نبذة مختصرة : This paper asserts that the shortage of special education teachers has been a national problem since the 1970s. This study sought to identify the factors that contribute to a high attrition rate of teachers and the positives of the teaching profession and to develop recommendations to attract more candidates to preservice teacher education programs. A research instrument of open-ended questions was prepared and sent to researchers' professional contacts in 49 schools in 17 Kentucky counties. Contact persons distributed the instrument to teachers with at least 3 years of experience. A total of 290 (210 regular and 80 special education) elementary, middle, and high school teachers participated. The highest attrition rate was attributed to the Kentucky Commonwealth Accountability Testing System, and the second largest factor cited was the Consolidated planning system. Professional development and low pay ranked third and fourth, and many other factors were identified. The biggest positives were seeing the children learn and grow, having a positive impact on children, and the school calendar (breaks and summer vacations). The three highest rated recommendations to attract more candidates to the profession were salary increase, removal of disruptive students, and reduction of paper work. Attention to these factors may help address the problem of teacher shortage. (SLD)
ملاحظات : Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association (Chattanooga, TN, November 6-8, 2002).
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