Discusses the cases for and against merit pay for teachers and concludes that the number of failures in using merit pay far outweigh the successes. (JC)

Two teachers, one English, one American, from the International School of Brussels, Belgium, describe the benefits and drawbacks of teaching overseas, discussing the flexibility, the cultural advantages, and the professional drawbacks. (EL)

In the proposed Master Teacher Program, training, experience, and performance determine pay. Four career stages are set up for teachers: apprentice, professional, senior, and master. An estimated 87 percent of all Tennessee teachers would be eligible for pay incentives ranging from $1,000 to $7,000 a year. (PB)

A plan for promoting excellence in teaching is proposed, which would designate 10 to 15 percent of a school's staff "distinguished teachers." This group would receive salary increases and would be staggered over the years. Parents, former students, administrators, and other teachers would help select the group. (PP)

A study of Massachusetts teacher contracts and interviews with educators in four districts indicated several factors that can affect the impact of applying seniority agreements when laying off teachers. These factors include the size of the layoff unit, bumping rights, prerequisites for teaching in a second field, and reassignment prerogatives.…

The turnover rate for private school teachers may rise as young teachers become dissatisfied with low salaries, limited social life, high demands, and teaching. Private schools can retain teachers by offering incentives such as varied responsibilities, time for professional development, adequate guidance and evaluation, and fringe benefits. (SB)

Assesses the common practice of allowing retiring employees to continue receiving group insurance benefits and suggests that before agreeing to this arrangement, administrators should consider the situation carefully and plan for the potential long-range consequences. (Author/WD)

The current controversy over age-based mandatory retirement in academia is causing a review of tenure and salary policies. In this article, two alternative explanations for the institution of tenure are discussed. Five alternative policy responses available to university administrators are described and analyzed. (Author/SA)

Although it is widely believed that unionization in higher education is incompatible with traditional academic practices involving collegial self-governance, the University of Connecticut Chapter of the American Association of University Professors found that unionization can augment the faculty's role in peer self-governance. (JMD)

Most teachers are satisfied with most aspects of their jobs. Results from a number of national surveys on teacher satisfaction are presented. Specific aspects of job satisfaction discussed are salaries, status, working conditions, and employment outlook. (IAH)

States that part-time faculty--whose numbers have doubled in the last generation--are paid an average of only $1500 per three-unit class, are rarely included in the community college culture, receive no benefits, and frequently lack legal protective measures. Offers suggestions as to how these legal issues can be addressed and resolved. (NB)

The idea of changing the teacher compensation system is not new, but concepts regarding the appropriate basis for paying teachers have changed in recent years. Three major options to the single-salary schedule include pay based on either individual or organizational performance, job tasks, or skills and knowledge. This paper seeks to broaden the…

While tenure-track faculty begin their careers with some sense of what they will teach, what they will earn, and how they will be promoted, lecturers are not allowed such assurances. In the early days, lecturers in the English Department at the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) taught basic composition courses, four per semester unless they were…

Trends affecting higher education and prospects based on these facts are considered, with attention to enrollment, inflation, ability to pay for college, state and local support, basic research, and employment in higher education. It is claimed that the most serious problem higher education has faced in the last decade has been inflation, not…

The policy statement on contract faculty employment presented in this document was adopted by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges as a model conforming to the provisions of Assembly Bill (AB) 1725. The statement includes sections on hiring philosophy, affirmative action, position identification, search procedures, selection…