Previous efforts to strengthen the teaching profession have aimed to copy the ways in which law, medicine, and architecture achieved that status -- for example, by carving out decision-making autonomy, controlling who enters the field, and building a specialized knowledge base. What has been missing, however, have been efforts to clarify precisely…

Understanding the early teacher pipeline, how many and what types of individuals are pursuing a teaching credential, is critically important. Unfortunately, as Dan Goldhaber and Kris Holden explain, the two national data collections that can be used to explore these areas provide incomplete and sometimes contrasting pictures about the number of…

In this interview, Sonia Nieto shares what she has learned from her long career in teaching, teacher education, and research about what motivates teachers to continue coming to the classroom each day. She shares the story of her early years as a teacher and how professional relationships helped her to thrive. And she describes the varied ways that…

Amid already critical teacher shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many teachers to leave the profession, but we know little about how it may affect teacher recruitment. Kayla Bill, Amanda Bowsher, Betty Malen, Jennifer King Rice, and Jason Saltmarsh conducted a survey and focus groups to explore how COVID-19 has influenced…

This is the latest in a series of polls sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa International with the Gallup organization. Some important findings of this year's poll include: About half of us believe teacher unions are hurting public education, but we're more likely to support teacher union leaders than governors in disputes over teacher collective…

Little is known about when adolescents' vocational interests begin to surge. For the author's study with students participating in Georgia's Future Educators Association (FEA) conference, the sample had students from 13 to 19 years of age, and the author found that there was a dramatic change in interest between ages 15 and 16. FEA offers middle…

Discusses definitions of "career" showing how the traditional concept is male oriented. Reports data from an eight-month study of women elementary school teachers that suggests the traditional ways of evaluating short- and long-term work commitments do not do justice to the reality of women's commitments. (MD)

A survey of 381 female college students with interests or majors in elementary- or secondary-level teaching found that college experience did not change or broaden their career goals. Further, the percentage who expected career goals to become secondary to familial goals increased the farther ahead they predicted their futures. (RW)

The percentage of black teachers in the teaching force has been declining since the 1970s. While academic performance of black college students has been steadily improving, there has been a steep decline in black college enrollment, and few of those limited numbers of black college students are interested in teaching as a career. Includes…

Data indicate that teaching attracts and retains a disproportionately high percentage of those with low measured academic ability and fails to attract and retain those with high ability. If policy makers wish to change this situation, they must be prepared to pay the price. (Author)