Psychological capital key to teacher retention in Qatar’s expatriate schools, study finds

Teachers in Qatar who report stronger psychological capital are significantly less likely to intend to leave their jobs, according to a new study applying the Four-Capital Framework to an education system in which more than 90% of teachers are non-national. The research, conducted by Mashael Mohammed Aldosari, Abdel Latif and Malavika E. Santhosh of Qatar University and published in Frontiers in Organizational Psychology, analyzed weighted cross-sectional survey data from 1,010 teachers working in public and private schools across the country. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the team tested how human, social, structural and psychological capital relate directly and indirectly to turnover intention, the self-reported likelihood that a teacher plans to leave their position.

Teacher turnover undermines instructional continuity and organizational stability in education systems worldwide, and the authors note that limited research has examined how multiple forms of capital jointly predict turnover intention in expatriate-dominated, non-Western contexts. The Four-Capital Framework treats these four resources as distinct but connected forms of capital, and the study tested both direct effects and indirect pathways among them in a single model. Because the survey covered a system in which the overwhelming majority of teachers are non-national, the findings offer a view of departure intentions in a setting that is rarely represented in this research literature.

The modeling results pointed to a clear hierarchy of effects. Structural capital showed the strongest positive effect on psychological capital, indicating that the organizational conditions teachers experience are closely tied to their psychological resources. Psychological capital, in turn, had a significant negative effect on turnover intention, meaning teachers with higher psychological capital reported lower intentions to leave. Social capital was associated with turnover intention only indirectly, through its statistical indirect effect via psychological capital, rather than through a direct pathway. Human capital displayed a positive direct effect on turnover intention; the authors interpret this as suggesting that highly skilled teachers may have greater mobility in regional labor markets, and therefore more realistic options to move elsewhere.

The model accounted for 61.1% of the variance in psychological capital and 28.5% of the variance in turnover intention, figures the authors present as evidence that the four forms of capital jointly capture a substantial share of what shapes teachers’ stated departure plans. The indirect role of psychological capital emerged as a central finding: it appears to link organizational and relational resources to turnover intention, acting as the pathway through which structural and social conditions reach teachers’ decisions about staying or leaving. On this basis, the study underscores the importance of improving organizational conditions and psychological support in retention policies for expatriate-dominated systems.

The findings rest on a cross-sectional survey, so the reported relationships are statistical associations rather than demonstrated causal effects; turnover intention was measured at a single point in time rather than tracked through actual departures. The analysis tested both direct effects and indirect pathways among the four forms of capital, but the data describe teachers in one national system at one moment. Within those limits, the study highlights psychological capital as playing a key indirect role linking organizational and relational resources to turnover intention, and points to organizational conditions and psychological support as targets for retention efforts in education systems where most teachers work far from their home countries.

Subject of Research: Teacher turnover intention in an expatriate-dominated system: testing the four-capital framework in Qatar using PLS-SEM

Article Title: Teacher turnover intention in an expatriate-dominated system: testing the four-capital framework in Qatar using PLS-SEM

Article References: Al-Dosari, M., Sellami, A., & Santhosh, M. E. (2026). Teacher turnover intention in an expatriate-dominated system: testing the four-capital framework in Qatar using PLS-SEM. Frontiers in Organizational Psychology, 4, Article 1877499. https://doi.org/10.3389/forgp.2026.1877499

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/forgp.2026.1877499

Keywords: Teacher, turnover, intention, expatriate-dominated, system, testing, four-capital, framework, Qatar, PLS-SEM, scientific research