There is a pressing need to refocus teacher education on five professional mind sets: reflective (self), collaborative (relationships), analytic (organizations), worldly (context), and action (change). These mind sets affirm that effective, committed teaching requires integration of content expertise and organizational and relationship skills.…

Interviews with 12 experienced, exemplary teachers in western North Carolina examines why they have stayed in teaching. Finds several common characteristics, including need for intellectual stimulation, positive feedback from students, deep sense of purpose, and strong needs for autonomy. Draws implications for teacher attrition and retention…

The long-term health of each state's economy rests on the state's ability to educate and eventually employ citizens who contribute to its economy by filling jobs in a variety of sectors. With the globalization of the economy and shifts in supply and demand for a wide variety of occupations, students in public schools need effective teachers and…

This study examines the reasons that influence six secondary English teachers' decisions to remain in the teaching profession. A concern of parents, administrators, and policymakers is that secondary English teachers, often early in their careers, leave the profession at alarming rates, especially in California. This problem exacts a high monetary…

Teacher shortages are essentially a problem of distribution (Darling-Hammond, 2001; Ingersoll, 2001; National Association of State Boards of Education, 1998; Olson, 2000; Reeves, 2003; Voke, 2002). According to recent studies, hardest to find are teachers who are both qualified and willing to teach in hard-to-staff schools, which included those in…

This paper attempts to identify the distinctive qualities of successful veteran teachers, referred to as "expert teachers", which separates them not only from novice teachers but more importantly from experienced non-expert teachers. Based on earlier case studies, this paper maintains that the critical differences between expert and…

While California has made substantial progress in easing its teacher shortage and reducing the concentration of the least prepared teachers in the lowest achieving schools, the effort to strengthen schools for all students is hampered by the large number of teachers who leave the profession prematurely. Policymakers at the state and local levels…

The National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (TQ Center) designed the Interactive Data Tools to provide users with access to state and national data that can be helpful in assessing the qualifications of teachers in the states and the extent to which a state's teacher policy climate generally supports teacher quality. The Interactive Data…

This report is the twenty-fifth in a series of surveys sponsored annually by MetLife since 1984 as a public service. This 25th anniversary edition includes the views of teachers, principals and students and looks back to the earliest MetLife Surveys to examine how perspectives on teachers, teaching and public education have changed. It documents…

Research studies have documented a strong link between perennial high rates of beginning teacher attrition and teacher shortages that impact teaching, especially in the major urban areas of the United States. It is widely concluded that one of the pivotal causes of inadequate school academic performance is a teacher shortage and the resulting…

Problems and challenges faced by beginning teachers have been well documented in the literature and have created the need for teacher induction programs in all disciplines, including agricultural education. This paper used literature from inside and outside the agricultural education discipline to identify and describe best practices in teacher…

This edition of "Policy Issues" addresses teacher recruitment and retention policies in play across the country. It starts by proposing a generally accepted definition of at-risk schools and making a case for why it is so important to improve teacher quality in these schools. It then takes the reader through (1) an examination of states'…

Case study explores why a group of seven excellent urban high school teachers in Boston Public Schools have stayed in teaching. Finds teachers shared several common characteristics, such as love of teaching, hope and faith in their students, anger at student injustices including racism and poverty. (PKP)

If pressed to provide a predictor of academic success, most people would choose socioeconomic status (SES). SES is a strong predictor when one looks at averages, but everyone knows that there are individual students of high wealth who are academic disasters and students of low wealth who are academic marvels. Wayne Hoy and colleagues, in numerous…

When it comes to teacher preparation, the support provided to new teachers, and ongoing professional development for working teachers, Grades K-12 and the field of early care and education (ECE) are two very different worlds. While both worlds assume that teachers' classroom skills and behavior can be influenced at multiple points in time (through…