Racial disparities in the demographic composition of K-12 students and teachers has led university teacher education programs and school districts to endeavor to prepare all teachers, especially White teachers, to work with diverse students. However, often sidelined in these initiatives are the challenging tasks of preparing, recruiting, and…

Includes four symposium papers: "Was There Ever a Golden Age in Teaching?" (David Tyack); "Schooling More and Liking It Less" (David Cohen); "Understanding Teacher Attrition" (Richard Murnane); and "Attracting Talented Students to Teaching" (Jerome Murphy). (CH)

Analyzes data on minority teachers in Texas between 1979 and 1996. Descriptive results show that, although Texas has been successful in attracting minority teachers, it has a long way to go before the teacher workforce reflects the racial/ethnic composition of the state. (SLD)

Notes the efforts of some universities to lure top professors from other universities. Reveals problems, such as raising the needed money and funding eminent scholars, and considers some positive aspects of the trend, such as the creation of new courses and emphases, and the clarification of priorities of a department. (EL)

Why we must subsidize intellectual curiosity in public schools is discussed and the need for a serious campaign to excite young people about teaching as one of the fundamentally most important professions available to Americans is examined. (RM)

Using data from the Census and the Department of Education, this study compares 1970, 1980, and 1990 to analyze shortages of Asian American teachers by U.S. geographic location, Asian nationality, gender, grade level, and immigration status. Causes of shortages are linked to traditional patterns of teacher recruitment. (SLD)

Discusses three educational issues: (1) the quality and equality of educational access; (2) the narrowing of the pipeline to higher education; and (3) the diversity of the teaching force. (MW)