This paper will consider how short-term contracts function as a technology for governing a new generation of teachers in Australia. It will proceed from Foucault's understanding that neoliberal modes of power seek to 'guide' or shape the conduct of the governed. In particular, the paper will consider how the short-term contracts implicate…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of 30 university-prepared math and science teachers from their pre-service program into their teaching positions to better understand the conditions that attract and retain them in high-need schools. The paper uses the framework of job preview and information-rich hiring to highlight the influence of the…

This testimony discusses US Government Accountability Office's (GAO's) recent report entitled "Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue." This report delineates dozens of areas across government where fragmentation, overlap, and potential duplication merit the attention of Congress…

Over the last sixteen years, part-time teachers have become the coolies, or the burden bearers of the academic community. Used mostly to teach lower-level basic classes, they have increased in number from 36,420 in l968 to 330,000 in l985. Research about part timers began in the late l970s with Howard Tuckman, who tried to find systematic and…

The first and most often cited problem of part-time teachers is the question of remuneration. Most part-timers are paid a per-course amount which almost never represents a true pro-rata proportion of a full-time salary at the same institution. Another problem which often concerns part-timers is that they are not eligible for health insurance or…

Underlying barriers to adjunct faculty forming effective communities are time and distance; they spend little time on campus, and there is distance, physically and psychologically, from their peers. There can be no hope of challenging and changing the system without the organizing and focusing of energies. Lessons can be learned from big business.…

This study reviewed the historical development of the teacher-compensation paradigm, discussed the current trends in alternative compensation policy strategies, and examined the teacher-compensation policies and practices in one state. The study was a mixed-methods policy analysis that used multiple linear regression, cluster analysis, and…

This paper presents an indepth analysis of Craig v. Alabama State University (ASU), a lawsuit involving charges of reverse discrimination in employment against a historical black college. The plaintiff, who felt that the nonrenewal of his contract was due to his race, won his suit against ASU for himself and all other whites similarly situated.…

This presentation discusses strategies upon which to base teacher incentives, and also assumptions within these strategies. The first strategy, influencing teacher turnover rates so that good teachers remain in the profession longer and poor teachers leave teaching sooner, includes consideration of occupational rewards, career structure, benefits,…

Little in the current literature reflects the views of those affected by the various proposals being advanced to improve the quality of teachers and teaching. This paper reports on a study that attempted to learn the reactions of teachers to some of the financial-incentive proposals being made to improve the quality of teachers and teaching. A…

To fulfill their basic role as instructional leaders of young people, teachers need the degree of freedom that tenure guarantees. To assure optimal educational experiences for these same young people, school directors and administrators need more effective ways than current tenure laws provide. To reconcile these needs, state legislatures should…

This paper discusses the concept of performance-based pay, or merit pay, for teachers as a way to encourage better teaching. It begins with a general discussion of the issue of performance-based pay, which on the surface seems simple, but in practice is very complex. It continues with a discussion of whether the achievement to be assessed is based…

This study was conducted to determine the degree to which a randomly selected sample of teachers in Mississippi and Louisiana (N=291) experience various types of work-related problems. It provides an opportunity to either confirm or deny the findings of previous studies, many of them limited by various methodological problems. Data were collected…

This scripted dialogue is a fully documented story about the history and conditions of one group of post-secondary teachers of English. The narrative focuses on the proposal of this group of "permanent" temporary writing instructors from Western Illinois University to convince administrators to change their status to tenure track by…

A large school district (Jackson, Mississippi) has implemented a state-of-the-art teacher evaluation procedure that yields a numerical performance value. A screening procedure for teacher employment has also been developed that provides several quantitative variables against which performance can be analyzed. All teachers are subject to the school…