Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Hardwick Smith Johnson, Jr.

Committee Member

Theodore Kinasewitz

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

teacher shortage, face to face learning, teacher certification, substitute teachers, school principals

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to document the experiences of public school and public charter school principals who were leading schools in the midst of a shortage of certified teachers. During the 2019-2020 school year, schools were closed, and students transitioned to virtual classrooms. Once public schools resumed in-person instruction, principals were faced with the growing challenge of recruiting and retaining certified teachers. Students were in classes with substitutes who were present today, but a new substitute was there the next. Even in classes with a full-time substitute, instruction was inconsistent, and student learning was negatively affected. Although the teacher shortage did not begin in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the phenomenon worsened in the aftermath, and principals struggled to fill vacant teacher positions.

The researcher used a qualitative phenomenological approach. This design allowed the researcher to interview principals to capture their personal perspectives and experiences while they led schools during the teacher shortage. Participating principals could provide actions they took to ensure instruction was ongoing, despite not having a teacher in the classroom. Principals could give insight to their own struggles, as well as the struggles of their faculty and staff as the effects of the teacher shortage saturated the school. To document their experiences, the researcher sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the experiences of principals who are leading schools during the teacher shortage? 2. What adjustments do principals make to meet the needs of pupils who are in classrooms without a certified teacher? 3. As the teacher shortage crisis persists, what school-based solutions are principals implementing to ensure their students’ social, emotional, and academic needs are being met?

The results revealed that principals in public schools and public charter schools spent a significant portion of their day supporting substitutes and noncertified teachers. Principals also used innovative and creative scheduling to help students rotate to classrooms with certified teachers. Finally, principals relied on the dedication and commitment of their teachers, support personnel, and full-time substitutes to maintain a quality learning environment for the students who found themselves in classes without a certified teacher.

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