This paper, which was originally a keynote address, offers an analysis of the crisis in retention, and recruitment of teachers of Religious Education (RE). A reflexive assessment is offered to the political lament 'where have all the RE teachers gone?' The author, drawing on over three decades of experience and involvement with religious education…

Policymakers and practitioners are increasingly interested in using wage supplement strategies to address pervasively low compensation in the child care and early education (CCEE) field. This document describes how and why a wage supplement may lead to positive outcomes for the CCEE field--like improved retention and reduced turnover--through a…

The Building and Sustaining the Child Care and Early Education Workforce (BASE) project aims to increase knowledge and understanding in child care and early education (CCEE) by documenting factors that drive workforce turnover and by building evidence on current initiatives to recruit, advance, and retain a stable and qualified CCEE workforce. As…

International teachers in the US primarily fall into two categories: those on J-1 or J-2 visas under the Exchange Visitor Program and those holding employment visas, such as H-1B, EB-2, or EB-3. J-1 and J-2 visas are aimed at cultural and educational exchange. Those who receive them are authorized under the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 to teach for…

In this paper, we critically examine the way in which scholars have traditionally defined and problematized attrition. Through a series of examples of large-scale intervention impact studies, we share insights about the sources and consequences of attrition that expand our notion of how and why attrition occurs. We also discuss potential steps for…

In "Going the Distance," Lora Bartlett, Alisun Thompson, Judith Warren Little, and Riley Collins examine the professional conditions that support career commitment among K-12 educators--and the factors that threaten teacher retention. Drawing insight from the period of significant teacher turnover and burnout both during and beyond…

The U.S. elementary and secondary teaching force in recent decades has changed significantly and in important, sometimes surprising ways. It has become far larger, far less experienced, less diverse by gender, and more diverse by race/ethnicity. And it remains unstable. Yet researchers, policymakers, and the public appear not to have much marked…

Teacher attrition is squarely in the policy spotlight. Major news outlets have featured recent stories highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teacher shortages. In this brief, the authors frame the magnitude of teacher attrition during the pandemic, including from the 2020-2021 school year to the 2021-22 school year, using publicly…

Since its founding 34 years ago, Teach For America has prepared nearly 70,000 recent college graduates and career-changers to teach in high-poverty schools across the United States. Unlike traditional teacher-preparation programs, it places "corps members" in short-staffed public schools after an intensive summer seminar, before they are…

Over recent years there has been a raft of literature drawing attention to the inequity of working conditions for those in the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector in England; however, it remains rare that we have the opportunity to hear the voices of the practitioners telling their own story. Through an online anonymous survey, we…

This year, challenges in staffing America's public schools have erupted onto the front page of newspapers across the country. Sources as varied as the New York Times, Fox News, the American Federation of Teachers, and the American Enterprise Institute have all reported on the crisis in the teaching profession. Districts across the country are…

Challenges in teacher staffing continue to persist in America's public schools, with districts across the country reporting more vacant positions than in previous years. Nationally, teacher turnover appears to be increasing, while the supply of teachers has declined. On a recent University of Rhode Island survey, one third of Rhode Islanders say…

This book examines the lives and contributions of career change teachers: individuals who have switched careers to become classroom teachers. Their leadership experiences, industry connections, ways of embedding real world applications in classroom teaching practices and diverse skills sets are investigated in the context of their contributions to…

News stories from the past year highlight an "exodus of teachers" from Providence schools following the state takeover in 2019 and the two subsequent years of pandemic schooling. At the national level, though, reports of teachers fleeing the profession are increasingly being replaced by a more complex story, where teachers are feeling…

Across the nation, teacher shortages are receiving broad attention. Teacher turnover can lead to negative outcomes for students through the replacement of effective teachers by inexperienced or unqualified teachers, increases in class sizes, or reductions in course offerings. For educators, frequent turnover upsets collaboration, stability,…