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Board had hoped and not representative
of our membership distribution. The
great majority of responses (80.8%)
came from five state organizations For the sake of the education profession
in the southeastern United States.
With only 13 state organizations and of this organization whose
participating, survey responses
represented only 16.9% of DKG’s membership draws from the ranks
state organizations. It is possible of...teachers, DKG members should
this low and uneven response rate
was due to the survey’s distribution question, and even lament, “Where
method, to confusion among
members about who could or should have all the teachers gone?”
complete the survey, or to members’
level of awareness of or knowledge
about/interest in the issue of teacher
shortages. It is also possible that the low
response rate reflected a pattern of localized teacher shortages, with many locations
experiencing no shortage at all.
While most survey best practices naturally fell into the categories reported above,
not all respondents had a best practice to share. Two additional data points put this
into better perspective; 17 of 52 respondents had no current practice or project to
report while a slightly higher number of respondents, 20 of 52, had no potential
practice or project to suggest. One respondent, Carol Knupp (South Carolina State
Organization), indicated that the teacher shortage was not an issue that DKG might
impact: “I don’t believe this group will be able to make a significant impact on
teacher shortage.” However, Karen Duke (Texas State Organization) stressed that
any impact or effort is important: “Do something big or very small—all of it matters
whether you are acting as a state [organization], chapter, or an individual DKG
member.”
This research project sought first to highlight an education issue that has recently
made headlines in multiple news outlets and then to explore ways in which DKG,
an organization of key women educators, might have an impact. For the sake of
the education profession and of this organization whose membership draws from
the ranks of retired, current, and future teachers, DKG members should question,
and even lament, “Where have all the teachers gone?” Beyond merely questioning,
DKG members also need to respond to the question. Through efforts to support other
teachers, mentor new ones, and recruit future teachers, DKG members can have
an impact on teacher shortages, even in small ways, and advance the DKG Vision
Statement: “Leading Women Educators Impacting Education Worldwide.”

References
Barshay, J. (2022, August 8). Proof points: Researchers say cries of teacher shortages are
overblown. The Hechinger Report. https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-researchers
-say-cries-of-teacher-shortages-are-overblown/

Chernikoff, S. (2023, August 24). 2023 teacher shortages: What to know about vacancies in your
region. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/08/24/teacher
-shortages-in-us-compare-your-state/70660263007/

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