Wanted: Teachers, Where Are They?

There is a well-publicized belief the United States that states–especially those located in certain regions–have an urgent teacher shortage. It seems more apparent in specialized areas. Schools in the United States cannot find enough qualified teachers and are left to fill vacancies using an alternative access license or long-term substitute teachers. It is believed that teachers are leaving the profession due to a lack of feeling appreciated and minimal support in the profession. Teachers get burnt out or feel their salary does not reflect their worth. The purpose of this study was to understand why there is a teacher shortage from the perspectives of teachers. I aimed to find out teacher perceptions regarding reasons for the teacher shortage and if current solutions to address this are perceived as effective. Data was gathered from open-ended surveys from participants in six regions in the United States, along with follow-up interviews as needed based on survey results. The findings of this study show that a shortage of teachers is still occurring today. This study found areas of highest need for teachers are secondary core content areas, such as math, science, english, and social studies, art and music education, and special education as well as elective courses world languages, career and technical, and business and accounting. This was confirmed by participants and Department of Education Shortage reports. Results indicated that teachers, in general around the country do not feel treated as professionals, often experience a lack of support, and have a heavy work load for the pay. Results also indicated that teacher perceptions of the effectiveness of solutions being utilized by districts are not dependent on region or even state but on particular context of specific schools