53 Roxana Nicoleta Curea Alexandu Ioan Cuza University curea_roxana@yahoo.com Motivation, Professional Dropout and Retention Strategies in Pre- University Education Keywords Motivation, professional dropout, retention strategies Abstract The study of educational systems and processes cannot but take into account the reality of professional dropout, so present in the contemporary school. The need to study the field of professional abandonment and retention strategies is a requirement to improve the quality of the educational act and educational policies. The study is based on the systemic evaluation of areas of interest - motivation, professional abandonment, motivation and retention, causes and ways to improve this state of affairs. We propose a systematic documentation on a complex and hyper-studied field and a critical and personal report extensive bibliography, a clear argumentation of the problem to be studied but also a personalization, its own variant of analysis. 54 1. Review of Literature Motivation is the process that leads, guides and maintains behaviors, from the elementary (eg eating) to the most complex, determining the person's preference for certain actions or behaviors. From a psychological point of view, motivation represents the internal state of necessity of the organism that orients and directs the behavior in the direction of satisfaction and, therefore, of its elimination. The 2000s saw one of the most important contributions to motivational psychology, the self-determination metatheory (SDT, So and Ryan, 2000; Ryan and So, 2000) and which remains, and currently, the most widely used framework for self-determination psychological needs in an organizational context. According to this theory, there are three types of needs that any person must meet (autonomy, competence and relationships) in order to achieve optimal results in all areas of life, including the workplace. Thus, growth trends and fundamental psychological needs are considered important to explain motivation and well-being. According to this theory, any of these fundamental needs presupposes a tension, which, once satisfied, determines the well-being. Although there were opposing views - see Brickman and Miller (2001), Yiengar and Lepper (1999) or Markus and Kitazama (2003), who considered that theories of self-determination were valid only in Western culture (according to Vansteenkiste et al., 2005), further research has established the universality and generality of these needs (Sheldon, 2001). The theory of self-determination advances, like many other models, a distinction between extrinsic motivation (determined by instrumental motives other than the pleasure of the activity itself) and intrinsic (determined by the state of well-being felt during actions). The theoretical and applied 55 novelty is that each motivational form is placed on a frame of a motivational continuum, malleable and transformable. The modification of the motivational structure takes place naturally, through the processes of internalization, ie the regulation of behaviors that first depended on external reward and which, under the influence of some factors, turned into intrinsically motivated behaviors. The taxonomy of motivational types, arranged on a continuum according to the degree of self-determination, begins with amotivation and ends with intrinsic, highly autonomous motivation. Between the two extremes are extrinsic motivation, introjection regulation (when the motivational source that was previously external was partially internalized) and identification regulation., (Internalized form of extrinsic motivation, behavior is already accepted and considered important for oneself, 2005) The form with the highest level of autonomy of intrinsic motivation is the integrated regulation, which occurs when the identified regulations are assimilated to the self. Usually, intrinsic motivation and regulation by identification are predictors of successive behaviors, and motivation and external regulation of negative results (Ntoumanis, 2005). Important correlational and experimental studies (Vansteenkiste et al., 2005) have shown the advantages of autonomous behaviors compared to controlled ones: a higher level of well-being, satisfaction in life, positive emotions, satisfaction. If the school environment manages to meet the three needs considered essential (competence, autonomy and relationships), manages not to create conflicting states that generate vulnerabilities between basic needs, the result will be a high level of well-being. TA has clear advantages, proving its usefulness in clarifying the dynamics of motivational 56 orientation, each motivational form being mobile and can be placed on a continuum of self-determination. Thus, the presence or absence of institutional conditions that determine the satisfaction to a satisfactory extent of these basic needs predict the emergence of intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000, pp. 229-230), and lack of well-being will determine an extrinsic motivation. (Chen et al., 2019). As a general rule, the more the institutional environment supports the needs for autonomy, competence and relationships, the stronger the intrinsic motivation, to the detriment of the extrinsic one. (Vallerand & Reid, 1984; Williams & So, 1996) (characterized by the feeling of freedom of choice, of spontaneous involvement due to the interest and satisfaction of the action itself) is