Over the past few years, as cash-strapped states and school districts have faced tough budget decisions, spending on teacher compensation has come under the microscope. The underlying question is whether teachers are fairly paid, underpaid, or overpaid. In this forum, two pairs of respected economists offer very different answers. Andrew Biggs of…

Teacher benefits, once a sleepy question primarily of interest to actuaries, have become a flash point in the education debate. With individual states on the hook for tens or hundreds of millions in unfunded pension and health insurance obligations, state leaders are trying to determine the severity of the situation and the appropriate response.…

Despite a nascent economic recovery, education advocates, policymakers and other leaders continue to sound concerns over U.S. higher education's long-term viability and productivity. Foremost among current worries is the financial stability of colleges and universities, particularly now that federal stimulus support has dried up. Even while…

In this article, the author talks about the need for sound policies to help faculty members balance family life with career issues. Many human-resource policies--for example, those governing conflicts of interest--can be developed almost independently of other policies and have a high degree of transferability from one campus to the next. A…

In 1984 the Ministry of Education in Ghana introduced a career ladder policy for teachers. While reformers believe that this has improved the condition of the teaching profession, the net gains of the policy remain deceptive. There has even been a reduction in some of the benefits that teachers used to enjoy in the single salary scheme in the…

Presents an interview with the chairperson of a regional committee of the Soviet teachers' trade union. Includes comments on the role of the trade union during perestroika, the development of union independence from the government, and an experimental program replacing some city committees with councils of trade union committee chairpersons. (DK)

Proposes the use of teacher sabbaticals to improve the quality of teachers. Includes a list of recommendations for implementing a sabbatical policy. (MD)

There are several ways in which boarding school administrators can help their teachers have better lives, i.e. by offering flexible career planning, making a philosophical commitment to the teachers' continuing education, and offering greater financial security through imaginative financial planning. (AN)

Attitudes about teacher sabbaticals are sharply divided and, as funding grows scarcer, get more controversial. Teachers should plan sabbaticals that will improve their teaching, and school boards should be assured of good, long-term returns on their investments of sabbaticals. (MLF)

Higher education must place a premium on academic self-renewal during the remainder of this century when the opportunity to provide for new ideas and new skills through hiring new faculty will be constrained. It is important that professors recognize the mutuality of institutional interests and self-interests in meeting these challenges. (CH)

Providing incentives for teachers of adults is an important means of attracting, retaining, and stimulating staff. Developing a variety of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards and incentives and instituting them effectively are important administrative functions. (SK)

Current methods of funding teachers' retirement systems, which base pensions on final salaries, are inequitable because they are not related to school districts' ability to pay and because they require some teachers to subsidize others. A five-state survey shows it is common for pensions to be funded by school districts and teachers, sometimes…

Presents a 14-point plan for reforming education by improving teacher incentives. Proposals include raising salaries and merit pay; developing summer employment assistance centers, a teacher placement program, and employee suggestion compensation; increasing teachers' participation in school policy; providing early retirement plans and tax…

Granting unpaid leaves of absence to teachers who are at or near the top of the school district's teacher pay scale will save the district money. Such leaves benefit teachers by satisfying whatever needs inspired their requests, and offer students a new enthusiastic teacher in the classroom. (Author/MLF)

Discusses the relationship between educational quality at Catholic schools and educational costs, and between consistency and effective schools. Describes steps to determine just teacher salaries/benefits, to elicit the support of the community, and to move to decisive action. (PAA)