The Changing Teacher Labor Market in Canada: Patterns and Conditions

Abstract

Access to current and reliable teacher labor market information can benefit many groups: governments involved in developing and implementing policies related to resource allocation and manpower planning; university education faculties involved in preservice certification programs for teachers; teacher federations involved in the professional development of teachers; school districts involved in resource deployment; schools involved in the planning and delivery of quality programs and services to students; and students concerned about the quality and breadth of programs. Finally, the uncertainty of the labor market and the need for career planning information are issues critical to teacher education students. This study examines the nature and scope of the changing teacher labor market in Canada and assesses the quality and value of teacher labor market information to information users. The study found that, with few exceptions, school districts in Canada were experiencing a general surplus of teachers. It was also discovered that teacher labor market information was useful to different groups for different reasons. Students were more likely to use the information than executives, and students were more inclined than executives to support a policy that relates the selection of students to teacher demand conditions.