Educational reforms have occurred throughout the history of public education. In 2009, the federal Race to the Top initiative was born and included many educational reform models. To have these reform models gain traction at the state level, a call was made by the U.S. Department of Education (Race to the Top Program Executive Summary, 2009) for…

The low number of male elementary and early childhood teachers is problematic in the United States (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2020). Of the 1.8 million public school elementary teachers (pre-Kindergarten-6th grade) in the 2017-2018, male elementary teachers accounted for 11% of the total (NCES, 2020). Colleges of education have…

African American teachers are slowly leaving the classroom, causing an imbalance in the student/teacher ratio (NCES, 2019). According to the National Center for Education Statistics, African American teachers make up 3% in California and 7% nationally. This study sought to understand the reasons for the decline in the number of African American…

This action research study examined and suggested strategic programs and practices to recruit more African American public school teachers. Collected interview and focus group data were analyzed using the modified van Kaam method and NVivo 12© software to identify themes regarding programmatic recommendations supporting the recruitment of African…

Empirical evidence has repeatedly shown a positive association between students' academic achievement and teacher experience (Kini & Podolsky, 2016; Cardichon et al., 2020) or teacher preparation (Podolsky et al., 2019; Cardichon et al., 2020). However, year after year, students from low-income and minoritized communities are perpetually…

African American male teachers have navigated a complex web of challenges such as limited recognition, racial stereotypes, salary disparities, and low representation in the context of metro area public schools. The problem addressed in this study was the shortage of African American male teachers in the United States. The purpose of this…

Teacher burnout can be attributed to several factors including, teacher pay, career related stress, demoralization, and a lack of effective professional development, training, and mentoring (Garcia & Weiss, 2019). The reality of the teacher shortage means more importance should be placed on teacher preparation and retention (Tippens, Rickets,…

Reports of ecological disturbances - wildfires, loss of biodiversity, drought, contaminated drinking water, extreme temperatures - fill the news. People have to navigate and manage these challenges. To do so effectively, requires that people are environmentally literate (EL), demonstrating an understanding of the problems, so they are motivated to…

One of the most important jobs of a school principal is to recruit, hire and retain highly qualified teachers who positively impact student achievement (Balossi & Hernandez, 2016; Berry, 2002; Berry, Hoke, and Hirsch, 2004; Darling-Hammond & Berry, 2006; Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 2003; Hunting et al., 2017; Jones, Nathan, Maier, &…

The COVID-19 pandemic required schools to be more flexible in relation to their selection of an instructional modality, adopting virtual or hybrid schedules for instruction if face-to-face instruction was not possible (Rogers & Ishimoto, 2020). This change led to educators conducting classrooms virtually and interacting with students and…

This qualitative study explored and described the phenomenon of alternative route to licensure (ARL) policies and programs from the perspectives of professionals who work with teacher preparation, recruitment, selection, negotiation, and retention or dismissal processes. While ARL policies and programs have been a long-standing debate in teacher…

The problem among teacher retention is an issue as the annual teacher turnover rate in several countries is between 13-15%. With the increase in teachers selecting alternative paths or emergency permits, this study aimed to explore the motivational factors of traditionally trained, first-year, full-time, K-12 public teachers. The education…

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2020), in 1999, 84% of teachers were white, and 8% of teachers were African American. Unfortunately, these statistics have not changed much in two decades. In 2018, 79% of teachers were white, and 7% of teachers were African American. In order to change the experiences in our schools for…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Restorative Practices on teachers' turnover intentions in urban, high-poverty schools. Restorative Practices (RP) is a quickly growing whole school approach to community building and discipline, but little is known about teachers' perceptions of this intervention. This dissertation tests…

Despite a rebounding economy and an increase in the number of available teaching positions, there is still a struggle to fill certain positions. Some of the most difficult positions to fill are traditional secondary Math and Science positions. As education has turned towards educating students for the 21st century, it has also become important to…