Stated Factors Influencing Men to Leave the Teaching Profession in the State of Kansas
Authors:   , Sawin Norman 
Published: February 2023

The purpose of this study was to discover some of the factors causing men teachers of Kansas to leave the teaching profession. No previous study or survey was located which dealt with this problem in Kansas. The procedure employed in this study was to contact several hundred teachers who had recently left the profession in Kansas. This was accomplished with the help of M. M. Rose, executive secretary of the Kansas State School Retirement System. Under the direction of Mr. Rose and his staff, the names and last known addresses of 366 men teachers who had withdrawn from the retirement fund during or at the end of the 1956-57 school year were obtained. This study was confined to men because of the effect that marriage and maternity had upon the loss of women teachers. Questionnaires were sent to these 366 men inviting them to participate in the study. Usable responses were obtained from 209 or 57 per cent of the men contacted. It was believed that the information revealed by this study should be of significance to all who are interested in the future of teaching. The enrollment in the public elementary and secondary schools of Kansas has been and still is increasing. The number of teachers remaining in and entering into the teaching profession is not keeping up with the increase in enrollment. As a result, schools of Kansas are in need of teachers, particularly men. The findings of this study revealed salary as the greatest single factor causing men teachers to leave the teaching profession. Salary was checked 156 times as a reason while the second factor in number of times selected, movement needed for advancement, was checked 96 times. Other factors checked influencing men to leave the teaching profession in order of frequency were: teaching load, extra class activities, feeling of being in a “rut”, insecurity of position, social status of teachers, employment for only nine months, working conditions, pressure groups, nervous tension from teaching, living in small towns, community gossip, lack of teaching freedom, friction among teachers, and health. The last nine indicated that they were of minor importance. Probably the most significant information obtained were the statements volunteered by respondents. Salary, tenure, and improved retirement were mentioned most frequently with explanation as to why these factors caused the respondents to withdraw from teaching in Kansas. It was found that 41 per cent of the 209 leaving the teaching profession were under the age of thirty, and a total of 86 percent were under the age of forty. This seems to indicate that not enough is being done to make the teaching profession appeal to young men. It is significant to note that 105 or 50 per cent of the teachers who left the profession in Kansas are still teaching in some location other than Kansas. It would appear as if those leaving were not unhappy with the profession, but were dissatisfied with the economic factors connected with the teaching situation in Kansas. An analysis of the findings prompted the following conclusions: (1) low salary is a major reason for men teachers leaving the teaching profession in Kansas; (2) the lack of a strong tenure law in Kansas causes many men to leave the teaching profession in Kansas; and (3) the Kansas State Retirement System does not offer sufficient remuneration to the retired teacher.