This dissertation examines how teachers respond to state-wide labor reforms. In 2013 and 2014, the state of North Carolina drastically altered compensation for teachers. Policymakers affected labor by attempting to revoke tenure for all teachers (and succeeded in eliminating it for new teachers), discontinuing supplemental pay for advanced…

No matter what position you hold, you will be more effective and keep your career on track if you step back occasionally to take stock. It is all too easy in the fast-paced life of the central office to lose sight of things that really matter. Meeting after meeting, deadlines looming, school needs pressing, telephone calls, memos, emails--all take…

The pace of societal change and the development of societal challenges have speeded up considerably during the last couple of decades, with substantial impact on different levels, i.e. ranging from global to local, or from business to government. When focusing on the public domain, these changes and challenges have had a major impact on public…

Representative bureaucracy suggests that supervisors are representative of their employees based, in part, on shared values and identity. In education, we often observe representative asymmetries among school principals and the teaching faculty, particularly by race. This study explores the ways in which race congruence (or incongruence) between…

Career decisions are amongst the most important we make. Unsurprisingly, much published research exists on this particular aspect of career behaviour. However, the overwhelming majority of studies have been carried out on young people making initial career decisions. This paper extends our understanding by examining how mid-career adults in three…

In the twenty-first century, teachers' work has become more complex with high levels of accountability, increased bureaucratic responsibilities and unprecedented levels of public scrutiny. However, teaching fundamentally remains a caring profession, requiring well-developed social skills and emotional labour to successfully engage and motivate…

One of the biggest concerns educational institutions face is helping teachers fit into and adjust to the dynamics of the ever-changing teaching environment. What often remains a mystery is how the identity trajectories of mid-career teachers have contributed to their longevity in the field. Also important today is why teachers might choose to…

Teachers' shortage in the field of K-12 teaching in general and health subjects teaching in particular is one of the most significant challenges in both developed and developing countries, particularly in rural school districts and communities. Leaders at rural school districts strive to establish connections and plans to recruit experienced…

This paper focuses on job transitions and professional development of immigrants in the United States. Using narrative as a method and exploring Bulgarian immigrants' personal experience stories, this report shares some of the findings from the author's dissertation. Upon coming to the United States, the Bulgarian immigrants experienced a…

The drivers of learning for mid-career workers with few initial qualifications from the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy and Poland are examined. The focus in this article is upon the learning pathways and experience of the low-qualified drawn from empirical research which gathered and analysed the strategic career and…

Why do some teachers choose to leave the profession within the first five years of service? Focusing on one group of 25 former teachers and a second group of 25 current teachers in the rural, North Central, Alabama, area, the researcher studied how the nationally known reasons for teacher attrition found in the literature review applied to this…

The National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education conference theme -- "Leading Beyond the Campus: Driving Change as Experts" -- responds to public policy demands and signals consequential choices. Many choices are illuminated by the prototype for the Neo-liberal university. Essentially, economic development imperatives give…

Aim: To identify the prevalence and correlates of burnout among research administrators. Background: Research administration is characterized by increasing government regulation, hyper-competitiveness, institutional management of growing complexity, and changing economic conditions. However, there is a lack of research on burnout among research…

Alarming numbers of teacher attrition are reported in many countries, including in Norway. Whereas most of the research tells about personal and professional negative experiences which have a harmful impact on teachers' resilience, a different approach is taken in the current paper. Four cases of leavers are purposefully selected because they…

Guided by the theory of figured worlds, this qualitative study focuses on 18 faculty members employed at community colleges, broad access liberal arts, comprehensives, and regional research universities, who have constructed professionally and personally meaningful careers at institutions that differ from their original aspirations and/or their…