GSAL collaborates with Oxford research project to strengthen teacher retention
The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) is proud to contribute to two important research projects with the Department for Education at the University of Oxford. The latest collaboration, part of the ‘Five-year itch: retaining early career teachers’ project, focuses on developing strategies and technologies to help retain early career teachers, ensuring the future strength of the education system.
Last summer, GSAL participated in the ‘Career intentions in 16-18 year olds’ project, which explored the aspirations of sixth form students, examining their hopes, motivations and future career plans. This research has offered further insights into what makes GSAL a unique and exciting sixth form to be part of.
Professor Robert Klassen and Rebecca Snell from the University of Oxford led sessions with GSAL teachers in their first five years of teaching.
This latest collaboration has seen GSAL engaging in the first round of early career teacher focus groups. Supported by the John Fell fund, the research aims to understand the push and pull factors influencing ECT retention and to identify ways to help teachers thrive in their early years. Professor Robert Klassen, professor of education, and Rebecca Snell, research officer and education consultant at the University of Oxford, led sessions with teachers in the first five years of teaching. The study aims to explore the positive factors that enable early career teachers to flourish in their roles and contribute to wider school success.
Sue Woodroofe, Principal of GSAL, said: “We are delighted to be part of such an important project. Supporting our early career teachers is vital for their development, and we hope this research will provide meaningful insights to the national picture, at a time when teacher recruitment and retention has never been more important.”
Professor Robert Klassen commented, “Collaborating with schools like GSAL allows us to explore how to make the teaching profession more sustainable and rewarding. By working closely with teachers at this stage in their careers, we can develop tools that truly help them thrive.”
As part of the project, researchers aim to create engaging technology to support teachers’ professional growth. Founded on basic psychological needs, this tool will provide resources for career progression, workload management, and overall job satisfaction. Insights gathered through individual interviews, questionnaires and collaborative focus groups are actively shaping these solutions to benefit the wider education community.