increasingly restricted by institutional pressures, most often uninteresting, which could lead to decreased autonomy, externally regulated behaviors, to behaviors achieved as a result of external taxes, generating low performance. Although, according to TA, extrinsic motivations can be generated for different reasons, the school is put in a position to identify and propose to teachers activities that they perform not as a result of external pressures, but autonomously and with a sense of psychological freedom. The high level of internalization of motivations correlates positively with the level of employment in tasks, increasing the capacity for effort, behavioral effectiveness, increasing well-being. Thus, the optimal level of challenges, effective feedback, lack of institutional constraints, decision-making autonomy, could facilitate the formation of intrinsic motivation. Non- internalized but only imposed goals, deadlines, conflicting relationships within institutions are dimensions of the formation of an extrinsic motivation, with uninvolved and non- autonomous individuals and low results. Self-determination is 57 a predictor of effort and positive outcomes in school work (Ntoumanis, 2005), and autonomous behaviors are proven advantageous (in correlational and behavioral studies), involving a high level of well-being (Vansteenkiste et al., 2005). Motivation and Professional Abandonment The investment in the future cannot be seen without a massive investment in education. In this context, investing in teachers, in their initial training but also in strategies to reduce professional abandonment seem to be successive dimensions of national development policies. Professional abandonment can have special effects for the individual, but it also has special repercussions on the development of society and the economy. The initial training of a teacher, the continuous training, presuppose a remarkable investment, and the exit from the system presents clear social and economic disadvantages, in the short and long term. Multidimensionalism and the acute dimension of this phenomenon are recognized in the official educational policy documents of political and educational courts, there are extensive materials that study the causes, triggers, consequences, but also solutions for improvement. Professional abandonment is the result of a combination of personal, socio-economic, educational, institutional factors that have as an initial result the initial demotivation and reach the actual abandonment of the system. According to UNESCO (2009), by 2015 there is a shortage of teachers in half of the world's countries. A natural measure to overcome this deficit could be to increase the share of recruiting new teachers in the system. The efforts of many countries to implement strategies that involve material incentives, subsidies, bonuses, increased salaries are well known (OECD, 2005). Programs such as America TeachFirst, 58 which is also being used in the UK and the Netherlands, are also examples of the globalization of education systems' efforts to meet their staffing needs. If the figures indicating dropout rates do not coincide (not even in the same geographical area), most research results consider that the most affected by this phenomenon are young teachers, in the first 5 years of career, the teaching profession being compared, plastic but negative, with a “revolving door” (Cooper & Alvarado, 2006, p. 5). Regardless of the percentage, leaving the system involves significant economic costs, in the US alone official reports put forward the amount of $ 2 billion allocated to replace teachers who leave the system (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2005, according to Harfitt, 2014). However, some studies on the phenomenon of professional dropout indicate that many graduates either fail to teach for even an hour (Luekens, Lyter, & Fox, 2004, Lindqvist, Ulla Karin Nord € anger, 2016), or leave the system after a few ani (Cooper & Alvarado, 2006; Ingersoll, 2003). In the face of these records, it is confirmed the need for a differentiated approach, an effective strategy to keep teachers in the system. An alternative solution to reduce professional dropout is the strategies for retaining and supporting teachers in the system. The metaphor used is that of the bucket losing water due to holes, and refilling it is not an effective strategy until the holes are covered (Ingersoll, 2007, p. 6). Professional abandonment within educational systems, studied by well-known authors, reveals high rates compared to occupations with similar status (Ingersoll, 2003), but also significant social costs. An unstable faculty can cause institutional and organizational disruption, dramatically affect the quality of school outcomes and have serious financial consequences - $ 2.2 billion is estimated in 2001 as a financial 59 effort by the US government to replace teachers who dropped out of the profession. (Borman and Dowling, 2008). Longitudinal research indicates a U-shaped distribution of professional dropouts, the proportion of teachers who drop out of the system often appearing to be correlated with seniority, (Ingersoll, 2001). Thus, young teachers are more involved in this phenomenon, in the 1-5 career years (Ingersoll, 2003, Cooper & Alvarado, 2006, Hammerness, 2008) but also the elderly (retirement is excluded). Many teachers decide to leave the profession because they simply do not master it (Fontaine, Kane, Duquette and Savoie-Zajc, 2012, according to Per Lindqvist, 2016), thus raising the issue of teacher quality. who drop out often have a negative image of the profession before entering than those who remain (Wilhelm, Dewhurst, Savellis and Parker, 2000), but also that the new generations of teachers have other conceptions about career, are no longer dependent on the traditional conception, approach the trajectories nonlinear and mobile professionals and have different career goals than previous generations (Johnson et al., 2005), especially since “teaching attributes are transferable and highly valued by employers in other professions” (Buchanan, 2009, p 35). Much of the research on teacher dropout provides statistical explanations (for example, in the US only 40% of graduates still practice, 5 years after graduation), much less are studies that analyze typical patterns of development and individual variations that may lead to the decision. The results of some American studies (Borman and Dowling, 2008; Ingersoll, 2001; Luekens et al., 2004) indicate that teachers susceptible to professional abandonment are women, married, working in special education, mathematics and science. There are also studies that discuss financial causes (Johnson, Berg, & Donaldson, 2005; Kyriacou, Kunc, Stephens, & Hultgren, 2003). 60 Other factors that could underlie the dropout decision are considered organizational characteristics, student discipline issues, overload with uninteresting and bureaucratic tasks (Borman & Dowling, 2008; Kyriacou et al., 2003). Some of these motivations also appeared in personal research, conducted for the dissertation. We have drawn a coherent picture of the possible reasons invoked by the respondents as decisive for the decision to leave the system, which includes bureaucracy, strained relations with students and their parents, stress due to external pressures and coercive controls, unmotivated and unbalanced salary. of other budgetary categories, lack of appreciation from the company, poor management, material conditions, endowment, personal causes. There are studies that suggest that individual expectations prior to professional activity and unfulfilled (for various reasons) in school contexts, have a negative impact on professional satisfaction, and may influence dropout. Causes Identified in the Literature and Suggestions for Solutions The professional abandonment of teachers has often been studied as an association between individual factors (burnout, endurance, demographic characteristics and family characteristics) closely correlated with institutional ones, management support, salary, professional development, relationships with colleagues, student problems (Clandinin et al., 2014). Thus, the idea that professional abandonment is a unique decision is overcome, but rather a sum of processes, individual and institutional, that take place over time. in this process, in the sense of assimilating objectives and values. The advantage of this type of approach is that the results of the analysis can be followed by practical suggestions for 61 solving the problems that lead to the decision to leave; thus, the idea of complex knowledge of teachers is initiated, even in a narrative way, so that the reason for abandonment can be discovered, which, for many hours, is at the border between internal and organizational motivations. Canadian authors (Fantilinni et al., 2009) identify a wide range of causal issues ranging from the behavior of educators to their parents to lack of administrative support, salary issues, institutional policies and relationship systems, including mentoring. The picture of the causal dimensions of the phenomenon is completed by the poor quality of the school organization, lack of autonomy or opportunities to participate in decision making, difficulties in adapting to teaching requirements, difficulties in managing institutional relations, unhealthy school culture, lack of collegiality and support. for beginning teachers, low involvement / behavioral problems of students in the classroom, poor working conditions, lack of teaching resources, no professional learning opportunities, high workload and social isolation (Buchanan, Prescott, Schuck, Aubusson and Burke, 2013). Also, there is evidence that good teaching performance, quality of learning are factors that minimize the risk of dropping out (Krieg, 2006). Last but not least, the emphasis is on documentation, external bureaucracy and organization, instead of the quality time spent with students. Tense working relationships, reduced collegiality, reduced support and access to the expertise and information resources of colleagues can influence decisions to leave the system or, on the contrary, can stimulate staying in the system. The big difference between the theory studied in faculties and the reality in school is one of the causes frequently supported by education theorists, lack of training in managing concrete problems of student groups, as 62 well as student discipline problems or failure to support teachers' decisions by managers. additional work and outside their area of expertise, are issues frequently mentioned as triggers for abandonment decisions. Among the most frequently cited causes, stress occupies a special place, the teaching profession being considered, according to studies, one of the most stressful (Johnson et al., 2005; Newberry & Allsop, 2017). Globally, teachers