The exact cause of teacher shortages is unknown. Some experts argue that shortages are localized, while others say that the lack of teachers is due to low unemployment and other factors. Regardless, school systems face big challenges with their teacher workforce, including finding enough teacher candidates and retaining the teachers they have, as…

The paper addresses the critical issue of teacher shortages in Europe, with a focus on Italy. It examines the declining attractiveness of the teaching profession, citing factors such as job dissatisfaction, low pay and difficult working conditions. It highlights the growing demand for teachers and the need for reforms in teacher education. The…

Teacher shortages have reentered the national consciousness in a major way, as quarantines and the intense stresses created by the COVID-19 pandemic drained teaching staffs, causing some schools to close temporarily for lack of staff. According to the U.S. Department of Education, all 50 states reported shortages in more than one area for the…

This article provides excerpts of "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? What America Must Do to Attract and Retain the Educators and School Staff Our Students Need" by the AFT Teacher and School Staff Shortage Task Force. The report stands as recognition that teacher and school staff shortages have been caused by a long-term disinvestment in…

This paper looks at Initial Teacher Education (ITE) over the last 50 years in Portugal (1974-2024). This is especially significant as 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of democracy in the country happily coinciding with the Golden Jubilee of the "Journal of Education for Teaching." ITE policy development over the last five decades has…

This article contributes to the study of radio pedagogy in Africa by exploring the Cameroonian case. It shows how Cameroon, after it gained independence in 1960 but faced a shortage of primary school teachers, set up a continuous training scheme based on distance learning via radio broadcasts. Drawing on archival sources of Yaoundé, documentaries…

Despite the growing academic interests in educational leadership recently, hardly any of it has focused on post-conflict situations. This paper seeks to generate an understanding of the perspectives of primary school leaders in post-conflict Cambodia on the issues they face in the process of educational reconstruction and development and the…

This policy brief, produced by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as part of the Region 10 Comprehensive Center, is one in a series examining selected topics related to Wisconsin's educator workforce. The goal of this brief is to summarize key trends in the use of emergency credentials within…

In "The Great School Rethink," education policy sentinel Frederick M. Hess offers a pithy and perceptive appraisal of American schooling and finds, in the uncertain period following pandemic disruption, an ideal moment to reimagine US education. Now is the time, he asserts, to ask hard questions about how schools use time and talent, how…

This article examines the paradoxical teacher shortage in Japan 50 years after the enactment of the 1974 Securing Educational Personnel Act, which aimed to attract talented individuals to the teaching profession. It analyses how teacher education policies, administrative reforms, and fiscal measures have contributed to the current situation. The…

This Data Point examines the prevalence of public school teachers who did not hold a teaching certificate or held only provisional or emergency teaching certificates in the state where they were teaching, as opposed to regular, standard, advanced, or probationary certificates. It looks at the prevalence over time, by selected teacher and school…

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…

While much research has examined the impact that neoliberal reforms have had on education, very little research has examined science teachers/teaching in particular. In this article, we share findings from a longitudinal study with 9 public school science teachers in Arizona, USA. We argue that neoliberal reforms have positioned science classrooms…

According to Randi Weingarten, attacks on public education are not new. The difference today is that the attacks are intended to destroy it. Over the last three years, legislators in 45 states proposed hundreds of laws placing public schools at the center of culture wars: laws seeking to ban books from school libraries; laws restricting what…

This dissertation consists of three papers. In each, I use applied econometric methods and economic theory to study the American teacher workforce. The first paper evaluates a novel policy to address teacher shortages by promoting experienced school staff to be teachers of record. Controlling for demographics and baseline scores, I find that…