Already elsewhere – A study of (skilled) teachers' choice to leave teaching

The article presents findings from a longitudinal study (1993–2014) examining how ex-teachers, who were perceived as “skilled” during teacher training, describe their paths out of the profession and discussing the possibility of retaining or re-recruiting teachers in - or back to - the occupation. The result emphasizes teacher attrition as a process related to identity-making within the interrelation between opportunity structures and individuals' frames of reference. Findings indicate that leavers with broader frames of references and images of themselves not attuned to apprehended professional identity are more likely to leave the profession.