The role of teacher educators is particularly significant for the welfare of a democratic society and for the education of its children and youth. Recently, however, the decline in enrollment in teacher education programs and in school-age children poses pervasive and serious problems, leading to the curtailment of programs and the retrenchment of…

Although the problem varies across the United States, overall there is a shortage of rural teachers, especially in the subject areas of math, science, and special education. Recruiting teachers for rural settings requires targeting persons with rural backgrounds, attacking the negative stereotypes surrounding rural schools, and stressing the…

Suggests that the college placement and recruitment profession may be in a unique position to find and implement solutions to the severe and growing shortage of high school math and science teachers. Examines the reasons for teachers' dissatisfaction and suggests needed interventions, including financial support. (JAC)

This commentary assesses the quality of information in the National Center for Education Statistics report "The Condition of Education 1997," which bears on the extent to which the nation is succeeding in staffing all schools with skilled teachers. The commentary focuses on teacher salaries, teacher preparation for diversity, and…

U.S. minority public school population is rapidly becoming the majority. The teaching force must reflect the changing population. There is an urgent need to recruit minority teachers into education. The article discusses ideas for attracting minority preservice teachers, presenting examples from successful programs. (SM)

The year 2005 saw a number of reports calling for actions to ensure the future economic vitality of the United States, frequently through the improvement of science and mathematics education. This trend will likely continue into 2006 as policymakers at the state and federal levels look for ways to ensure the United States remains economically…

This publication analyzes teacher education policy and practice with respect to teacher recruitment, induction, and continuing professional development with the intention of stimulating dialogue, debate, and collaboration among state agencies, state boards of education, teacher training institutions, legislators, and those involved in teacher…

The literature shows clearly that rural administrators find it extremely difficult to locate and hire qualified teachers who fit in with the school and community and will stay in the job. The "ideal" rural teacher is certified to teach more than one subject or grade level, can teach students with a wide range of abilities in the same classroom, is…

Social isolation, extreme weather conditions, inadequate housing, and low salaries often characterizing rural areas cause problems in recruiting and retaining special education personnel. Successful interviewers for rural districts must include four components in their recruitment strategies: the use of intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivators,…

Research literature was reviewed for the joint purposes of assessing the state of the art in vocational teacher education research and attempting to determine whether vocational teacher education has escaped its ancillary status and, through significant research, moved toward becoming an intellectual field. Most of the research studies deal with…

Few traditionally black colleges offer health education classes or majors. This results in a dearth of African American graduate students and college level health faculty. The article reviews these problems and suggests steps predominantly white colleges can take to improve the recruitment and retention of African American students and faculty.…

This article posits that increasing minority teachers in gifted and talented (GT) programs will lead to an increase of minority students in GT programs. Ways to recruit and prepare minority teachers are discussed, as are multicultural and bilingual options for GT programs. The need for evaluation data is stressed. (Contains references.) (CR)

Supporters of alternative certification (AC) claim these programs can help to recruit minority and male teachers and to attract talented individuals with subject-area expertise in areas such as math, science, and foreign languages. Opponents claim that AC can undermine teacher professionalism and that it does and that it does not provide the…

This study describes the changes in demographic characteristics of beginning teachers who entered the profession between 1956-57 and 1976. Existing literature on beginning teachers is examined to construct an image of the changes that have occurred among those choosing teaching careers. National and statewide samples are reviewed; however,…

The shortage of qualified mathematics and science teachers is a problem likely to grow in the coming decade, reflecting teacher shortages in other subject specialties. In 1981, almost five times more science and mathematics teachers left to take nonteaching jobs than did teachers in other disciplines. Replacements for these teachers are often…