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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.

For decades, special education has been plagued by shortages of fully qualified teachers. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was designed to address the problem of teacher shortage by easing entry and promoting alternative routes (ARs). However, the law was not specific to special education, and the logic on which it is based fits the special education context poorly. Nonetheless, ARs have proliferated in special education. In this chapter, we consider the impact of NCLB generally and AR preparation specifically on special education teacher (SET) shortages. We describe the population of SETs, review research on special education ARs, and consider the problem of diversifying the workforce. We also review research on teacher attrition and policies designed to reduce it.

Purpose − This study illustrates how poor deployment and inefficient management contribute to poor usage of the Malawian school system's teacher resources.Methodology − The author uses data from Malawi's Ministry of Education Science and Technology's Department of Teacher Education and Development and the Education Management Information System to examine the supply of and demand for teachers. The data illustrate the relationships between teacher assignment and the need for teachers at the district, school, and classroom levels.Findings − Teacher assignment policies and practices in Malawi result in class sizes in the first three years of primary school that are much larger than optimal. Additionally, the prevailing shortage of teachers is about 25% worse than necessary because of inefficiencies in teacher deployment. For example, teacher shortages and surpluses often exist in the same districts.Research limitations − This study was limited by the poor quality of data maintained by the Malawian Ministry of Education and the teacher training colleges. While better data would elucidate and improve teacher deployment, existing data should more purposefully target assignment of teachers to schools with the greatest staffing need.Practical implications − Policy solutions identified include requiring minimum teaching workloads and clearer defining criteria for assignment of teachers to schools and grade levels.Value − By demonstrating the wide variations in student–teacher ratios at the district, school, and grade levels in Malawi, this study provides insight into ways in which prevailing policy and practice may compromise both efficiency and quality at each level.

In Germany, various approaches have been taken to tackle the current teacher shortage in technical and vocational education and training (TVET). One attempt to remedy the shortage in Bavaria has been the introduction of an engineering education study programme at universities of applied sciences. Ideal candidates for this programme should have an interest in both engineering and social interaction. For effective recruitment, therefore, it is necessary to know applicants’ characteristics such as their vocational interests. In this study, the vocational interest profiles of students in TVET teacher training programmes were identified and their interest profiles and further characteristics were compared with those of other VET students at universities and universities of applied sciences.

An online questionnaire based on Holland’s interest theory and adapted from the Allgemeiner-Interessen-Struktur-Test-3 (interest structure test) was administered to 85 students in TVET teacher training programmes at universities and universities of applied sciences in Bavaria. Items regarding reasons for choosing a particular study programme, university location and other personal details were added.

The vocational interest profiles of students at universities and universities of applied sciences can be described as similar but weakly differentiated. Insights are provided by the characteristics of students such as the majority being first-time academics in the family. The reasons for choosing the degree programme and university location highlight the fact that a large proportion of students in engineering education would not have chosen a teaching-related degree programme if it had not been offered at the respective university of applied sciences.

Although the sample in this study was small and, therefore, limiting, it represented a high proportion of TVET teacher training students in Bavaria and a substantial proportion of first-year students in TVET teacher training programmes at universities and universities of applied sciences in Bavaria (section 2.2 and 3.1). Thus, the findings provide valuable insights into commonalities in interest profiles between engineering education students at universities of applied sciences and other TVET students at universities. With respect to the domain of the chosen vocational specialisation, differentiated profiles emerged that, for example, showed a stronger artistic orientation among students in construction technology/wood. For further analysis, the previous variable-centred orientation of the analysis can be supplemented by person-centred analyses (e.g. cluster analysis and latent variable mixture modelling, LVMM) (cf. Leon et al., 2021).

The findings in this study reveal the potential for attracting candidates to universities of applied sciences if they prefer to study in rather rural areas close to their hometowns. With the aim to educate prospective teachers for future work not only in metropolitan regions but in rural areas too, offering bachelor degree programmes in rural areas would seem promising. A regional option can boost the recruitment of new students and attract candidates that otherwise would be unable to pursue studies or a career as a teacher in vocational education. The results of this study and those of previous studies suggest that universities of applied sciences can cooperate with universities to help solve the teacher shortage problem.

