Event Archives

REL-NEI Policy Challenges Conference: Teacher Quality

The Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands, in collaboration with its partner organization, Learning Innovations at WestEd, convened its first regional conference, titled “Teacher Quality: Addressing Regional Needs,” on November 14–15, 2007, in Providence, RI.

This conference provided a rich opportunity for supporting knowledge use in the region. Research findings were distributed by targeting specific stakeholder groups and engaging them in relevant research at a deeper level. Meetings were organized around themes identified as high priority in the region.

Rather than employing a “top down” format where speakers lecture the audience and set the agenda, the discussion was driven by the questions and concerns of researchers, educators, administrators, and policymakers from throughout the region. Up-to-the-minute research was shared and used to analyze policy and practice within the context of each state and territory. Cross-state discussions brought a research lens to critical policy challenges throughout the region.

Policy challenges for discussion included:

• Reducing teacher turnover
• Attracting and retaining high-quality teachers in rural areas
• Supporting and retaining new teachers
• Improving teacher preparation program accountability
• Making the best use of paraprofessionals

Dr. Richard Ingersoll of the University of Pennsylvania and Consortium for Policy Research in Education gave the keynote address: “The Teacher Shortage: A Case of Wrong Diagnosis and Wrong Prescription.” Dr. Ingersoll is nationally recognized for his research on teacher quality and for numerous publications addressing teacher turnover and shortages, as well as school organization and accountability. He won the 2004 Outstanding Writing Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education for his book, Who Controls Teachers’ Work? Power and Accountability in America’s Schools (Harvard University Press).

View Dr. Ingersoll’s keynote address. (38 min.)

View PowerPoint slides. (PDF, 52 KB)

Learn about REL-NEI research work on teacher quality issues.

Learn about the Consortium for Policy Research in Education.