American universities are seeking to increase "academic staff diversity" by hiring more females, racial/ethnic minorities, military veterans, and persons with disabilities. Various researchers have presented evidence showing that people of poverty and working-class origins are significantly underrepresented within the US academic staff.…

The Pathways to Teaching Careers Program was a national recruitment effort started in 1989 to bring teachers of color into the teaching profession. This effort was instrumental in forging the investment of some $50 million for a series of grants that included 26 programs in 66 colleges and universities, located in 43 cities in 26 states (the…

There are many synonyms for the word "mentor": coach, guide, role model, peer advisor, and sponsor, among others. The plethora of terms would suggest that we know something about this role, but most of the research on mentoring has been conducted in business and industry rather than in education. In fact, junior and senior faculty and…

Most of the phases of teacher personnel have been thoroughly studied and investigated. Turnover, however, is an exception. Only a few studies bearing directly on this question have been made. None of these has given consideration to it over a period of years. Furthermore, no study of any extent has been made in Illinois. Purpose of the…

State-level policy support for teacher induction programs can help teachers realize their full potential, keep them in the profession, promote greater student learning, and save money. Higher education institutions and school districts must work together to provide high-quality and well-designed induction programs. This issue of "Policy Matters,"…

This article reports on an investigation into the motivations of a cohort of pre-service teacher education students, undertaking a five-year, full-time combined undergraduate and initial teacher education degree program at the University of Sydney, Australia. Participants completed an extensive questionnaire which sought to gather data on the…

The No Child Left Behind Act requires that all teachers in core academic subjects to be "highly qualified" by the end of the 2005-06 school year. New teacher leave the profession at an alarming rate--research indicates that 50% have left within five years of their first job. This article explores the personality types of pre-service…

This article describes the long view toward music teacher preparation and the rationale of a dual-degree program. Taking a longer, more thoughtful approach to new teacher preparation that is concentrated on developing highly qualified and caring teachers will positively affect teachers and students. Furthermore, this article presents some…

In late 2006, the National Center on Education and the Economy released "Tough Choices or Tough Times: The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce." With compelling language, the report updated and sharpened the findings of the center's influential 1990 report, "America's Choice: High Skills or Low Wages," which called…

Early murmurs concerning teacher attrition in the United States have risen to an alarming level since the 1990s. Given that half of the 1990s teaching force were/are expected to retire between 2000 and 2010, the cry has been heard loud and clearly throughout the nation. Furthermore, today's fledgling teachers are fleeing at astronomical rates,…

Recent research demonstrates that teacher quality has a greater impact on student achievement than any other educational factor. Yet there is concern that overall teacher quality is variable, and hard-to-staff schools (i.e., high poverty and minority schools) have an even more difficult time recruiting and retaining quality teachers. The No Child…

Most literature on the American professorate provides a culture of evidence that suggests that the above account represents the typical experience endured by many African American faculty members and other faculty of color. African American faculty remain under-represented in predominantly White research universities. The number of African…

To develop culturally proficient educational administration leaders, higher education institutions need to increase the representation of ethnically and culturally diverse faculty within their ranks. Through reviews of research and practice, this article proposes factors to consider in the recruitment, retention and evaluation of faculty of color…

Excellence in teaching has always been a demanding and absorbing concern in institutions of higher learning. Earlier studies, which are numerous, have often dealt with the measurement of teacher qualities but have largely failed to explain the phenomenon of excellence in practice. This study focused on the outstanding professional teachers' candid…

This research review examines various barriers that affect the retention and attrition of special education teachers. The purpose of this examination is to look at various problems associated with maintaining and attracting new teachers to the field of education. Retention and attrition will be vital components in addressing teacher shortages in…