This report summarizes current knowledge about the labor market for teachers and provides policy recommendations to enhance the supply of high-quality teachers. Many schools throughout the country, particularly those with low-income and low-achieving students, have difficulty attracting and retaining high-quality teachers. These schools…

This study examined teacher selection practices of principals at five effective elementary schools, assessing whether or not differences existed in selection qualities, procedures, and problems relating to schools' socioeconomic status (SES), and community type. After identifying effective schools, the study conducted teacher and principal…

Five characteristics of teacher presage variables were studied: qualification, experience, knowledge of the subject, personality, and attitude toward teaching. The notion that certain types of teachers might be more effective in teaching certain types of students or certain types of subject matter is pursued. (CE)

Maintains that a comprehensive approach to sex education, emphasizing the central role of human sexuality in the life cycle and devoid of the subterfuges of the past, is imperative and long overdue. Delineates qualities of the sex educator and sounds a challenge to follow the Russian model for sex education. (NEC)

Examines characteristics of people who teach courses in psychology of women, characteristics of their institutions, characteristics of the course itself, and the instructors' reactions to the course. Findings indicate great variance in training of instructors and great enjoyment in teaching these courses. (Author/JS)

Asserts that much of the emphasis on educational reform has focused on better teacher preparation. Argues that teaching is a life-long learning activity and good teachers must work to become better. Describes the rationale and procedures of the advanced teacher certification program of the National Council for Social Studies. (CFR)

Data from 805 California high schools are used to examine teacher education and experience in relation to student dropout rates. Dropout rates tend to be higher where faculties include a greater percentage of minimally educated teachers or teachers with little experience. These relationships are independent of school size, student poverty, and…

This 1951 study of 46 public residential schools and 23 public day schools found that the "best" teachers were more likely to hold a college degree and to have received training in a preservice training center. Day-school teachers were more likely to be college graduates and have preservice training. (CR)

Although it does not offer tenure or tenure-track appointments, the newly established Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) has not had difficulty attracting qualified faculty. The creation of the institution, recruitment of faculty, characteristics of new faculty hires, characteristics of the interview pool for new positions, faculty reasons for…

This literature review of teacher qualification standards consolidates information from various national groups and takes a historical approach to the development of current trends in such standards. We differentiate between teacher "qualifications" (the legal requirements for a credential) and teacher "quality" and summarize the stipulations of…

High school dropout rates in many major urban settings in the United States have remained above 50% for more than three decades. This dropout crisis should now be considered evidence of an endemic lack of appreciation for formal education in city locales. United States federal policy initiatives have concentrated the nation on notions of teacher…

Previous studies on characteristics of social studies students have been mostly limited to heavily populated areas. This study attempts to identify the characteristics of public school Social Studies teachers (grades 7-12) in a rural, upstate New York county. Anne Ochoa's 1981 study, "A Profile of Social Studies Teachers," was used as a…

This paper examines rural/nonrural differences in the secondary science teachers' work force, using data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth. The national probability sample included 456 middle or secondary science teachers from 93 schools. T-tests and multivariate analyses were used in the study. Relative to their nonrural colleagues,…

Hiring the faculty best suited to meet the changing demands of the 1990s is one of the most important tasks facing the administrative and faculty leadership at community colleges. In an effort to fill a significant number of faculty positions at Montgomery College (MC), a new college in Texas, the college has purposefully defined the challenges it…

A study was conducted to find out about the people who conduct and work in adult literacy programs in New York City (NYC). Through a questionnaire distributed to NYC literacy practitioners working in programs operated by public libraries, the City University of New York, the New York City Board of Education, and community-based organizations, the…