Teacher Mobility in a Metropolitan Labor Market: What Teacher, School, and District Attributes Matter?

• In Event: Policy Issues Related to Teacher Quality and Teacher Mobility

Abstract

This study utilizes data from the State of Michigan to examine teacher mobility in the metro Detroit teacher labor market from 2003 to 2007. Specifically, using multi-level regression modeling, this study identifies the teacher-, school-, and district-level attributes which are associated with teacher mobility within districts and between districts during a time period of economic recession and population loss within the region of study. This study is significant because it uses multi-level modeling to examine variations in teacher mobility, and as a case study it provides important insight into how the changing economic realities and demographic shifts across the country (particularly in urban areas) challenge traditional understandings of teacher mobility.

Authors

• Ben Pogodzinski, Wayne State University

• Michael F. Addonizio, Wayne State University

• C. Philip Kearney, University of Michigan