This case study examined teacher hiring in a large suburban school district. Data were collected from interviews with administrators and document analysis. The study explored the level of administrators' satisfaction with both hired candidates and the district's hiring protocols, the influences of various stakeholders on the hiring process,…

The population of racially diverse teachers is minimal in comparison with the population of minority students in K-12 schools across the country. Within education, districts are not successfully recruiting teachers of color. Districts having a clear focus in finding mitigating efforts to close the opportunity and achievement gap were identified…

Nationally, school districts and postsecondary institutions are developing and implementing a variety of initiatives to close the teacher diversity gap. Unfortunately, only 20% of teachers are from ethnic and racial backgrounds, yet schools educate majority-minority populations. More troubling, less than 2% of teachers are Black males. Overall,…

The purpose of this article was to problematize the recruitment, preparation, and retention of Black women teachers in an effort to promote awareness, research, and action. Black women teachers impact the educative and socioemotional needs of all students. However, this impact is most noticeable when Black women serve large populations of Black…

Using unique data from California on teacher job vacancies, we investigate staffing challenges across the urbanicity spectrum, focusing on the extent to which the characteristics of rural school systems explain the differences in staffing challenges as measured by vacancy rates and emergency credentialed teachers, relative to other urbanicities.…

A superintendent initiates an equity focus in a small school district and experiences resistance from both school board members and principals. As the school district diversifies its teaching workforce, the superintendent and principals face myriad unexpected challenges, resulting in teachers of color resigning at three times the rate of White…

A growing literature documents the importance of student teaching placements for teacher development. Emerging evidence from this literature highlights the importance of the mentor teacher who supervises this placement, as teachers tend to be more effective when they student teach with a mentor who is a more effective teacher. But the efficacy of…

When it comes to ensuring every student gets great teachers, state governments play a crucial and underappreciated role. Without access to the right data, school systems will struggle to match the supply and demand for new teachers. Without certification policies that prioritize student impact over paper credentials, too many talented people will…

Rural regions struggle to retain early intervention (EI), special education (SE), and early childhood education (ECE) supports for children with developmental delay and/or disability, yet there is little guidance to prepare pre-service students for rural practice. This exploratory scoping review of rural EI/SE/ECE practice in the United States and…

As the nation's high school student population becomes increasingly diverse, the lack of minority teachers, particularly African American male teachers, is a concern. This case study of African American male high school teachers in a mid-sized market in the Midwest sought to identify the motivations for teaching, the barriers prior to and during…

While kinesiology as a field and as an academic major has evolved and diversified considerably over the last several decades, the cultural and racial demographics of kinesiology majors has remained fairly similar to the demographic characteristics of the early 2000s and before. There is incongruence between the actual diversity of the American…

This study examined the long-term impact of a special education residency program in high-need urban schools on the recruitment, program completion, and hiring and retention of graduates. Findings from this study, expanding research to special education teacher preparation, are consistent with a growing body of research that suggests that a…

Educational reforms have occurred throughout the history of public education. In 2009, the federal Race to the Top initiative was born and included many educational reform models. To have these reform models gain traction at the state level, a call was made by the U.S. Department of Education (Race to the Top Program Executive Summary, 2009) for…

It has been argued by scholars that ESP (English for Specific Purposes) has several absolute features which distinguish it from EGP (English for General Purposes). It is not surprising that many EGP teachers face difficulties when teaching ESP classes. This mixed-method study randomly recruited EGP teachers (N=50) to complete an online survey…

Teacher shortages represent a global challenge for educator preparation programs (EPPs) and the districts they serve. Using mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis, this paper presents the findings of the three cases involving the use of student data and partner voices to highlight the benefits of intentionally integrating the…