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1.) Professional Biography:
After teaching in both public and private schools for
a number of years, Dr. Ingersoll obtained a Ph.D. in sociology from the
University of Pennsylvania in 1992. From 1995 to 2000 he was a faculty
member in the Sociology Department at the University of Georgia and
currently he is Professor of Education and Sociology at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Ingersoll's research is concerned with the
character of elementary and secondary schools as workplaces, teachers
as employees and teaching as a job. He has published numerous
articles, reports and pieces on the management and organization of
schools; the problem of underqualified teachers; the debate over school
accountability; the problems of teacher turnover and teacher shortages;
the status of teaching as a profession; and the degree to which schools
are centralized or decentralized and its impact on school performance.
His research is nationally recognized, was cited
by President Clinton in a number of speeches announcing his teacher
recruitment and training initiatives, influenced the No Child Left
Behind Act, and has been featured in numerous major education
reports, including those published by the National Commission on
Teaching and America's Future, the Education Trust, the Alliance
for Excellence in Education, the National Governors' Association and
the international Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development.
Dr. Ingersoll has received a number of awards,
including: the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Teaching from
the University of Georgia; the Harry Braverman Award, from the Society
for the Study of Social Problems for his work on organizational control
and accountability in schools; an American Educational Research
Association Fellowship, which he served in residence at the National
Center for Education Statistics; the 2004 National Award of Distinction
from the Penn Education Alumni Association; and 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, published by Harvard University Press (http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/INGWHO.html).
Dr. Ingersoll has conducted numerous briefings
of local, state and federal policy makers and been invited to present
his research before many groups, including: the Aspen Institute's
2007 Education Policy Program for Members of Congress,
the Congressional Hearings on Teacher Preparation Initiatives held
by the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Education and the
Workforce in 1998; the National Commission on Mathematics and Science
Teaching for the 21st Century, chaired by Senator John Glenn; the
Science and the Congress Briefing in 2000; the 2001 Congressional
Research Service's seminar for new members of Congress, sponsored by
the U.S. House of Representatives; the Council of the City of New York;
and state education reform commissions in many states.
Top 2.) Selected Publications and Presentations:
A.) School Organization and Accountability
 Who Controls Teachers' Work?
Power and Accountability in America's Schools.
Published by Harvard University Press. Winner of the 2004 Outstanding
Writing Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher
Education. Few issues in the realm of education have received more
attention and are more controversial than the subject of this book –
who controls the work of teachers? How much say do teachers have over
their work and how much should they have? Are schools decentralized
places where teachers work with little supervision or accountability,
as some claim? Or are schools overly centralized places with too much
top-down bureaucracy restricting teachers, as others argue? And what
difference does it make, if any, for how well schools function? Drawing
on data from international and national surveys as well as wide-ranging
interviews with teachers and administrators, this book confronts one of
the most important and misunderstood issues in education. Most research
and policy, this book shows, overlook a fundamental fact: schools are
not simply organizations engineered to deliver academic instruction to
students, as measured by test scores; teachers also play a large part
in the social and behavioral development of children. Researchers and
reformers misunderstand how much and what kinds of control and
accountability currently exist in schools, and how much and what kinds
should exist. As a result, many educational reforms--charter schools,
school choice, educational accountability, school restructuring,
teacher professionalization, and school-based management--too often
begin with inaccurate premises about how schools work and so are bound,
not only to fail, but to exacerbate the problems they propose to solve.
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/INGWHO.html
Short on Power, Long on Responsibility
Published in the September, 2007 issue of Educational Leadership,
this is a brief 4 page summary, drawn from the above book, of what
the data indicate about the balance, or imbalance, between
the power and control over school decisions held by teachers
and the accountability increasing required of teachers. Copies can be downloaded from:
Teachers' Decision-Making Power and School Conflict.
Published in the April 1996 issue of Sociology of Education
this is a research report examining what difference the amount of power
exercised by teachers in schools makes for how well schools function.
It uses national data to examine the effects of two kinds of teacher
power in regards to core educational issues in schools -- collective
faculty policy influence and individual teacher classroom autonomy --
on the degree of conflict among teachers, students and administrators.
In particular, the results draw attention to the importance of teacher
power over activities concerned with the crucial, but oft overlooked,
sorting and socialization functions in schools.
Organizational Control in Secondary Schools.
