From Student Teaching to the Workforce: Placement Contexts, Mentoring, and Early Pipeline Outcomes

• In Event: Filling Teacher Vacancies

Abstract

The teacher workforce faces persistent shortages, driven in part by substantial attrition throughout the teacher preparation pipeline. In Michigan, this attrition is particularly pronounced, with only about a quarter of those who initially express interest in teaching persisting through student teaching (Kilbride et al., 2023). These patterns underscore the importance of understanding experiences at this stage of the pipeline, as student teaching typically represents the final stage of preparation and a key juncture at which candidates either transition into teaching or exit the pipeline.            

Student teaching placements vary widely in their school contexts, shaping candidates’ learning opportunities and supports (Johnson et al., 2004), yet their role in shaping early pipeline outcomes remains unclear. Moreover, candidates’ experiences may differ not only across placement contexts but also within placements based on the characteristics of cooperating teachers, who play a central role in structuring and supporting candidates’ learning (Glenn, 2006).            

In this study, I draw on statewide administrative and survey data from Michigan spanning the 2021-22 through 2023-24 school years to examine how placement contexts are associated with early pipeline outcomes, including perceived preparedness, certification attainment, and workforce entry, and whether cooperating teacher characteristics mediate these relationships. Specifically, I ask:

To what extent is student teaching placement context associated with differences in preservice teachers’ perceptions of preparedness, certification attainment, and entering the teaching workforce in Michigan?
To what extent do cooperating teacher qualifications appear to mediate these relationships?

To answer these questions, I link student teaching placement records from all public educator preparation programs to statewide K-12 student, school, and staffing data, higher education administrative records for teacher candidates, and survey data from both teacher candidates and cooperating teachers. I first document how placements are distributed across school contexts and whether they vary systematically by candidate characteristics. To address RQ1, I then estimate regression models predicting candidate outcomes as a function of placement school characteristics (e.g., poverty level, academic performance, and accountability status), controlling for candidate-level covariates and including EPP and year fixed effects. To address RQ2, I extend these models by incorporating cooperating teacher characteristics, including years of experience and drift-adjusted value-added measures for qualifications, to examine potential mediation mechanisms.

Preliminary analyses indicate that student teaching placements are concentrated in relatively more advantaged schools, with systematic differences by candidate characteristics. Placement contexts are also associated with candidates’ perceptions of preparedness; candidates placed in schools with higher levels of disadvantage report lower levels of preparedness, while those in more advantaged settings report higher preparedness. Analyses of certification attainment, workforce entry, and the role of cooperating teachers are ongoing and will be completed by APPAM.

This study provides new evidence on how variation in clinical training contexts is associated with early transitions into the teaching workforce, a stage of the teacher pipeline that remains relatively underexplored. In a context where Michigan is investing in policy efforts (e.g., Future Educator Fellowship/Stipend) to strengthen the teacher pipeline, evidence on how clinical placement contexts and mentoring relate to early pipeline outcomes is especially timely.

Author

• Jiwon Baek, Florida State University
  Presenting Author