Out-of-field teaching is a relatively unrecognized problem in schools. This digest reviews what research shows about the extent and causes of the problem. There is much disagreement about how much and which types of education and training teachers should receive and what credentialing requirements states should have. Analysts have used various…

Public criticism of the quality of teaching in the schools has put pressure on teacher education programs to improve curriculum. The problem of quality instruction, however, may rest to a large extent with administrators who assign teachers inappropriately in the schools and with state education agencies that sanction the practice. One estimate is…

This Digest discusses the conversion of military personnel to school employees and describes a U.S. Department of Defense program called "Troops to Teachers" that helps military personnel affected by defense cut-backs pursue new careers as teachers and teachers' aides. Created by Congress in 1992 through the National Defense…

In order to improve teacher education and the quality of teaching in classrooms, it is necessary to know what characterizes a competent teacher, what the best curriculum is for developing competent beginning teachers, and how teacher competence can be measured. This report summarizes research on those topics and suggests the following: (1) Because…