Published in the summer 1994 issue of Harvard Educational Review
this paper uses national data to address the debate between two
currently prominent and contradictory views of organizational control
in schools. One view holds that schools lack appropriate levels of
control over teachers and their work and, hence, are overly
decentralized organizations. The other holds that teachers lack
appropriate levels of control over key decisions and policies and,
hence, schools are overly centralized organizations.
Loosely Coupled Organizations Revisited.
Winner of the Harry Braverman Award, from the Society for the Study of Social Problems. Published in the 1993 volume of Research in the Sociology of Organizations
this is a critique of the view, popular among organizational analysts,
that elementary and secondary schools are the epitome of loosely
coupled systems and lack internal coordination, control and
accountability in regard to the work of teachers.
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B.) Teacher Turnover and Shortages
Holes in the Teacher Supply Bucket
Published in the March 2002 issue of The School Administrator,
this is a short 2 page commentary piece on why the teacher shortage is
a case of a wrong diagnosis and wrong prescriptions. Copies can be
downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/SA-RMI-2002.pdf
High Turnover Plagues Schools
a 1 page op-ed piece that appeared in USA Today, August 15, 2002
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/USA_Today_High_Turnover.pdf
The Teacher Shortage: A Case of Wrong Diagnosis and Wrong Prescription
Published in the June 2002 issue of the NASSP Bulletin,
this is a mid-length 14 page article with data on why the teacher
shortage is a case of a wrong diagnosis and wrong prescriptions.
Teacher Turnover and Teacher Shortages: an Organizational Analysis.
Published in the Fall 2001 issue of the American Educational Research Journal,
this is a 35 page research report on the roots of teacher shortages and
teacher turnover, with a statistical analysis of how much teacher
turnover exists, which kinds of schools have more of it and why they
do. Copies can be downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/TeacherTurnoverTeacherShortages-RMI-Fall-2001.pdf
Researcher Skewers Explanations Behind Teacher Shortage. (by Debra Viadero)
This is a news story on a presentation given at the annual meeting of the AERA. It was published in the April 10, 2002 issue of Education Week. Copies can be viewed and downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/EW-RMI-2002.pdf
Turnover Among Mathematics and Science Teachers in the U.S.
This is a brief 10 page summary of national data on the rates of and
reasons for teacher turnover, especially among math/science teachers.
Prepared in 1999 for the National Commission on Mathematics and Science
Teaching for the 21st Century, chaired by former Senator John Glenn.
Copies can be downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/TAMST-RMI-2000.pdf
Is There Really a Shortage of Mathematics and Science Teachers?
A presentation by Dr. Ingersoll of his research on teacher turnover and
shortages among math/science teachers. Presented at the Math Science
Partnership Learning Network Conference on Jan. 31, 2006, Washington
DC. To view the entire video of the presentation with accompanying
overheads and transcript go to:
http://hub.mspnet.org/entry.cfm/12703
The Wrong Solution to the Teacher Shortage
Published in the May 2003 issue of Educational Leadership, this is a short 4 page article with data on the reasons for high beginning teacher attrition.
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/EL_TheWrongSolution_to_theTeacherShortage.pdf
Is There Really a Teacher Shortage?
Published in September 2003 by the Consortium for Policy Research in
Education and the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, this 28
page research report builds on, and updates with the most recent data,
earlier work on the teacher shortage. It presents data from the period
1987 to 2001 on teacher demand, supply and turnover to make the case
that the teacher shortage is a case of a wrong diagnosis and a wrong
prescription.
Copies can be downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/Shortage-RMI-09-2003.pdf
The Impact of Mentoring on Teacher Retention: What the Research Says
Commissioned and published by the Education
Commission of the States in 2004, the primary objective of this report
is to provide policymakers, educators, and researchers with a reliable
assessment of what is known, and not known, about the effectiveness of
teacher mentoring programs -- that is, empirical studies that address
the question: does mentoring matter? In particular, this report focuses
on the impact of mentoring programs on teacher retention. A secondary
objective of this project is to identify important research questions
concerning teacher mentoring that have not yet been addressed and the
kinds of research that would be required to yield significant
implications for policy. Copies can be downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/ECS-RMI-2004.pdf
Do Teacher Induction and Mentoring Matter?
Published in the March 2004 issue of the NASSP Bulletin,
this is a mid-length 13 page article with data on the prevalence and
effects of beginning teacher induction and mentoring programs. Copies
can be downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/DoTeacherInductionAndMentoringMatter-2004.pdf
What are the Effects of Induction and Mentoring on Beginning Teacher Turnover?
