Why do early career teachers choose to remain in the profession? The use of best-worst scaling to quantify key factors

Many countries report high attrition rates among beginning teachers. The literature cites many factors that influence a teacher's decision to remain in the profession. These include remuneration, workload, support, administration and parents. It is unclear, however, which factors matter most to teachers and, consequently, where best to direct limited resources. This study uses Best-worst Scaling (BWS) and complementary experimental design methods to quantify the relative importance of these factors. The results suggest that improving student engagement, experiencing professional challenges and enjoying collegial support are the most important factors influencing teacher decisions to stay in the profession. Beginning teachers nominate remuneration, recognition, and external factors (e.g., class size; location) as playing a lesser role in their decision to remain teachers.