As public budgets have grown tighter over the past decade, states and school districts have sought ways to control the growth of spending. One increasingly common strategy employed to rein in costs is to offer experienced teachers with high salaries financial incentives to retire early. Although early retirement incentive (ERI) programs have been…

This study explored job satisfaction, work-related stress, consequences of stress, and coping strategies among Norwegian teachers. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 30 working teachers and four retired teachers. The respondents reported high job satisfaction but also severe stress and exhaustion. Teachers of different ages or at…

In this article, the author relates her difficult adjustment to regular routine when she retired as a middle school librarian for over three decades. She recalls one incident in which she patrolled a beach after seeing women slathering on suntan oil and turning the pages of library books, leaving fingerprints on each page. She also tells of…

Debate about teacher supply, demand, retention, and attrition has been renewed in recent years by an increased concern about the reduced numbers of prospective teachers entering teacher education programs, the high attrition rate of beginning teachers, and the resulting teacher shortages. U.S. schools are experiencing teacher shortages, especially…