International educator in migration: a narrative study
Date
2018
Authors
Laubscher, Saskia
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Abstract
Internal educator migration has emerged as one of the factors aiding inequalities in South
African schools. A unidirectional movement of irreplaceable educators has become evident
which aids the inequalities persisting amongst neighbouring schools. Irreplaceable educators
move from public to former model C schools and from former model C schools to
independent schools, leaving schools exposed to a less capable quality staff. This research
aimed to voice the experiences of post internal-migration educators in Pretoria while
determining the push and pull factors that lead to the unidirectional migration of educators
between former model C schools to independent schools. The research comprised of a
narrative study in which six participants were interviewed about their migration experiences.
The results of the study revealed that internal educator migration is caused by six push factors
in former model C schools: economic pressure, school management, personal and emotional
experiences, poor academic achievement, lack of learner discipline and a high teacher to
learner ratio. Internal educator migration is also aided by six pull factors offered by
independent schools: good learner discipline, financial benefits, lighter workload, lower
teacher to learner ratio, professional treatment and higher quality academic learners. The
finding further revealed that educators from former model C schools are attractive to
independent schools and are regularly headhunted by independent schools. The researcher
concludes the research report with an analytic model of the factors which influence internal
educator migration and recommended methods to alleviate the educator migration push
factors. In addition, the researcher provides recommendations for educator retention and
further studies.
Description
A research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Coursework and Dissertation), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2018
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Citation
Laubscher, Saskia, (2018) Internal educator migration in Pretoria: a narrative study, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, https://hdl.handle.net/10539/27402.