Beyond One-Room Schools: What Application Data Reveal About the Rural School Labor Market

• In Event: Data Use From a Comparative Perspective: Exploring How Teachers, Schools, and Districts Use Evidence and Research

Abstract

Many studies have addressed teacher labor markets and the sorting of teachers within and among urban school districts, but far less research has examined teacher supply and demand among rural school districts. This study examines the pool of applicants vying for teaching vacancies in Wisconsin districts to determine how applicants differ across geographic categories, particularly with regard to education, experience, and geographic preferences. Our findings suggest that there is no shortage in the quantity of teachers willing to teach in rural schools. The candidates that rural principals see appear to be comparable in quality to the applicant pools that school leaders select from urban and town areas.

Authors

• Minseok Yang, University of Missouri

• Se Woong Lee, University of Missouri

• Peter T. Goff, University of Wisconsin - Madison