Supply teachers: working on the margins.review of the literature

Summary Supply teachers are playinggrowing role in many schools across England and Wales as a result of staff shortages and in‐service training associated with recent curriculum initiatives and the 1988 Education Reform Act. This paper reviews recent research which has been conducted into the work of this increasingly important body of teachers. Supply teaching is usually a highly demanding form of labour, and supply teachers can be seen as an especially disadvantaged section of the profession.