With critical attention focused on education, and the teaching profession itself under close scrutiny by federal, state, and local officials and governing boards, a heightened sense of the need to attract and retain good teachers has surfaced as a national priority.

Based on data collected on elementary school teachers, principals, and central office administrators in a large unified school district, the authors draw upon cultural rather than economic or psychological concepts to reveal and explain how educators become oriented to their work responsibilities. The book presents a comprehensive description of the rewards and incentives provided for teachers. It also describes the roles of principals and links the principal's work to classroom performance and teaching effectiveness. Throughout this fascinating account the authors describe and reflect upon the ways in which teaching is controlled by a system of beliefs and meanings that specify the overall purposes of schooling and establish norms for social relationships with students and colleagues.