Teachers’ professional agency, retention and well-being: Does gender matter in East-African context?

1. A need for a gender-sensitive approach to support teachers

Around the world and in the African context, schools are facing growing challenges and there is growing interest in supporting teachers’ well-being, professional agency and retaining qualified professionals in the teaching workforce (Hascher & Waber, 2021; Hökkä et al., 2025; Kamere et al., 2019). A better understanding of teachers’ professional agency, well-being, and commitment to the profession can help identify ways to build more sustainable, inclusive and equitable education systems. Identifying supportive mechanisms is particularly important in East African countries where schools often operate under challenging conditions, including limited resources, large class sizes, and a shortage of qualified teachers (Roper et al., 2026; Karamperidou et al., 2020). Additionally, many schools in the region face persistent shortages of motivated and experienced teachers (e.g., Wuoi et al., 2026).

This article presents the results of a study which examined teachers’ professional agency, retention, and work-related well-being from a gender perspective in East African countries where gendered social norms and structural inequalities may shape teachers’ experiences of teaching in distinct ways (e.g., D’Sa et al., 2023). This context highlights the need for gender-specific strategies and policies to support teachers’ well-being, professional agency, and retention. For this reason, our study adopted a gender-sensitive approach, since it can help to identify inequalities, better understand the diverse experiences of teachers, and inform policies and practices that support teachers’ work. Such an approach can also contribute to protecting teachers’ well-being, reducing gender-related barriers, and creating more equitable and supportive working environments. This study was conducted in Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania, where empirical evidence linking teacher agency, well-being, and retention from a gender perspective remains scarce.

2. Teacher agency, well-being, and retention from a gender perspective

The empirical study examined teachers’ professional agency and work-related well-being in terms of work engagement and burnout. Additionally, teacher retention was approached through teachers’ motivations to persist in the teaching profession and to leave the teaching profession. Although these phenomena have already been widely studied, they have received considerably less attention from a gender perspective, particularly in the East African context. Existing evidence on the role of gender in shaping professional agency, work-related well-being, and teacher retention remains limited, and in some respects, inconsistent.

2.1 Professional agency

Current research has highlighted both sociocultural and individual factors that shape teachers’ professional agency. For example, Ogwang (2023, p. 248) summarises that among Ugandan teachers their ‘agency is being shaped by ecological factors comprising of their temporal dimensions mediated by the affordances and constraints of their cultures, structures and materials’. However, teachers’ professional agency has received relatively little attention from a gender perspective, and existing research has provided somewhat mixed quantitative findings. Heikonen et al. (2020) found no gender differences in teachers’ perceptions of professional agency. More recent studies, however, suggest that gender may be associated with specific dimensions of professional agency. For example, Yli-Pietilä et al. (2024) found stronger professional agency among female teachers in the classroom context, while Hökkä et al. (2025) found gender differences in participation in the work community, but not in influencing at work.

2.2 Teacher retention

Recent years have seen a growing number of evidence syntheses seeking to identify how teacher retention can be strengthened and how education systems can respond to ongoing teacher shortages (e.g., Gundlach et al., 2024; Leithwood et al., 2026). These syntheses indicate that teacher retention is strongly influenced by school working conditions, leadership, teacher well-being, job satisfaction, perceived support, and opportunities to exercise influence and autonomy in one’s work. Although gender is not among the strongest predictors of teachers’ retention decisions identified in recent syntheses, it should not be regarded as irrelevant. For example, in some studies male and female teachers have been found to have different motivational factors that affect their attrition or turnover (Anand & Kaushik, 2026). Male attrition may stem from the search for higher-paying jobs, while female attrition may stem from work-life balance challenges stemming from social norms (Kagema & Kamau, 2026). In some contexts, such as Kenya and Tanzania, male teachers report higher turnover intentions (Boniface, 2019; Kagema & Kamau, 2026).

2.3 Teachers’ work-related well-being

Teachers’ well-being has been extensively studied worldwide from various perspectives, with substantial evidence showing that relational and sociocultural conditions are associated with teachers’ well-being (Hascher & Waber, 2021; Zhou et al., 2024). However, research has emphasised that gender differences should not be assumed to be large or straightforward, although some differences have been identified. The meta-analysis found that gender was associated with burnout, but the strength of this association varied across countries and in relation to national gender-equality contexts, suggesting that gender should not be treated solely as an individual characteristic (García-Arroyo et al., 2019). A recent study found that male teachers showed significantly lower engagement compared to their female colleagues (Wang et al., 2025). Additionally, workload demands seem to have a stronger impact on stress and burnout among female teachers than among male teachers, suggesting that women may be more vulnerable to the cumulative effects of professional and domestic responsibilities (Falebita et al., 2025).

