Abstract:

American public primary and secondary schools are confronting with teacher shortages. The supply of teachers can’t meet the needs of educational requirement, which manifests as the decline of teacher-student ratio, insufficient teacher reserve and structural teacher shortages. The imbalance between supply and demand of teachers in public schools in the United States is due to the impact of the Great Recession, the decline of teachers’ income, the growth of school-age population, and the teacher attrition. The main bodies of education in the United States adopt a variety of ways to deal with teacher shortages, including expanding the supply paths of teachers, reforming teachers' compensation system, and facilitating a national labor market for teachers.

Key words: American education, elementary and secondary education, teacher shortages