FACULTY AND DEAN PERSPECTIVES ON SUPPORTING AND SUSTAINING THE P-12 TEACHING PROFESSION

The P-12 teaching profession is under existential threats from a decline in status, teacher shortages, and challenges with government regulation and accountability. In this qualitative study, I use visual social research methods to examine how deans and faculty in research-intensive university schools and colleges of education (SCEs) perceive the relationship between the current state of the teaching profession and both their individual and collective work. I explore what actions are taken or planned on behalf of the SCEs to sustain the teaching profession and support its thriving. Finally, I make recommendations aimed at strengthening the work SCEs do to prepare and sustain P-12 teachers and the teaching profession, as well as point toward directions for future research.