We know that learning is in crisis. We know that teachers are key to addressing the crisis. Yet, the significant investments in supporting teachers to improve learning have not enabled improved learning outcomes. This article examines a key reason for this: teacher absenteeism. Poor teacher motivation is highlighted as an explanation for teacher…

When Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act in 2015, it intended to send a strong signal: any further encroachment of federal authority on the nation's K-12 schools needed to end. Compared to its more prescriptive predecessor in 2000, known as No Child Left Behind, the new law, dubbed "ESSA" for the Every Student…

We examine the labor supply decisions of substitute teachers -- a large, on-demand market with broad shortages and inequitable supply. In 2018, Chicago Public Schools implemented a targeted bonus program designed to reduce unfilled teacher absences in largely segregated Black schools with historically low substitute coverage rates. Using a…

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on society, the economy and on the entire education sector. Teachers' workload, well-being, recruitment and retention have been affected by the national crisis. The aim of the National Foundation for Educational Research's (NFER's) annual series of Teacher Labour Market reports is to monitor the…

The COVID-19 pandemic may be one of the greatest challenges our provincial education system has ever addressed. In the spring of 2020, many governments around the world ordered schools to suspend in-person instruction for most of their students, requiring education systems to pivot almost overnight to online or remote teaching and virtual…