This qualitative study focused on the phenomenon of K-12 public-school teachers who earned a doctoral degree and remained teaching in a classroom setting. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2019), only 1.2% of public-school teachers in the United States possess a doctoral degree. According to federal and state legislation, a teacher with a doctoral degree is considered to be over-educated. Two terminal degrees were represented in the study; Doctor of Education and Doctor of Philosophy. Through semi-structured interviews with fifteen participants who fit the criteria of possessing a doctoral degree and teaching in a public school, the researcher coded data into categories, and ultimately identified five themes. Factors that influence a teacher to earn a doctorate and attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of public education from the teacher's perspective were pre-defined themes. Commonalities among the participants was an emergent theme from data. Doctorates in connection to an improvement of teaching served as the fourth theme and was derived from the literature. The final themes became evident based on the theoretical framework of the study, and links to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]