The exact cause of teacher shortages is unknown. Some experts argue that shortages are localized, while others say that the lack of teachers is due to low unemployment and other factors. Regardless, school systems face big challenges with their teacher workforce, including finding enough teacher candidates and retaining the teachers they have, as…

This dissertation consists of three papers. In each, I use applied econometric methods and economic theory to study the American teacher workforce. The first paper evaluates a novel policy to address teacher shortages by promoting experienced school staff to be teachers of record. Controlling for demographics and baseline scores, I find that…

The recruitment and retention of technology teachers in New Zealand is facing a potential crisis point. Worryingly, there are continuing misconceptions about the purpose and nature of technology education, and an ageing demographic in this sector of the teaching community. It is becoming increasingly difficult for schools to attract and appoint…

The COVID-19 global pandemic impacted the United States' educational landscape by intensifying the teacher shortage. In particular, significant help is wanted in filling public school vacancies in specialty areas, which has resulted in non-instructional staff teaching in classrooms and impacting school operations. Federal, state, and local…

Teacher shortages have intensified across several OECD countries, making this an urgent priority for education systems. Between 2015 and 2022, the share of students whose principals reported shortages rose from 29% to 46.7% on average across the OECD. Simultaneously, rapid technological advances, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and broader…

In the face of yet another crisis in teaching, it's time for a bold and comprehensive plan to revitalize and better support the profession. Education expert Linda Darling-Hammond explains how the current shortage of teachers is not entirely new, but the result of decades of cutting programs, lack of respect for the profession and poor working…

Teachers are widely recognised as the most powerful determinants of pupil achievement. Those countries considered to have high-performing education systems, such as Finland and Singapore, have prioritised investment in initial teacher education. In the Irish context, teacher education programmes have been high-status, over-subscribed, attracting a…

This paper discusses the causes of the difficulties experienced in recruiting and retaining teachers to work in schools in England. The analysis begins with a report by the National Audit Office which blamed the Department of Education's actions as the main reason for the difficulties, then using other documented sources, reports, press articles,…

On June 1 and 2, 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a virtual workshop, Teaching and the Teaching Workforce Amid the Struggles of COVID-19 and for Racial Justice. The workshop was designed to revisit findings from the 2020 National Academies' report Changing Expectations for the K-12 Teacher Workforce:…

For more than a year, the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) conducted research in New Mexico, including interviews, site visits, document review, and new analyses of data provided by the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED). The purpose of the study was to provide New Mexico leaders a research perspective on the challenges facing education…

The under-representation of Black male teachers in special education has significant consequences. Historically, Black males account for the disproportionately high number of children served in K-12 special education programs (Talbert-Johnson, 2001). Often, the children are evaluated using racially-biased assessments (Cartledge & Duke, 2008).…

School systems are currently faced with critical recovery needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders must decide how to allocate nearly $200 billion of federal funding, which has the potential to significantly impact efforts to accelerate learning and provide student well-being supports, especially for students who have been…

Currently, there is a shortage of research on how Ecuadorian universities are coping with the contemporary reforms of higher education under the government of Correa. In 2010, "La Ley Orgánica de Educación Superior" (higher education law) defined the development, transparency and quality assurance of existing and new higher education…

The problem of getting sufficient numbers of qualified teachers to staff classrooms is one of the most significant public policy issues facing many countries. In Ghana, the problem of teacher shortage has been a perennial one, necessitated by educational expansion as well as adverse socio-economic and political circumstances, and exacerbated by…

In the U.S., STEM subjects--science, technology, engineering, and math--face urgent needs for great STEM teachers and well-educated students. An Opportunity Culture can help by extending the reach of excellent STEM teachers already in our schools and creating a teaching profession that attracts and retains these teachers through higher pay, within…