report high levels of stress (Johnson & Birkeland, 2003; Kyriacou, 2003; Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2015). The high level of stress experienced by teachers has direct consequences on intention (Jones and Youngs, 2012; Klassen and Chiu, 2011), but also on the decision to leave the profession (Newberry & Allsop, 2017). In Romania, studies of teaching professional stress analysis were made in the universities of Cluj - Horia Pitariu (2007), Nicolae Jurcău (2003) and Mircea Miclea (2010), in Bucharest-Mielu Zlate (2010) and Iași (Gianina Masari, Daniela Muntele, Versavia Curelaru). The in-depth study of the dedicated articles provides a slightly non-unitary picture of the relationship between the variables occupational stress, attrition and professional abandonment and, moreover, in most cases, the research was conducted from the perspective of intention to abandon and not of the effective decision. An exhaustive analysis of the phenomenon of professional abandonment would contain a map of concepts and psycho-pedagogical variables that could positively correlate with the intention but also with the dropout decision. The identified solutions are related to the collaborative organizational culture, training programs for school managers, the importance and effectiveness of mentoring and induction programs. 63 High quality education, high-performance initial training, reduced workload, organization of networks for beginning teachers-but also registration and monitoring of the phenomenon are also dimensions of solving this phenomenon, identifiable in the literature (Den Brok et al., 2017) The conclusions from the analyzed studies also suggest that a successive strategy to recover this phenomenon is to increase the share of qualified teachers with good teaching skills, engaged in mentoring and induction programs. The dedicated literature identifies other strategies to reduce professional dropout: capitalizing on the resources of professional associations, emphasis and funding for professional development, support for new teachers, substantial links between schools, universities and school authorities (Manuel, 2003, Buchanon, 2013). Assisting, monitoring, mentoring teachers, good knowledge and correct appreciation of their motivational structure, optimal and timely intervention in difficult situations "could lift the morale of the profession, and induce the most disillusioned to remain" (Cockburn 1999, p. 235, apud Buchanon, 2013). Also, the creation of special programs, support and practical learning, correct management of difficulties, "which will prepare the teacher from the beginning for the complications of classroom life" (Bean, & Stevens, 2002; Cavanagh & Prescott, 2008; Ensor, 2001, in Buchanon, 2013). The OECD recommends long-term partnerships between different professional organizations, the promotion of positive experiences, participation in mentoring and induction programs, the establishment of collegiate learning environments and information transfer facilitators, reduced extradidactic tasks, prospects for advancement, increased autonomy and flexibility (pages 205-206). 64 We propose, in accordance with the studied literature, the creation, within the university pedagogical modules, of learning opportunities, of some alternative programs that will develop, besides the formal competences and psychological capacities of resistance to stress, of reflection, of receptivity and of understanding. objective problems, relationship management––all with a special role in minimizing the risk of professional abandonment. Also, a good monitoring of the phenomenon could be extremely valuable in the perspective of identifying the most appropriate measures to stop the phenomenon. Creating a database accessible to all institutions and accessible by interested bodies (decision makers, researchers) with up-to- date information, can be a method of constant and quality supervision and facilitation of ameliorating actions. The organization of an official, supportive social network for teachers at risk of professional abandonment could be a reliable and flexible solution for its members, due to the advantages of interconnection, awareness of the existence of common difficulties and identification of concerted solutions. Supporting teachers at risk of professional abandonment, ensuring their access to the programs of this body, the possibility of objective assessment of this risk, made by specialists in the field, with standardized tools, positive use of experience, can be as many advantages of setting up and operating a such an official body. Thus, it will be possible to offer a significant percentage of teachers access to professional support adapted to the problems, it will be possible to stimulate the effective support of these teachers and to identify strategies to encourage school authorities to use institutional policies and resources to reduce them. this phenomenon. 65 Encouraging social collaboration, the opportunity offered to specialists to work together, to solve and disseminate positive experiences, facilitating specialized research in the field, will significantly reduce the percentage of losses and can be considered one of the main objectives of the Romanian education system. 