Results of a survey of teacher employment opportunities in Kansas are reported. Data on postions in elementary and secondary schools, administration, and special education were tabulated. The following questions were addressed: (1) Is there an adequate supply of teachers in Kansas? (2) What teaching areas will provide graduates the best employment…

Reasons for the decrease in the number of minority group teachers are the following: (1) low status and salaries; (2) alternative career possibilities; (3) desegregation; (4) teacher competency tests; (5) limited career advancement opportunities; and (6) reduction in government supported programs. Recruitment programs, financial incentives, and…

The motivations of African Americans with regard to precollege teaching as a career are examined through case studies of a male and a female who were considering pursuing secondary certification at the graduate level but decided instead to pursue doctorates to teach at the college level. (MAK)

Traditionally, teacher compensation has been viewed in isolation from other components of organizational reform. This paper examines changes in dominant models of schooling over time using an organizational lens. The six models include scientific management, humanistic/specialization, effective schools, content-driven, high standards/high…

This paper is a reassessment of an original research project (Oliver, 1980) that analyzed the way teachers had decided on lateral job change (i.e., change from one teaching position to another in the same district without a significant increase in pay). The purpose of the reassessment is to examine how the results obtained from the original…

For the brightest students the most significant reasons why they won't teach relate to frustrating working conditions, bureaucratic requirements, the lack of professional control, and few opportunities for intellectual growth, as well as these students' intolerance for diversity in the workplace and their perception of teaching as a "boring…

Current teacher-compensation policies typically reward teachers for years of experience and level of knowledge as measured by educational credits. However, the current system does little to encourage teachers to develop the skills needed to achieve organizational goals. This paper examines the compensation systems in four complex, knowledge-based…

Most school districts expect and accept failure from substitute teachers. Current policies result in little or no student learning in classes taught by minimally qualified substitute teachers who receive low pay and scant recognition. Problems substitute teachers face and steps that might improve their situation are discussed. (PP)

Through an exchange of letters, a veteran public school teacher advises a doubting beginning teacher (her former student) to remain in the classroom. The letters reveal both women's innermost thoughts about the difficult, demanding, and rewarding profession of teaching. (SM)

This publication reports on a study of the education job market in 1,667 public school systems in 11 southeastern states. Questionnaires were completed and returned by 544 public school systems, representing a 32.6 percent return rate. The questionnaire looked at 42 teaching fields and 32 administrative areas in the school year 1996-97; historical…

The English department administrators for five colleges and universities in a midwestern metropolitan area were surveyed for information on the hiring of part-time faculty. The survey determined the proportion of part-time composition instruction to the total hours of composition instruction for each institution and the proportion of "cross-town"…

This document, published by WCOTP in 1986 in observance of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, was jointly prepared by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and adopted by a special intergovernmental…

Issues concerning an aging faculty are discussed, including faculty vitality and quality in an era of institutional constraints and limited career opportunities, restricted mobility of faculty between institutions, and limited recruitment of young faculty. Perspectives of the faculty and their institutions about these issues are outlined, and…

This collection of articles gathers reprinted materials on teacher attraction and retention for small and rural school districts. The material is organized in two sections: (1) Attracting and Retaining Quality Teachers and (2) Challenging and Enriching Current Staff. Reprints from a number of publications present strategies for addressing the…

This paper discusses a variety of incentives that can make a difference in attracting and retaining high quality teachers. These incentives include salaries, retirement benefits, working conditions, quality of life, tenure and seniority rights, and sick leave. The states in the Northeast vary considerably in their ability to attract quality…