There is growing recognition of the value of the Arts in helping shape understandings and capabilities for life essential for meeting the challenges of the 21st century. Consequently, in Australia, the Arts are now mandated for all students from kindergarten to year 9. In the lower secondary setting, this has led to a high demand for educators…

All over the United States, adult ESL programs enroll students who are undocumented immigrants, often unbeknownst to the instructors who teach them. During the COVID-19 crisis, adult ESL enrollments decreased overall, but most especially for the undocumented immigrants who were most disadvantaged during the crisis. In order for program…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Teaching Quality." Contents include: (1) State Policy Recommendations for…

Unfortunately, Arkansas has faced a massive shortage of certified teachers for decades. Statewide, 4 percent of public school teachers are uncertified, with another 3 percent teaching out of field. In many districts, the percentage of uncertified is much higher: as high as 56 percent in the Helena-West Helena School District, and 52 percent in the…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children in Texas and across the United States. The theme of this issue is English Learner Literacy. Articles include: (1) School Leaders Improve…

Unfortunately, far too many Arkansas students are being taught by teachers who are uncertified in the subject they are teaching. This report analyzes the extent and potential causes of Arkansas' teacher shortage and propose a series of recommendations for state policymakers. Two primary findings about the shortage were identified: (1) Shortages…

Amargosa Valley School in Nevada could be considered representative of almost any preK-8 school that serves a large proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and is focused on turning around persistently low achievement. Like other schools supported by federal School Improvement Grants, Amargosa is beginning to implement a reform plan…

National shortages of math and science teachers have led to a variety of strategies and programs to attract second career professionals into teaching. This qualitative study explores the development of professional teaching identities in six STEM career changers in a post-baccalaureate pre-service teacher credential program in California. Findings…

Principals are very aware that there is a great deal of competition in attracting qualified teachers of mathematics to their school, since there are just not enough qualified mathematics teachers out there. Recent studies of the qualifications of teachers in Australian schools have confirmed that there is a crisis in the supply of qualified…

A teacher shortage in Hong Kong in core subjects, such as English, has led to interest in the recruitment and retention of second-career teachers. Drawing upon Wenger's (1998) theory of identity formation and using data from interviews with eight second-career English language teachers in Hong Kong, this paper explores how second-career teachers…

Although effective practices have been developed to address the needs of a wide range of students with disabilities, evidence suggests a limited use of these practices. Potential contributors to the research-to-practice gap focus on problems with pre-service teacher preparation, professional development, and the nature of research. The authors…

In North Carolina, where the state must hire 10,000 teachers every year just to fill existing classrooms, highly qualified special education teachers are included in the top three areas of greatest teacher shortage, behind math and science. Such needs, which include an increase in teachers from ethnic minorities, challenge teacher educators to…

This paper addresses the national quantity demand, supply, and shortage of special education teachers (SETs) in comparison to general education teachers (GETs). The main data source was the 1999-00 Schools and Staffing Survey. Results indicated that the total demand for SETs increased 38% from 240,000 in 1987-88 to 330,000 in 1999-00, a rate of…

O'Leary (1998) claims that any seemingly intractable challenge holds 'the potential for crisis or opportunity' (p. 435). In this article, I draw on a study of seven child care teachers' constructions of their resilience and thriving to consider O'Leary's contention in light of the so-called staffing crisis facing the child care sector in the…