificates as well as too many certified teachers not working in schools. Amalía Björnsdóttir and Þuríður Jóna Jóhannsdóttir (2019, 2020) surmise that the reactions to the shortage of teachers in Iceland have in the past been primarily based on offering distance education opportunities at universities in teacher education programmes. According to them, distance education attracts older students compared to traditional on-campus education. However, comparative European statistics (Hauschildt et al., 2018) show that the age of university graduates in Iceland is very high, particularly in schools of education. Recently, a reorganisation of teacher education programmes was conducted to facilitate an increase of graduates by, for instance, offering master’s degrees without a thesis and with paid entry-level internships during the final years of study (Sigurðsson et al., 2023).

Considering the above, a study was conducted to explore the turnover of teachers in all compulsory schools in Iceland. Data obtained from Statistics Iceland was available from 1998 to 2020, that is, over a 23-year period. The study explored the age of teachers when they began teaching and when they left teaching, how long they stayed in teaching, the extent to which teachers transferred between schools, and the differences in these figures based on gender and geographical area.

The main finding was that considerable stability existed among compulsory schoolteachers in Iceland from 1998 to 2020. The majority (63%) stayed in the same school where they had on average accumulated 5.87 years of teaching experience. On the other hand, teachers with experience from two schools had 10.15 years of teaching experience, and those who taught in three schools had 12.2 years of teaching experience. Women stayed longer in schools than men. The findings also showed that teachers in small schools had less teaching experience than teachers in larger schools, as in the Greater Reykjavik area comprising the capital and adjacent towns. Furthermore, the findings showed that the transfer of teachers between schools was primarily within the same geographical area; that is, teachers in Reykjavik and the Greater Capital area transferred to schools within that area, while teachers in rural areas transferred to schools in rural areas.

Unfortunately, the data from Statistics Iceland does not allow for extensive analysis. There is, however, considerable stability among teachers in compulsory schools, where around two-thirds of them stayed in the same school during the period under study, similar to findings by Gray et al. (2015) in the United States. Due to a lack of information, teaching experience, on average, may be higher than this study shows. Still, the findings also indicate that many teachers begin teaching rather late and leave school relatively early, long before the expected retirement age. Improved working conditions and the contemplated preparation of teachers can reduce teacher turnover (Boyd et al., 2011; Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2019; Grissom et al., 2021; Ragnar F. Ólafsson, 2019), suggesting that working conditions in compulsory schools as well as the overall structure and emphasis in teacher education programs need to be scrutinised with further research.