The contemporary academic labor market is examined using concepts from labor market economics and sociology to elucidate why teaching, universally acknowledged to be at the center of American academic life, is not at the center of the academic labor market and is only modestly rewarded. First, tenets of the neoclassical labor market model are…

As part of the Stanford Series on Education and Public Policy, academic careers and academic labor markets in American higher education are examined from a perspective based on both economic reasoning and sociological analysis. Research common to both fields is considered in a series of 10 essays that discuss the following subjects: "Studies…

This book focuses on how school administrators deal with the problem of teacher incompetence. Data were derived from three research studies conducted in California: interviews with 30 school administrators; a mailed survey of 141 school district superintendents; and a case study of a school district with a relatively high rate of induced teacher…

Getting ahead and getting an education are inseparable in the minds of most Americans. Social mobility lies at the core of the American dream, and educational opportunity is the primary avenue by which to realize this dream. This book suggests that it is time to consider whether the connection between schooling and social mobility is doing more…