Teacher Attrition In the United Arab Emirates: Factors Influencing Their Decisions

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors associated with high attrition rate among the UAE citizen teachers who teach in public schools. The factors that this study investigated are: personal factors, economic factors, teacher preparation, employment factors, and social-cultural factors. The study was guided by five research questions. Data for this study was collected through two methods: a survey questionnaire and a constructed interview with five educational zone directors. The result of this study indicated that the most important factors associated with teacher attrition are: The personal factors that have the highest effect on teacher attrition are ¿stress¿ and "accountability". The economic factor that has the highest effect on teacher attrition is ¿incentives¿. The employment factor that has the highest effect on teacher attrition is ¿paperwork¿ . The social-cultural factor that has the highest effect on teacher attrition is ¿social appreciation¿. The result indicated that teacher preparation factors are the least important factors associated with teacher attrition