Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the impact of the financial position of the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) of the State of Illinois, the Illinois budget condition, pension reform proposals in Illinois and the likelihood of teachers leaving their Illinois teaching positions. Teachers in the state of Illinois were surveyed over their levels of concern over TRS, the Illinois budget, and pension reform efforts. A literature review was completed that looked at pension plans, teacher pension plans, Illinois teacher pension plans, and the shortage of teachers in the United States. The research design involved a three-part survey e-mailed to a sample of teachers from the 3,929 public schools in Illinois. Statistical analysis of the data included means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages. One-way ANOVAs were used to see if, based upon years of service, significant differences existed among variables. Finally, a binary regression was run to determine if concern over TRS, the Illinois budget situation, and pension reform explained a significant amount of the variance in teachers decisions to exit the profession or not. A total of 795 surveys were completed by Illinois public school teachers. As a result of the analysis, significant differences were found to exist among variables tested in all research questions. In addition, the predictor variables did explain a significant amount of the variance within the criterion variable in the binary regression. The analysis showed high levels of concern over TRS, the Illinois budget situation, and pension reform among teachers. In the area of TRS and the Illinois budget situation, the teachers with 16 or more years of service were statistically significantly more concerned than both groups of less experienced teachers. In the area of pension reforms, teachers with 16 or more years of service were statistically significantly more concerned than teachers with 6-15 years of experience. The linear composite of concern over TRS, the Illinois budget situation, and pension reform was a significant predictor, and after examining the coefficient output it was clear that respondents level of concern for the Illinois budget situation was a statistically significant predictor of a teachers decision to leave the profession.

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