Retirement plans can create strong financial incentives that have important labor market implications, and many states have adopted alternative plan designs that significantly change these incentives. The authors use longitudinal data to investigate the impact of Washington State's 1996 introduction of a hybrid retirement plan on late-career…

Start-up packages are a tool for a successful transition to an academic career. This institutional case study examined the faculty experience with start-up packages at one public university in the Southeastern United States, including gender differences, content, negotiation, and perceived outcomes. A mixed-method research design was utilized to…

How much do teachers value compensation deferred for retirement (CDR)? This question is important because the vast majority of public school teachers are covered by defined benefit pension plans that "backload" a large share of compensation to retirement relative to the compensation structure in the private sector, and there is scant…

Background: School district implementation of a four-day school week (4DSW) calendar has skyrocketed in recent years, despite little evidence regarding the impact on student and teacher outcomes. Between 1999 and 2019, the number of 4DSW districts increased by over 500% (Thompson et al., 2021). Since 2019, the rate of 4DSW adoption has increased…

Although it seems reasonable to assume that start-up packages are important for faculty success, the contribution of start-up packages to faculty professional development is understudied. The aim of this study was to explore how the number of benefits obtained in start-up package agreements (number of benefits), faculty satisfaction with the…

Background: Early childhood teachers play a key role in creating positive teacher-child relationships, which are shown to promote child outcomes. However, turnover rates of early childhood teachers are strikingly high, which may compromise the quality of teacher-child relationships. Lack of early childhood education program policies (i.e., wage,…

The COVID-related financial market decline and economic recession have raised new concerns regarding the financial sustainability of retirement plans for state and local government employees, the largest group of whom is public school teachers. Using data from the Public Plans Database and the National Income and Product Accounts, I analyze…

The success of preschool programs is largely dependent upon a high-quality teaching workforce. Preschool educators are critical in supporting a child's socio-emotional development, motivation, school readiness, achievement, and overall learning. While expected to be professionally prepared similarly to their colleagues from elementary and…

Despite extensive literatures documenting the importance of teacher diversity and teacher compensation, few studies explore relationships between the two. Fewer still examine effects of governmental accounting standards, even though these standards evolve regularly and could have substantial implications for how school districts allocate…

Over the last 18 years, Economic Policy Institute has closely tracked trends in teacher pay. Over these nearly two decades, a picture of increasingly alarming trends has emerged. Simply put, teachers are paid less (in weekly wages and total compensation) than their nonteacher college-educated counterparts, and the situation has worsened…

Teacher job satisfaction is the degree to which employees like or dislike their profession; they are satisfied when they have positive attitudes and feelings towards their job. Many studies were conducted in developing and developed countries, but unfortunately, studies focusing on teacher job satisfaction in the Afghan context are very limited.…

Many factors contribute to the academic success of elementary age students, but one must not overlook the importance of the classroom teacher. Measuring teacher absenteeism is difficult as it is not factored into local, state, or federal accountability requirements and teacher attendance policies are created locally through collective bargaining…

Colleges and universities in the United States have embraced the "gig" economy with use of non-tenure track and part-time faculty. However, much of the work on job satisfaction in academia focuses on tenure-line professors. This study seeks to answer the question of whether adjunct faculty look more like independent gig workers or…

For the last two decades, Ohio has given its new public school teachers choices among retirement plans. Early in their employment, they are handed a form that allows them to opt for a traditional pension plan, a 401(k)-style defined-contribution (DC) plan, or a plan that combines elements of each. If they make no affirmative decision at all--that…

Teacher retention has been a growing nationwide concern for years that has exponentially worsened as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Schools serving students from low socioeconomic backgrounds tend to be most negatively affected by high rates of teacher turnover. This study examined the impact of implementing effective onboarding on…