TITLE:
Exploring Staff Turnover and Turnover Intentions in Selected Colleges of Education in the Oti Region, Ghana
AUTHORS:
Fred Alpha Adams
KEYWORDS:
Ghana, Colleges of Education, Staff Turnover and Turn Intention, Higher Education, Retention, Pay
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.6,
June
29,
2026
ABSTRACT: Staff turnover is the frequency at which staff leave one entity for another and need to be replaced, whilst staff turnover and turn intention are the employees’ reported willingness to leave or consider leaving an organization. The increasing rate of staff turnover and turn intention remains a major issue that affects the stability of institutions, the quality of teaching, and research generation. Even while institutions spend money on training their workers, many nevertheless lose trained employees, which raises questions about how to keep them. The study utilised a mixed-methods research methodology, combining quantitative survey data from 100 staff members with qualitative views from 15 intentionally selected senior staff in the colleges of education in the Oti Region of Ghana. Data were gathered from January to March 2025 by structured surveys and semi-structured interviews. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to look at quantitative data, and thematic analysis was used to look at qualitative data. Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory as a guide, the study discovered that both economic elements (income, allowances, retirement benefits) and non-economic factors (career progression, leadership practices, workload, and institutional support) influence people’s desire to leave their jobs. Inferential analysis indicated strong correlation among work satisfaction, salary, and turnover (p