2. Synthetic View of the Results in the Literature A review of the studies cited above, in order to extract the factors that determine the professional abandonment of teachers, revealed the reasons most often invoked to justify this choice. For a simplified overview of the results of studies undertaken on all geographical coordinates, we present a list of factors associated with professional abandonment. Synthesis of the factors that determine professional abandonment, in the consulted literature (Table 1). Motivation and Retention Until the beginning of the 2000s, the educational policy was oriented towards filling the gaps generated by the exit from the system of a very large number of teachers. The strategy was aimed at improving the scholarship system and offering financial advantages, creating alternative routes to enter the system. Due to the multitude of research published in this field after 2000, which focused on diagnosing the problem and providing solutions to the full range of problems, educational policies have adopted a direction of coherence (much hampered by institutional decentralization), trying to connect in a program congruent the three dimensions, recruitment, training and maintenance in the system. The holistic vision, the integration in a continuum of the recruitment, training and retention of teachers must be 66 achieved in a framework of coherent educational policies and connected to the aims of national education. Many documents (according to Cooper et al., 2006) outlined: the congruence between teacher training and the needs of future teachers (identified and "stored" in a database, in an accessible network), the generalization and efficiency of curricula. mentoring and induction, improving the quality of working conditions, increasing the size of professional development, improving the level of pay––all listed as coherent measures, based on an integrated data collection system that reaches the decision makers. Once recruited into the system, teachers must be retained and supported. According to the results of specialized studies, intrinsic motivation ensures the orientation towards the profession, but in terms of retention, the strategy of keeping teachers in the system can be superiorly influenced by extrinsic motivations (Cooper, 2006). Teacher retention in the system can be analyzed from two perspectives: first, it is important to emphasize that teacher stability is a condition for increasing learning quality, that learning outcomes and student performance are directly influenced by those of teachers, but also coherence and teacher continuity. Secondly, leaving the system at different times is a costly endeavor for society. The inefficiency of the costs included in the schooling support, the need for new fiscal contributions for the training of new teachers, other costs of induction, mentoring, guidance and improvement are dimensions whose solution can influence the quality of education in general. Recent studies have reported the importance of working conditions (which also include supporting school management, the quality of mentoring and induction programs) in terms of teacher retention in the system. It is obvious that one of the reasons why teachers leave the system is the poor quality of 67 working conditions (Borman and Dowling, 2008; Boyd et al., 2011; Ladd, 2009, 2011; Loeb et al., 2005, apud Geiger, 2018) . Thus, it has been shown that teachers who have assessed their working conditions as satisfactory (Geiger, 2018) have presented fewer risks of professional dropout. Such data are important for school administrations, for institutional management, for decision makers who, through measures to improve this dimension, they can contribute to reducing the phenomenon of professional abandonment. Other studies (Johnson & Birkeland, 2003; Nagy & Wang, 2007; Demn, 2005, apud Geiger, 2018) highlight the importance of support for teachers by the administration, but also the quality of positive relationships between faculty members and mentoring programs. There are many voices that align the retention dimension with the recruitment dimension, both being considered in a relationship of continuity, suggesting that the qualitative recruitment of teachers (either on academic routes or through standardized screening-evaluating qualities such as commitment and perseverance, leadership) will improve retention and, therefore, learning performance, but not enough (Wronowski, M., 2017). We believe that qualitative approaches, narrative methods based on observations, on the analysis of the meanings attributed by people to different phenomena can contribute to a better understanding of the phenomenon and to the identification of the most appropriate methods of teacher retention. Among the factors that decisively influence the retention rate, according to Wronowski's triadic model, is a specific set of personality traits (conscientiousness and emotional stability - two of the 5 personality dimensions, according to the Big Fives theory are positively associated with job retention (Barrick & 68 Mount, 1996; Hough, Eaton, Dunnette, Kamp and McCloy, 1990, apud Bastian et al., 2017), advanced relational skills and shared and assumed organizational culture. The importance of cultivating a good relationship with education appears frequently in the analyzed studies (Murray, 2009; Murray and Malgren, apud Wronowski, 2017), the emphasis being on the ability to cultivate relationships of involvement, motivation and academic support of students. Institutional ethos involves the institution's commitment to collaborative cultural values, lifelong