Overall, investigating teachers’ professional agency, work-related well-being, and retention from a gender perspective can deepen our understanding of the role of gender in shaping these aspects of teachers’ work and careers. Furthermore, it contributes to the current research field by bringing forward evidence from teachers in Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania, thereby addressing a geographical gap in the literature.

3. Methods

3.1. Participants

The study utilised questionnaire data collected in 2025–2026 from teachers in Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania. The total sample comprised N = 1,131 participants, including 555 (49.1%) Kenyan, 137 (12.1%) South Sudanese, and 439 (38.8%) Tanzanian teachers. The gender distribution of the participants was relatively balanced: 52.3% were female and 47.5% were male. The remaining participants (0.2%) preferred not to disclose their gender and were excluded from the analyses due to their small number. Most of the teachers worked in primary schools (46.8%), followed by secondary schools (38.7%) and pre-primary schools (14.5%).

3.2. Questionnaire scales and data analysis

This study used different kinds of validated scales. The validated short version of the Professional Agency Measure (Vähäsantanen et al., 2022) was used to cover three dimensions of professional agency with nine items: Influencing at work (e.g., ‘I can participate in the decision making in my school’), Participation at work (e.g., ‘I actively collaborate with others in my school’), and Negotiating professional identity (e.g., ‘I can realize my professional goals in my work’). Teacher retention was examined via two scales: i) Planned persistence covered two questions (e.g., ‘How certain are you that you will remain in teaching?’, see Watt & Richardson, 2008). ii) Motivations to leave the teaching profession covered three items, such as ‘I often think of leaving the teaching profession’ (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011). 

Additionally, two scales were used to cover work-related well-being among teachers: Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli et al., 2019) included three observed indicators and related items: vigour (‘At my work, I feel bursting with energy’), dedication (‘I am enthusiastic about my work’), and absorption (‘I am immersed in my work’). Burnout was measured with the ultra-short version of the Burnout Assessment Tool (Hadžibajramović et al., 2024) to cover four items, such as ‘At work, I feel mentally exhausted’.

In the analysis, each phenomenon under investigation was treated as one-dimensional, as the aim was to examine how gender related to them from a holistic perspective. A series of Welch’s t tests were conducted to compare the groups of male and female participants. Welch’s t test was utilised because it endures non-normality and controls Type 1 error rates well when group sizes and variances in the compared groups are not equal (Delacre et al., 2017). To report results, scale means, standard deviations and Cronbach’s alphas were also computed.

4. Results

The study investigated teachers’ professional agency, retention intentions, and well-being at work from a gender perspective. All scales showed acceptable consistency (Table 1). An acceptable alpha value should be above .60 and preferably above .70. The lowest alpha value was .66 (Work engagement).

Overall, gender differences were either small or absent across these constructs examined, indicating substantial similarities in teachers’ experiences (Table 1). When teachers’ professional agency was examined, no statistically significant gender differences were found between female (M = 4.37, SD = 0.65) and male (M = 4.39, SD = 0.60) teachers.

Teachers’ retention was investigated in terms of planned persistence and motivations to leave the teaching profession. For both constructs, the results demonstrated small but statistically significant gender differences. First, female teachers (M = 5.56, SD = 1.25) reported slightly higher planned persistence than male teachers (M = 5.40, SD = 1.42). Second, male teachers (M = 3.20, SD = 1.59) reported slightly stronger motivations to leave the teaching profession than female teachers (M = 2.96, SD = 1.54). Taken together, these results suggest slightly stronger retention among female teachers than among male teachers, although the magnitude of the differences was small.

Teachers’ well-being at work was conceptualized as comprising work engagement and burnout (i.e., reduced well-being). Overall, teachers reported relatively high levels of work engagement and low levels of burnout. Gender differences were generally small. Female teachers (M = 5.99, SD = 1.31) reported slightly higher ratings for work engagement than male teachers (M = 5.77, SD = 1.35). In contrast, no statistically significant gender differences were found when examining teacher burnout. Female teachers (M = 2.50, SD = 0.80) and male teachers (M = 2.57, SD = 0.88) reported comparable levels of burnout.

Table 1. Gender differences in professional agency, teacher retention, and well-being among teachers.

