This publication is intended to help superintendents and principals, as well as district leaders, cope with roadblocks in their efforts to sustain promising efforts. These may include lack of staff buy-in into the reform strategy, enthusiastic staff without the needed skills to implement; lack of time or the necessary resources. These and other…

Since 2002, North Carolina, under the leadership of Governor Mike Easley and the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Commission, has worked to improve understanding of a critical factor in student learning and teacher retention: the conditions under which teachers work. In 2006, 66 percent (more than 75,000) school-based licensed…

This paper was developed for the Illinois State Board of Education as part of a year long project to address the issue of personnel shortages in special education. Recommendations from a number of state committees and professional organizations were analyzed and additional input obtained from various professionals in regular and special education.…

Recruiting and retaining qualified, competent teachers is an ongoing problem for small school administrators. The reasons for high turnover are numerous and complex, e.g., preservice preparation is presently more suitable for large, metropolitan schools than for small, rural schools; career orientations fail to recognize that experience in small…

Surveys 37 science education graduates from 1977 through 1983 who had not taught or had taught but left. Reports the responses of the graduates on 19 questions and follow-up interviews designed to determine why they did not teach or why they left. Low salary, lack of respect, and lack of professionalism are cited as the major reasons. (YP)

This commentary calls for increased efforts toward recruiting and retaining quality people in the field of special education. The use of sophisticated marketing techniques is encouraged, as well as initiatives by businesses such as providing sabbaticals for business professionals to allow them to spend a year team teaching. (JDD)

This research examined the career paths of 2,700 former special educators hired by Michigan public schools between 1972 and 1985. An estimated 34% of the former educators reentered a Michigan classroom within five years of leaving, and an estimated 58% of these stayed for more than seven years. (Author/JDD)

Presents findings from an American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) questionnaire survey which examined the impact of faculty shortages on the quality of engineering education, what faculty are needed to maintain or restore quality to engineering programs, graduate student enrollment, and trends in faculty recruitment and retention. (JN)

This digest examines the spread of mentoring in the United States, obstacles to realizing the potential of mentoring as a vehicle of reform, needed research, and selected issues of policy and practice. While the education community understands that mentors have a positive effect on teacher retention, the question of what mentors should do, what…

This report examines the patterns of teacher attrition among full-time teachers in Indiana from 1965 to 1987. The study's objectives were to assess the current state of teacher supply and demand in Indiana, recommend policies to ensure an adequate supply of certified teachers, and provide the Indiana State Department of Education with the…

A report is given of a 1987 survey of teachers in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Data were obtained from 580 full-time classroom teachers in three elementary schools, two junior high schools, and one senior high school. The focus of the survey was on teacher attrition rates and turnover. Results indicated a high percentage of…

Over the past decade, the high number of teachers leaving the profession has been a growing concern among parents, teacher educators, administrators, and policy-makers. While most argue the problem is due to a burgeoning demand and increased numbers of retirements, some researchers propose that the problem of teacher shortages is far more complex.…

Most states have already implemented policies to recruit, select, and retain better teachers. The majority of these policies raise standards for entry or recertification. Another approach provides incentives to attract qualified college graduates into teaching. Offering scholarships in exchange for five-year teaching commitments and offering…

Many education agencies feel an enormous strain to meet the federal mandate that all teachers be highly qualified. State and local policies must be established that address effective ways to hire, train, support, and retain teachers who meet the standards specified in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. To help policymakers with the…

This comprehensive review of 16 nationally representative public opinion polls conducted between 2000 and 2006 provides insight into how teachers, school administrators, parents, and the general public view the teaching profession. It looks specifically at issues of teacher availability, recruitment, and retention for at-risk and hard-to-staff…