The Task Force on Teaching was asked to gather research, review literature, and collect testimony on improving teaching. Two papers are presented: (1) "Attracting and Retaining Talented Teachers" (Cindy K. Currence); and (2) "Building State Strategies to Attract and to Retain Talented Teachers" (Robert Palaich). This report…

A report is given of a 1987 survey of teachers in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Data were obtained from 580 full-time classroom teachers in three elementary schools, two junior high schools, and one senior high school. The focus of the survey was on teacher attrition rates and turnover. Results indicated a high percentage of…

Under the leadership of State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, with the support of the South Carolina Department of Education's Division of Teaching Quality (DTQ) and the South Carolina Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA), South Carolina became only the second state in the nation to study teacher…

The early childhood education workforce is critical to the economic well-being of the state of Arizona as well as the future of children. Research has consistently shown that the commitment, education, experience and continuity of teachers for young children are primary factors affecting their early learning and their development of math,…

A study examining the extent of job dissatisfaction among female elementary school teachers found that 40 percent would not rechoose teaching for a career. Working conditions and new career options for women were cited as reasons for their dissatisfaction. (PP)

Examined the Prairie Teachers Project, a program of support for new teachers in eight rural schools, focusing on why teachers remained or left. Teachers who remained tended to have lived in and feel committed to small communities. Rural schools likely to retain new teachers had ongoing programs of professional development, supportive colleagues…

Beginning teachers do not enter the classroom as finished products. Many school administrators say that new teachers are often exuberant and optimistic but ill-equipped for the classroom. There are some administrators who are openly exasperated with the low quality of teacher applicants who are available. A personnel director, after interviewing…

Faculty of color are severely underrepresented in American higher education; they make up just over 10 percent of full-time undergraduate professors. Many in academe are familiar with this statistic and know that progress in increasing the presence of faculty of color on U.S. campuses has been slow. They are also aware, however, that students of…

While many areas in education are experiencing teacher shortages, the retention of special education teachers in particular is a critical concern in many schools across the nation. Even prior to the developing national teacher shortage, educators were voicing concerns about higher burnout and/or teacher attrition rates in special education as…

Over the past decade, the high number of teachers leaving the profession has been a growing concern among parents, teacher educators, administrators, and policy-makers. While most argue the problem is due to a burgeoning demand and increased numbers of retirements, some researchers propose that the problem of teacher shortages is far more complex.…

We report on a series of pilot programs that we developed and carried out to support the success and satisfaction of new faculty, particularly faculty of color. We hope that others committed to retaining and supporting underrepresented faculty can apply our learning from this pilot project, as a whole or in part.

The objectives were to analyse the occupational stress of educators, to determine the differences between occupational stress and strain of educators in different biographical groups, and to assess the relationship between occupational stress, organisational commitment and ill-health. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A stratified random…

To explore whether teachers' attitudes toward pay for performance are the result of experience or socialization, or whether teachers are already predisposed to prefer pay systems not based on performance, and whether some forms of performance pay might be preferred to others, a study was conducted of the pay system preferences of students…

Workplace stress and its impact upon retention levels are becoming an increasing concern within the teaching profession (Brown, Davis, & Johnson, 2002; Jarvis, 2002). Research has largely focused upon the effects of environmental factors, whilst noting that it is the interplay between the individual and the environment which may hold the key to…

"R&D Alert" covers issues affecting schools in the Western Regional Educational Laboratory's four-state region--Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah--and throughout the United States. This issue of "R&D Alert" shares what WestEd is learning from a sample of their latest work, focusing on three points in the process:…