Published in the fall 2004 issue of the American Educational Research Journal,
this is a 40 page research report with a statistical analysis of
national data on the prevalence and effects of beginning teacher
induction and mentoring programs. Copies can be downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/Effects-of-Induction-and-Mentoring-RMI-Fall-2004.pdf
Why Do High-Poverty Schools have Difficulty Staffing Their Classrooms with Qualified Teachers?
Commissioned and published by the Center for American Progress, this 30
page policy brief extends earlier work on teacher shortages and
turnover by focusing on these problems in rural and urban high-poverty
schools. Copies can be downloaded from the Center's website:
http://www.americanprogress.org/atf/cf/%7BE9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03%7D/Ingersoll-FINAL.pdf
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C.) Teacher Quality
Putting Qualified Teachers In Every Classroom
Published in the June 11, 1997 issue of Education Week,
this is a short 2 page commentary piece on the problem of out-of-field
teaching and some of the myths surrounding it. Copies can be downloaded
from
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/EW-RMI-1997.pdf
Congressional Expert Testimony
Published in Teacher
Preparation Initiatives: Hearing Before the Committee on Education and
the Workforce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress.
This is a brief summary of the problem of out-of-field teaching with
federal policy recommendations presented by Dr. Ingersoll at the
Congressional Hearings on Teacher Policy held in February, 1998. Copies
can be downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/HSE-RMI-1998.pdf
The Problem of Out-of-Field Teaching.
Published in the June 1998 issue of Phi Delta Kappan, this is a brief 4 page summary of the problem of out-of-field teaching and some of the myths surrounding it.
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/PDK-RMI-1998.pdf
The Problem of Underqualified Teachers in American Secondary Schools.
Published in the March 1999 issue of Educational Researcher,
this is a slightly longer 12 page article summarizing Dr. Ingersoll's
research on the how much, so what, who, where and why of out-of-field
teaching. Copies can be downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/ER-RMI-1999.pdf
Misunderstanding the Problem of Out-of-Field Teaching.
Published in the January-February 2001 issue of Educational Researcher,
this is a short 2 page follow up essay to the above article. It
addresses two key misunderstandings surrounding the problem of
out-of-field teaching: Do teachers' qualifications really matter? And
what do measures of out-of-field teaching really measure? Copies can be
downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/ER-RMI-2001.pdf
Measuring Out-of-Field Teaching
This longer paper describes, compares and evaluates over a dozen
different measures of out-of-field teaching that have been used over
the past decade. The objective is to clarify the strengths and
weaknesses of each in order to aid researchers in their decisions as to
which is best to use in their analyses and to help users interpret what
any given measure actually indicates about the extent of underqualified
teaching in schools. Copies available by request from Dr. Ingersoll.
All Talk, No Action: Putting an End to Out-of-Field Teaching
Produced with Craig Jerald and published in August 2002 by the
Education Trust, this 14 page report has a state-by-state analysis of
the new 1999-2002 Schools and Staffing Survey data on the percentage of
core academic secondary school classes taught by a teacher without
major or minor in the subject. The report documents the huge and
growing problem of disproportionate numbers of classes in high-poverty
and high-minority secondary schools being taught by out-of-field
teachers. The report also includes a list of recommendations which
states, districts and schools can act on immediately to help reduce
out-of-field teaching. Copies can be downloaded from:
http://www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/8DE64524-592E-4C83-A13A-6B1DF1CF8D3E/0/AllTalk.pdf
Out-of-Field Teaching and the Limits of Teacher Policy
Published in September 2003 by the Consortium for Policy Research in
Education and the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, this 28
page research report builds on, and updates with the most recent data,
earlier work on the problem of out-of-field teaching. It presents data
from the period 1987 to 2000 showing how much out-of-field teaching has
existed, to what extent it varies across different subjects, and across
different kinds of schools, and to what extent levels of out-of-field
teaching have changed during these years, for both the nation and the
50 states. It discusses reasons for the failure of many popular teacher
quality reforms and draws lessons for the prospects of the No Child
Left Behind Act. Copies can be downloaded from the Publications menu of
either Center's website:
http://depts.washington.edu/ctpmail/PDFs/LimitsPolicy-RI-09-2003.pdf
Why Some Schools Have More Underqualified Teachers Than Others
Published in the 2004 issue of Brookings Papers on Education Policy,
this 30 page research paper uses advanced statistical analysis to
examine which characteristics of school districts and schools are
related to the degree of out-of-field teaching in schools.