Overall, it is apparent that the students' interests reached comparatively high values in all interest orientations and thus are only weakly differentiated. If undifferentiated profiles indicate low levels of career readiness, this significantly affects the recruitment of young people for the teaching profession. Assessing career orientation and promoting vocational interests should be prioritised during secondary school education. Vocational orientation measures are essential and should provide insight into typical activities of daily work life in different professions and thus pique and foster interests.

This study provides insight into how to respond to the teacher shortage in VET by identifying important characteristics of engineering education students using vocational interest profiling.

A report published by British Telecom highlights the problems created by teacher shortages in specialist subjects. The report, a result of the Bradford Action on Teacher Shortages (BATS) project, was principally concerned with problems in the Bradford Education Authority, although some of the findings have nationwide implications.

Teachers leave the profession for various reasons, such as inadequate pay, work demands, and lack of support from their administrative leaders. Hargreaves (2004) attributed the growing teacher burnout phenomenon to accountability pressures in the forms of high-stakes testing and increasing work demands. This stress can result in teacher's low self-efficacy and the perception of workplace alienation. Seyfarth (2008) described an alienated teacher with the “feeling that one's work is meaningless and that one is powerless to bring about change” (p. 198). Administrative leadership can further inhibit a teacher's professional growth by failing to meet the teacher's needs with respect to instructional coaching and lacking opportunities for professional self-reflection.

This chapter reviews the empirical research on the supply of teachers in Latin America. The first part stresses the importance of teacher labor market perspectives for understanding the supply of high-quality teachers, one challenge that most countries in the region face. The second part introduces the teacher labor market framework that guides the search, while the third section describes the goal of the review and the methodology. It follows a mapping, description, and classification of the empirical research on the teacher supply and a discussion of the main findings. The chapter ends with a summary and a brief discussion of the implications for teacher policies.

The research aimed to examine the effects of school climate (school violence and community engagement) and resources (staff shortages and resource shortages) on job satisfaction mediated by the workload stress of school principals, using pooled data from 47 jurisdictions around the world.

This study employed a rigorous secondary analysis of principal job satisfaction using the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 dataset. The mediation analysis of structural equation modeling (SEM) performed using STATA software established a structured model by controlling region-fixed effect, principal demographic and school contextual characteristics.

This study established a model detailing the associations between school climate and resources and principal job satisfaction mediated by workload stress.

Given the crucial role of a school principal in leading school survival and success, this study may provide one timely method to enhance job satisfaction and performance of principals during a period of constant change marked by increasing job demands.

This study uses the most recent national data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), 2011–2012 and Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS), 2012–2013 to investigate attrition trends among Black teachers, and Black female teachers in particular, to inform a qualitative analysis of proposed and adopted teacher retention policy interventions. This study asks: Why do Black teachers report leaving, and what would bring them back to the classroom? What working conditions are associated with Black teacher attrition? What policy interventions can meet the needs of Black teachers in having successful and supported teaching experiences? How have these interventions been successful, and what are the considerations for applying them more broadly? We find that Black teacher turnover rates are significantly higher than those of other teachers and that there are several substantive differences in their preparation, school characteristics, and reasons for leaving. We describe policy interventions that target these conditions, such as teacher residencies, loan forgiveness, mentoring and induction, and principal training programs. We include in that discussion the relative benefits and challenges of each implications for policymaking.

COVID-19’s influence on the teaching profession will be felt for many years as teachers faced experiences that they have never encountered. The pandemic forced already taxed teachers to assume additional responsibilities, many of which they were not prepared to deal with. The result was an exodus of teachers from the profession, and those who remained reported challenges that impacted their personal and professional lives. The authors describe the effects on teachers and the impact that this had on them, including reasons why many departed from teaching. In closing, the authors offer recommendations to teacher preparation programs, districts, and schools.