Every student should have access to excellent, well-prepared, and well-supported educators who reflect the diversity of our nation. Research repeatedly indicates that teachers are the most important in-school factor for student success. Research also highlights the critical role of school leaders in retaining and supporting teachers to maximize…

Widespread critical shortages of high-quality teachers in the United States (Sutcher, Darling-Hammond, Carver-Thomas, 2016) has prompted considerable research on staffing trends within the teaching profession. Research suggests both an increase in the demand for teachers and a "chronic and relatively high annual turnover compared with many…

Much of the conversation in recent years about how to attract and retain high-quality teachers has focused on salaries--how much teachers are paid, the possibilities of differentiated pay scales, and pay for performance. But it has become increasingly clear that teachers take much more than salary into account when tallying up working conditions.…

Music teachers who are young, female, and of minority ethnicity are more likely to leave their school or leave the music education profession altogether, according to recent research conducted by Carl Hancock, assistant professor of music education at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Hancock's study, "Music Teachers at Risk for Attrition and…

Teacher shortages are essentially a problem of distribution (Darling-Hammond, 2001; Ingersoll, 2001; National Association of State Boards of Education, 1998; Olson, 2000; Reeves, 2003; Voke, 2002). According to recent studies, hardest to find are teachers who are both qualified and willing to teach in hard-to-staff schools, which included those in…

This report presents suggestions for retaining beginning teachers. Research indicates that after 5 years, nearly half of new teachers leave teaching in the state where they first taught. Helping new teachers become veterans is an important step in addressing teacher shortages. New teachers tend to leave because of such factors as inadequate…

This strategy brief identifies current strategies developed by states to recruit and hire quality teachers. It describes innovative efforts to attract students and mid-career professionals to the teaching profession, as well as incentives to lure well-qualified and experienced teachers to hard-to-staff schools and subject areas where teachers are…

The influence of faculty characteristics, perceptions, and work environment on job satisfaction and identification with the institution was studied. Questionnaire responses from 9,237 faculty were evaluated, based on a 1971 survey conducted by the Stanford Project on Academic Governance. The following faculty characteristics were considered: time…

Discusses a survey conducted in the Tatar Republic of the Soviet Union involving over 800 teachers, students, and parents. Reports that the study investigated opinions about teachers' social position. Indicates widespread agreement concerning the teaching profession's low prestige. Explores reasons for the profession's low prestige through an…