AN ASSESSMENT OF  STAFF RETENTION STRATEGY FOR  MONTESSORI SCHOOLS IN GHANA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

 Employees play a vital role in any organization. Ultimately, employees contribute immensely to the performance and success of the organization and are the most valuable resource that any organization can rely on. Whether in developing or developed countries, the challenge for most organizations is how best to retain their employees for the long term in the organization. This loss of employees has been seen as a consequence of the performance of firms, which has a long-term impact on companies. Most researchers posit that employee retention is a process in which employees are encouraged to remain with the organization for a maximum period of time or for the completion of a particular project. However, there are policies and practices organizations may use to retain or stop their talent from leaving the company. Ingersoll (2003) reports that about 15.7% of teachers quit their jobs annually in the United States of America (USA). In addition to this, the author mentioned that the national teacher turnover rate is about 16.8% and 40% of those that quit do not return to the profession. Having a well-qualified, effective teacher in every classroom is a cornerstone of current educational reforms. Clearly, retaining these teachers, and removing ineffective teachers, from schools is critical to achieving this goal.

The turnover of effective teachers and the retention of ineffective teachers can both have a negative effect on student achievement, and teacher turnover in itself can have a disruptive effect on school performance (Ronfeldt, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2013; The New Teacher Project (TNTP), 2012). To promote the retention of effective teachers and the deselection of ineffective teachers, school district leaders and human resource personnel need information on what types of teachers are staying and leaving particular schools or the school district, and the reasons those teachers may be staying or leaving, to enable the design of policies to mitigate harmful teacher turnover and enhance retention. However, rarely do school districts and schools have a strategic approach to managing teacher retention and turnover. A strategic approach entails systematically monitoring, diagnosing, and mitigating harmful teacher turnover and enhancing retention.

1.2 Statement of the problem

The teaching profession and the essential role teachers play in building the human capital base of any nation can not be underestimated. These essential roles are central to basic education, especially in developing nations. There may, however, seem to be close substitutes for the roles of education managers in the areas of education delivering apparatus with programmed instructions. Apparently, in emerging economies such as Nigeria, teachers are no doubt still the key managers of knowledge. The main engine of economic growth in any country is through a well-trained and knowledge-driven education workforce. Due to the persistent labour turnover in schools and high job dissatisfaction among teachers in Delhi Montessori, Ghana and other parts of the world, this study seeks to find out those factors that encourage teachers’ attrition. Thus, for teachers to be retained in schools, certain management issues, as they affect teacher education, must be thoroughly evaluated.

1.3       Objective of the study

The main focus of this study is to present an assessment of  staff retention strategy for  Montessori Schools in Ghana. Specifically, the study seeks to:

1.        To examine the extent of teachers turnover in Delhi Montessori Schools.

2.        To determine the causes of teacher's attrition.

3.        To ascertain factors that help in retaining teacher.

1.4       Research Hypothesis

HO1: The  extent of teachers turnover in Delhi Montessori Schools is low.

H11: The  extent of teachers turnover in Delhi Montessori Schools is high

HO2: There are no known strategies to enhance teacher’s retention in Montessori Schools.

H12: There are known strategies to enhance teacher’s retention in Delhi Montessori Schools.

1.5       Significance of the study

The findings of this study will be significant to educational stakeholders, administrative personnel and management of school. The study will enlighten them on the need to make all strategy available in other to retain effective teachers and reduce possible factors that sponsors teacher’s turn over. The study will also will empirically add to the body of knowledge and serve as a reference material for other researchers and and student who wish to conduct further studies in related field.

1.6       Scope of the study

The scope of this study borders on assessment of  staff retention strategy for  Montessori Schools. The study is therefore delimited to a selected Montessori  in Ghana.

1.7 Limitation of the study

During the course of this research, the following factors are proposed to be a limitation.

Financial constraints: Financial constraints tend to impede the researcher's efficiency in locating relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as in data collection (internet, questionnaire, and interview).

Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. As a result, the amount of time spent on research is reduced. However the researcher will give in their best to make this research a success.

1.8 Definition of terms

Turnover: Employee turnover refers to the number or percentage of workers who leave an organization and are replaced by new employees. Measuring employee turnover can be helpful to employers that want to examine reasons for turnover or estimate the cost-to-hire for budget purposes.

Attrition: Employee attrition is defined as the natural process by which employees leave the workforce – for example, through resignation for personal reasons or retirement – and are not immediately replaced. Some forms of attrition are unavoidable, like if an employee is retiring or is moving to another city.

Employee Retention: Employee retention is the organizational goal of keeping talented employees and reducing turnover by fostering a positive work atmosphere to promote engagement, showing appreciation to employees, and providing competitive pay and benefits and healthy work-life balance.

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