The teacher shortage, especially in French-language schools in rural Ontario, is a major challenge to the educational system and raises important questions about the value placed on quality education. Challenges are exacerbated by teacher mobility, teachers leaving the profession, complex array of student needs, and the large percentage of immigrant students, some of whom have experienced interruptions to their schooling. Research on noncertified teachers is sparse and assumptions are sometimes made that all noncertified teachers wish to become certified teachers which may not be the case. This presentation will provide a description of varied profiles of noncertified personnel and the multidimensional impacts, positive and negative, to their increased presence in K-12 classrooms in Ontario. While the hiring noncertified personnel relates to the global teacher shortage, this practice also raises larger questions about teacher education, access to the teaching profession, and hiring practices of school divisions.

Keywords: Education, teacher shortage, uncertified teachers, societal value of education.