Copies of the paper can be downloaded from:http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/BPEP-RMI-2004.pdf
Out-of-Field Teaching: The Great Obstacle to Meeting the "Highly Qualified" Teacher Challenge
Published in September 2004 by National Governor's Association, this 17
page issue brief summarizes the teacher quality provisions of the
No Child Left Behind Act, presents data showing how each state stands
in terms of the new requirements, clarifies some widespread
misunderstanding surrounding the sources of the problem of
underqualified teachers and, finally, suggests some actions states and
school districts could take to address the problem. Copies can be downloaded from the NGA web site.
Four Myths About America's Teacher Quality Problem
Published in the 103rd Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education,
this 33 page chapter critiques four
popular explanations for the problem of low-quality teachers
and teaching in American schools: 1.) the teaching occupation is
plagued by unusually restrictive and unnecessary entry barriers;
2.) severe teacher shortages are confronting elementary and
secondary schools; 3.) the teaching force is inadequately trained and
prepared; 4.) schools lack adequate control and accountability of the
teaching force. The yearbook, entitled Developing the Teacher Workforce, and edited by M. Smylie and D. Miretzky is available from the University of Chicago Press: www.press.uchicago.edu or the NSSE website: www.nsse-chicago.org Copies of the chapter can be downloaded from: http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/FourMyths.pdf
Misdiagnosing the Teacher Quality Problem
Published in September 2007 by the Consortium for
Policy Research in Education, this 9 page brief provides a short
summary of three of the myths discussed in the above paper. Copies can be downloaded from:
The Status of Teaching as a Profession
Published in 2008 in Schools and Society: a Sociological Approach to Education,
this 12 page chapter uses theory and empirical data to
answer the question of whether, and to what
extent, elementary/secondary teaching is a profession.
The chapter presents comparative data on licensing requirements,
induction, professional development, specialization, authority,
compensation and prestige. Copies of the chapter can be
downloaded from:
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty_research/docs/SSSAE-RMI-2008.pdf
A Comparative Study of Teacher Preparation and Qualifications in Six Nations
Published in February 2007 by the Consortium for Policy Research in
Education, this is a collaborative, comparative study on the
preparation and qualifications of elementary and secondary teachers in
six nations and one autonomous region: China, Japan, South Korea,
Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Hong Kong. The study
examined data from each of the seven educational systems on three
specific sets of research questions:
1.) What are the Preparation Requirements and Standards to Become a Teacher?
2.) What are the Levels of Qualifications of the Current Teaching Force?
3.) What Proportions of Teachers are Not Qualified in the Subjects They Teach?
Copies of the 14 page summary can be downloaded from:
Copies of the 106 page full report can be downloaded from:
3.) Courses Taught:
Education 544 - School and Society
This course provides an overview of theory and research concerned with
the relationship between schools and society. The objective is to
impart to students a grasp of the major ideas, themes and research
traditions in the sociological study of education. This includes both
mainstream and critical theories of how social forces shape the
purposes, processes and organization of schools. In addition, the
course will explore a number of current education policy issues and
introduce students to relevant sources of national education data. The
primary focus will be on elementary and secondary schools in the U.S.
Syllabi
Education 545 - Organizational/Institutional Foundations of Education
This course is concerned with the origin and evolution of the
institutional functions and organizational structure of the American
school system. The objective is to have students understand and
evaluate a progression of conflicting perspectives that underlie
theory, research and policy concerned with the purposes, character and
design of schooling. In addition, the course explores a number of major
debates and conflicts, past and present, surrounding these issues,
including: the equity vs. excellence debate; the virtues of
student-centered education compared to those of teacher-centered
education; and the conflict between centralization and decentralization
in the school system. Finally, the course introduces students to
sources of national education data relevant to these issues. The
primary focus of the course is elementary and secondary schooling in
the U.S., but some attention is also paid to higher education and to
how schooling in the U.S. compares to that in other nations.
Education 624 - Schools as Organizations
Schools are places of learning—but they are also workplaces, teachers
are employees and teaching is a job. This course focuses on theory and
research concerned with the organizational and occupational side to
schools and teaching. It draws from multiple fields and perspectives,
including: organizational theory; the sociology of organizations,
occupations and work; educational administration; and school
leadership. The objective is to have students understand and evaluate a
series of different perspectives from theory, research and policy
concerned with the character of the teaching occupation and the
organization of schooling.
Syllabi
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