Pupil-teacher ratio, disciplinary problems, classroom emotional climate, and turnover intention: Evidence from a randomized control trial

Abstract

High turnover among teachers can threaten students' academic achievement. Thus, the current study investigated the associations between discipline problems, classroom emotional climate (CEC), and teachers’ turnover intention. Moreover, a randomized control design was employed to examine whether including another teacher in the class, moderated the association between CEC and turnover intention. 5830 students in first grade, and 300 class-teachers participated in the study. Significant relationships between discipline problems and CEC and between discipline problems and turnover intention was revealed. Moreover, CEC was associated with turnover intention in the one-teacher classes, whereas the same association was non-significant in the two-teacher classes.