Students’ Intention to Leave and Dropout in Teacher Education: A Systematic Scoping Reveiw

Many countries facing challenges in recruiting and educating sufficient student teachers, as well as retain novices (Gehrmann & Germer, 2025). Intention to leave and dropout in teacher education contribute to teacher shortages and challenge efforts to maintain a stable and qualified teaching workforce. Countries are reporting high dropout rates in teacher training (Elstad, 2023; Skagen & Elstad, 2023; SSB, 2025). Several systematic reviews have researched intention to leave and dropout of higher education programs generally. Teacher education differs from purely academic programmes because it includes a strong professional component, practicum, and professional identity. The purpose of the scoping review is to examine the scope and characteristics of existing research on intention to leave and dropout in teacher education, identify contributing factors, and describe strategies and interventions to reduce attrition and support student retention. This protocol follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA ScR) (Tricco, 2018).