When turnover isn’t over

Abstract

Early career teacher turnover remains a persistent challenge for educational systems worldwide, yet the processes shaping decisions to leave the profession are still insufficiently understood. Responding to calls for a more in-depth and contextualised approach, this article presents a longitudinal single case study of an early career teacher whose professional path involved leaving the profession, returning, and then leaving again within a three-year period. Using a narrative methodology, cumulative semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify the key moments and evolving decisions that shaped the teacher’s career trajectory. Our findings suggest that career decisions are not definitive but unfold as ongoing negotiations between self-understanding and professional context, where the act of leaving often serves as a reflective phase to reassess goals and priorities, and re-entry representing a deliberate realignment with more favourable conditions. The presented case highlights the fluidity of teacher careers, and challenges the binary distinction between ‘leavers’ (attrition) and ‘stayers’ (retention) suggesting that turnover can be understood as a meaningful phase within broader professional trajectories.