Variable (Respond scale)	α	Group	n	M	SD	df	tWelch	p	d	95% CI d
Professional agency (Scale 1-5)	.81	Female	592	4.37	0.65	1,126.55	-0.51	.609	-0.03	[-0.14, 0.09]
		Male	537	4.39	0.60
		Total	1,129	4.38	0.63
Planned persistence (Scale 1-7)	.89	Female	592	5.56	1.25	1,073.59	2.02	.044	0.12	[0, 0.23]
		Male	537	5.40	1.42
		Total	1,129	5.48	1.34
Leaving the teaching profession (Scale 1-6)	.85	Female	592	2.96	1.54	1,108.70	-2.67	.008	-0.16	[-0.28, -0.04]
		Male	537	3.20	1.59
		Total	1,129	3.07	1.57
Work engagement (Scale 1-7)	.66	Female	592	5.99	1.31	1,107.64	2.71	.007	0.16	[0.04, 0.28]
		Male	537	5.77	1.35
		Total	1,129	5.89	1.33
Burnout (Scale 1-5)	.76	Female	592	2.50	0.80	1,087.65	-1.37	.171	-0.08	[-0.2, 0.03]
		Male	537	2.57	0.88
		Total	1,129	2.53	0.84

Note. Female and male differences were tested with Welch’s independent-samples t test using 95% confidence intervals. Interpretation for Cohen’s d: | d | ≈ 0.20, small effect; | d | ≈ 0.50, medium effect; | d | ≈ 0.80, large effect (Cohen, 1988).

5. Discussion

The results suggest that gender plays a relatively limited role in shaping teachers’ professional agency, work-related well-being, and retention in Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania. In the East African context, teachers often work under conditions characterized by limited resources, large class sizes and shortages of qualified teachers. Such structural conditions may create common professional pressures that affect both genders, potentially reducing the explanatory power of gender differences at the aggregate level.

The absence of gender differences in professional agency aligns with previous research from East African countries, suggesting that teachers’ agency may be shaped more strongly by shared organizational, cultural, and working conditions than by gender itself (Ogwang, 2023), although recent European studies have identified some gender differences in the enactment of professional agency (e.g., Yli-Pietilä et al., 2024). The lack of gender differences in burnout, and the fact that only small differences were observed in work engagement, are consistent with previous research, suggesting that gender-related variation in teachers’ well-being is often context-dependent rather than universal (García-Arroyo et al., 2019). Although female teachers reported slightly higher work engagement (see also Wang et al., 2021), stronger intentions to remain in the profession, and lower motivations to leave, the magnitude of these differences was small. At the same time, the results are consistent with previous studies from Kenya and Tanzania suggesting that male teachers may report higher turnover intentions (Boniface, 2019; Kagema & Kamau, 2026). Taken together, these notions provide some support for adopting a gender-sensitive approach to school leadership and teacher support. In particular, male teachers may be at a somewhat greater risk regarding well-being and retention, highlighting the importance of ensuring adequate support for their well-being and long-term retention to the teaching profession.

6. Conclusions

The results suggest that efforts to strengthen teachers’ work-related well-being, professional agency, and retention should primarily focus on improving the working conditions that affect all teachers. For example, schools can support teacher retention by fostering supportive professional communities, providing opportunities to participate in decision-making and collaborate with colleagues, contributing to school improvement, and promoting work environments that sustain teachers’ engagement and well-being.

Although this study demonstrates relatively low burnout levels without differences by gender, this should not lead to complacency. Teacher work-related well-being is multidimensional and it is influenced by workload, relationships, leadership, organizational culture, resources and teachers’ ability to manage competing professional demands (D’Sa et al., 2023; Hascher & Waber, 2021; Zhou et al., 2024). School systems should therefore invest in preventive well-being measures rather than responding only after teachers experience severe stress or burnout.

Although the observed gender differences were small, male teachers reported slightly lower work engagement and motivation to stay in the profession, as well as higher motivation to leave the profession. This indicates that school leaders should remain attentive to potential gender-related differences in teachers’ experiences and support needs. Retention strategies should therefore include supportive leadership, manageable workloads, opportunities for career development, recognition, fair remuneration, professional autonomy, and supportive school environments. This is particularly important in contexts facing teacher shortages, where losing experienced teachers can further increase workload and pressure on those who remain.

The relatively small gender differences found in this study do not make gender irrelevant. Rather, they suggest that gender should be incorporated into leadership and policy decisions alongside other contextual factors. Principals should monitor whether particular groups of teachers experience unequal access to professional development, leadership opportunities, decision-making, workload allocation, recognition or career advancement. A gender-sensitive approach can therefore help to identify subtle inequalities without assuming that gender automatically produces large differences in teachers’ experiences. Policies aimed at strengthening teacher retention should therefore focus not only on recruitment but also on sustained support for teachers’ well-being, professional development, and opportunities to influence their work. While broad-based measures are likely to benefit all teachers, monitoring potential gender differences in retention-related outcomes may help to identify groups that could benefit from additional support.

Authors