learning, school development, institutional policies that allow and encourage autonomy personal and decision-making of teachers, school development. The decrease of the share of continuous changes (both curricular and educational policy), the management that supports the quality of the instructive- educational activity and the teacher, their autonomy in decisions are components that influence the favorability of the educational culture to reduce drop-out. Continuous development, improvement are dimensions that are considered extremely important, but must include areas of learning representative of the professional interests of teachers. Another important dimension of retention improvement strategies can be analyzed at the level of organizational management. Thus, taking into account several models, transformational management is the one that provides support to teachers in their instructive-educational approach, more than other types of lead. "This leadership model inspires followers, who are dedicated to a common vision and goals within a department or organization, show creativity in solving problems, and through coaching and mentoring, through support and challenges, they are develop their own leadership skills.” (Bass and Riggio, 2006, Transformational Leadership, 2nd Edition, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006 p. 69 4). School managers must be supported (including through training) in addresses this kind of management, which facilitates collaboration, productive discussions, developing teacher autonomy and is useful in keeping teachers in systems that can have positive results in terms of keeping teachers in the system. Regarding the retention of teachers in the system, a relevant analysis cannot fail to take into account a multidimensionality of points of view: thus, the question of the quality of teachers, their qualification. Leaving the system is all the more costly as the more prepared and qualified human resource is lost. On the other hand, there are authors (Haberman, 2012, apud Wronowski, 2017) who claim that students who obtained the highest marks in the entrance exams are twice as likely to give up as those with notemics, and secondly that they do not have the level of maturity necessary for success as a teacher. Demographic characteristics are also taken into account (gender, ethnicity, age - all used as potential predictors of professional dropout, but also the reduction of dropout through remuneration strategies advantageous for teachers, especially considering the opportunities offered by alternative jobs. (Dolton and van der Klaauw, 1995, 1999; Murnane & Olsen, 1989, 1990, apud Borman, 2018). An advantageous economic strategy with positive effects in achieving the desideratum of keeping teachers in the system could be the intelligent policy (private or state) to finance research to study this field. The creation of a support network, the consultation and financial support of scientists studying this issue, the creation of the most effective models of induction and mentoring programs, can be successful strategies, adapted to their development needs, on subdomains that reach exactly the key points of their training could be beneficial. The payment of teachers who theoretically and practically carry out the 70 induction and mentoring programs, the continuous monitoring and evaluation of the programs will be a long-term investment, advantageous for the entire education system. Funding a nationally collected database with annual reports (including longitudinal studies to capture the nuanced trajectories of teachers' careers) made by teams of professionals, published and provided for analysis to the line ministry could be a first step in maintaining the "health" of the education system. 3. Conclusions By carefully analyzing the dedicated literature, overcoming the differences in approach and educational culture, we can draw some conclusions and offer some explanations. Thus, we see the need for deep and holistic investigation of the whole process the student goes through to become a teacher, knowledge and theorizing of career development phases and challenges that could influence decisions to stay or leave the system, building a virtual space, of a community in which each teacher can share or benefit from the professional experience of other teachers in order to build a real image, a realistic professional identity. Longitudinal studies, narrative surveys can clarify many of the "unknowns" and could come to the aid of teachers in a situation of abandonment, but also of the system affected by this reality. Identifying how to increase the attractiveness of the profession and minimize the risks of professional abandonment, changing the attitude of the community towards the professional body are important elements in the strategy of developing a healthy educational system. 