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Building a quality teaching force depends fundamentally upon attracting suitable candidates into teaching. This translates into transparent and clear policies and procedures for recruitment and transfers. Teacher recruitment and transfer are significant aspects of teacher management in Indian states because of the size and the differences that exist in different locations, in terms of facilities including access to health care services, higher educational institutions, and also transport and mobility. The presence or absence of these facilities and services determine the perceived quality for teachers, especially as it also determines their and the family members’ (including spouse and children) ability to access education, health care, or job market. This makes the recruitment and transfer policy a critical aspect of teacher management that contributes significantly to the motivation and job satisfaction of the teacher. Karnataka was able to make progress on designing and implementing transparent and effective teacher recruitment and transfer policies and move away from a system plagued by the weaknesses exhibited by other states. This chapter undertakes a historical analysis of teacher recruitment and transfers in the state, examines the determinants that led to current policies and an examination of the on-going changes since the policy was first introduced. Using Karnataka’s example, it argues that effective and efficient teacher management systems can lead to better teacher quality.

The Further Education and Training (FET) sector is being positioned as a centrepiece of the government's post-pandemic recovery. However, issues of capacity and staff churn are threatening the potential success of this strategy. Unfortunately, there has been almost no strategic analysis of teacher churn in the English FET system or of the derivative issues of recruitment and retention, both of which jeopardise the sector's capacity to deliver high-quality teaching and improve workforce skills. This paper examines these issues for policymakers and sector leaders and makes suggestions on how these can be redressed. A call for a more joined-up FET sector is presented.

This is a follow-up paper to a report published by the Education and Training Foundation in 2022 on teacher recruitment in the English FET sector. This paper pulls together all of the most recent research on the English FET sector on teacher recruitment and retention and frames these against the DfE's Skills for Jobs policy commitments. It also analyses a number of proposed solutions, reflecting on their merits and potential consequences.

An updated profile of FET institutions within the college, private training and adult subsectors is offered, showing how the FET sector in England has been in steady decline, which is juxtaposed against the rhetoric of industrial productivity and economic renewal. Four variables, namely funding, institutional numbers, staffing and learner numbers are examined to explore this disparity. A more in-depth analysis of recruitment and retention research follows, showing that pay, job insecurity and status are the factors influencing the decision to start an FET career. Strategies for remedying the “crisis” are assessed, including the role of national campaigns and professional bodies.

The first point for any research programme is to draw together the research data and themes that have been previously discussed in order to build a platform for future investigation, which is what this paper does. There are clear steers on where future research might be located: staff well-being, professional status, recruitment methods and what is meant by an FET career. These are factors that affect the desirability of FET work and the sector's ability to recruit high-quality candidates. The consequences of not doing this research is the likely continuation of the status quo, which is unsustainable for the FET sector and potentially catastrophic to UK productivity.

Policymakers and sector leaders are presented with analysis and advice on the impact of teacher shortages and the factors that contribute to this. The evidence to support these factors is explored and solutions discussed in light of this evidence. A research agenda is suggested including an appeal for professional organisations and FET stakeholders to work together to solve the recruitment and retention crisis. The power of research to enlighten and inform is one of several conclusions proposed.

Addressing the factors that corrode staff professionalism and increase teacher attrition is an essential component of a wider discourse to improve the desirability of an FET career. Issues of status and esteem are interwoven in this analysis, as are the implications of not recruiting talented teachers and assessors. This includes staff well-being – a rare topic in FET journal papers – as well as organisational culture and importance of the FET mission, which is considered to be embedded in an ethic of public service. This mission is linked via the Augur Report to the sector's transformational properties to raise social mobility.

There is no precedent for this paper. It is the first article that has provided a comprehensive examination of teacher recruitment and retention issues affecting the whole FET sector in England. Whilst its comparative analysis builds on the Education and Training Foundation (2022) earlier report, it uniquely draws on other contemporary research that triangulates and discusses these findings, including setting out a new agenda for change and future research. In doing so, new issues are introduced for discussion including professional status and staff well-being.

Aims to examine current debates about the recruitment and retention of teachers and explore the views of Local Education Authority Human Resource Advisors, governors and teachers.

Addresses the issue of whether the Government is actually achieving its stated aims of best value in selecting, recruiting and retaining the most effective teachers in primary and secondary education.

The conclusion for the appointment of teachers in schools is that structured panel interviews, with trained panel members, and preferably including an HR professional, would represent best practice.

Raises serious concerns about the delegation of HR practice.

Migration is one of the most significant domestic, development and foreign policy issues in the world today. According to the International Organization for Migration, 1 out of every 35 persons worldwide is an international migrant. This chapter discusses the complex issue of international teacher migration, and reports findings from empirical research conducted in the UK to illuminate the socio-cultural and economic contexts of teacher migration in both industrialized nations and in developing countries. This research, commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat, served to inform development of a Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol, which was adopted by 53 countries in late 2004. This chapter serves to disseminate the results of this research to a larger international audience. It also provides an analysis of the process in which educational research informs international policy development.

