This study examines teacher retention strategies in Australia and Sweden, focusing on career progression mechanisms and their impact on equity and inclusion in the teaching workforce. The research is grounded in theories of teacher professionalism, career development, and gender equity in education. It draws on conceptualizations of teacher career trajectories and the impact of policy mechanisms on teacher retention. A comparative policy analysis was conducted, examining Australia's Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers (HALTs) standards and Sweden's förstelärare (first teacher) reform. Document analysis and synthesis of existing research were used to evaluate the effectiveness and equity implications of these approaches.

We found that both Australian and Swedish policy mechanisms aimed at retaining teachers in the classroom show limitations in addressing the complex realities of teachers' career trajectories, particularly regarding gender equity. The HALTs standards in Australia have seen limited uptake, while teachers continue to prioritize postgraduate qualifications. In Sweden, the förstelärare reform has yielded mixed results in retaining teachers and addressing shortages. Neither approach adequately accounts for the gendered nature of teacher career paths or the need for flexible work arrangements.

This study contributes to the conference sub-theme of "Equity and inclusion in teacher education" by highlighting the need for more nuanced and holistic approaches to teacher retention. It emphasizes the importance of considering gender equity in career progression strategies and suggests alternative approaches, such as job-sharing and mentoring, to create more inclusive and sustainable career pathways for teachers. The findings have implications for policymakers and teacher educators in developing more equitable and effective strategies for retaining diverse talent in the teaching profession.

Teacher shortage is an increasingly global issue, with many countries, including Estonia, facing challenges in attracting candidates and retaining qualified teachers. State statistics and international comparisons show a worrying decade-long decline in the qualified teacher workforce in Estonia, worsening yearly. Addressing this shortage is crucial for sustaining high-quality education in the country.

This article aims to analyse the teacher shortage in Estonia from the perspectives of different target groups, such as pre-service and in-service teachers, teacher educators, school leaders and school governors, and policymakers. More specifically, we posed the following research questions:

1) What are the causes of the teacher shortage in Estonia from the perspective of different stakeholders?

2) What additional measures are needed to reduce the teacher shortage in Estonia from the perspective of different stakeholders?

This study employed focus group interviews to investigate six distinct target groups associated with the teacher profession in Estonia. A total of 38 participants were included in the study. We used qualitative thematic analysis (Ryan and Bernard 2003) and identified seven themes related to causes and suggestions: the attractiveness and status of teaching, governance and legislative framework, competencies of school governors, teacher preparation, teacher workload, salaries and motivation packages and school conditions. These themes, essential for understanding and addressing Estonia's teacher shortage, are comprehensively explored and discussed in the presentation. Similarities and differences with findings from other contexts are also pointed out.

Research studies in Australia and internationally consistently report that rural schools have trouble in recruiting and retaining staff. Different factors underpin rural staffing shortages, including teachers exiting the profession due to workload pressures, and teachers not taking or leaving rural posts due to isolation and distance from their family and friends. To combat rural school shortages, state governments in Australia offer teachers an array of financial and material incentives. Research on staff shortage often offers a deficit construction of teachers’ work by drawing attention to what individuals, rural schools, and communities lack. The research aim is to shift the focus from attraction of teachers and why they leave to why rural teachers stay. This perspective offers a change in the deficit narrative of rural schooling by positioning rural schools and communities as assets. Drawing conceptually on Fraser’s (1997, 2003) and Honneth (1995, 2003) dimensions of justice, distribution of resources and recognition theory, the paper focuses on four domains of teachers’ work and lives – classroom, school, personal and community – to explore why teachers stay. Methodologically this is a qualitative study that draws on data from twenty in-depth interviews with rural teachers in Victoria to examine their decisions and motivations to work and make a life in rural places. Findings point to the myriad connections between individuals, schools and communities and the influence of this relationship on sustaining a quality and committed rural teacher workforce. While both resources and recognition matter, teachers’ experiences and views show that rural teacher retention requires a combination of positive factors and enabling resources across more than one domain. The paper aligns with the conference call for equitable and socially just learning environments, and with the sub-themes of equity and inclusion, and the promise of reconciling tensions in rural staffing with a new social contract in education.

Fierce competition for student tuition fees is prompting English language schools in Canadian universities to adopt new business models that are making some of those units more tightly coupled. As teachers and administrators attempt to address students' needs within a recoupled governance structure, they may experience “turmoil” – an erosion of longstanding meanings regarding the purposes and expectations in an organizational unit (Hallett, 2010). This reaction to organizational change may prompt teachers to engage in iterative “sensemaking” processes (Weick, 1995; Degn, 2018). Using sensemaking as the foundation for my conceptual framework, I hope to demonstrate that limiting teachers’ discretion increases the likelihood of resistance on the ground level by threatening teachers’ perceptions of their professional identity. This qualitative study used 19 semi-structured interviews to explore how ESL teachers within Ontario Higher Education responded to turmoil within their units and how this impacted their discretion within their classrooms. The findings reveal a trend towards administrative rationalization over the past 20 years which has manifested as casualizing the workforce and increasing bureaucratic control over the nature of teachers’ work in a bid to increase compliance and in a direct clash with teachers’ need for autonomy. On the micro-level, teachers’ resistance and compliance are enacted as self-preservation tactics, both in terms of maintaining their professional identities and their jobs in a turbulent industry. An ESL classroom is an international dynamic with every student coming from a diverse background requiring the teacher to be nimble in how they respond. By reconciling the tensions between the micro, meso, and macro levels, the quality of teaching can be vastly improved as discretion again returns to the expertise of the teacher in the classroom. Supporting students’ learning and providing an equitable education within this context relies on reconciling the turmoil on the ground level and the tension within the organization.