Motivational Factors That Sustain Experienced Teachers in High-Need, Low-performing Public Schools in North Carolina: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe factors that sustained public school teachers in high-need areas in North Carolina.  Teacher sustainability was generally defined as teachers who remained in a high-need public school located in southeastern North Carolina beyond the initial three years of teaching.  This study explored the following:  (1) How do public school teachers describe their experience working in a high-need educational community in North Carolina?  (2) How do public school teachers perceive their former life history as having an impact retaining their profession beyond the initial three years of teaching in a high-need, low-performing public school?  (3) What intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors do public school teachers describe as encouraging them to sustain their teaching profession beyond the initial three years of teaching in a high-need, low-performing public school?