Motivational Leadership and Recognition, and Reward as Predictors of Teacher Turnover Intention among Teachers in Cateel 2 District: A Quantitative Study

Teacher turnover is a crucial issue in schools worldwide. It has been a continuing concern for teachers and school administrators in recent years. High teacher turnover negatively affects not only schools but also the communities they serve (Flowers, 2019). Teacher turnover and retention have long been topics of discussion among school leaders, educational advocates, and researchers (Farinola, 2021).
The problem of teacher turnover extends across multiple countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Nepal, and African nations like Kenya and Tanzania. Studies by Garcia and Weiss (2019) and Shrestha (2022) indicate that teachers frequently leave their institutions due to factors such as low pay, limited career advancement, and inadequate support. The Federation of Associations of Private Schools and Administrators (FAPSA) has also noted that many private schools struggle to maintain their workforce, as teachers are drawn to state-funded schools offering better compensation packages.
In the Philippines, teacher turnover has been a growing concern among school administrators, particularly in the private and basic education sectors. The country continues to experience a high rate of teacher turnover due to poor retention, especially at the basic education level (Sumipo, 2020). Private school teachers frequently leave and transfer to public schools because of higher salaries and additional benefits (Hernando-Malipot, 2018). National education policymakers and local school leaders in the Philippines have long faced the challenge of designing sustainable strategies to address the persistent problem of teacher turnover (Zarate, 2023).
A high teacher turnover rate can have a tremendous impact on the culture and climate of a school, student achievement, and institutional stability, as it strains school budgets to recruit, train, and replace teachers (Flowers, 2019). Teacher turnover is a significant concern in education because of its adverse impact on student learning outcomes and overall educational quality (Grant et al., 2019). In the case of private schools, a high rate of academic staff turnover can diminish school performance and continuity in instruction. The problem of turnover has long been associated with negative consequences on instructional quality and student achievement (Sorensen & Ladd, 2020). Dela Cruz (2016) similarly emphasized that the effectiveness of education depends on the stability and continuity of its teaching force. Excessive teacher turnover leads to the loss of experienced educators, disrupts classroom learning, and hampers daily operations if not properly managed (Shrestha, 2022).
Existing research reveals a critical gap in understanding the dynamics of teacher turnover, particularly in private and public basic education schools. Most studies generalize findings without exploring the unique contextual factors that influence teachers’ decisions to leave or remain in their institutions. Recent literature emphasizes that turnover intention—teachers’ conscious and deliberate willingness to leave an organization—is strongly linked to leadership behavior, recognition systems, and organizational support (Nguyen, 2021; Yin et al., 2022). However, few local studies have empirically examined how motivational leadership and recognition and reward practices affect teacher turnover in Philippine public schools. Scholars such as Khasawneh (2020), Asghar and Oino (2018), and Owusu (2022) highlighted that leadership styles fostering motivation and meaningful recognition significantly reduce turnover intention, yet contextual validation within the Philippine educational setting remains limited. This study aims to address this limitation by investigating how motivational leadership and recognition and reward systems may influence teachers’ intentions to leave their schools.