71 The impact of professional guidance, materialized in mentoring programs is extremely effective in developing qualities essential to the proper conduct of school activities, such as confidence in one's abilities, competence and personal efficiency, a sense of security and belonging. Cooperation between pre-university and university education, internships could be another way to reduce the gap between expectations and reality, between training and actual practice. Also, programs for the development of collaboration skills, for the strengthening of interpersonal relationships, which stimulate the cultivation of collegiality, as a significant factor for long-term success in the profession, are becoming necessary. The explanations converge around the central idea of overworked and stressful profession, full of pressures, evolving, against the background of excessive demands and the limits of their management capacities, towards abandonment. A series of structural changes, noticeable at the level of social approach (such as the contradictory image of the role of the modern teacher, society's attitude towards teachers, the deterioration of the traditional image of the teacher) led to an exacerbation of pressure on this professional category. responsibilities, rapid and unsystematic curricular changes, unassumed reform are examples of stressors that facilitate professional abandonment. The false image that students form of the profession, unrealistic expectations, unrealized individual expectations in concrete school contexts also have a negative impact on job satisfaction and can influence dropout decisions. Insufficient practical training, the marked differences between the school reality and the previous unrealistic image of the profession, correlated with the level of maturity and the lack of managerial 72 / collegiate help also determine difficulties in adapting to the profession, sometimes insurmountable. The difference in vision between traditional culture in schools (focused on inflexible, well-known and perpetuated structures) and modern culture, which implies acceptance of continuous change, diversity, complexity and mobility can be an explanatory factor of dropout. In most cases and in the most frequent cases, professional abandonment is considered as a detrimental dimension from an economic, social and psychological point of view. There are few studies that consider that, according to economic theories, healthy and productive organizations tend to keep their employees efficient, those who leave the system being those who do not meet the standards of quality and efficiency, the decision to abandon being, in this case, potentially beneficial. The study of the reported percentages, the economic data presented by the official reports and the extremely large share of empirical studies showing professional abandonment in terms of loss are sufficient data to consider that theoretical and practical initiatives are absolutely necessary that can contribute to improving this fact. It remains to evaluate the situation in Romania, to see to what extent the data from the western space are similar or different from the national ones. 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(2017), Wronowski, M., 2017, Poor management, lack of support strategies, lack of teacher support Clandini, 2014C, Fontilinni et al., 2009, Smith, 2014, Buchanan et al., 2013, (Borman & Dowling, 2008; Kyriacou et al., 2003, Buchanan, 2010; Gonzalez, Brown, and Slate, 2008- apud Hamsen, 2018, Gallant 2014, Wronowski, M., 2017 Low salary Clandini, 2014, Fontilinni et al, 2009, Buchanan et al, 2013, Johnson, Berg and Donaldson, 2005; Kyriacou, Kunc, Stephens, & Hultgren, 2003, Johnson and Kardos (2008), in Newberry, M., & Allsop, Y. (2017), (European Union, 2013; Ingersoll, 2001, 2004; Mertler, 2016; Wynn, Carboni , & Patall, 2007- apud Geiger, 2018), (Auguste, Kihn, & Miller, 2010; Dolton and Van der Klaauw, 1999; Hargreaves et al., 2007; Smethen, 2007b- apud Geiger, 2018) 80 Professional development Clandini, 2014, Buchanan et al, 2013, Gonzalez, Brown, and Slate, 2008 (in Harmsen, 2018), Harmsen, 2018, Gallant, 2014 Difficult relationships with colleagues Clandini, 2014, Buchanan și colab,2013, Smith, 2014, Dyson, Albon&Hutchinson, 2007, Blase, 2009, Newberry, M.,& Allsop, Y. (2017) Behavior of children and parents Clandini, 2014, Fontilinni et al, 2009, Hong, 2010, Smith, 2014, Buchanan et al, 2013, Borman & Dowling, 2008; Kyriacou et al., 2003; Gonzalez, Brown and Slate, 2008 (according to Harmsen, 2018), Harmsen, 2018, Newberry and Allsop (2017), Ewing and Manuel 2005, (Smith & Ingersoll, 2004), Newberry, M., & Allsop, Y. (2017) Administrative policies Fontilinni et al, 2009, Hong, 2010, Ewing and Manuel 2005, Wronowski, M., 2017 Poor school organization Buchanan et al, 2013, Smith, 2014, Harmsen, 2018 School culture (hinders development) Buchanan et al, 2013, Smith, 2014, Schuck, Brady and Griffin (2005), Gallant, 2014, Stokking (2003) Lack of opportunities to participate in decision making, low autonomy Buchanan et al, 2013, Smith, 2014, Van Droogenbroeck & Spruyt, 2016 (with Newberry, M., & Allsop, Y. (2017), Wronowski, M., 2017 Difficulties in adapting to Buchanan et al., 2013 81 teaching requirements Lack of teaching resources Buchanan et al, 2013, Newberry, M., & Allsop, Y. (2017) High workload Buchanan et al., 2013, Hong 2010, Smith, 2014, Johnson et al., 2005, Espinoza, 2015, Newberry and Allsop (2017), Allen J. (2019), Elfers, Plecki & Knapp, 2006; European Union , 2013; Hakanen, Bakker and Schaufeli, 2006; Ingersoll, 2012 in Geiger, 2018) Physical, social, emotional isolation Buchanan et al., 2013, Gallant, 2014 Excessive bureaucracy Smith, 2014, Johnson et al., 2005, Espinoza, 2015 The difference between the theory studied in college and school practice Buchanan et al., 2013, Stokking (2003), (Goldhaber & Cowan, 2014; Goldhaber, Krieg and Theobald, 2016; Ronfeldt, 2012, apud Geiger, 2018) Frequent curriculum changes Espinoza, 2015, Newberry, M., & Allsop, Y. (2017)