It is well known that Illinois is facing educator shortages, and these shortages are inequitable. Districts that serve higher percentages of English-language learners, students with individualized education programs, students from low-income households and students from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic populations are more likely to have shortages.

Finding solutions to these shortages requires understanding both educator and administrator views of what causes these vacancies. But what if these views conflict, rather than converge?

To dig into these viewpoints, we conducted two surveys. The first asked 3,478 current and former educators about the factors that motivate them to stay in or leave the profession. The second asked 756 education leaders about the factors that shape their ability to recruit and retain educators.

A comparison of both surveys reveals one striking yet fundamental mismatch in what each group views as the causes of educator shortages.

The educator survey found that quality relationships with leadership — or lack thereof — was a leading factor behind educators’ decisions to stay in or leave the profession. Only 47 percent of educators who left the profession reported positive relationships with leadership, compared with 77 percent of current educators. Similarly, only 36 percent of former educators had supportive relationships with leadership, compared with 63 percent of current educators.

In contrast, education leaders were highly unlikely to cite quality relationships with staff as a leading cause of shortages. In fact, only six percent of leaders indicated that poor leadership approaches were a major contributor to the problem. Instead, nearly half of responding leaders reported insufficient compensation (50 percent) and over-demanding workloads (49 percent) as major causes of educator shortages.

Educators and leaders do agree on these issues: Only 40 percent of educators agreed that their compensation was appropriate, and 52 percent agreed that their workload was reasonable. Indeed, competitive salaries and benefits offered in higher-paying districts, states and professions unduly hinder leaders’ abilities to successfully recruit and retain educators. Educators’ salaries overall have not kept up with inflation, and in response, many states across the country, including Illinois, have committed to increasing educator pay.

But beyond these structural factors, investing in the development of high-quality relationships between leadership and staff is essential.

What does this look like? Educators in our survey cited involving them in policy and program development, forging relationships built on trust and respect, allowing educators autonomy in planning and curriculum development, and developing clear lines of communication between leaders, educators and families.

This research shows that developing, recruiting, and retaining good leaders is just as important as developing, recruiting and retaining good educators. As federal and state governments implement policies aimed at encouraging new educators to enter the profession, we must not overlook the importance of encouraging our current educators to stay.

One way to achieve this is investing in and cultivating education leaders who are committed to supportive, collegial, and inclusive workplaces that are built upon quality relationships with staff.

Meg Bates is director of and Shereen Oca Beilstein is a research specialist for the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative at the University of Illinois. Tom Withee is a senior researcher for Goshen Education Consulting Inc.