NA

1. Adeyemi, T. O., & Olaleye, F. O. (2021). Teacher compensation and retention in rural schools. International Journal of Educational Management, 35(4), 789–803. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267–299). Academic Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Afsar, B., Shahjehan, A., & Shah, S. I. (2019). Frontline employees’ high-performance work practices, trust in supervisor, job-embeddedness and turnover intentions in hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(3), 1436–1452. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Alonderiene, R., & Majauskaite, M. (2016). Leadership style and job satisfaction in higher education institutions. International Journal of Educational Management, 30(1), 140–164. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Alonso, P., & Lewis, G. B. (2021). The impact of recognition and feedback on employee engagement. Public Personnel Management, 50(2), 250–270. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Anand, P., & Vashisht, S. (2024). Descriptive and predictive research designs in educational studies. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 14(1), 55–68. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2020). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice (15th ed.). Kogan Page. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Asghar, M., & Oino, I. (2018). Leadership styles and turnover intentions among employees. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 26(4), 742–759. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1995). MLQ Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire manual. Mind Garden. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Bubb, S., & Earley, P. (2013). Leading and managing continuing professional development (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Bush, T., & Glover, D. (2014). School leadership models: What do we know? School Leadership & Management, 34(5), 553–571. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Day, C., & Gu, Q. (2010). The new lives of teachers. Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Dela Cruz, R. (2016). Teacher retention and instructional quality in private schools. Philippine Journal of Education, 95(2), 45–60. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Dungan, J., & Atkinson, C. (2022). Leadership encouragement and teacher morale. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 50(6), 1012–1028. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Farinola, M. (2021). Teacher turnover trends and policy implications. Journal of Educational Policy Studies, 12(3), 88–104. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Flowers, A. (2019). Teacher attrition and school performance. Educational Review, 71(2), 250–267. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Garcia, E., & Weiss, E. (2019). The teacher shortage is real, large and growing. Economic Policy Institute. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Glick, P. (2021). Career dissatisfaction and turnover intention. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 130, 103620. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Grant, A. M., et al. (2019). Emotional exhaustion and employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(9), 1121–1136. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Herzberg, F. (1959). The motivation to work. John Wiley & Sons. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Ingersoll, R. M. (2017). Misdiagnosing teacher turnover. Educational Researcher, 46(6), 345–356. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Jebb, A. T. (2019). The robustness of Likert scale formats. Organizational Research Methods, 22(3), 567–589. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Khan, A., et al. (2019). Leadership support and employee retention. Journal of Leadership Studies, 13(2), 45–60. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Khasawneh, S. (2020). Leadership fairness and employee retention. International Journal of Educational Management, 34(4), 678–695. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge (6th ed.). Wiley. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Kundu, S. C., & Gahlawat, N. (2018). Ability–motivation–opportunity enhancing human resource practices and firm performance. Journal of Management & Organization, 24(2), 205–230. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Kuvaas, B., et al. (2018). Do intrinsic and extrinsic motivation relate differently to employee outcomes? Journal of Economic Psychology, 61, 244–258. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. A. (2020). Organizational behavior (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Mensah, J. K., & Amponsah, C. T. (2021). Employee engagement and turnover intention. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 12(1), 65–76. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Mobley, W. H. (1982). Employee turnover: Causes, consequences, and control. Addison-Wesley. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Nanjundeswaraswamy, T. S., & Swamy, D. R. (2020). Leadership styles and organizational performance. Journal of Business and Management, 22(5), 45–53. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Nguyen, T. T. (2021). Teacher motivation and turnover intention. Asia Pacific Education Review, 22(3), 411–423. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Nguyen, T. T., et al. (2021). Transformational leadership and teacher job satisfaction. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 49(6), 915–932. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice (8th ed.). SAGE Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Owusu, J. (2022). Reward systems and teacher retention. International Journal of Educational Development, 89, 102556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102556 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Park, S., & Johnson, K. R. (2023). Work-life balance and employee retention. Human Resource Management Journal, 33(2), 310–327. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12375 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Raminder Kaur. (2017). Employee retention: A conceptual framework. International Journal of Management Studies, 4(2), 45–52. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2013). Organizational behavior (15th ed.). Pearson. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Salleh, R., et al. (2020). The impact of recognition on teacher retention. International Journal of Educational Management, 34(7), 1123–1138. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Santiago, R., et al. (2022). Factors affecting teachers’ turnover: Basis for a proposed retention program. Unpublished manuscript. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. Shields, J., et al. (2020). Managing employee performance and reward (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Shrestha, M. (2022). Teacher turnover in developing countries. International Journal of Educational Research, 115, 101934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2022.101934 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2018). Job demands and teacher burnout. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 152–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.08.017 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. Sorensen, L. C., & Ladd, H. F. (2020). The hidden costs of teacher turnover. Education Finance and Policy, 15(3), 398–431. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

47. Sumipo, A. (2020). Teacher attrition in Philippine private schools. Philippine Education Review, 98(1), 33–49. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

48. Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2019). Understanding teacher shortages. Learning Policy Institute. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

49. Taherdoost, H. (2019). What is the best response scale for survey and questionnaire design? International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 8(1), 1–10. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

50. Tahir, M., et al. (2020). Professional development and employee retention. Journal of Educational Administration, 58(4), 456–472. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

51. Tett, R. P., & Meyer, J. P. (1993). Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and turnover. Personnel Psychology, 46(2), 259–293. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

52. Torres, J. (2019). Health concerns and teacher retention. Journal of School Health, 89(5), 389–396. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

53. Yin, H., et al. (2022). Teacher emotional exhaustion and turnover intention. Teaching and Teacher Education, 109, 103551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103551 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

54. Zarate, M. (2023). Teacher retention challenges in the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Educational Leadership, 15(2), 22–38. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study