Poster #143 - Documenting Their Decisions: Trends, Pipelines and Penalties in the New Jersey Teacher Workforce

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

Establishing a steady pipeline of qualified teachers is a critical issue in the United States, particularly as a large cohort of educators from the baby boomer generation continue to retire. While research in this area has advanced, little is known about what influences teachers’ decisions to enter or remain in a teaching position. For policies to effectively address the teacher supply challenges, it is important to better understand the teacher’s pipeline, including who are the enrollees, completers, and non-completers in teacher preparation programs. We also simultaneously need to expand this understanding and examine licensure of teachers, supplemental employments and pay penalties if any, as research has shown that teachers make less than college graduates working in other fields, with average adjusted income nearly unchanged since 2011 (NCES, 2023).

Using data from the New Jersey Statewide Data System, this research quantitatively examines trends and factors influencing the teacher pipeline and workforce. Using multivariate regression analysis, we compare differences in postsecondary and workforce patterns between those who eventually become teachers and those who exit the pipeline. Specifically, we ask four research questions: a) what are the observed supply trends in New Jersey teacher workforce including exits, workforce projections and supplemental employment b) of all those who declared education as their major at entry between 2013 and 2015, how do the performance, persistence and degree completion patterns differ between those who eventually become teachers and those who do not? c) what are the alternative industries for those who do not eventually become teachers? and do we observe a teachers’ pay penalty?

Our findings thus far show that the overall number of teachers in the state has remained relatively stable over the past 11 years, though staffing increases are needed in multilingual learning and computer science classes. When analyzing supplemental employment, we find about 13% of teachers work outside of the education industry. Teachers who engage in such supplemental employment outside of education tend to earn around 5% less as teachers than their peers who do not, and their outside earnings, on average, make up for this 5 percent difference. While we continue to work on other research questions, we see our results – which control for many background differences- as an accounting of the remaining differences between those who persist and become teachers and those who do not in a state where significant efforts have been targeted towards addressing teacher shortages. 

Overall, this research highlights how linked administrative records from various state agencies can help states better understand of their K-12 public education workforce so that appropriate policy solutions can be developed.

Author

• Obofoni Ann Obadan, Rutgers University - New Brunswick
  Presenting Author