Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

In the introductory chapter to Global Perspectives on Issues and Solutions in Urban Education (2019), editors Robinson, Allen-Handy, Bryant, and Lewis explain the urgent need for school systems to create crucibles of “creativity and innovation” (p. 2) to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Urban school systems, they contend, have historically been sidelined in these developments, arguably as a result of the nuanced nature and embedded challenges of the urban school structure, especially in the developed economies of countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. They argue that the dearth of empirical research studies to address this phenomenon “as a global issue” (p. 2) is a fundamental rationale for this volume. They then devote the remainder of the chapter to a succinct description of the book’s organization.

Does the Mode of Entry into Teaching Matter in Teacher Retention? A Discrete-Time Survival Analysis Modeling of New York City Public School Teachers Charles Olufemi Ogundimu This dissertation examines whether the mode of entry into K-12 public school teaching has any implications on teacher retention. Teacher retention is important because it is an important precursor to teacher quality, which has been shown to positively impact student performance. However, teacher turnover can seriously threaten teacher retention. Additionally, teacher turnover is associated with serious economic and non-economic costs. To this end, it may benefit schools and school districts to pay particular attention to hiring and retaining their teachers, especially the quality ones, for the long haul. Current teacher labor markets literature is deficient in serious analytical frameworks for understanding longitudinal cohort retention comparisons of traditional and nontraditional teachers, as well as analysis ...

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit our shores in 2020, it has undoubtedly increased employee turnover throughout the United States. While the private sector continues to struggle with stubbornly high turnover rates, public education as a whole, appears to remain relatively stable. For instance, in April 2022, quits increased in real estate and rental and leasing by 37,000 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022).  The question is: Can this be generalized across public education systems? The primary goal of this study is to attempt to answer this question by examining the extent to which earlier projections of teacher turnover predict present quit and separation patterns in public education, with a particular focus on the NYC public school system. My study focuses on NYC and relies on data from the NYC Department of Education as well as publicly available data sources for its systematic review.

If there is one crime that can completely strip a person of his or her very basic human rights, that is a low-risk and highly profitable trade, that completely dehumanizes and erodes human dignity, it is human trafficking. As the world is becoming more and more globalized, trafficking is becoming more prevalent and lucrative. It facilitates the  transfer of human beings and makes it easier for criminal syndicates to thrive. When it comes down to it, human trafficking is a matter of supply and demand. As long as there is a demand, the egregious practice of trafficking will continue. The scale of human trafficking is atrocious. It goes way beyond the abuses on fishing vessels in Thailand, in factories in Bangladesh and Russia, in cotton fields of Uzbekistan, in Syrian and Nigerian army training camps where child soldiers are forced to train,  and in hotels, brothels, and apartments in the United States. Without even knowing it, many people have likely driven the same routes, passed through the same airports, and walked the same streets as those who operate human trafficking networks. Human trafficking occurs in virtually  every country in the world and often crosses borders—meaning nearly every country in the world could be considered a country of origin, destination, or transit for trafficking. Both industrialized and developing countries partner to engage in trafficking. The United States of America is included in this partnership. Above all, human trafficking is an issue that cuts across class, gender, and age without reservation. It cannot be tolerated in a civilized society. It is an erosion of human rights. It is an assault on human dignity and should be treated as nothing less.