TFT releases primary school teacher retention survey: only 41.9% are willing to stay in high-demand areas

It’s not that the teacher doesn’t want to teach, but he or she may not want to stay in the original school. The Teach for Taiwan Education Foundation (TFT) released the "2026 Taiwan Elementary School Teacher Retention and Support Environment Survey". Nearly 70% of teachers said they would still be teachers if they chose again. However, only 41.9% of teachers in high-demand areas were willing to stay in their current schools to teach, which was significantly lower than 62.8% in general areas. The survey also found that "life support" and "professional development support" are the two keys that affect teachers' retention and professional identity.

The survey was conducted from January 30 to March 13 this year (2026), and a total of 1,199 valid samples were collected. The subjects included formal, agency, and substitute teachers in all elementary schools in Taiwan, and compared the experience of teachers in high-demand areas such as extreme, special, remote, and non-mountainous and non-cities with those in general areas. The results show that 67.8% of teachers in high-demand areas and 74.5% of teachers in general areas said that they would still be teachers if they chose again. There is not much difference in professional identity between the two, but the difference in willingness to stay in school is more than 20 percentage points.

Further analyzing factors such as administrative load, peer support, professional development, life support, teaching resources and campus atmosphere, TFT pointed out that life and professional development support have statistically significant effects on the intention to stay in school and career identity. If teachers in high-demand areas receive support conditions similar to those in general areas, the willingness to stay in school is estimated to increase by about 17%.

Administrative pressure is also a problem. Among teachers holding part-time administrative positions in high-demand areas, 46.4% believe that normal working hours are often or completely insufficient, and 39.7% believe that administrative involvement has a considerable impact on teaching business. However, even if they want to leave their original school, most prefer to transfer to other schools rather than leaving education. TFT believes that the problem is not that teachers lack enthusiasm, but that the supportive environment affects their willingness to stay.

Shi Huiwen, CEO of TFT, said that retaining teachers cannot rely solely on personal enthusiasm. It requires life, professional, administrative and community support to be in place together to establish a support system that can truly "retain teachers." TFT will also hold the "If Teachers Disappeared in the World" exhibition in Huashan from September 24 to 28, using real classroom scenes and teachers' stories to present administrative, teaching and life pressures, allowing the public to understand the education scene from a teacher's perspective.