Teacher turnover in public basic schools at Suaman district in the Western North Region of Ghana

Abstract

Teacher turnover is a phenomenon that has assumed a global dimension thus, requiring critical attention from all stakeholders of education. The study investigated teacher turnover in public basic schools at Suaman district in the Western North region of Ghana. The objectives of the study were to examine the factors that cause teacher turnover, to find out the effects of teachers’ turnover and to identify strategies to manage teacher turnover. The study employed purposive sampling to select the public basic schools. Simple random technique was used to select the teachers. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that lack of some social amenities causes turnover of school teachers. Also, teachers turnover leads to disruption of learning. It is therefore recommended that, the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service should institute an incentive scheme for teachers in remote district and areas that lack some social amenities as a form of motivation to encourage them to stay in those areas. It is again recommended that Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education should provide the basic facilities needed by the schools to make teaching and learning effective.