Running head: THE TEACHER SHORTAGE IN THE UNITED STATES 1

The Teacher Shortage in the United States

Aaron Hamid

American College of Education

RES 5323

Carmen Paniagua Ph.D.

July 17th, 2017

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Thinking It Through Scenario

As a teacher that is has successfully completed my first year, there were some observations that I

made from both my collegues as well as the media regarding education. During my first year, I

was greeted with questions such as “why would anyone become a teacher now?” or “do you plan

on leaving after three years like the others?” These inquiries began to upset me over the course

of the year but more importantly I wanted to understand the causes of these comments. I am

seeking to answer the question “why is there a teacher shortage in the United States?”

Participating in individual action research would be the most optimal way to conduct this

descriptive research. My intention with this research is not teacher recruitment or retention,

rather to answer the question of as to the reasons behind a teacher shortage nationwide.

Once the information regarding the subject has been collected from peer reviewed journals, I

plan to gather data regarding this issue from three sources. These sources include, surveys from

first year teachers, surveys from former teachers who have voluntarily left the profession and

finally interviews with school principals. The surveys should garner insight as to why teachers

decide to enter the profession but also the reasons as to why former teachers leave. Principal

interviews should indicate the reasons from an administrative perspective as to why a large

exodus of teachers in common in many districts.

Once data from these three sources has been collected, the responses shall be organized based on

frequency of responses. From this data, similar themes and patterns would be presented in the

form of a research paper in which critiques and recommendations from my colleagues should be

welcomed into the discussion to determine the direction of this research.

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Ultimately, the next step would be determining what can be done both locally and nationally to

narrow or ideally eliminate the nationwide teacher shortage.

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Annotated Bibliography

Howard, T. C. (2003). Who receives the short end of the shortage? Implications of the US

teacher shortage on urban schools. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 18(2), 142-160.

Organization:

Length: 19 Pages

Person: Third

Language and Vocabulary: Author’s input relating to cited government studies regarding

the issue

Format: Organized into subheadings above multiple paragraphs

Elements:

Author Qualifications: Associate Dean for Equity & Inclusion, Professor at UCLA

Purpose/Scope: To show that the schools that would be most hardest hit by a nationwide

teacher shortage would be low-income minority schools.

Audience: Howard speaks to those involved in constructing policies relating to education

at the federal level in addition to education lobbyists.

Findings/Results: Non-traditional approaches must be taken in to limit a teacher shortage

in urban and minority communities.

Van Houten, J. B. (2009). The state perspective on teacher shortage, certification, and

recruitment. The Modern Language Journal, 93(2), 274-277.

Organization:

Length: 4 Pages

Person: Third
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Language and Vocabulary: Author’s input relating to cited Florida Department of

Education studies regarding the issue

Format: Organized into subheadings above multiple paragraphs

Elements:

Author Qualifications: World Languages Specialist for the Kentucky Department of

Education

Purpose/Scope: Focuses on the state role in the issue of teacher certification

Audience: Van Houten speaks to those involved in constructing policies relating to

education at the state level (Florida) in addition to education lobbyists.

Findings/Results: National teacher certification would be the solution to the teacher

shortage as shown in the European model.

Yaffe, D. (2016). Tackling the teacher shortage. The Education Digest, 81(8), 11.

Organization:

Length: 5 Pages

Person: Third

Language and Vocabulary: Author’s input relating to cited government studies regarding

the issue

Format: Organized into subheadings above multiple paragraphs

Elements:

Author Qualifications: Education reporter whose works have been supported by a

fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Purpose/Scope: Provides possible reasons and solutions to the issues

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Audience: Yaffe speaks to those involved in constructing policies relating to education at

the federal level in addition to concerned citizens regarding the future of education in the

United States.

Findings/Results: The conclusion is that the teaching profession is one that must be made

attractive and the stigma of “low pay” or “teaching to the test” be removed.