This guide is intended to help education leaders deal with the problem of teacher shortages. It is designed to help community leaders and school officials think strategically about the problems they face with regard to the supply of teachers and help them develop an action plan to address those challenges. The first section provides a conceptual…

For many "hard-to-staff" schools, the negative consequences of teacher shortages are compounded by characteristics that make these schools less attractive to teachers. Most often located in troubled inner cities or isolated rural areas, these schools are frequently plagued by high poverty in the community, higher teacher turnover rates,…

This paper discusses the outcomes of a meta-analysis that reviewed primary studies from eight major databases to investigate the impact of role ambiguity and conflict in the burnout of special education teachers. Five role constructs were found to be present in the literature on burnout among special educators: role ambiguity, role conflict, role…

Significant attrition, high stress levels, and burnout in education indicate that organizational cultures may not provide adequate support for educator resiliency. Teacher retention in a time of teacher shortages is very important. Resiliency development must become a major goal of preservice programs. Resiliency attributes include competence,…

School facilities directly affect teaching and learning. Poor conditions make it more difficult for teachers to deliver an adequate education to their students, adversely affect teachers' health, and increase the likelihood that teachers will leave their school. This study documented how teachers in Chicago and Washington, DC rated their working…

This report discusses factors affecting California's ability to compete for and keep quality teachers. It describes the qualifications of California's current teacher workforce and how they are compensated and discusses research and informed opinions on the influence of money and other factors on teachers' employment decisions. The report…

This study examined policies to help states develop, recruit, and retain more highly qualified teachers. Researchers conducted interviews to examine the data systems in 14 states. Results indicated that comparable, timely, and accurate data about teacher quality were conspicuously absent from many policy discussions. Although states collected and…

The need to attract academically talented students to teacher education and to retain these teachers in fields such as mathematics, science, English, and foreign language teaching is discussed. Honors programs in teacher education offer one means of recruiting and holding superior students. (PP)

A survey of program directors' experiences with faculty turnover showed almost half the four-year state institution respondents had had some difficulty, with less in community colleges and technical schools. Personal reasons and job and salary dissatisfaction were greatest in state colleges and universities, and tenure was only a problem there.…

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all teachers to be highly qualified by 2005-06. Accomplishing this will require statewide collaboration among higher education, school districts, certification boards, and departments of education. Data from recent studies of teacher recruitment, retention, and professional development in Wyoming illustrate…

Surveyed beginning teachers regarding their views on their preparation for teaching, beliefs and practice, and plans to remain in teaching. Teachers prepared in teacher education programs felt significantly better prepared than those prepared through alternative programs or without preparation. Teachers' views of their preparation varied. The…

The changing marketplace for foreign language college faculty necessitates carefully devised faculty development programs to help new and younger faculty to launch ("fire") their careers. Foreign language departments must develop effective faculty recruitment and retention strategies to maintain program quality, size, and missions. (CB)

Surveys of 350 teacher trainees from Singapore's teacher training institution were used to examine relationships among quality of work life, career commitment, job satisfaction, and withdrawal cognition. Career commitment and job satisfaction were important predictors of withdrawal cognition. Perceptions of the social status of teaching strongly…

Survival analysis was used to examine and follow the career paths of 6,642 special education teachers hired in Michigan and North Carolina between 1972 and 1983. Educators most likely to leave teaching included those serving students with speech, hearing, or vision disabilities; teachers with high test scores; and teachers paid comparatively low…

A White reporter describes how she changed careers to teach poor Black and Hispanic New York City public intermediate students, focusing on her top math class. After one difficult year, she left teaching but hopes to return some day because she felt she made a difference for a few students. (SM)