As states and localities across the nation consider the tradeoffs between defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pension systems, it is important to gain insight into what implications pension reforms might have on workforce composition and teachers' retirement savings behavior. Moreover, it is also important to consider that…

Public pension systems in many U.S. states face large funding shortfalls. Movement toward defined contribution (DC) pension structures may reduce the likelihood of future shortfalls. We address some limitations of the existing literature by studying public-sector employees who are enrolled in either a defined benefit (DB) plan or hybrid DB-DC…

The importance of skills within the transformation of higher education is a crucial factor that has been insufficiently considered. Transformation in terms of higher education forms a fundamental part of the post-apartheid South African society. This transformation movement seems to exclude the possible role and contributions of the older…

The issue of science teacher turnover has been examined in many national studies, yet most educational policies related to teacher preparation and student performance are determined at the state level. There has been a lack of research that explores this issue in specific science domains. The present nonexperimental longitudinal study examined…

In what ways and to what extent has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted racial and socioeconomic inequities in educational opportunity and access in North Carolina? This report, commissioned by the Brady Education Foundation and prepared by researchers at the Public School Forum of North Carolina and the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at…

Districts across the country are facing severe shortages of teachers--especially in certain subjects (math, science, special education, career and technical education, and bilingual education) and in specific schools (urban, rural, high-poverty, high-minority, and low-achieving). The severity of the teacher shortage problem varies significantly by…

This paper studies teacher attrition in Wisconsin following Act 10, a policy change which severely weakened teachers' unions and capped wage growth for teachers. I document a sharp increase in turnover after the Act was passed, driven almost entirely by the exit of older teachers, who faced strong incentives to retire before the end of…

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2018) stipulate what teachers should know and do through each career stage. School leaders are complicit in promoting the Standards are met by all staff, including Professional Engagement (Standards Six and Seven). While the Standards emphasise content and pedagogical capacity building, we…

Having enjoyed teaching during my active career, I continued to teach summer school following retirement. Self-observed sensory and cognitive impairments, although not mentioned by students in their evaluations, induced me to consider the pros and cons of continuing to teach. My hope is that this list of benefits and problems will be of assistance…

AISD conducts an online survey of professional & administrative employees leaving the district. The Human Resources Exit Survey asks 34 questions about a variety of topics. This report describes teachers' reasons for leaving in 2014-2015.

California schools have had persistent difficulties filling special education vacancies, but in the past two years, these shortages have skyrocketed, as evidenced by the growth of substandard special education authorizations. When schools struggle to fill a position with a qualified teacher, they often hire teachers who are still in training or…

The COVID-19 pandemic led governors to take unprecedented social distancing measures to protect the health and well-being of citizens. School closures were among the first state-mandated orders to help slow the spread of COVID-19. As schools plan to reopen in the fall, they are likely to confront another crisis--that many of their teachers will be…

In 2011 Rhode Island replaced the stand-alone defined benefit pension plan it provided to state employees with a hybrid plan that reduced the defined benefit component and added a 401(k)-type, defined contribution component. Although controversial, the new hybrid plan will boost retirement incomes for most of the states public school teachers. Our…

Internet access tools and devices are developing with the prevalence of the Internet, which is considered revolutionary in information and communications technology. Beside the widespread use of the Internet among young people, statistics show that the number of older people that use the Internet is also on the rise. The purpose of the study is to…

Over the past 70 years, the American university has become the global gold standard of excellence in research and graduate education. The unprecedented surge of federal research support of the post-World War II American university paralleled the steady strengthening of the American academic profession itself, which managed to attract the best and…