Bringing renewed attention to the anemic representation of Black women within the teaching profession, this chapter begins by chronicling the history of Black women in teacher education – from the Reconstruction Era to the 21st century – in an effort to highlight the causes of their conspicuous demographic decline. Next, it is argued that increasing the number of Black women in the teaching profession is a worthwhile endeavor although the rationales for such targeted efforts may not be obvious or appreciated by the casual observer. It is, therefore, important to illuminate the multiple justifications as to why it is essential to improve the underrepresentation of Black women in America’s classrooms. Lastly, it is asserted that serious attention is required to reverse the dramatic exodus of Black women from the teaching profession. In conveying this issue, the author shares special emphasis recruiting tactics, for the national, programmatic, and local school district levels, as promising proposals to enlist and retain more Black women in the teaching profession.

This chapter explores the issue of ethnic diversity and race discrimination among elementary school teachers in Ireland. It examines both the historical precedents of this discrimination and uses the current experiences of Immigrant Internationally Educated Teachers (IIETs) living in Ireland to explore the phenomenon contemporaneously. The chapter begins by delineating the historical context of immigration in Ireland and more recent population data. It then explores the relevant legislative provisions to address employment and race discrimination in the Irish context. Owing to the deep-seated and historical origins of the current race discrimination, a particular focus is placed on delineating the evolution of the selection and recruitment of elementary teachers in Ireland imbued with the right to teach in elementary schools. Drawing on data ascertained through semi-structured interviews with a range of IIETs, positioned within the aforementioned analyses of relevant historical documents, the chapter then moves to explore some experiences of IIETs seeking to work in the Irish elementary school system. The chapter analyses these data through a Bourdieuian lens, paying particular attention to ways in which power has been, and continues to be, exercised by the State in regulating access to prestigeful mainstream teaching positions. The chapter proceeds to root these analyses within Kitching’s work on ‘race moves’, arguing that immigrant teachers have been racialized as other on the basis of an absence of proficiency in the Irish language.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of financial factors on motivating college students to consider teaching in hard-to-staff rural schools. The role of perceived respectability of the profession was also explored.

This work relies on an explanatory sequential mixed-method design, that surveyed college students across all majors at a regional public university, then interviewed a subset of participants to improve understanding. Quantitative and qualitative results were compared and synthesized.

Results from an ordinal logistic regression demonstrate the importance of base salary, retirement benefits and respondents’ view of the respectability of the teaching profession as influential for their willingness to teach in the rural target school district. These findings were validated by the qualitative results that found perceptions of respectability had both a joint and separate influence with salaries. Results also demonstrate that most students were amenable to rural teaching and to lower starting salaries than their current chosen occupation, provided their individual minimum salary threshold was met ( x ¯ = 36 percent above the state average beginning teacher salary).

Few empirical studies exist that examine college student recruitment into rural hard-to-staff districts via a multimodal narrative. This study addresses this, focusing on college students across majors to explore both recruitment into the district and into the profession. This work is relevant considering the financial disinvestment in traditional public education and the de-professionalization of the teaching profession that has led to the recent season of teacher strikes in the USA.

This introductory chapter frames the discussion of Black female teachers, and centers their experiences as the sole site for discussion and analysis. In addition, this chapter provides an overview of the three sections of the book and the corresponding chapters. Within the pages of this volume, contributing authors discuss the historical and contemporary landscapes of Black female teachers, examine the underrepresentation of Black women in the US teacher workforce, as well as discuss innovative strategies to increase the recruitment and retention of Black female teachers in PK-12 classrooms. Ultimately, this chapter provides insight into the salience of Black female teachers in the diversification of the US teacher workforce. Moreover, highlighting implications and recommendations for a variety of educational stakeholders.

This chapter examines the similarities and differences in teacher education between Botswana and Lesotho to unravel “best fit” strategies specific to the needs of teacher education in different locals or populations within these two countries. We begin with an overview of the social, political, and economic contexts of each country as a lens by which to understand some of the current challenges teachers face within each country. We review the research literature to understand what teacher preparation looks like at the tertiary level and how teachers in the field maintain current knowledge and pedagogical skills in regard the content they teach. We will argue that when teaching pedagogy at the tertiary level maintains an authoritarian model of teaching with content centered, didactic instruction, and teacher-centered pedagogy there is little ability for national change in education. Likewise, if teacher education does not embed the concept of life-long learning and is not supported by both a national and local commitment to support teacher’s continued professional development the ability to sustain any change in education is thwarted.

The aim of the paper is to examine whether there really is a shortage of VET teachers, and if so, whether there are links to the salary offered and to the qualifications required.

The paper uses three main approaches to examine the narrative of a shortage of VET teachers in Australia.

There was no documented evidence of a VET teacher shortage, beyond a general perception of shortage in line with other occupations due to the post-COVID economic recovery. Salaries for VET teachers were found to compare well with other education occupations and other jobs in the economy. There was no evidence of the required qualifications deterring entry. The main concern appears to be whether VET can adequately train workers for other sectors in shortage.

The research did not include empirical survey work and suggests that this needs to be carried out urgently.

The research provides evidence that will challenge current assumptions and help in the recruitment of VET teachers.

It argues for a recognition of the importance of the VET sector beyond its function of serving industry.

It highlights ways to make VET teaching a more attractive proposition and to better promote its advantages.