A report is given of a series of qualitative studies conducted to clarify the market patterns of career choice and expectation, recruitment and selection, turnover and mobility, and working conditions and career alternatives of public school teachers. A study of the career expectations of noneducation college students was also made. These studies sought to delineate the dynamics undergirding the market forces so that policy makers may have a more effective framework for analyzing and remedying the problems confronting the occupation of teaching. Focus was upon: (1) labor market variables affecting present education students and teachers; (2) the mobility patterns of resigning teachers; and (3) the variables affecting the career choices of noneducation college students in high-demand fields. Over 525 teachers, former teachers, and administrators in school systems and education students, noneducation students, professors, and administrators in universities representing 22 institutions in rural and urban sites in three different southeastern states were interviewed or surveyed. Policy strategies for attracting and retaining effective teachers are suggested. (JD)