We describe the extent and predictors of staffing challenges faced by school districts in Washington state throughout the 2021-22 school year using data collected from job posting websites for districts representing more than 98% of students in the state. These data suggest that school districts in the state faced considerable challenges filling…

Professional references are widely used in hiring decisions, yet their effectiveness remains largely understudied. This study analyzes structured ratings collected from the professional references of teacher applicants and conduct an experiment to see whether the ratings influence hiring managers' assessments of applicants and hiring decisions.…

The Region 8 Comprehensive Center collaborated with the Indiana Department of Education to evaluate the obstacles many districts face in the teacher hiring process. The brief further discusses the importance of hiring timelines, benefits and barriers of early hiring, and recommendations and strategies for revising hiring timelines.

Disruptions due to the pandemic present partnership opportunities for districts and educator preparation programs (EPPs) to strengthen the educator workforce and support student learning. This document share ways that states, districts, and EPPs can collaborate during recovery from COVID-19 to strengthen systems and relationships. These include:…

Teacher quality has been proven one of the greatest factors leading to student success (Stronge, Ward, Tucker, & Hindman 2011; Hattie 2003). However, hiring high quality teachers has become increasingly difficult in rural districts. The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to gain insights into preferences and perceptions of…

To close the achievement gap and reverse the declining achievement of American students when compared to their global peers, several strategies and initiatives have been employed across the nation. There have been several initiatives, including implementing systems that increase school district accountability for student learning, improving…

America's schools are more diverse than ever, but the teachers are still mostly White. Overwhelmingly, the research says that Teachers of Color in classrooms provide numerous benefits for all students (e.g., Ahmad & Boser, 2014; Archinstein et al., 2010; Cherng & Halpin, 2016; Partelow et al., 2017; Perlman et., 2016; Villegas & Lucas,…

Teacher hiring is a critical lever for improving school outcomes. However, the availability of supply is a significant barrier that affects principals' processes for teacher staffing. Drawing on sensemaking theory and concepts of fit, this study investigates how principals make sense of recruitment and hiring in a local labor market with severe…

This paper examined the actual circumstances of the recent teacher shortage in public elementary and junior high schools in X Prefecture. Although teacher shortages had been reported, few previous studies had investigated them empirically. With the cooperation of all five branch offices of the Board of Education, data were collected through three…

Since districts are often competing with each other and other higher-paying professions for new hires, it is imperative to consider ways to better engage and appeal to candidates. For human resource (HR) professionals and administrators to improve their efforts, they need to know how to cultivate effective relationships with potential new hires.…

This article presents a mixed method study utilizing teacher and student demographic and student attendance data from seven hundred and two public schools in central Texas along with follow-up qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews conducted with the top 1% of principals identified as having the most diverse group of faculty…

Most research about how to improve the teacher workforce has focused on interventions designed to improve incumbent teachers, far less attention has been directed toward teacher hiring processes and whether districts can make better hiring decisions. Using data from Spokane Public Schools and Washington state, we describe the findings from a study…

This convergent parallel mixed-methods study examined the factors affecting teacher recruitment and retention, and explored teachers' and administrators' perceptions about the obstacles and opportunities they encounter during the hiring process. The researcher used a purposeful convenience sampling method in recruiting participants; a total of 49…

Quality bilingual teachers are needed to close achievement gaps for students who are English Learners (ELs). The problem addressed in this study focused on finding strategies through teachers' experiences for effectively recruiting and retaining elementary bilingual teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study with a phenomenological research…

Black women's pathway into the professoriate is an area of academic research that has been largely understudied. Contemporary research investigating the lack of representation of Black women in the professoriate reveal that the underrepresentation of Black women in faculty positions is the result of complex and intersecting factors, including…