This qualitative case study examines the impact of the Alabama Teacher Excellence and Accountability for Mathematics and Science (TEAMS) Act on collective efficacy in a rural school district. The study focuses on the perceptions of non-math and science teachers and administrators to understand how the pay disparities introduced by the TEAMS Act…

This book combines theory and research from educational and organizational psychology to provide guidance on improving the teacher selection process and, subsequently, educational outcomes for all students. The book identifies the characteristics of effective teachers, analyzes research on selection practices, and examines new approaches to…

Teach For America (TFA) is an organization that aims to address educational inequity in part through a program of training and placing teachers in U.S. K-12 public schools that have the highest proportions of high-poverty students. In this report, the authors quantify the impacts of Teach For America Indianapolis (TFA Indy) on student and school…

The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) conducted a months-long study on how to diversify the teacher workforce. The study analyzed the practices of current and former educators and school personnel who have overseen hiring educators. A complementary literature review examined the effectiveness of current efforts in place…

Evidence suggests that there are significant difficulties associated with the attraction and retention of appropriately qualified, high quality teachers and educational leaders (e.g., principals) for rural, regional and remote locations in Australia. Further, educational leadership in these areas carries complex demands, and educational leaders…

"Degrees of Freedom" challenges California to include currently and formerly incarcerated students in the vision set by the state's 1964 Master Plan for Higher Education--a vision of college access for all, for the benefit of the entire state. A college education strengthens economies, changes lives and renews communities, and yet, for…

"Degrees of Freedom" finds that California has not been adequately providing effective college opportunities for criminal justice-involved students, despite the fact that such access will help California build safer and more economically viable communities. This report is part of a larger initiative--Renewing Communities--to expand…

One study after another shows American students ranking behind their international counterparts in the STEM fields--science, technology, engineering, and math. Business people such as Bill Gates warn that this alarming situation puts the United States at a serious disadvantage in the high-tech global marketplace of the twenty-first century, and…

No one stakeholder group can realize lasting change on their own; nor can any reform initiative focusing on just one type of strategy create the workplace conditions needed to truly build capacity within the education profession. Rather, stakeholders must focus on collaborating, reaching common understanding, and prioritizing for ultimate impact…

The Central Region states have greater percentages of rural students and schools than the U.S. average. This report describes how nine teacher preparation programs in the region prepare their graduates for teaching positions in rural settings. The study found that, of 120 institutions in the Central Region that offer teacher preparation, only 17…

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…

Project TRREE (Teacher Recruitment and Retention for Educational Excellence) is a three-year, federally funded project conducted by the Kentucky Department of Education. The purpose of the project is to develop a systemic approach to increase the number of highly qualified special education teachers with a focus on recruitment of linguistically,…

This report critically analyzes research on teacher preparation, licensure, and recruitment, questioning the effectiveness of today's teacher education, showing how existing approaches to identifying qualified teachers are lax, and suggesting that district authorities do not always discriminate well between qualified and unqualified teacher…

Recommendations are made for a system of incentives at the state and local levels to ensure that highly capable people are attracted to and retained in the teaching profession. These recommendations include ways in which teachers can be empowered through expanding to new and more professional roles. An introduction to this report outlines issues…

This document, a companion report to a detailed investigation into school districts' teacher selection processes, presents detailed case studies conducted in six different school districts: (1) Mesa Unified School District (Arizona); (2) Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland); (3) East Williston Union Free School District (New York); (4)…