This report is an attempt to classify and interpret the new pieces of state legislation influencing the teaching occupation: how teachers are trained, licensed, inducted, and compensated. The historical basis of recent teacher reforms and the concepts of teaching that these new policies embody are analyzed. Examined are trends in state teacher…

The dynamics of the teacher labor market were examined, focusing upon the problems of which teachers leave the profession, why they leave, where they go, and what it would take to retain them as public school teachers. In-depth case studies were made of six universities and six school districts. Data were collected by interviews (n=180) with…

Although states have maintained a focus on recruiting and retaining teachers, many schools and districts still face daunting challenges in ensuring a qualified and competent teaching corps. It is particularly difficult for schools considered hard to staff-those with high concentrations of low-performing, low-income students; high teacher turnover;…

Using a case study methodology, the researchers attempt to discover the situational context of the teacher labor force in the southeast U.S. The study emphasizes significant variables in the present teacher labor market, including (1) recruitment; (2) mobility patterns; (3) desirable characteristics; (4) expectations, lifestyles, and attrition;…

For the brightest students the most significant reasons why they won't teach relate to frustrating working conditions, bureaucratic requirements, the lack of professional control, and few opportunities for intellectual growth, as well as these students' intolerance for diversity in the workplace and their perception of teaching as a "boring…

In an effort to explore significant supply and demand variables that affect the teacher labor market in the Southeast, a qualitative research study was undertaken to examine the market patterns of initial career choice, position availability, recruitment and selection, turnover, and mobility of public school teachers. An ethnographic investigation…