Date of Award

5-31-2026

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education/Leadership in Urban Schools

First Advisor

Dr. Abiola Farinde-Wu

Second Advisor

Dr. Patricia Krueger-Henney

Third Advisor

Dr. Giussepe (Joe) Labianca

Abstract

School mergers are becoming a more common occurrence in urban school districts within the U.S., as an attempt to address student enrollment declines and resulting budgetary concerns. Yet very little research has been conducted to understand how the context of a school merger influences known K-12 education phenomena, such as the teacher turnover decision-making process. This study utilized a phenomenological case study approach to explore the impact of a school merger on teacher turnover within a specific middle school-high school merger in a Northeastern city. Fifteen teacher participants were interviewed and three primary source documents were analyzed to determine what factors caused certain teachers to remain at the school throughout the merger while others moved to other schools or left the teaching profession entirely. Data was analyzed through the lens of the Demands, Resources, and Individual Effects (DRIVE) Model, revealing that teachers’ experiences of merger-related job demands were compounded by individual traits to determine the degree of burnout they experienced during the merger. Teachers who stayed tended to report the least unmanaged burnout, due in part to job resources in the form of community support and potential creative influence on the new merged school. Those who moved to other schools experienced a moderate level of burnout but maintained hope that removing the merger-specific job demands would decrease their burnout. Those who left the teaching profession tended to express high degrees of burnout that would not be addressable if they remained in a teacher role at the merged school or any other school alternative. The findings from this study offer valuable insight into the experiences of teachers working through a school merger. This data holds implications for policy and practice at both the district and school administrator level as urban districts face additional school mergers in the coming years.

Comments

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