How Substitute Teachers Perceive and Experience the Job and Why It Matters: Evidence From Michigan

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Shortages and Policy Responses (Table 13)

Abstract

Short-term substitute teachers play a critical role in the functioning of schools, yet to date the role of substitutes in the educator labor market has attracted comparatively little attention. In particular, there are few rigorous studies of substitute teacher recruitment, retention, and impact. Most are focused only on a single school district (Liu et al., 2022). This study analyzes state administrative data, survey data from a simple random sample of 525 Michigan substitute teachers, and a purposive sample of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 20 of these teachers to focus on 1) how the substitute labor market changed in terms of quantity and retention from 2018-2021, and 2) how substitute teachers make decisions about whether/where/why they will work in particular placements/schools.

Authors

• Chris Torres, University of Michigan

• Nathan A Burroughs, American Institutes for Research

• Rebecca R. Frausel, Public Policy Associates